UKC

I'm heading out to Costa Blanca at Christmas. Can anyone recommend a good hire car company?

In reply to apw:

They're much of a muchness. If you won't drive far enough to use a full tank of fuel avoid the "£3 per day" merchants - they make their money by selling you a full tank of fuel at a high price - the more that's in it when you take it back the happier they are. If you can use a full tank then they're probably a good bet. Otherwise go for a "full to full" rental where you only use what you need and refill at normal prices. You'll pay more initially but save on fuel.

Bear in mind if there are 3 or 4 of you (or even 2) sharing the expense the cost differences are very slight and hardly worth worrying about.

Before you leave it's worth taking out an insurance for refund of the excess insurance the hire company will impose in case of damage. The excess refund insurance the car hire company will offer you will not be as comprehensive but will cost up to 10 times more! I use Worldwideinsure.com but there are plenty of others. An annual policy covering unlimited car rentals is about £50. A week is about £15 - £20 I think.

I always book cars through Auto-Europe.co.uk (not to be confused with Europcar) as they have a Freephone number (in USA), are always very helpful, and most important of all - if the hire company they choose for you tries to rip you off in any way Auto-Europe are very supportive.

In reply to Martin Bennett:


Agreed, although I will never use Goldcar again or recommend them to anyone.

In reply to apw:

We hired with Firefly, booked in advance was £30 for the week with no hidden charges. Their desk is in the terminal and pick up and drop off were easy.

In reply to apw:

Lara Cars is my recommendation, used them twice and both times there were no complaints. No hidden costs, give them an email, they give you a price, then you turn up and meet them at the airport. No fuss, fully insured except for wheels and tyres.

Heard a lot of differing reports on the main hire companies, things like huge queues, ridiculous deposits and phantom damage being charged to you.

www.laracars.com if you want the site, they speak pretty good English.

In reply to apw:

I have used rental cars.com and it's worked well for me.

In reply to Dennis999:

Second vote for Lara cars , you "might " save a couple of quid elsewhere but will be then almost certainly be subjected to the customer service champions that are gold car for whom You will find almost endless love on this and many other forums.

In reply to apw:

Lara cars every time for me.
Fully comp insurance with no excess, collect and return fully fuelled, excellent customer support.

Jase

In reply to apw:

We used Coys a couple of weeks ago and I was really impressed. Easy to collect from the representative at arrivals, and comes with some free fuel and you take it back nearly empty. Pretty cheap too even with full insurance etc

In reply to Martin Bennett:

disagree entirely- coys as LJC mentioned are really quite good, we've used them at least twice and can't recommend them highly enough.

In reply to apw:

Thanks for all the tips. I used Hertz last time I was out, who were great, but they seem to be pretty expensive this time round. I'll try one of the ones you have recommended.

In reply to Trangia:

Got to agree with this and I know a few others who have had a totally horrific experience with this company.

Avoid at all costs is my advice.

In reply to apw:

Another vote for Lara cars.

we broke down with them but. They came out to Calpe, (about an hours drive) fixed the car same day, and were really helpfull. never had such good customer service from a hire company.

In reply to Pete Wimbush:

Avoid Drivalia - booked through Atlas Choice (also avoid). You have to buy their insurance as all they do is the most basic third party - no fire, theft or damage and 8000 euro liability! I expected a large excess and have insurance to cover it but not this. Bad experience. Calp was great however.

In reply to FrankP:

Thanks... I'll give them a miss.

In reply to FrankP:

I have had Drivalia the last two or three times in Alicante and Mallorca and there was no problem, in fact I would rate them highly for customer experience - very swift, no probs. You don't have to purchase their insurance, we have our own annual one - as long as you have an insurance that's fine... I thought very good value for money.

In reply to Heike:

second Heike's comments on Drivalia, used them 3 times and no problems, booked through economy car hire who do their own insurance for less than 20 quid. Good customer service, they pick you up from the airport, short 2 mile drive in a minibus and no queues like you get with airport based operators. You can also get a full-full fuel option. Highly recommended.

In reply to tom84:


No Tom - you're not disagreeing with me. I didn't imply they were all pretty much as BAD as one another - rather the reverse as I've never had a problem hiring cars in Alicante, I even ended up with Goldcar once - no problems.

In reply to Pete Wimbush:


Stop Press! Further to my earlier comment we've just been to Calpe for a few days booked 2 days before we went. I rented a car via Auto-Europe as I always do. Their quote for a smallest class car with fuel tank full to full, via Firefly as the end supplier, was . . . . wait for it . . . £4.32 for the 4 days hire! As I completed the booking they suggested an upgrade to a 4 door Corsa sized car for the princely sum of an extra 7p per day so we went for that and paid £4.60 - £1.15 per day!

Needless to say, having annual excess refund insurance, we politely refused their offered product. The hire went very well both at collection and drop off.