Car rental in Sardinia - low cost operators a bad idea?

heatherw_01

itm2 said:

I just tried a search on Zest. The quotes mainly seem to be for companies that I've never heard of, so difficult to make a judgement. Has anyone had any experience of Centauro or RecordGo, for example?

Never heard of either and doing a search, neither seem great with RecordGo getting the worst reviews out of the two.
Which give Centauro a better rating.

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/car-hire/article/car-hire-company-reviews/record-go-amX4j9p2So3V
https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/car-hire/article/car-hire-company-reviews/centauro-aPZCf2E0toRM

bagand96

Centauro and RecordGo are both Spanish companies who have fairly big operations at most of the tourist destinations. I've used Centauro without issue. 

Zest "Excess Protection Included" means that their price includes their own excess protection insurance bundled, it isn't a Zero Excess with the hire company, you'll still need to leave a deposit. 

zagfles

Be wary of some of these supposed zero excess policies. Some of them exclude half the car, eg tyres, roof underside, glass, and some (particularly in Spain/Portugal) have exclusions for negligence! Most accidents are a result of someone's negligence!

zagfles

bagand96 said:

zagfles said:

Don't use comparison sites to search for car hire. Or at least not ones based on price. Because car hire companies strive to get to the top of the list (ie be the cheapest) by cutting their headline price to something often unrealistic and probably unprofitable, then to actually turn a profit they add unexpected extras, like fuel policies, like trying to sell CDW excess policies at the desk when you pick up and practically force customers to buy with dubious tactics, or even stuff like charging a fortune for a tiny scratch that was probably already there. 

I'm not sure this is the best advice.  Comparison sites will give you a plethora of options in seconds, it's a great place to start your search.  You can then see the options and go directly to the hire company's own sites to see if dealing with them direct is comparable.  By all means exercise caution - read the terms of the hire, cancellation policy, fuel policy, insurance etc.  But the same advice applies to going direct anyway.

Taking reasonable precautions with all stages of hiring a car is the best advice, regardless of booking channel.  

The terms of hire won't say anything about getting the hard sell on excess waivers or charging for small scratch already there. Car hire is one area I'd be wary of going for the cheapest, if you do use comparison sites don't let price be the only or even main factor you consider. If it's very cheap I'd avoid. Not something I usually say.

Having said all that, I've never had an issue with car hire anywhere, and I've hired maybe around 50 times. Reviews can be very offputting as generally those with problems are far more likely to review. But they're useful to see if there's a common theme. 

Jumblebumble

daveyjp said:

Get a quote from Zest car hire to compare prices against,

I did and was not at all  impressed
Seattle Airport   SUV 19th May 2026 2 weeks 
Zest
Dont appear to use Thrifty at SEA which all other brokers seem to 
Are £40 more than Skyscanner comparing like for like with extra protection
and worse they are so sloppy that they put this in driving restrictions

Driving Restrictions

Vehicles can only be driven in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, British Columbia.

Which is of course  complete and utter nonsense with Seattle being in Washington state

jimi_man

zagfles said:

Don't use comparison sites to search for car hire. Or at least not ones based on price. Because car hire companies strive to get to the top of the list (ie be the cheapest) by cutting their headline price to something often unrealistic and probably unprofitable, then to actually turn a profit they add unexpected extras, like fuel policies, like trying to sell CDW excess policies at the desk when you pick up and practically force customers to buy with dubious tactics, or even stuff like charging a fortune for a tiny scratch that was probably already there. 

This may well be true with the cheaper companies but is certainly not true with places like Avis. They have never offered me any of those things, it’s a very simple and quick process wherever you happen to be in the world. 

OP - we used Avis in Sardinia and they were faultless and painless. 

Centauro i’ve used many times at Barcelona airport and they’ve always been good. 

rollingwheels

I work with Ridealux, a chauffeur service, and we often hear frustrations about budget car rentals like B-Rent or Surprice hidden fees, upselling, and strict damage checks are common.

If you prefer self-drive, go with trusted brands like Sixt or Avis for peace of mind.