Auriga Crown

We have just come back from Spain having hired a car from Auriga Crown at San Javier.  OK so the car had a few scratches on it but this was pointed out to us before we took possession.  We had to take the additional insurance otherwise leave a 300 euro deposit - bit annoying but not something to grumble about.  The one good thing was that the petrol tank was 3/4 full and we were told to return it 3/4 full - saving quite a substantial amount on the usual pay for a full tank and return it empty.

On another note I forgot my driving licence.  However the girl at the Auriga Crown desk gave me the number of the DVLA and I called them and they faxed a copy of my driving licence to them and I got the car.

Very pleased with their service

Linda

 I hope they do the fuel for me when I pick the car up on Saturday. However, I am going to Alicante. 

Glad I wasn't the only one Linda

Can't believe I forgot my licence.  On another note, Centauro came up trumps again, can't fault them.

We have used them ourselves and they offer good service and not a bad price 70E for 4 days for a diesel Seat Ibiza.

The only gripe was the deposit which took around 3 weeks to be credited back to our bank.

Got a whisper that Auriga Crown has been sold and will be sold on to another carhire company and maybe GoldCar could be the next to be merged with an existing carhire company  - anyone heard the same ?

Chris 

Had many hires over the years. Some have had the vests, some not   i keep some at home, same with the triangles. Auriga /  bravocarhire.co has been one of the best to hire from.  Now appear to be on full / full , even better.  Saves pointless journeys to visit the AP7 for 2 hrs! Why did Record stop their fuel policy? The cars do seem to getting higher milages but who cares as long as when you turn the key it goes and when you press the brake it stops.      ripped  by argu@ / gol@car  last time. Will use neither again. 

HOW I WISHED TO RETURN A CAR  EMPTY!

Just received the following reply from DoYouSpain regarding the 300 Euros deposit debited by AurigaCrown during my visit to Alicante in January. Deposit not refunded until my return to the U.K. over 3 weeks later.

' Customers of DoYouSpain who do not wish to leave a deposit do not have to do so. If you make a new booking please contact beforehand and we will arrange this with AurigaCrown'

Interesting note about the deposit. I have just returned having paid the same deposit, so will watch for how long the cash takes to clear. Can't fault the price or service otherwise, and the car was fine (albeit a bit battered). Love the Full/Full fuel policy though. This will govern my decision on all short term trips from now on.

Dave

 this is a test post as i cant seem to reply to posts...........?

I don't understand this deposit lag?

We use Auriga, pay the deposit by card and on return they run card through the machine and it's refunded immediately and c/card slip given. So the credit happens then!

Full for full is the same c/card up front and refund on return, if car is full

Am i missing something?

Edit
 

I must add great prices via DoyouSpain, decent cars and no charge for one way hires

My deposit was returned via a swipe yesterday, but it is not yet showing as a credit on my account. I will inform all as to when it appears.

have just returned from Spain and booked through DY9 an Auriga crown car........ decided as it was only for one week to pay the 3 euros extra for tyre coverage etc what ever that means (but did not need to leave the 300 euro deposit) but having seen all the postings on EOS I convinced my huband that spending an extra 21 euros was worth more than this 300 euro deposit scheme etc..........  As we got such good deal on the car rental an extra 21 euors seemed irrelevant.......... had I booked with them for 3 weeks then that might be a different story.

We picked up the car in the dark and did not check it over but we saw dents and a hub cap missing the following day and reported immediately............. we got an email to say that these dents would not be charged for ( obviously)

I have learnt a few things recently over car:-

1. you pay for what you get.

2. always check the car over on receipt no matter what time of day

3.alwayd try for full/ full fuel policy

4. Book as early as you can so you don't get ripped off

The tyre / window / clutch (and dont forget this includes the wing mirrors !) insurance can go up to 4 / 5 € a day. When you pick up the car don't forget to check you have a spare and good tyre, reflective jackets and at least one warning triange before you set off.

If you dont take the extra insurance check the tyres are OK, that you have no windscreen chips / damage and the wing mirrors are in working order.

Dents in bodywork, a missing aerial etc  are not normally a problem.

Regards, Chris 

Nicolaraho

Booking early is not always the answer in my experience, it's more to do with the time of year that you book. Just watch the prices and when they are low book in advance where possible. Sometimes last minute booking is the cheapest. Generally I have found when you book around Jan/Feb prices are low for the year, so if you know your dates book them up.

Booking early allows you to get a booking at that price and with many companies you can cancel earlier bookings at no cost and keep the booking at the lowest price. 

However, we booked our 2009 summer hires late 2008 year with AurigaCrown via Carjet - at a great price of €110 a week.

All other hires up to August 2009 (and after) were fine but 4 days before we came out in August got an email from Carjet to say no cars available from AurigaCrown nor any other carhire company they have contacted on our behalf, booking cancelled !.

Our frantic attempts to get a hire car in Spain while still in the UK resulted in nothing as did getting friends living in Spain to do this on our behalf.

On arrival at Valencia airport SolMar had only one car available (well they would wouldn't they) and able to do us a 'deal' at € 450 a WEEK !  We took it - we had no other choice - they knew it,  we knew it.

So Booking early is normally but not always the best approach. 

This year we are taking our UK car over in May and bringing it back late September. We have hired so far this year with Aurigacrown / Solmar and plan to do this up to May and after September but NO carhire for us this summer.

This message was last edited by chrisb1972 on 24/02/2010.

Picked up a car from auriga at half term and I didn't even have to pay for any fuel. Just told to bring the car back full. I booked through doyouspain as usual. I also took out the insurance and it only came to £65. The exchange rate on my nationwide card gave me 1.15 euros to the pound, so I was very pleased. Much better than my rip off with the Gold company.will never use them again

We had the same a couple of weeks ago at Valencia regarding no up front payment for fuel. I guess if you don't return it full they have your credit card details !!

Anyone 'prepaid' with DYS to get the even lower rental rate ? I asked DYS about doing this and  what happens if you have to  cancel and they told me any money taken would be refunded. Havent been brave enough to do this but maybe next time !

Chris

I still have reservations about all the car hire companies and their unethical practices. With Aurigo Crown I paid the deposit rather than pay the extra insurance. The deposit was 365€, which cost me £327.50. I had 2 different euro debit cards available to use, but I was told it had to be a credit card, otherwise they would charge an administration fee. I didn't ask what this fee was, but just presumed it would be cheaper to use the sterling credit card. To be fair with them the money was credited back to my credit card one day after returning, but the amount, after taking into account the difference in exchange rate, was £16.44 more. I don't know whether this extra money went to the bank, the car hire company or both.

I only spent 30€ in fuel for 5 days and no way was I going to pay the extra insurance at over 50€. However it still cost me the extra £16. I cannot see a way around these scams. I would rather be charged a reasonable amount more up front and told that there are no extras at all.

The cost of my hire for 5 days was 61€, or £56.  I am not going to pay 50€ for "extra" insurance. Neither do I want to get ripped off on an exchange rate for a random amount of money temporarily charged to me. If there are any hire companies reading this, please note that people are happy to pay a fair amount, for an all inclusive price, with no hidden extras.

Hi Fultond,

Like you I too dislike paying the extra tyre / glass / clutch insurances and never do but thought AurigraCrown only charged 3€ a day (min 9€). What insurance cover were you getting for 50€ for 5 days ?

Regards, Chris