Car Hire in Portugal: Who to Trust?

dilby

Hi all -

I'm currently getting quotes from car hire companies, none of which seem to be in the UK, so I'm reading about them online. The problem is, all of them have terrible reviews, which I guess is often the case with online reviews in general. So I'm wondering if anyone can give me some tips on who to steer clear from and who are the more 'legit' rental companies in the algarve area of Portugal (picking up and dropping off at Faro airport and will just take it around the Algarve and probably into Spain for a day trip). The companies that are coming up are typically:

Rhodium, Goldcar, Interrent, TurisPrime, Drive On Holidays, FireFly, Dollar, Autoclick, RentaStar and AirAuto.

Thanks so much!

richardw

Avoid all of those.

Consider

- Avis / Budget
- Enterprise
- Hertz/ Thrifty
- Sixt

Use carrentals.co.uk and travel supermarket for comparisons.
Select full to full fuel option.

dilby

Thanks a lot. I'd like to take it into spain but can't find a way to let them know through carrentals; is it generally fine to do this? I don't want to then tell them when hiring it and they then slam a huge surplus on the bill.

richardw

dilby wrote: »

....I'd like to take it into spain but can't find a way to let them know through carrentals; is it generally fine to do this?.....

Car hire comparison sites can't cope with all the variances in terms and conditions from different car hire companies.
When you've done a comparison go direct to the preferred car hire company's website and check the small print and extra insurance if required before booking direct with the car hire company.

knightstyle

Be VERY careful when booking and get confirmation in writing that you can take a hire car from Portugal into Spain. Most companies do not allow this. You can take one from Spain into Portugal but not how you want.

zagfles

Consider getting a separate excess policy eg from the likes of insurance4carhire. Even the big reputable car hire companies pull the "large excess" rip-off - where they pretend everything is included but when you get to the desk they tell you there's a massive excess - something like EUR500-1000, and you either have to let them block it on your card, or they offer you their rip-off excess waiver (often called Super-CDW) for something like £200.

benjus

I used Sixt at Faro last year and found them very good.

In particular - generally helpful and efficient, no hard sell on the insurance (I had an excess policy) or other extras, full/full fuel policy, upgraded me to a better car, and didn't charge anything for a little bump I put on the front bumper as it was less than 5cm.

happyandcontented

We use Enterprise wherever we travel if possible. Great service, no hassle if you have your own excess policy and good rates.

jdsantos

Hi Dilby,

Which car hire company did you end up using? How would you rate them?
I am planning a road trip in Portugal next year in June 2019, and I am doing my research now on car hire companies. This is assuming that I can still drive in Portugal as normal after Brexit!