Car Hire Noob

NiniS

Hi everyone!

We have just booked a holiday in Spain for next month (weren't planning to but kind of decided we wanted some sun and rest) and are now looking for a car to hire. I have read lots of horror stories about insurance and car hire company scams, so I would like a bit of advice on what to do. I already know to avoid certain companies and I have read up on things like excess and CDW or whatever, but it still hurts my brain. :P

Is it fine to go through websites like holidayautos? Are they ok to use or should they be avoided? Their prices seem to be a lot cheaper than going directly through the car hire company, so I'm wondering what the catch is.

I was looking at a specific car through holidayautos, a Fiat 500 (or similar) with Centauro. There are two deals though, the cheapest one is pre-purchase of your fuel (with partial refund) at £41.19 for 9 days, the other is full to full at £73.57. As we will only be there for a bit over a week and won't need the car an awful lot (1.5 hour drive from airport and back, then just to go to the local shop and to the beach/restaurants nearby), we probably won't use a full tank. I am not sure which of these deals is better? Would they charge an awful lot for the pre-purchase one?

Also, it says certain things are included for free, but for some reason there are less items included in the more expensive option.
Cheap car has: Cancellation, Amendments, Third Party Liability, Theft Protection, Collision Damage Waiver
Other car has: Cancellation, Amendments, Collision Damage Waiver

Why the difference and does it matter?
Would it also be a good idea to add the AXA cover for Damage Refund Insurance or is that pointless? What kind of cover do I need and where can I get it?

Sorry for the questions, I know these kind of threads pop up loads! I just don't want to make a mistake when hiring a car and pay too much for it, or get scammed with the insurance cover (honestly half of the terms don't make sense to me, not sure if it is because my English isn't good enough or I just don't understand legal jargon in general haha).

Any help is very much appreciated!

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bobobalde

Hello,

Yes always use a comparison site (Skyscanner is good, doyouspain, renatalcars - there are quite a few).

Full to Full is the best option for fuel, that way you will get refunded exactly what you pay them.

Get excess insurance from a 3rd party, the hire company will still try to scare you into getting their own insurance when you are at the desk, so be prepared to tell them no thanks. If you don't get the hire companies insurance then they hold about 1000 euros (varies company to company) on your credit card (has to be a credit card, not debit card) - this will get 'released' when you return the car as long as there is no damage - if there is damage they will charge you for it (up to the max value of whatever excess they held on your card) - but you can then claim this back via your 3rd party excess policy.

To be fair there is a great guide up on the site, what i have written is just the bare bones of it.

Also just to say RE car hire companies - if you google search the company you will always see horror reviews (long queues, that they made up damage at the end of the rental etc etc) - i would say yes be wary, but also take it with a pinch of salt. There will always be long queues at peak times during the summer, they have about 3 people on the desk, its simple maths, the cars are cheaper, the queues are longer. With regards to making up damage, simplest thing to do is take pictures when you pick the car up (under the car and roof as well) - dont be shy, let them see you do it, if there is any damage that they havent got written on the sheet, then make sure they write it before you leave. If its in a poorly lit area, use a torch, it might seem over zealous but could save you hassle. If you look at a company like Goldcar for instance, they have some horror reviews, but a friend of mine used them last year, got an upgraded model and scratched an alloy but they never charged him - he didnt go online to write a good review for them though, thats worth remembering, majority of the time you will only write a review if you have something to complain about.

NiftyDigits

For which dates and from where?

NiniS

bobobalde wrote: »

Hello,

Yes always use a comparison site (Skyscanner is good, doyouspain, renatalcars - there are quite a few).

Full to Full is the best option for fuel, that way you will get refunded exactly what you pay them.

Get excess insurance from a 3rd party, the hire company will still try to scare you into getting their own insurance when you are at the desk, so be prepared to tell them no thanks. If you don't get the hire companies insurance then they hold about 1000 euros (varies company to company) on your credit card (has to be a credit card, not debit card) - this will get 'released' when you return the car as long as there is no damage - if there is damage they will charge you for it (up to the max value of whatever excess they held on your card) - but you can then claim this back via your 3rd party excess policy.

To be fair there is a great guide up on the site, what i have written is just the bare bones of it.

Also just to say RE car hire companies - if you google search the company you will always see horror reviews (long queues, that they made up damage at the end of the rental etc etc) - i would say yes be wary, but also take it with a pinch of salt. There will always be long queues at peak times during the summer, they have about 3 people on the desk, its simple maths, the cars are cheaper, the queues are longer. With regards to making up damage, simplest thing to do is take pictures when you pick the car up (under the car and roof as well) - dont be shy, let them see you do it, if there is any damage that they havent got written on the sheet, then make sure they write it before you leave. If its in a poorly lit area, use a torch, it might seem over zealous but could save you hassle. If you look at a company like Goldcar for instance, they have some horror reviews, but a friend of mine used them last year, got an upgraded model and scratched an alloy but they never charged him - he didnt go online to write a good review for them though, thats worth remembering, majority of the time you will only write a review if you have something to complain about.

Yeah I figured people were more likely to share the bad experiences. Still, I think I will stay clear from the cheapest options and stick with some bigger names if possible. I think we have used Centauro in the past and they seemed fine, but I wasn't the one doing the car hire back then.

We have also got ourselves a credit card so having them hold a certain amount on there is fine.

NiftyDigits wrote: »

For which dates and from where?

Alicante airport, arrive 16 August around 12:40 (so car hire starting at 13:00 I guess), leave 25 August at 9:30 (having to be there about 2 hours before hand, guess we'd drop off the car at about 7-7:30).

And there's only two of us with one big suitcase (and then some smaller bags that can go on the back seats), so we don't need a big car.

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bobobalde

I used Centauro last year, they were great, queue was long but it was long for everyone bar Hertz.

I'm with Record Go this year, I've read the reviews.... not good!!

Moto2

Alicante can be a bit of a crap-shoot as far as hassle free car hire goes.

I tend to stick with Sixt

NiftyDigits

The problem with these companies, is that their definition of Full/Full differs from what we recognise.
For this reason I tend to stick to Hertz, AVIS etc.

So, with Centauro, Full/Full means that they take a Fuel Deposit and then refund it according to the amount of fuel left in the tank.
The difference from that and their Full/Empty policy is that they don't take a 25€ administrative fee for doing so.
In any event, you will also have to leave a deposit of 1050€.
You should take out Excess Car Hire insurance to guard against any possible incident.
Example: https://www.bettersafe.com/Products/Car-Hire-Excess-Insurance-Protection

NiniS

NiftyDigits wrote: »

The problem with these companies, is that their definition of Full/Full differs from what we recognise.
For this reason I tend to stick to Hertz, AVIS etc.

So, with Centauro, Full/Full means that they take a Fuel Deposit and then refund it according to the amount of fuel left in the tank.
The difference from that and their Full/Empty policy is that they don't take a 25€ administrative fee for doing so.
In any event, you will also have to leave a deposit of 1050€.
You should take out Excess Car Hire insurance to guard against any possible incident.

So will I get charged for the fuel on top of the car hire price when getting the car? It's not always clear from descriptions what is already included in the price...

I guess I have to try and figure out if it would be best to pay more for one of the bigger car hire firms and have everything included, or if it would still be cheaper to just go with one of the cheaper firms and pay the extras on top...

I just looked at some prices of the bigger firms though, the cheapest I have seen so far is about £195 for 9 days with Sixt... that's a lot of money.

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NiftyDigits

NiniS wrote: »

So will I get charged for the fuel on top of the car hire price when getting the car? It's not always clear from descriptions what is already included in the price...

I guess I have to try and figure out if it would be best to pay more for one of the bigger car hire firms and have everything included, or if it would still be cheaper to just go with one of the cheaper firms and pay the extras on top...

I just looked at some prices of the bigger firms though, the cheapest I have seen so far is about £195 for 9 days with Sixt... that's a lot of money.

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Yes, you pay in advance and they are supposed to give you a full refund when you show that you have filled the tank on returning the car. Show them the receipt for the petrol and also take a photograph of it. A bit of a palaver. Don't give them an opportunity to cheat you.

srisport

NiniS wrote: »

Hi everyone!

We have just booked a holiday in Spain for next month (weren't planning to but kind of decided we wanted some sun and rest) and are now looking for a car to hire. I have read lots of horror stories about insurance and car hire company scams, so I would like a bit of advice on what to do. I already know to avoid certain companies and I have read up on things like excess and CDW or whatever, but it still hurts my brain. :P

Is it fine to go through websites like holidayautos? Are they ok to use or should they be avoided? Their prices seem to be a lot cheaper than going directly through the car hire company, so I'm wondering what the catch is.........


Alicante airport, arrive 16 August around 12:40 (so car hire starting at 13:00 I guess), leave 25 August at 9:30 (having to be there about 2 hours before hand, guess we'd drop off the car at about 7-7:30)........

I have a holiday booked at the beginning of August and I'm also flying into Alicante Airport.


I used Rentalcars and paid £145 for 7 days for a Vauxhall Corsa on a full/full fuel policy. from memory Rentalcars also offered Cancellation, Amendments, Third Party Liability, Theft Protection, Collision Damage Waiver F.O.C


I've gone with Questor for my Insurance excess, if you check moneysaving expert website there is a 20% discount code.


and if your subscribed to any cash back websites then both the above companies have cash back offers available too


I chose to start our hire car rental 2 hours after our plane is due to land just incase we have any short delays during takeoff, flight or landing and with it being the busy season, I expect to have long queues through security and at the hire car desk. I also provided my flight details so if there are any major delays then hopefully they will be told and I wont face any late charges when I get there...


This is my first hire car experience so hopefully all will go smoothly.


HTH

safesound

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Yes, you pay in advance and they are supposed to give you a full refund when you show that you have filled the tank on returning the car. Show them the receipt for the petrol and also take a photograph of it. A bit of a palaver. Don't give them an opportunity to cheat you.

Not always with smaller companies. I hired a car with gelasakis on crete last month (horrendous reviews online but it was perfectly fine). Was hired as full to full. Only paid the booking price. They 'held' €600 on my credit card for damages (later released). Filled up on way back to airport, they checked gauge but no one asked to see a receipt. No other charges.
Take a picture of fuel gauge on pickup and get an amendment to paperwork if it isn't 100%. Keep the paperwork safe, it's the only proof you have what was agreed.

Have fun driving on the other side for the first time. It took my hubby about 30 mins of swearing, shouting, and generally pooping himself because as he put it 'they are doing everything you are taught not to!'. Hehehe. He was fine after he got his head around everything being backwards.