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We've booked a summer trip to Sardinia and Corsica and it's my job to sort the car hire.
This is not new to me and I've been caught out in the past by not being clear on the T&C's.
Looking to take a car from Olbia airport for the duration and inevitably looking at the cheapest option first, then checking the online reviews of the booking agent or actual hire firm with hugely varied results.
Google almost always positive, Trip Adviser almost a copy and paste negative of every firm out there.
I often consider 'where there's smoke there's fire' and I'm not a big fan of how hire firms operate but it's an absolute minefield going by reviews.
Has anyone hired a car at Olbia airport? Who with?
And just in general, why do hire firms seem to be such shiesters?
I've had a dispute with Goldcar in the past that cost me some £00's! I learnt my lesson (with the help of
the CEO)
I always use the cheapest at any airport.
Take a shit load of photos and video of everything when you pick the car up. Everything.
Work methodically around top to bottom on everything. A smart phone can take 100 photos easy.
They will be all sweetness and light when you leave but haggle anything they find upon return. They have set fixing fees but can get repaired cheaper and sometimes 2-5 people to pay for repair of the same thing.
When they walk around the car upon return show the images of pre-existing damage, make sure you get the signature to say they have accepted the car back undamaged.
And just in general, why do hire firms seem to be such shiesters?
the answer for that is actually further up your own post:
and inevitably looking at the cheapest option first,
We like cheap, we tolerate shit service if we think we are saving money, therefore they give us shit service and advertise good headline prices but need to make profit somehow...
I hired in Sardinia last summer (different airport though). After trawling all the reviews I went with Avis (and I think there was some discount with them available via my employers benefits thing). It was absolutely fine, if eye watering expensive for a car large enough to 4 people + baggage for two weeks. I noticed a dent a few days in that wasn't noted on the pre-hire form, but when I checked back it was visible in the video I'd taken at collection, but that was irrelevant as they never queried it.
I think you have two choices basically;
a) Go for one of the big boys. Don't go for their extra insurance (approx. doubles the cost), but get excess insurance from a third party insurance (cost me ~£60 i think).
b) Go for a dirt cheap provider and take all their insurance. Hand it back in any condition and walk away.
(a) is going to cost more, but you're going to get a nice new car.
(b) sounds good in theory but I've never been able to bring myself to do it given the reviews the cheapies get.
In the last few years I’ve used Avis in Sicily, Norway and USA (Budget, same company/facilities as Avis but slightly older cars) and always taken third party excess insurance. Not had a problem with them. I suspect the other majors would be similar