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We're, in theory at least, hiring a car for a week late August in Ibiza.
Prices seen to vary massively so thought I'd see if there's any firms that you'd avoid or aim at?
If it makes any difference, we don't arrive until 8pm so it needs to be someone who'll definitely be there at that time of the evening.
Avoid Goldcar, trumped up charges when you're back home, invented damage charge. As with any, take copious photos of the condition of the car when you return it. Make sure someone accompanies you with the inspection on collection and delivery and signs something you actually retain to verify there's no damage however small. Make sure you clarify the fuel arrangements. Normal stuff, just assume they're a bunch of shysters and you won't be far wrong.
Go with a known big company and book direct.
Take lots of photos inside and out at the start and end.
Don't leave until they have inspected the car and sign that they are happy.
Avoid Goldcar, Global Rent a Car or Rentalcars.com - the latter two tried to sting us for fake damage to a car not once but twice. Goldcar tried a similar trick on a colleague, claiming the fuel was half empty and the car was filthy. Thankfully like me she had pictures and a credit card company prepared to fight.
As expected, worth paying a little extra to book with a Budget, Europcar, Hertz, etc. then I think.
I hire cars a lot in the UK so have the excess cover and know the drill of taking picks of everything.
Generally the cheapest are the ones to be avoided as they make their money through hidden charges (for example selling you insurance when you get there) or charging for damage (when you don't have their insurance...) Bit of a gamble whether you get stung or not. Goldcar is always the first mentioned to avoid..!
If you do some research on the location, quite often there'll be some reputable and recommended local companies where you'll get some good deals.
Other than that, the big companies as mentioned, Europcar, Hertz, etc
My recommendation for Med is get a local supplier recommendation from Tripadvisor. Hundreds of recommendations usually for the same 5-6 suppliers who whilst you won't get a new car, you will get one where they accept 'wear and tear' and better still will meet you in the airport arrivals, do the paperwork there and walk you to the short stay car park where you can inspect the car. They make drop off equally simple, no queues, no buses and no upsell. I don't have one specific for Ibiza but taken this approach for Menorca, Mallorca, Crete, Portugal and it's always been great.
Autoreisen are towards the cheaper end but have a good reputation for not taking the piss. I've used them a couple of times and they have been good.
I only used Goldcar once, they always manage to sneak an additional charge in somewhere, in my case it was some arcane bollocks about fuel.
Hertz, Avis and Budget are generally reliable too but you pay a bit more.
Goldcar are horrendous, avoid at all costs. Hertz, Centauro and Europcar have always been fine for me in Spain.
Good shout about using a recommended local supplier. We used one for a trip to Almeria last year (I think they were called Mocar) and they were cheaper than the big names. The guy even met me outside the airport at 10pm and the car was all primed and ready to go.
A little tip though. Get private excess insurance from a provider back home and don't pay for the additional cover from the rental company themselves. It works out much cheaper and the private insurance covers much more (key loss, damage to tyres and windows etc). If there's any damage you pay the rental company the excess upfront and then claim back from your insurance.
Centauro in Spain for me. Usually offsite though but shorter queues.
Have used RecordGo twice while on training camp in Calpe over winter
Both times excellent (genuinely the word excellent).
First round was via easyjet cars (easycar?). Used Easyjet insurance. Got car for almost nothing from RecordGo. They were fine with it and didn't stiff me about at the end, in fact the guy said please leave us a nice review if you enjoyed it.
Second time round I just went through them themselves, and got one of their insured options. Even better. Walked past massive queues at the airport to RecordGo stand, you plug your details into their screen (or chat to people @ counter) and within about 2 minutes you're walking to the carpark.
This was alicante. Don't know about other airports. Can recommend RecordGo. Would HIGHLY recommend just paying the bit extra and getting the insured option (rather than taking 3rd party insurance). It just is less of a pain in the arse - not that RG gave me a problem, but I imagine they would have if there was damage.
Even with the big companies, make them inspect the car with you before you leave.
I used to travel to Barcelona every month or so for work and even Europcar etc tried it on, never had any issues anywhere else around Europe.
One of the big named companies once tried to sting my manager at the time for a whole car, claimed he hadn't returned it. They eventually 'found it'.
I used Thrifty from Ibiza airport last year and they were cheap and efficient with no issues.
I think we used interrent in ibiza 2 years ago, when you get to the airport its just the europcar guys checking you in. We were there in october half term, it was crazy cheap - I think £13 FOR THE WEEK. took it back, they didn't really check for damage but I had cover elsewhere anyway
As above avoid Goldcar they will always find a way to extra out of you.
Last time I used TopCar without any problems, even upgraded to a bigger vehicle at no extra cost when he saw I had a bike box, also told me to photo anything on the car not right beforehand incase of any issues.
As everyone above. Goldcar are a bunch of ****ing schiesters. Just wish I’d read this 18 months ago. Told me they were pre-charging my card when I collected only to find they’d charged their own full cover for a week. No way to contest. Bastards. Just wish I’d driven it in to a wall before returning it.
I think we used interrent in ibiza 2 years ago, when you get to the airport its just the europcar guys checking you in. We were there in october half term, it was crazy cheap – I think £13 FOR THE WEEK. took it back, they didn’t really check for damage but I had cover elsewhere anyway
We used Interrent in Bordeaux last summer. I was expecting them to be the bargain basement Europcar offering, but it seems the name was bought by Goldcar. I was a little dismayed, but despite my concerns after reading all the horror stories, it was actually OK. I'd still go with Centauro though.
Edit - it seem that Goldcar is also a Europcar brand.
Was it Goldcar somewhere in the Balearics who'd rag the car through the nearest speed camera after you returned it, to try and claim the handling charge for the fine. Think someone on here got stiffed by it. Make sure they put the time on the return form!
Hertz / Budget re also in on the scams. Signed my car off as perfect and claimed 300 euros of damage. There wasn’t any.
Credit card refunded me - but rebelled me after photos weer sent. The photos took 4 months to come through - and could have been anything.
Credit card company eventually refunded me as they agreed they had been unprofessional. But Hertz got away with it.
Huh. I've used goldcar a couple of times without incident. Not the classiest setup so we did decide to use someone else last time out. Maybe menorca being quite small and quiet they are less dodgy than on the mainland.
My apporach to rental cars is as above - assume they are goign to to try it on. My approach is:
*take lots of pictures. Inside (don't forget carpets and rooflinings, and boot. Also get a shot of mileage and fuel level, plus any warning lights etc). Outside (tyres and wheels a must). Use a torch or similar to make sure small scratches are highlighted. If neecessary get someone to point a finger to a mark that doesn't show well on camera.
*take a video of the whole car inside and out as well as photos. This can help show up some damage that isn't apparent on photos.
*Check all the lights work
*check spare wheel, locking nuts, jack etc are as indicated in the paperwork. Photos of this as well.
*take a photo of all the paperwork as well, so you have it all in the same place if something happens.
*repeat the whole process when returning the car.
Most importantly let the staff see you do all this - I think they are less likely to try it on if they see you taking loads of pictures etc.
Big firm, collision damage waiver, drive it like you stole it, return and walk away. Don't be messing with the small print, it will spoil your holiday.
Company will be happy as they've got the excess payment. You'll be happy you didn't get Goldcar'd.
Goldcar are horrendous, but I actually had a good experience with them. I rented a car for a week in Mallorca for £23. Obviously a ridiculous price; they must make money from screwing people over. I'd read all the stuff about how you must get someone to sign off the car when you return it otherwise they invent damage. Easier said than done when there are no staff anywhere to be seen at the drop off zone, and you have a flight to catch. I took photos and videos of the car. Sure enough, a week later they claimed that there had been some damage. I sent the videos through, clearly showing no damage, and they dropped it.
Because it was a bit of a PITA, the next time we went with Sixt. These shysters were even worse. They claimed I hadn't returned it with a full tank (I had) so attempted to charge for a full tank of fuel (At their inflated prices) + some admin fee, around 100 euros in total. Even though I'd only done about 50 miles in the car (as demonstrated by the odometer), and had receipts from the nearby petrol station and photos /videos of the car as above. I had to claim against my credit card for that one, which Sixt didn't contest so eventually I got the money back.
TLDR: SIXT are awful.
Was it Goldcar somewhere in the Balearics who’d rag the car through the nearest speed camera after you returned it, to try and claim the handling charge for the fine. Think someone on here got stiffed by it. Make sure they put the time on the return form!
Good memory - that was me! It wasn't Goldcar, but was some local cheap office. 3x speeding fines, 3x handling fees, all at about 2am after I'd given it back.
He was a bit of an opportunist - there was no return form because the office was blocked (road closed) so he came out to meet me, just a handshake and a 'here are the keys' job. Lesson learned...
The other lesson I took from that is to stick with the big companies where possible. Have used Europcar and Avis a couple of times a year with no trouble, am happy to pay a bit extra for that!
Used Goldcar once, charged me 500 euro for a scratched bumper, it wasn't scratched. Stupidly I hadn't taken photos but I had spent £9 on CDW insurance so I got that back.
Used Centauro a few times and they were very good. Usually just go through somewhere like Zest as their CDW rates are pretty reasonable compared to what the hire companies charge at the airport.
I agree with TiRed.
Pay for no liability, thus no credit card bond.
Did this with Hertz this year. Picked car up, the condition report was already crossed out as not required.
Very clean low mileage Polo. Returned car, no additional checks.
Pay the money and be totally stress free.
Europcar in Perpignan tried a measly EUR25 from me for unspecified items (not sure what they'd have on the charge sheet for such a sum other than looking surly) but I section 75'd em when they failed to provide any evidence for the assertion.
I've rented off people before who asked why I was taking photos or looking for dinks because the terms of the rental included sticking it on its roof. Mind you I rented a car once where the handbrake didn't work.
Edgy.
I've been scammed by Europecar in Italy (well, Sicily, on a hol that challenged no unfortunate stereotypes) and had various negative experiences with a couple of the biggies over the years too tedious to go into and blanked from memory, and had positive experiences with smaller local firms in portugal and spain.
Anyway shout out for Autoreisen who I've used about four times in the Canaries, and seem to be great in terms of no insurance scams, and perfect for me is that the cars all appear to come pre-scratched (I take all the usual photos anyway).
just to add, they can scam you without damage too. I returned a rental car in Hawaii with a bit of sand in the footwells. The dropoff crew signed it off, said it was ok. I later received an £85 cleaning fee which my cc company failed to get back as it was an 'agreed service'. I wouldn't have minded if
a) they'd pointed it out at drop off (I'd have nipped round the corner and hoovered it out at a gas station)
b) the fee was proportionate to the cleaning - it was literally 2 mins with a hoover, tops, which they have to do when you drop the car off anyway. It wasn't like I'd vom'd in it or dropped a tin of paint (or got bike grease on the roof lining.. this time..)
damage waiver doesn't cover cleaning. This was Avis so hardly small fry