AIRPORT CAR HIRE

I've rented cars in Spain for nearly 30 years now, for roughly 6-8 weeks every year.

Having been a regular user of "Do You Spain" and "Carjet" for many years to book my car hire from the airport, i'm getting sick of the hidden "Add On" charges the rental companies now make, that dont appear on the booking confirmation.

Last week took the biscuit......Record Cars at the airport charged 40 euros for supplying the car with a full tank of petrol.....this is taking the p*ss! and took euros 900 as i have my own £40 annual indemnity insurance policy, rather than paying the 100 euros for their daily cover for 8 days!

I returned the Car full, so they didnt even have to fill it for the next customer.....i'll now have to go into another battle to get the 54 euro petrol charge refunded, and thats before i start on Do You spain to get a refund for the car hire i orignally paid for and cancelled.....they always convieniently seem to forget to refund as probably 50% of people dont bother to check or complain....  

So the purpose of this post is to try and find a rental company that doesnt rip you off, has a good service and competative prices......over to you 

Yep, all car hire desks have taken the same rip off customer approach. We've used Coys rent a car a few times They meet you in arrivals hall take you out to your pre-booked car and complete documents etc. the price quoted at the booking is what you pay. It's not massively cheaper than the inner car hire desks but there are no surprises and there is no queuing at a desk either.

regards 

Never had a problem with DYS.  Never taken the extra insurance out, thats the chance i take.  They never take the money out of your account, they only hold it.. I have never had a a old car. I cancelled a car once and had the money in my account within the week. I have returned the car as requested either full or empty.  I always check what i am signing for.  Must be lucky because i rent a car several times a year for about 6 years.  

Yellow Car, one price, full insurance, full - full fuel policy.  Last weekend I hired a car from them from Friday evening to Monday evening, total cost €106 (about £75).  They meet you in arrivals and take you to departures where someone from their office drives up with the car.

last weekend, from actually disembarking the plane to setting off in the car was 15 minutes (Ryanair, hand baggage only).  When returning you fill up at the BP garage next to the airport, then Yellow Car's office is 20 metres from the petrol station, take the car to the office, a driver jumps in and drops you off at departures.

best service I have received from a company and when you add up everything Record, Firefly offer in terms of insurance for this and insurance for that, plus the excessive charge for fuel, Yellow Car are very competitive, if you are determined to get the cheapest car possible then Yellow Car are not in the frame.

however, having booked Firefly through DYS last August and having to endure a 4 hour wait for the car due to the sheer volume of people waiting outside of their office, I now book Yellow Car every time, mainly for the quick collection and convenient return service.

the only exceptions are the winter months when popping over for a weekend, I then use Enterprise Atesa booked through Economy Car Hire, fair fuel policy and no hassle regarding extra insurance, desk on airport and good prices.

hope this helps

kelju

Thanks for the suggestions and your own experiences, appreciate most companies will offer a good service, but what I'm trying to do is narrow the Malaga airport hire companies down to a company that don't charge loads of excess charges, take massive deposits if you have your own excess insurance and still offer a competitive price on a full/full deal which is my preferred option, when hiring.

thanks

Hi Promedia

I posted this message in another thread but reading your request thought this may be relevant here too as like you we are looking for a reliable hire company without all the 'add-ons'.

Has anyone heard of or actually used 'bmetcarhire'?  According to their website they charge a hire fee which allows up to four drivers and child seats at no extra cost.  

For many years we have used Malaga Car and have also recommended them to friends who have also used them numerous times.  They certainly did stand out from the crowd in terms of reasonable rates etc. DID  being the operative word!   The last time we hired from them was April this year and sadly it seems they are  going the way of the others.  Yes their fuel policy - half a tank - is better than paying for a full tank but can't say the same for the add-ons.   When we started visiting Spain over ten years ago we used to purchase an annual policy which covered windscreens etc rather than pay the €3/day the hire company charged.  Now the excess insurance is €12 per day and if you decline they take additional money from your credit card.  I believe this is refunded at the end of the hire but not sure how swiftly it is paid back.  

Also they now charge for all subsequent drivers whereas the second driver used to be free.

We are due to return to Spain this summer and this time will need to include a child's car seat and at least one additional driver - have no idea what that will all cost but it will probably be double the quoted price.

Mountie