Car Hire Options in Spain

srisport

Hi All,

Currently looking at car hire options in Spain for the beginning of August, Ive read that renting with a fuel policy of "full to full" usually gets you a better deal.

At the moment my quotes are for a Ford Fiesta

Car with prepay fuel (with partial refund) = £63 for the week

OR

Car with Full-Full fuel policy = £140 for the week

I don't think we will do a lot of driving and may only use 1 tank of fuel while we are away.

Should i risk the extra fuel charge by them for the prepay fuel? How much are they likely going to charge me for a 42 litre tank of fuel?

This is my first time renting a car so advise and thoughts welcome

Regards.

Moto2

Which airport do you want to hire from and which companies are you considering?

nickcc

I suggest you read the Goldcar thread first, personally I use Avis but all the Majors should be OK.

snowcat75

Yes airport and companies are important to know.

Goldcar are often cheep, but land someware like Barcalona T2 and its shuttle bus which is on Spanish time, then a desk with the slowest staff in the world, Iv know rentals to take 3 hrs from landing.

Genaraly I use enterprise often not the cheapest but often have maned desks in the main terminal and 9 times out of 10 Iv been in a Car within 20 minutes of clearing customs.

srisport

Moto2 wrote: »

Which airport do you want to hire from and which companies are you considering?

We are flying into Alicante but the rental place is away from airport with shuttle bus service available.

I am using Atlas Choices as a comparison website to find the best price.

They also include the following into the fee:

Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)
Theft Protection (TP)
VAT/TAX
Airport Surcharge
PLS (Premium Location Surcharge)
Third Party Cover
Unlimited Mileage

Then they offer an excess protection of £23 and will hold a fee of €950.00 on credit card.

Can that protection fee be beaten and can you recommend any sites to check?

Regards.

snowcat75

I would try and avoid off site for starters as I said 15 minute free shuttles in Spain seldom are. The other problem is that after an hour of waiting unlike in a terminal where you could hunt for another hire place your captive in some hot airless industrial site.

Atlas Choice will broke through anyone but often its Goldcar, They will painfully upsell excess protection, and will slowly grind you down with the endless waiting.

Excess protection is much cheaper if bought in the UK, but your need to have a card to pay if and when the damage occurs and wait to be refunded, Cars in spain are prone to damage and if hireling bottom end you really need to be 100% on the ball when you inspect the car.

srisport

snowcat75 wrote: »

I would try and avoid off site for starters as I said 15 minute free shuttles in Spain seldom are. The other problem is that after an hour of waiting unlike in a terminal where you could hunt for another hire place your captive in some hot airless industrial site.

Atlas Choice will broke through anyone but often its Goldcar, They will painfully upsell excess protection, and will slowly grind you down with the endless waiting.

Excess protection is much cheaper if bought in the UK, but your need to have a card to pay if and when the damage occurs and wait to be refunded, Cars in spain are prone to damage and if hireling bottom end you really need to be 100% on the ball when you inspect the car.

Thank you for your response,

looking at our flight time options, looks like we will arrive in Spain late evening anyway (between 8pm-11pm)
Do these shuttle buses run 24hrs a day, but you say that they are rare to come across?

I thought it would be, can you recommend any good websites to check for this excess cover or will a simple google search suffice?

I already plan to take plenty of pictures of the car when we first get handed the keys - hopefully their forecourts are well lit!

Moto2

Try Costa Blanca Transfers
http://www.costa-blanca-transfers.com/car-hire.htm

srisport

What are everyones thoughts on whether i should hire with a prepaid fuel policy or full-full?? (see first post on more details)

nickcc

Definitely full full for me but make sure you fill up as close to the drop off point as possible. Check the contract before you sign it making sure you're getting what you asked for as some hire companies make a lot of money charging excessively for fuel.

srisport

nickcc wrote: »

Definitely full full for me but make sure you fill up as close to the drop off point as possible. Check the contract before you sign it making sure you're getting what you asked for as some hire companies make a lot of money charging excessively for fuel.

how much are they likely to charge me for prepaid? I only ask because i am unsure whether we will actually use a full tank of fuel