Cheap car hire article discussion

Nordictat2 · 1 May 2009 at 4:04PM

liber8me wrote: »

Please remember when comparing car hire abroad to check out the fuel policy. We have just returned from 5 days in Spain for which we booked a Ford Fusion via carhire3000 at a very good rate. However when we picked it up we had to pay 85 euros to fill it up with diesel and were told to bring it back empty. This would have meant around 4 hours a day in the car to use it up!! Subsequently we had to return it with 3/4s of a tank left. This meant we were around 60 euros out of pocket and had a very sour taste in our mouths.

This is such a rip off and should be stopped or at least highlighted.

My husband and I have used Carhire3000 the past few times when going to US but this year we had an awful experience with them so we canceled with them and found better offer and service thru Airline Network / Net Flights and we ordered the package with gas and add. driver + ALL inc. included in the price so no worries!

Regarding Spain car hire...Sometimes ya win..sometimes ya don't. I try to check into the gas policey BEFORE I book because they sure can rip you off down there with that..phew :mad:

mr_maniac · 1 May 2009 at 6:25PM

Apologies if already mentioned somewhere else, but Sixt Holiday Cars are offering a 15% discount on car hire if you enter the promotion card "MCTRAVEL" on their booking form here:
http://www.sixt.co.uk/holidaycars/

The discounted rate appears to be linked to MasterCard, but it is unclear as to whether or not it is necessary to use a MasterCard when booking, in order to receive the discount. Certainly, when you proceed to the "enter details" screen, you're allowed to select other cards (either American Express and Visa are accepted, as well as MasterCard obviously) without the displayed price changing! I can't confirm whether or not the discount is actually applied for other cards, though

I will be using this company for a holiday in June, as (following extensive email conversations with the company) they are pretty much the only one I have come across which will allow 18 year olds, who have held a licence for less than a year, to hire a car in Germany!

Hope the code is useful

mr_m

LesD · 1 May 2009 at 6:33PM

riquelme wrote: »

bump..

any recs for car hire in alicante. weve used solmar before but heyre coming out quite expensive at the moment. any tips ? thanks in advance

There's no short cut to avoid circling round the brokers. They all have different deals with the hirers.

moneysupermarket.com
carjet.com
doyouspain.com
argusrentals.com
economycarhire.com
rentspain.com
holidayautos.co.uk
etc.

mr_maniac · 1 May 2009 at 7:23PM

riquelme wrote: »

bump..

any recs for car hire in alicante. weve used solmar before but heyre coming out quite expensive at the moment. any tips ? thanks in advance

Yes, and funnily enough it links on from the post I made a couple of posts above this one - try Sixt Holiday cars:
http://www.sixt.co.uk/holidaycars/booking.html

They are running an "Alicante Special", with car hire prices apparently starting from £7 per day (although I haven't found the price to be quite that good!) if you pick up the car from the Arrivals Hall desk at the airport. I don't know your exact dates of travel, but having tried the search engine on the above link, with the 15%-off promotion code "MCTRAVEL", you can hire a VW Polo or similar for £111.35 based on 7 nights, Saturday-Saturday in the middle of August (15-22 August were the dates I went for!)...

Have a go on the site for yourself, but don't forget the promotion code

Hope that helps

I haven't got experience of hiring from them (though I'm about to have some, as explained briefly in my last post), but Sixt are (to the best of my knowledge!) a reputable company, and that deal comes with all the stuff you'd probably expect (third party insurance, CDW, unlimited mileage etc)..

mr_m

BEXJ_2 · 2 May 2009 at 10:12PM

Hi First post
Just trying to book car hire for 12 days in Menorca would rather pay up front for everything insurance wise to avoid nasty surprises on collection economy car hire states

Please Note: Our Car Hire rates for Mahon Airport (MAH) are completely all-inclusive, with no insurance excess so there's nothing to pay in the event of theft or collision damage! The insurance cover is fully comprehensive and all taxes and surcharges are included. An extra driver is FREE of charge! The vehicles are all latest models and there is a FREE 24HR English language backup service. Additional charges may apply.

Has anyone used them?? is it really all inclusive??

Advice would be great

mobby-2554 · 2 May 2009 at 11:56PM

Hi BEXJ'

See if you can find the answer in this;

http://www.economycarhire.com/frequently_asked_questions.php

Also check the fuel policy?

How much will I have to pay for fuel?

This is dependent on the car rental supplier's fuel policy which is stated at the time of booking. It is also dependent upon the type and size of vehicle you have requested. Please be aware that fuel rates fluctuate on a regular basis.

thedriver · 3 May 2009 at 6:17PM

Hi...

Just a quick one, read all the info and advice on here reference hiring a holiday car.

I have stubbled on a quote for a vehicle which is cheap, very cheap when compared to other hire companies. Eg other companies quoting £550+, when carhire3000 is giving a price of £258

I have read and taken on board the having to buy a full tank of fuel issue, but has the vehicle is to be hired for 14 days, this is of no concern, unless they charge a "real" extorniate rate.....my issue is, it seems so cheap there must be a mistake, I am concerned that the vehicle quoted a small MPV, would not be avail and they would give me an alternative one of the same class....but what if they have put the small MPV in the wrong vehicle class. the class on the quote I have got is K, but this means nothing to me. I do need a small mpv type vehicle.

As anyone any experience of carhire3000 and am I being over cautious...should I just grab the opportunity now.

thedriver · 4 May 2009 at 10:35AM

sorry to bump but quote last only 48 hrs

pompeyrich · 4 May 2009 at 2:21PM

thedriver wrote: »

sorry to bump but quote last only 48 hrs

Carhire3000 are a broker who use several different companies to source a car from. Best bet is to give them a ring on 0800 358 7707. I have never had a problem and usually end up with a car very similar to what I expected. Probably the only time I was a bit let down was when I booked a Zafira or similar and ended up with a Scenic, which I felt was quite a bit smaller but was still adequate.

Which location are you looking to hire from?

mr_maniac · 4 May 2009 at 3:28PM

Hi again -

thedriver - again, I haven't actually gone through and booked with Carhire3000, but I was fairly close to doing so. I emailed them to check if I would be permitted to hire a car from them, as their car hire website indicated that you only needed to have held a licence for "1 day or greater", and be 18 years old or older, to hire some of their cars. Since the lead driver in my group will have held his licence for less than a year when we travel, we hoped that this would be our solution! However, when I emailed them to confirm whether or not we'd be permitted to do so, they said that we weren't (in fact, they believed you had to have held a licence for a YEAR or more, not a day!), and actually had to change the details on their website in response to my email!

To be honest, I'm glad that I am not hiring with them - any website which gets such an important detail wrong, and has to have it pointed out by the customer, is hardly covering itself in glory! Their prices are pretty good though (although, and sorry to bang on about it, you should at least have a look at the Sixt Holiday Cars information I posted towards the bottom of page 2 in this thread, as with a 15% saving, your car might just work out at a similar price to those quoted on Carhire3000, but with a well-established car hire company!) As Pompeyrich correctly says, Carhire3000 are brokers, so likely as not you'll be dealing with a local (or even a bigger) car hire company when you book!

Hope that helps

mr_m

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