Car hire in Spain - help!

NiftyDigits

azana wrote: »

Off to spain next month to malaga - the whole car hire thing is scaring me stupid

We've hired in Spain before - last year Hertz who stung us loads for extra insurance, before Record who were ok ish but again hidden costs

Have read the advice on here on the main site but still confused

Anyone any good advice for companies that are ok, to avoid?

tia

Did you book direct with Hertz or via a third party, such as Ryanair? Indirect often gets you the Full?Empty policy. Booking direct gives you the choice of your preferred option. i.e Full/Full. The excess deposit is blocked from your CC as normal.

I always book with Hertz, using a promo code.

blue70

I know that the OP has probably sorted this now but I thought I would add my experience for the benefit of others.

After rejecting a car from Holiday Autos which were going to provide my car via Marbesol (Horrendous reviews) I opted for Malagacar.com which was only about £3 more for 8 days hire on a comparable car.

There are some very minor issues with the queueing system for the minibus (there isn't one!) but overall I was very pleased with the service I received, the car and the overall cost. I would definitely use them again particularly as despite it being August we didn't encounter a single lengthy queue. It's almost as if they knew that August would be busy!! Now if only other businesses could predict things like that ....

If anyone is really interested my trustpilot review is here under the name blue70.

Mxty

Use a broker they have nothing to gain for selling you all the extras and hidden costs

http://indigocarhire.co.uk/ is one I have used previously

Obviously_the_best

Depends on the airport, but https://www.canarias.com , is a good place to start. Really to get good service you need to look for locally owned and run campanies near you destination airport. Search for car hire xxx airport into google maps is a good way to start.

NiftyDigits

Obviously_the_best wrote: »

Depends on the airport, but https://www.canarias.com , is a good place to start. Really to get good service you need to look for locally owned and run campanies near you destination airport. Search for car hire xxx airport into google maps is a good way to start.

This is nonsense. At best just your opinion. Not that I'm denigrating the local companies, but to discount booking with the Internationals with a good promo code is just not in the spirit of money saving.

The trick is to do your research and planning. Not just blindly looking for a 'locally owned' company.

jonnymonny

Just an update for anyone renting from Malaga airport in the future.

I have been renting cars in Malaga for 10 years and have just had my first bad experience. The company was Delpaso (who I had never used before) and I would advise anyone to avoid them like the plague. I booked through a broker and the quoted price was very low. When I went to pick up the car, I was charged 96eur for a full tank on a Corsa (real cost about 60eur) and a 300eur deposit. When I queried this I was told that with the low price I was paying they had to make money somehow! There were several people in the office at the same time complaining about various things and being treated very badly. Two of them advised me not to hire from this company but it was late at night and their office is isolated so I had no choice.

When I returned the car, it was subjected to a very detailed inspection and I was called out to see two tiny stone chips on the windscreen, for which I was told they would deduct 75eur from my deposit. Even if I had not picked up the car in the dark, I would never have noticed these chips, so it was impossible to say whether they were there before or not. When I pointed this out, the guy said that I should have taken the extra insurance which covers the windscreen. So, they get their money one way or the other!

Dan_BrotmN

Doyouspain is very unpredictable. We had a good experience using them in Granada and renting through Hertz. But we just had a very bad experience in Madrid renting through Firefly. We rented for one day at an advertised rate of just over €17 supposedly all in. We didn't take any extras (insurance, GPS, etc.) or upgrade the car. We returned it on time in perfect condition with a full tank of gas. We were charged €60 plus. Firefly said that's the cost and if we have an issue we need to talk to doyouspain. doyouspain doesn't reply to emails with anything other than a form message. I will never use them again and warn others to do the same.

ashleypride

Dan_BrotmN wrote: »

Doyouspain is very unpredictable. We had a good experience using them in Granada and renting through Hertz. But we just had a very bad experience in Madrid renting through Firefly. We rented for one day at an advertised rate of just over €17 supposedly all in. We didn't take any extras (insurance, GPS, etc.) or upgrade the car. We returned it on time in perfect condition with a full tank of gas.

Doyouspain are one of the better sites, as they show who the rental company is, and show the fuel policy.

Dan_BrotmN wrote: »

We were charged €60 plus. Firefly said that's the cost and if we have an issue we need to talk to doyouspain. doyouspain doesn't reply to emails with anything other than a form message. I will never use them again and warn others to do the same.

The €60 will be for fuel as Firefly do the "Full / Empty" policy even for a day rental it seems.

ask66

ic wrote: »

https://www.travelsupermarket.com - I've found this site is great for price comparisons. Also keep an eye on Quidco and Topcashback - for example holidayautos is 14% cashback at the moment.

...

Hi ic, just been looking at car hire threads and wanted to say thanks for a really comprehensive and useful reply!

Just_Passing_Bi

It's all very confusing

Do car hire companies do an all in one package?

No pressure sales, scare tactics when collecting the car.

This is what I'm looking for

Intend to pick up / drop off at Barcelona Airport.

1 week car hire.

Pick up with full tank, return empty.

Comprehensive damage package, tyres / windscreen / etc., etc.,

Is there an alternative to leaving a CC deposit, i.e. can I take out an insurance policy in the UK that'll cover us / the car?

Any recommendations / advice will be greatly appreciated