Car hire in Spain

dodzy · 16-04-2022 08:27AM #1

Has anyone secured even a half decent deal on car hire for a period over June/July? Prices I’m looking at on the regular sites are absolute madness.

Dublin72 · 17-04-2022 08:09PM

No, prices crazy for this summer due to a lack of supply. I am paying three times what I paid in 2019 for a smaller car for 1st two weeks of July. Its on free cancellation so not too sure if I will go ahead with booking.

Dr. Nick · 18-04-2022 02:08PM

If you're going to Malaga try www.malagacar.com. Not as cheap as they used to be (they used to rent cars which were a a few years old) but still cheaper than main guys I think.

Used them before and they were great, no hidden stuff. About to book with them again for June

BailMeOut · 19-04-2022 09:23AM

Got a really good deal from All in Car Hire this week at Malaga airport. 7 days, full insurance and two drivers for €300 (VW polo). Usually get my own 3rd party excess but they add for about the same cost.

They also provide free car seats for kids if needed.

facehugger99 · 19-04-2022 09:28AM

Not really but if you are flying into an airport it can be worth checking rental prices at the local train station or town as opposed to the airport terminal.

For my trip in August I was able to book the same car for approx. €350 cheaper from the train station compared to in the terminal - even allowing for getting a taxi/bus between the two, both ways, it's a saving of €300.

Still crazy expensive though!

Allinall · 19-04-2022 09:31AM

Prices will definitely get cheaper closer to the date of hire.

Book a fully refundable rate, and you can just cancel and re-book about 5 days before travel.

I have found www.doyouspain.com the best site to use. If you're prepared to send a bit extra time collecting the car, then choose "off airport" which will be cheaper.

facehugger99 · 19-04-2022 12:57PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118945318#Comment_118945318

There is no guarantee that prices will get cheaper closer to the date - what are you basing this on?

Also DoYouSpain are well-dodgy - they have twice cancelled bookings on me in the last couple of days before I've flown over, offering me an "alternative" booking that was substantially higher than the original one.

After the second time I said I would never use them again.

whippet · 19-04-2022 01:03PM

its a nightmare at the moment - just back from Frankfurt and the cheapest I could get was a Corolla for three days costing €365 with Sixt booking 4 weeks in advance. Even at that there was a queue for about 90mins to pick up the car. It was the same with all the other rental desks.

ted1 · 19-04-2022 01:23PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118946073#Comment_118946073

I’ve never had any issues with them

Allinall · 19-04-2022 01:25PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118946073#Comment_118946073

My comments are based on hiring out of Malaga airport twice a year for the last 10 years.

Doyouspain are just a facilitating website. Your booking is directly with the car hire company, so your cancellation issue would have been with them.

silverharp · 19-04-2022 01:27PM

i just looked for France a Corolla is going to be around 1500 euro for 2 weeks. yikers

facehugger99 · 19-04-2022 03:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118946183#Comment_118946183

Your experience is irrelevant so - car rental prices are being driven upward by the global shortage of semi-conductors affecting new car supply, the reduction in rental stock over the last 2 years due to Covid and the pent up demand for foreign holidays this year.

There is no reason to believe they will be cheaper closer to the summer - quite the opposite in fact.

DoYouSpain are more like a broker than a 'facilitating website' - they take a commission from the rental company and will have no qualms about canceling your booking if they cannot fulfill it and you have no come back if they do cancel on you last minute. Your rental will be with the car hire company - your booking most certainly isn't. It's why I never use them anymore.

There's plenty of online comment regarding their practices to back this up.

Allinall · 19-04-2022 03:23PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118946761#Comment_118946761

I've been pricing a 12 day hire at the end of July this year from Malaga Airport.

It's come down from €1,100 in February to €750 today. I'll pop back here regularly with updates.

facehugger99 · 19-04-2022 04:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118946788#Comment_118946788

Fantastic to hear all those global supply and demand issues have been sorted out since February 😏.

Allinall · 19-04-2022 04:08PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118946958#Comment_118946958

they certainly weren't there in January.

6 days hire cost me €28.

whippet · 19-04-2022 09:20PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118946968#Comment_118946968

A fiver a day ... what did you rent ? A Scalextric car?

19-04-2022 09:31PM

Car hire prices in most countries have pretty much doubled (or more in some cases) compared to a few years ago.

That is the current reality.

There is no one magical site on the internet where you will find the cheap price that has eluded you.

Prices can change over time though sometimes i.e. can get cheaper sometimes as it gets nearer to a desired date but that also depends on supply and demand and pricing algorithms so it's not a given

kayak or skyscanner scan all the brokers and give you the results

the cheapest deals for a location will be thrown up by one of those

feedthegoat · 19-04-2022 09:36PM

feedthegoat · 19-04-2022 09:39PM

Insignia estate for 17 days from Enterprise Loudres Airport, €483 thru Ryanair website, booked mid January. Driving into Spain so an extra €55 to pay. TG given prices quoted above.

embraer170 · 19-04-2022 09:47PM

Recently hired a car for a week in Tenerife, which cost us four times more than it did pre-COVID (EUR 100 vs 400+). I booked a refundable rate and kept checking but the prices certainly didn't go down at all.

A number of parking lots/fields near the airport seemed packed full with stored rental cars so not sure if it is car supply issue.

--

I was planning a few days in Tuscany last Autumn. Got a shock when I looked at the price of car rental from Bologna and booked a one week all inclusive cruise for two for what the car rental alone would have cost (multiples of what I had paid renting from the same city pre-COVID).

I hope something comes along to fix the car rental market.

whippet · 20-04-2022 02:53PM

there are staffing issues as well ... In Frankfurt most of the car rental companies have closed their desks in T2 due to staffing issues. It takes much longer to get a car returned, checked, cleaned and back on the system than normal. So while they may have cars they may not have them available meaning they charge more for what they can get out

dodzy · 27-04-2022 06:32AM

I had intended to take a car for the 2 weeks in June (Majorca) from PMI but at current rates that will not be happening. I’ll just jump a taxi from the airport (€50) and hire daily as I need. F**ked if I’m paying circa €800 for 2 weeks in a dogbox. Normally get 2 weeks for €250-300.