** Vehicle Hire queries **

Bananaleaf wrote: »

I know this isn't what you have asked - but would you consider the public transport option instead of the car? Maybe you are travelling with children and it doesn't suit, but Portugal's transport system seems really great. I am going there this summer and I am going to stick to public transport, but then again there is just two of us, neither have reduced mobility etc. so it's a handy option

The public transport there from my experience is pretty poor, it's fine if you're (very) close to any of the main tourist centers and don't plan on going anywhere else but if you're at all out of town...
This time round we're bringing the kids.

Car is the only way to go on the Algarve. Public transport is awfully limited.

Best I could get for Type D, 2 weeks in july (15 days Sunday to Sunday) fuel returned as received, pick up at the airport and motorway tag, airport charge etc. is €285 with zitauto so going with them. I'll call them to confirm it again in the morning. I expect to get another few euro off then too.
I rang them to haggle and they dropped from their original email quote of €390 to that €285. (always, always ring and haggle with Portuguese car hire companies. Their email quote is just a starting price).

drive4fun were email quoting me almost €500 for the exact same thing, I could only haggle it down to €430, so no good.

We went last year, just the two of us, but this year we're bringing the kids as we thought Albufeira was brilliant and was well suited to a family holiday. We picked a village called Alte about 20 miles from Albifuera to stay in, hotel was lovely, the area was nice, quiet and typically old school Portugal, loved it but likewise I had read the public transport system was quite good however this should come with a small proviso - it's good around the main resorts but not outside them, the village we stayed in was served by one bus to Faro in the morning and nothing else, eventually we got the bus to Faro, tried to find another to the airport without success; couldn't figure the different hubs scattered around Faro so got a taxi to the airport where we picked up a car. This really transformed the holiday, it's a beautiful (and reasonably small) country to go sightseeing/trips to various beaches and parks.

Jocelynel wrote: »

we hire a car every year in portugal so try these 2....

http://www.economycarhire.com

or if you ring zitauto on 00351 289 315559, we find they are usually the cheapest plus no swipe of your visa card!

Thanks to all who posted, went witheconomy in the end, saved over €175 compared to the web rental search engines, drive4fun were very good too.

Really looking forward to it now, roll on July. :cool:

Thought would be interesting to have a dedicated car rental thread similar to the Airport Tips and Tricks. Someone mentioned on that thread to stay away from Goldcar. I looked it up and sure enough heaps of articles warning of their scams. Sooooo.....

We've only used car hire in the US:

• Avis (USA Western States) through Car Del Mar broker - All Inclusive Gold full coverage with extra driver and full tank, any excess to be refunded by Car Del Mar. Good value, no need for CDW from local renter Avis. Quick and easy without pushy staff.
• Budget through eBookers - included 1 extra driver, CDW with 0 excess. We scratched the car when parking it, no issues on declaring it to the returns desk and there was no contact required or any charges made to us.
• Dollar - can't remember the agreement, but it would've been with CDW and extra driver. Easy rental and returns. Pointed out scratches to be noted on agreement before driving off, no issues. Forgot coat in the boot of the car, that couldn't recover as they'd rented out the car almost immediately on return.

So that's our experiences. Happy to recommend any of the above we'd used. No one was pushy with extra cover. It was offered and we declined. Staff was always friendly and professional. All were for roughly 4-5 days at around 170 Euro for compact 4-5 door car.

I've rented a LOT of cars.

I always try to book as cheap as possible so I walk a fine line between price and quality of service.

Tips: Shop around online, for the best prices. - obvi
Buy full to full fuel package.
Return empty is a fallacy - it'll cost you money.
If you need something like sat nav, snow chains / winter tyres, do NOT ask for them at the counter, very often they'll be in the car. If they are not then just pop back into the desk and ask (pay) for them. It's a little gamble but it will cost you nothing.

Lastly, it's nice to be nice. You are dealing with people who have a busy job and get a bit of agro. A smile and a thank you cost nothing. If there is an upgrade going, who would you give it to, the up beat friendly person or the one self entitled one, huffing and muttering every 2 minutes?

Here are my experiences:

Goldcar - I can't say this strongly enough. AVOID. Think Ryanair in their 'we hate our customers' hey day. The thing is, they are slightly cheaper than most so everyone goes for them. Then everyone argues with them when they sting you with every charge they can. This leaves MASSIVE queues as each customer spends 20 to 30 minutes at the desk. The first (and last) time I used them, we queued for over 2 hours in Malaga airport just to get the keys, the fees (€110 for a tank of fuel in a Fiesta, if I remember properly) cost way more than the car rental itself. Every time I've flown into Spain or Portugal since I just stroll past that queue thankful that I'll never make that mistake again.

I've only dealt with Sixt once and it was not good, I got a new polo that could barely make it up a hill, unable to hit 100K on a motorway, it felt dangerous to be frank. Then they double charged me and it took me weeks to get it sorted. They only responded when I informed them that I was going to dispute the entire transaction with my credit card company. They generally get better reviews than Goldcar, who seem to be universally trounced, but my experience was a bad one.

I've rented with all the known companies at this stage, Alamo, Thirfty, Europcar, Hertz, Dollar, Maggiore, and they've all been fine, the only one that really stood out to me was Enterprise in Dublin airport. They were great.

If you are getting a late flight, make sure that your car rental company is still open, I've arrived in Italy at 10pm, picked up my bags only to find out that the rental had closed 15 minutes earlier.

My experience regarding the USA, unlike Europe where they hand you the keys at the desk, in the US you get your keys beside the car, if you fancy an upgrade, this is the place to ask for it. I was offered an upgrade at the front desk, I politely declined, in the car park, I was offered the same upgrade again but this time for 75% less.

Full Car insurance......that's a gamble.
I try to get full cover if I can, it's just less hassle.
But to date I've had:

My car keyed in the US (I took the upgrade to a Camaro ) poor Cammy
Someone crashed into the car in a ski resort in France, the car was parked at the time, we only saw the damage (passenger door pushed in) the morning we were leaving.
Had bumpers scratched and car doors whacked into the side of my car leaving marks in the UK, Italy, Spain.

Last week got charged a supplement in Spain of €4 a day for I diesel I didn't want. ( Guess the company! ). It's actually ironic as normally I want a diesel in Spain and can't always get one,:( as I normally go for the burn ( 2,500km in 10 days avg ). But this time I it was only for 3 days and knew my mileage (or kilometrage or kiloage ) would be low, was 960 km. Petrol cars tend to quieter and smoother, have had some high performance diesels, but they're generally a bit rough IMHO, no offence intended to diesel aficionados:).

For some time I have used a broker called doyouspain to hire cars at Malaga airport. In the last year I see huge changes and the car hire companies are quoting low rental charges in the hope of selling expensive addons when you go to them. More troubling is the attempt some of them make to charge you on return of car for alleged damage caused by you. I have had this fraudulent experience 3 times in last year. On each occasion they attempt to charge for damages they maintain was caused during the rental despite the fact that the damage was there when the rental commenced. I always photograph the car at commencement of rental as proof of existing damage but this does not always protect you. Be aware and be careful or you will be taken advantage of. Rental companies to be on the look out for are Record Go and Del Paso. Remember if the price of rental looks too good to be true then it surely is .

BailMeOut wrote: »

You can also get third party excess insurance (google it) which is so much cheaper but the car hire company will still put a hold on your cc for the excess amount until you return the car which can be a problem if your cc limit is low and you intend using it while on holidays.

Will the hold on the credit card actually affect your limit for that month?

I would have thought it would only be an issue if they actually took the money from the credit card. Otherwise you probably wouldn't be able to use the credit card.

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Will the hold on the credit card actually affect your limit for that month?

I would have thought it would only be an issue if they actually took the money from the credit card. Otherwise you probably wouldn't be able to use the credit card.

Yes, it will. They block that amount in case they need to charge it and you won't be able to use it. Not much good to them if you've maxed your cr card and they can't charge you to it. Also takes a couple of days for the block to be lifted.

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Would they not still be able to charge.
I have gone over my limit before and the transaction wasn't stopped. I was simply charged an overlimit fee by the bank. I think it was €7.

would depend on your cc and what the transaction was. If you are trying to pay for a large hotel bill at the end of a holiday and the rental car company had most of your limit tied up you could be in for some bother.

After many years of renting in Europe and using whoever was the cheapest I only tend to use Avis now as I can add air miles to by account with them. I am a preferred member and always get a free additional driver too.

I like the fact that as a preferred member (nothing special just a loyalty club) my keys are waiting for me when I arrive and it takes minutes to pick up my car without being at the desk for ages going through all the extras and things you have to endure with cheaper companies. Tank is always full to return full. Also the fact they you simply return the keys, there is a quick look over the vehicle and you are gone. There is none of this going over it with a fine tooth comb looking for any tiny scratch that may be there.

I have seen car hire in Europe for €5 a day. I dread to think what they are going to try and sell you at the desk and make you purchase once you are there. It may be €5 initially but I bet by the time you add everything up (insurance, fuel, on airport pick up charge - I have even seen fees for returning the car!!) I bet its not that much more than if you are a member of a bigger companies loyalty club and have booked with a member code.

Any one use Record Car Rentals out of Alicante recently? Am using them in July.