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Hi All,
I'm going to the Costa Blanca for a week has anyone got any car hire recommendations or things to avoid ?
Thx
I'm going to the Costa Blanca for a week has anyone got any car hire recommendations or things to avoid ?
Thx
In reply to alfmeister:
I've used Avis there twice, been fine. Don't get them to refill for you though, a right con that is.
I've used Avis there twice, been fine. Don't get them to refill for you though, a right con that is.
In reply to alfmeister:
Gold car is usually the cheapest, remember to take a ticket for the usual queue! Always return with a full tank.
Gold car is usually the cheapest, remember to take a ticket for the usual queue! Always return with a full tank.
Post edited at 22:40
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In reply to alfmeister:
Don't touch Dickmanns. Criminals is not an overstating it. Read the reviews. I wish I had.
Don't touch Dickmanns. Criminals is not an overstating it. Read the reviews. I wish I had.
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In reply to Fraser:
Did they refuse to repay your deposit? I eventually got mine back, but only after the hassle of getting Barclaycard onto them.
Did they refuse to repay your deposit? I eventually got mine back, but only after the hassle of getting Barclaycard onto them.
In reply to jim jones:
I wouldn't touch Goldcar with a barge pole! Had a terrible experience with them.
> Gold car is usually the cheapest, remember to take a ticket for the usual queue! Always return with a full tank.
I wouldn't touch Goldcar with a barge pole! Had a terrible experience with them.
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In reply to Trangia:
Gold car was much improved this year on our Mallorca trip. I think they've been taken over or something.
Gold car was much improved this year on our Mallorca trip. I think they've been taken over or something.
In reply to Robert Durran:
Correct. Thread about it here:
https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=665086&v=1#x8572165
I must be unlucky as I had a fairly similar experience with Enterprise in France last year too! That one was more problematic though as I ended up having to hire with a different company (Avis I think it was) Enterprise said they'd refund the difference when they didn't have a car available at Nice airport. Of course they tried not to - long story, much hassle etc etc, so I'll be avoiding Enterprise too in future!
> Did they refuse to repay your deposit? I eventually got mine back, but only after the hassle of getting Barclaycard onto them.
Correct. Thread about it here:
https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=665086&v=1#x8572165
I must be unlucky as I had a fairly similar experience with Enterprise in France last year too! That one was more problematic though as I ended up having to hire with a different company (Avis I think it was) Enterprise said they'd refund the difference when they didn't have a car available at Nice airport. Of course they tried not to - long story, much hassle etc etc, so I'll be avoiding Enterprise too in future!
In reply to alfmeister:
Lara cars. Never had a problem with them and you don't have to pay extra for additional drivers.
Lara cars. Never had a problem with them and you don't have to pay extra for additional drivers.
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Agree on Gold Car and not the only one who has had the same poor service with "hidden" extras.
Avoid.
Avis everytime for me.
Avoid.
Avis everytime for me.
In reply to alfmeister:
Just back - we used OK rental cars and they were absolutely fine.
Friends we travelled with used Laracars and found them good too, although I couldn't get them to actually confirm a booking with me ( kept getting emails saying they'd do it "today" then nothing), so I gave up.
Just back - we used OK rental cars and they were absolutely fine.
Friends we travelled with used Laracars and found them good too, although I couldn't get them to actually confirm a booking with me ( kept getting emails saying they'd do it "today" then nothing), so I gave up.
In reply to alfmeister:
People seem to have had bad experiences with any company you like to mention, including the costliest like Hertz. For some years now I've gone to Argus which is a trawling company that usually gives you 20 or more to choose from, with customer ratings attached to each one (for what that's worth). Seem to have done OK with several different ones, so maybe I've been lucky. I've formed the view that some countries are much worse for trying it on than others (please don't accuse me of racism).
I've also taken out separate excess insurance from Questor I think is the name. I've paid something like £20 to cover one booking or about £40 for a year's unlimited. That's a lot cheaper than what you'll be offered by the hire company
People seem to have had bad experiences with any company you like to mention, including the costliest like Hertz. For some years now I've gone to Argus which is a trawling company that usually gives you 20 or more to choose from, with customer ratings attached to each one (for what that's worth). Seem to have done OK with several different ones, so maybe I've been lucky. I've formed the view that some countries are much worse for trying it on than others (please don't accuse me of racism).
I've also taken out separate excess insurance from Questor I think is the name. I've paid something like £20 to cover one booking or about £40 for a year's unlimited. That's a lot cheaper than what you'll be offered by the hire company
Post edited at 11:23
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In reply to Rog Wilko:
Hi. I have used Centauro a couple og times. Have been very pleased. Have purchased car insurance through iCarhireinsurance. 45 pounds for a while year. As the rentalcar company wanted to charge over a hundred punds last trip (7 days), you will easily make your money back!
Hi. I have used Centauro a couple og times. Have been very pleased. Have purchased car insurance through iCarhireinsurance. 45 pounds for a while year. As the rentalcar company wanted to charge over a hundred punds last trip (7 days), you will easily make your money back!
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In reply to alfmeister:
We used: www.zestcarrental.com/, used to be economy car hire. Is pretty much a price comparison site for hire cars. they turned up centauro for us. decent price and service, and they missed/didn't charge us for the decent sized scratch we put down the side of the car.
We used: www.zestcarrental.com/, used to be economy car hire. Is pretty much a price comparison site for hire cars. they turned up centauro for us. decent price and service, and they missed/didn't charge us for the decent sized scratch we put down the side of the car.
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In reply to alfmeister:
Avoid Goldcar like the plague. They were fine in Mallorca but in Alicante I had a terrible experience with them. Charged for damage I definitely did not do. Had to get credit card company to fight them. major hassle.
Avoid Goldcar like the plague. They were fine in Mallorca but in Alicante I had a terrible experience with them. Charged for damage I definitely did not do. Had to get credit card company to fight them. major hassle.
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In reply to climberchristy:
That can happen with any company, you always need to take great care checking the car over at pick up.
Independent excess cover is cheap and buys an awful lot of peace of mind.
> Avoid Goldcar like the plague. They were fine in Mallorca but in Alicante I had a terrible experience with them. Charged for damage I definitely did not do. Had to get credit card company to fight them. major hassle.
That can happen with any company, you always need to take great care checking the car over at pick up.
Independent excess cover is cheap and buys an awful lot of peace of mind.
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In reply to alfmeister:
Whilst this subject is being discussed I'm off to Alicante at Christmas and have preliminary booked a car with a company called Do you Spain / Dickmans has anyone heard of them or used them? They seem good on paper, iv not had to pay any money, although after reading the threads and some reviews on trip advisor it does seem as though Lara cars is the best
All help appreciated
Steve
Whilst this subject is being discussed I'm off to Alicante at Christmas and have preliminary booked a car with a company called Do you Spain / Dickmans has anyone heard of them or used them? They seem good on paper, iv not had to pay any money, although after reading the threads and some reviews on trip advisor it does seem as though Lara cars is the best
All help appreciated
Steve
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In reply to alfmeister:
Thanks everyone for all the replies, some very useful advice, there always appears to be a few horror stories involved with car hire.
I think I'll try a comparison site and try to avoid some of those mentioned above, also looks like independent insurance is the way to go.
Thanks everyone for all the replies, some very useful advice, there always appears to be a few horror stories involved with car hire.
I think I'll try a comparison site and try to avoid some of those mentioned above, also looks like independent insurance is the way to go.
In reply to riff156:
Sorry, couple of year Dickmans was a nightmare at xmas. Our friend got a duffer of a car (a) it was the wrong size and b) the battery didn't work properly and they were a pain to help him get repair/ a car that worked, in addition both him and us got 1110 Euros blocked off the credit card (which can be usual) but they just didn't get it back to us. We had to phone about 5 times or even more before there was any movement, I think it was mid-February before we got the money back....I would go with another company if possible.
Drivalia has been reasonable the last time. But you need to be wary with any of them...
Sorry, couple of year Dickmans was a nightmare at xmas. Our friend got a duffer of a car (a) it was the wrong size and b) the battery didn't work properly and they were a pain to help him get repair/ a car that worked, in addition both him and us got 1110 Euros blocked off the credit card (which can be usual) but they just didn't get it back to us. We had to phone about 5 times or even more before there was any movement, I think it was mid-February before we got the money back....I would go with another company if possible.
Drivalia has been reasonable the last time. But you need to be wary with any of them...
Post edited at 23:17
In reply to alfmeister:
if you book through Holiday Autos (comparison site) you get offered zero excess insurance from Axa when you book the car, so hassle free. I recently paid about £3 per day.
> I think I'll try a comparison site and try to avoid some of those mentioned above, also looks like independent insurance is the way to go.
if you book through Holiday Autos (comparison site) you get offered zero excess insurance from Axa when you book the car, so hassle free. I recently paid about £3 per day.
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In reply to alfmeister:
Europcar is always brilliant, and we always buy the full (expensive) insurance from them -- then it does not matter at all what goes wrong. In the past, other vehicles have knocked wing mirrors off us and Europcar barely flinch because everything is covered anyway. External excess insurance is way cheaper, but then you will have to be much more careful with checkout/check-in as others say.
Europcar is always brilliant, and we always buy the full (expensive) insurance from them -- then it does not matter at all what goes wrong. In the past, other vehicles have knocked wing mirrors off us and Europcar barely flinch because everything is covered anyway. External excess insurance is way cheaper, but then you will have to be much more careful with checkout/check-in as others say.
In reply to Robert Durran:
We found , when Goldc%^& pulled their scam, that our excess insurance didn't cover damage to the interior.
If this is true for you then you need to check that on pick-up as well.
The trick seems to be to remove some of the screws holding the trim so that a hard-pull , if you know exactly where to do it,
can produce apparent damage while "inspecting" the car on return.
I'm not sure how you could spot that. on pick-up though.
We found , when Goldc%^& pulled their scam, that our excess insurance didn't cover damage to the interior.
If this is true for you then you need to check that on pick-up as well.
The trick seems to be to remove some of the screws holding the trim so that a hard-pull , if you know exactly where to do it,
can produce apparent damage while "inspecting" the car on return.
I'm not sure how you could spot that. on pick-up though.
In reply to Stiga:
I had a dreadful experience with Centauro. Never had such a rude and persistent hard sell on their own insurance even though I could prove I had my own. Because I hadn't taken out theirs they then demanded I brought the car back earlier than on the contract so it could be checked in more detail. This involved crawling over it with high power torches until they inevitably claimed to spot something wrong which they proceeded to pluck a range figure out of the air for. My free-standing insurance paid me back without a quibble so I wasn't out of pocket, but it was a thoroughly nasty experience. Weasels.
I had a dreadful experience with Centauro. Never had such a rude and persistent hard sell on their own insurance even though I could prove I had my own. Because I hadn't taken out theirs they then demanded I brought the car back earlier than on the contract so it could be checked in more detail. This involved crawling over it with high power torches until they inevitably claimed to spot something wrong which they proceeded to pluck a range figure out of the air for. My free-standing insurance paid me back without a quibble so I wasn't out of pocket, but it was a thoroughly nasty experience. Weasels.
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Another vote for Lara cars. Rented couple of times. Was always good. Once had a puncture and returned car with spare on - wasn't even asked a question.
Last time I have rented from Drivalia Cars because Lara didn't had cars for my dates. Was good experience as well.
Last time I have rented from Drivalia Cars because Lara didn't had cars for my dates. Was good experience as well.
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In reply to timjones:
What sort of fool are you taking me for by suggesting I need to 'take great care checking the car over at pick up'?
I did check car at pick up. It was perfect. It was also perfect when i returned it. I asked for it to be properly checked back in. I was told no one was available to do so thus I should just leave keys. Told I'd have to wait an hour. Complained to 3 staff. All said same. All said that if there was no damage there would be no problem. In end I just had to leave the car as I could not risk missing flight home. Then few days later I get charged for damage. They even had dodgy blurry photos as evidence of the supposed damage I know I didn't do.
So, I say again... Goldcar Alicante are appalling. Don't touch them.
If you think its a one off try looking here
http://goldcarcomplaints.com
What sort of fool are you taking me for by suggesting I need to 'take great care checking the car over at pick up'?
I did check car at pick up. It was perfect. It was also perfect when i returned it. I asked for it to be properly checked back in. I was told no one was available to do so thus I should just leave keys. Told I'd have to wait an hour. Complained to 3 staff. All said same. All said that if there was no damage there would be no problem. In end I just had to leave the car as I could not risk missing flight home. Then few days later I get charged for damage. They even had dodgy blurry photos as evidence of the supposed damage I know I didn't do.
So, I say again... Goldcar Alicante are appalling. Don't touch them.
If you think its a one off try looking here
http://goldcarcomplaints.com
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In reply to alfmeister:
Juts used Drivalia for a trip to Catlunya. No hassle, friendly and good rates
Juts used Drivalia for a trip to Catlunya. No hassle, friendly and good rates
In reply to alfmeister:
Used gold car on our last trip. I wasn't impressed. Rude on the desk. Charging things that weren't quoted online. Took photos of every square inch of the car before leaving. We didn't have much in the way of problems returning it though.
Record go .... used these guys before. Thought we had aquired some damage and went through the process of taking money of us. During the flight home they had left a message saying the damage was already there but they had forgotten to note it and they had refunded the money. Very honest.
Give your self loads of time to check it in.
Also take those stickers off the car before leaving the airport when you pick it up.
Used gold car on our last trip. I wasn't impressed. Rude on the desk. Charging things that weren't quoted online. Took photos of every square inch of the car before leaving. We didn't have much in the way of problems returning it though.
Record go .... used these guys before. Thought we had aquired some damage and went through the process of taking money of us. During the flight home they had left a message saying the damage was already there but they had forgotten to note it and they had refunded the money. Very honest.
Give your self loads of time to check it in.
Also take those stickers off the car before leaving the airport when you pick it up.
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In reply to alfmeister:
Giner in Benissa. Absolutely brilliant. They'll have the car to you at alicante. They really are good. Family run, understanding etc. Wouldn't use anyone else now when we go over to Benichembla.
Giner in Benissa. Absolutely brilliant. They'll have the car to you at alicante. They really are good. Family run, understanding etc. Wouldn't use anyone else now when we go over to Benichembla.
In reply to alfmeister:
I'd avoid Centuaro (had a good experience with them before but a very bad experience from Alicante this time with extra charges - I think sometimes it is just luck with who exactly is serving you with some companies). Back to Laracars again next time!
I'd avoid Centuaro (had a good experience with them before but a very bad experience from Alicante this time with extra charges - I think sometimes it is just luck with who exactly is serving you with some companies). Back to Laracars again next time!
In reply to riff156:
Yes, have used them in the past quite a lot. They aren't actually a Car Hire company but an agency who place business with various car hire companies. They were always quite cheap, but you have no control over which company they choose, which may include firms like Gold Car. You actually do the paperwork etc with the hire company on arrival at the airport, so be careful with all the usual precautions mentioned in this thread.
Also you will notice that they have removed their telephone number, email and physical address from their website which makes it impossible to contact them with any query other than those listed in their FAQ.
This caused a group of us going to Spain just a few weeks ago a lot of trouble when we got caught up in the Monarch collapse. We just couldn't contact them concerning refunds, insurance etc.
> Whilst this subject is being discussed I'm off to Alicante at Christmas and have preliminary booked a car with a company called Do you Spain / Dickmans has anyone heard of them or used them? They seem good on paper, iv not had to pay any money, although after reading the threads and some reviews on trip advisor it does seem as though Lara cars is the best
> All help appreciated
> Steve
Yes, have used them in the past quite a lot. They aren't actually a Car Hire company but an agency who place business with various car hire companies. They were always quite cheap, but you have no control over which company they choose, which may include firms like Gold Car. You actually do the paperwork etc with the hire company on arrival at the airport, so be careful with all the usual precautions mentioned in this thread.
Also you will notice that they have removed their telephone number, email and physical address from their website which makes it impossible to contact them with any query other than those listed in their FAQ.
This caused a group of us going to Spain just a few weeks ago a lot of trouble when we got caught up in the Monarch collapse. We just couldn't contact them concerning refunds, insurance etc.
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In reply to alfmeister:
Just back from Alicante, we originally booked via Auto Europe with Centauro but after reading this thread and the negative experiences decided to switch to Inter Rent (they seemto be a subsiduary of Europcar) with their zero excess deal. It was £55 for a week plus the extra driver that we added on. No issues with extra charges and no fuel charges - pick up and return full. No issues returning car, all checked of at the parking and signed to say all ok.
Just back from Alicante, we originally booked via Auto Europe with Centauro but after reading this thread and the negative experiences decided to switch to Inter Rent (they seemto be a subsiduary of Europcar) with their zero excess deal. It was £55 for a week plus the extra driver that we added on. No issues with extra charges and no fuel charges - pick up and return full. No issues returning car, all checked of at the parking and signed to say all ok.
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In reply to Fiona Reid:
I too always book with Auto-Europe and have done for many years, whether Europe, Morocco or USA. They answer the phone quickly, it's Freephone, they'll have a variety of end suppliers so if you say "no Goldcar thankyou" they can pair you with eg Inter-rent. Their biggest attribute however is that if you do have hassle with the end supplier (and everyone does, sooner or later - might be charge for tank of fuel when you took it back full, charge for insurance you didn't want or as with Goldcar earlier this year at Treviso, a €40 charge "because it's a diesel"!!! (ffs)) they'll fight your corner and get your money back. Every time. Twice they've said "look, it's only €15 (eg) it's not worth our time arguing with f**kyouover.com or whoever, we'll give you the money ourselves".
Incidentally I've used Inter-rent 3 times this year and am with 'em again at Alicante next week. So far never had any hard sell at the desk nor arguments about the state of the car on return. One quirk of theirs is that they insist on car being returned clean and are very open about making a charge if it's not. So far that's varied from €20 to €35, but they offer an upfront payment to insure against it - so far that's been €9 in Marseille, €15 also in Marseille, and is to be €6.50 in Alicante next week!
I too always book with Auto-Europe and have done for many years, whether Europe, Morocco or USA. They answer the phone quickly, it's Freephone, they'll have a variety of end suppliers so if you say "no Goldcar thankyou" they can pair you with eg Inter-rent. Their biggest attribute however is that if you do have hassle with the end supplier (and everyone does, sooner or later - might be charge for tank of fuel when you took it back full, charge for insurance you didn't want or as with Goldcar earlier this year at Treviso, a €40 charge "because it's a diesel"!!! (ffs)) they'll fight your corner and get your money back. Every time. Twice they've said "look, it's only €15 (eg) it's not worth our time arguing with f**kyouover.com or whoever, we'll give you the money ourselves".
Incidentally I've used Inter-rent 3 times this year and am with 'em again at Alicante next week. So far never had any hard sell at the desk nor arguments about the state of the car on return. One quirk of theirs is that they insist on car being returned clean and are very open about making a charge if it's not. So far that's varied from €20 to €35, but they offer an upfront payment to insure against it - so far that's been €9 in Marseille, €15 also in Marseille, and is to be €6.50 in Alicante next week!
In reply to alfmeister:
Please don't be put off by all the horror stories. Anyone who has hired cars often in the UK or abroad will have had some bad experiences. However, consider that spurious charges for damage cannot be all that common, considering that the charge for a 10cm scratch is over 300 euros, and you can buy independent annual excess insurance for £40. Insurance companies may be many things, but they are not daft. The main difference beteween the UK and Spain is that the daily rate in Spain in winter will be about a fifth of that in the UK.
Please don't be put off by all the horror stories. Anyone who has hired cars often in the UK or abroad will have had some bad experiences. However, consider that spurious charges for damage cannot be all that common, considering that the charge for a 10cm scratch is over 300 euros, and you can buy independent annual excess insurance for £40. Insurance companies may be many things, but they are not daft. The main difference beteween the UK and Spain is that the daily rate in Spain in winter will be about a fifth of that in the UK.
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