Holiday Car Hire

reiyushin

reiyushin

reiyushin

Soldato
Joined
20 Nov 2009
Posts
5,342
Location
Bangor NI
Hi there

I'm going on holiday next month and am looking for car hire places. The last time I went was with friends and when we arrived they had some BS thing where we had to pay a fee at the airport for insurance excess or something.....

Very frustrating, expensive and put everyone a bit down on the first day.... this time I want to arrive at the airport having all fees etc paid so I know how much money I have to enjoy myself with.


Anyone got any good recommendations?

If it helps I'm flying to malaga.
 
reiyushin said:
Interesting but how does it work do I just show the rental people at the airport my copy of the agreement?
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Well yes, but you shouldn't have to pay for excess insurance if you don't want it it's just a good idea. I think they may charge you £1000 if you damage the car otherwise. In the past I've just said I don't want it, safe in the knowledge I've separate excess insurance. :D
 
Just rent with somebody decent like Hertz not the local 'rip off the stupid tourist' type outfits.

Sure its more expensive but you get what you pay for.
 
Consider renting while you're out there too, last time i went abroad we payed something like £600 for a week and got a completely different car to what was arranged, it also ran like crap.

We saw countless amounts of hire companies that where all a lot cheaper.
 
At Malaga airport, if there is a few of you, send someone downstairs down the ramp whilst the others wait for the luggage.

The Spanish rental desks are stupidly slow, so avoid the rest of the plane queue.

Even Hertz get you on extra insurances, to fully protect the car and remove the largish excesses.

Best plan is to do what MrBlobby suggests and get a UK policy to pay any excess later if you ever needed to. Works out much cheaper.

Check the car has an aerial before leaving, it seems common for them to go missing in Spain.
 
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Whatever you do, avoid Gold Star rental .... check out the Money Saving Expert forum for the trouble people have. It also looks like HolidayAutos are using them so avoid them.

I'm flying into Barcelona in two weeks time and car hire prices have gone stupid. I usually use SIXT when in Spain but they wanted £160 for a Focus without and zero excess / tyres and glass insurance. Ended up using Centauro who are charging me €160 all inclusive for the same size car. Just a shame you have to get a shuttle bus from the airport to pick up the car.
 
www.carhire3000.com

I used these for Italy and several friends recommended them. Fiat500 was £200 for 10 days in Italy with the full damage waiver. (Only excess was on wheels or glass which needed a €200 credit card deposit).

Hertz was a lot more £290 (even with Gold member status) and they had a ridiculous excess which you have to then buy waivers locally.
 
I used carhire3000 for my Mustang in California - Dollar. They tried adding extra insurance at the desk but I refused. I did take the extra breakdown cover though for £64 as we did 2500miles although wish I hadn't as the car only had 5k on the clock but it's good for piece of mind (come out a swap the car at the side of the road etc).

They were the cheapest and didn't sting me for one-way fees like Hertz etc wanted.
 
TripleT said:
I used carhire3000 for my Mustang in California - Dollar. They tried adding extra insurance at the desk but I refused. I did take the extra breakdown cover though for £64 as we did 2500miles although wish I hadn't as the car only had 5k on the clock but it's good for piece of mind (come out a swap the car at the side of the road etc).
Click to expand...

The breakdown cover is another waste of money they try and convince you that you need - actual breakdown is covered anyway, they try and sell you extra cover for if you get a flat tyre or something.
 
Yes it know, but the Mrs is an irrational beast and worried by nature. This helped ease her mind so was a bonus :p
 
My experience of renting through Malaga is the cars are rubbish compared to anything I've had in France. One year we got a Focus which didn't have a single straight body panel (yes, even the roof was dented!). Not to mention that the clutch slipped like a granny on black ice. Still, the state of it meant they didn't notice the argument I had with a concrete post in an underground carpark... :D

Wise words from POB - the hire desks are sooooooooooo slow.
 
I go to Malaga a few time a year and have hired dozens of cars. Malagacar are usually the best bet, they are occasionally booked up but usually during peak season. They don't have a desk at the airport, they meet you in arrivals and take you by minibus to their office - it is very near the airport building. It's actually quicker than queuing and it's more convenient when returning as they drop you right outside departures - if there's room one of their staff jumps in the hire car and takes you. The rental returns car park is quite far from departures.

The other company I use is Carjet. They are a broker who will issue a rental voucher for one of the companies at the airport.

Most companies offer zero excess out of Malaga and I would use anything else because the Spanish don't give a toss about cars and I've had a couple bashed whilst parked. They don't include tyres, roof and undercarriage and will offer extra insurance for this but I always take a chance. Insurance4carhire do cover these items cheaper than the hire company.

Most offer full to empty fuel - you pay for a full tank and return it empty. If you're not going far you'll lose out on this. Malagacar are better because they do half tanks and return empty.
 
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