UKC

Hey all.

Ive been looking at car hire for Majorca, from Palma. Im staying in the mountains in a couple of weeks time and so a car is essential but the cost of these things has me a little surprised. Getting a Ibiza/Leon sized car which will be enough for the four of us and the luggage is a bit pricey.

Ive looked at Hertz/Avis etc and they seem to be the premium end; does anyone know of any cheaper options which still cover the insurances etc but but not be so eye watering?

Thanks in advance.

Richard

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
Hi Richard

I've used Malagacar.com to hire in the past with no problems, slightly older cars with a few scratches - so they don't notice any new ones, and much cheaper than big internationals.
warning don't use Gold car - they try to bump up your cost on pick up and have massive queues to collect keys. Get excess protection cover before you go from an broker eg protectmybubble or similar. If it is a full tank deal - make sure you leave time to fill it at the airport before you drop off.

lovely island - enjoy
B
edit - oops wrong airport - well a lot of wine was involved, I think we just used Europecar at Palma, booked through a price comparison site - but if you ever go to Malaga - you might need the info

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

i always use easycar.com - you get the mainstream rental companies but they usually have good prices.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Thanks both.

Ill take a look.

Richard

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Just come back and used a company called OK rent a car. Not bad prices, place is off site from the airport which seems to bring cost down, and there is a free transfer. Hassle free, good, modern and new cars as well.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

We used Hiper Rent a Car a couple of months ago (through Holidayautos). Off airport - v quick pickup - v slow getting the car. Very quick on the way back Friendly people. Allow extra time on return to airport. Long delays on road leading there.

In reply to TAG_UTLEY:

OK hire car were awful when I went for them. We had an accident which wasn't our fault (no doubt about this, the other driver even admitted to the police that he was in the wrong).

We had a new car within the hour but they refused to challenge the other drivers insurance company and just used my €1000. This means that the accident was listed as my fault and I now have to declare it in the UK. They also said that it's easier to just give my money over as I had excess insurance so I wouldn't be out of pocket and if I wanted to challenge the fault claim I'd have to go out to Majorca and go through their courts.
Wouldn't use or recommend them again, it was great until something went wrong...

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

I used Drivalia earlier this year with no problems. They were very cheap (something like £30 for a week!) and had a shuttle to collect you from the airport. I used Auto Europe online to find the deal and book. It's worth checking the fuel policy so you don't get stung with big bills for that. I went with collect and return with a full tank so I only paid for what I used.

I also bought a separate insurance excess policy online which was massively cheaper than the one offered by the car hire company.

If I was going again, I'd be more than happy to use them again.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Open up an Avis Preferred account first, then ring them and tell the you can get the same car cheaper elsewhere through an online broker.

They will sometimes reduce the price to that of their competitors (though not always at peak times) by applying discounts for BA/AA/BMC/Tesco Clubcard etc....

The best thing about Avis Preferred is that you often get free upgrades, plus at many locations you just turn up and drive your car away. No queues. This was the case for us 2 years ago in Majorca and is always the case at Heathrow.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Ah yes, excess insurance. Hadnt thought of that.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Have always used Auto Europe for Mallorca car hire, get a policy from Insurance4CarHire and choose a full to full car