Recommendation for a car hire company at Malaga airport.

I have used Malagacar on numerous occasions, as have my friends, and they have always been very good, and have excellent customer relations skills. I'm off there again next Tuesday. I did consider Goldcar, who are a lot cheaper, but most of their reviews stink!

I book in the UK through the hire cars in spain website, and found them brilliant to deal with. Easy web site to book, and they are great at amending bookings. No cost until arriving at the airport either. Recommend them highly.

Regards

John

I totally discount any hire firm where I have to queue for my car in that basement hell hole. I much prefer dealing with the guys at the airport exit holding chalk boards with clients names on them, who either walk you or drive you to your hire car. 

Amen to that Hephaestus. I can walk to the Malagacar office in less than 10 minutes if the minibus is busy.

I agree Malagacar is a reputable company, one I have dealt with on many occasions over the last 6 or 7 years, however I do feel their advertising blurb is somewhat misleading these days. They claim to guarantee cheaper rates but the reality is you NEVER pay the amount printed on your online booking.  Yes they inform you of the half full/empty fuel policy so you are prepared for that, but what about the additional driver - that used to be free, now 11 days cost €40.  Then there's the additional insurance costing between €8 - €12 per day...  I used to take out a yearly plan which covered under body, cills etc., but if you refuse their 'full insurance' they deduct €1000 from your credit card for the duration of your hire.  Apparently this is refunded on return of the vehicle provided no damage has occurred during the hire.  

The car we hired a couple of weeks ago, whilst being mechanically sound, had dents and marks galore.  Thank goodness we did pay the additional insurance otherwise I bet money would have been deducted from the €1000 deposit even though it was taken back in exactly the same state as it was when we got it.  Obviously one should be vigilant checking the vehicle on pick up.  However the cars are parked in a confined space with not the best of lighting so by the time you've alighted the plane, collected bags, spotted the rep by the exit, walked round to the mini bus pickup point, waited for transport to drive you to the office, queued to get to the counter, finally been given the car keys and stowed away all the luggage before thoroughly checking the vehicle, it is easy to miss something.

In reality the vehicle which was quoted as costing €16,60 a day actually cost us (excluding fuel and additional driver) €24,60 a day that's almost 50% more than what was quoted online.

All in all we paid almost double the price quoted, sadly Malagacar appear to be on a par with other hire companies rather than superior.

rentacarspain.com are the cheapest we have found, they meet you at the airport exit and walk you to your car, the tank will be max 25% full, you return it with the same amount, they charge you an extra €40 for underside and tyre insurance and a €390 deposit (which has always been returned circa 6 weeks later via my credit card), we always have an annual UK policy covering this just in case, costing £40.00..

Don't expect a show stopper, their cars have seen some action, but have never let us down, they only deal with you via their web site, so don't bother phoning them. A good tip when returning the car is to park it in carpark one level two on the arrivals level, you leave the keys and carpark ticket in the glove compartment.  

Thanks for the info.  I'll looking at that site next time we go over. 

Would still  be interested to hear the experience of any user of 'bemetcarehire'.  Believe a second driver can be added at no extra charge and a better fuel policy.  I was tempted this time but having a toddler accompanying us couldn't take a chance - better the devil you know than one you don't.

Hi mountie, I agree with your comments. I purchase my own annual European car hire insurance for about £25, and the car hire company will take a credit card swipe for about £1,000. We always take pictures and check the car. Ive just returned from the States, and the Budget hire car had 2 big chips on the windscreen, which we photographed and had validated by the guy at the exit. Budget were trying to flog me their insurance, saying mine was useless, which it wasnt, having thoroughly checked beforehand.

Last year, our Malagacar car had an attempted break in, on the same day we collected the car,and all 3 door locks were forced with a screwdriver, and I couldnt get into the car at all! Malagacar came and towed the car back, provided a taxi for us, and had a replacement ready by the time we were back to the depot, with very little messing about with more paperwork etc. 

It's those little things that make the difference.

We use Malaga Car regularly; we have an annual excess policy and the amount they swipe off our credit card against damage is always refunded within a couple of weeks. Never any problems although generally we don't bother with any extras such as extra driver.One thing about Malaga Car is that you don't pay until you collect the car.  If they put out a special offer (see Facebook page) they are happy for you to cancel your reservation and rebook at the cheaper rate. Also when we return the car (there are just two of us) one of their guys jumps in and drives us to airport departures, so no unloading of luggage and waiting for the shuttle bus.

We have also started using Economy Car Hire and found their prices very competetive in some locations, Which? recommend them.  Rates include one free extra driver.  They couldn't beat Malaga Car for a rental we have booked in November but it's definitely worth checking them out and they also occasionally have promotions for discounts through their Facebook page. Got a great deal for Faro this August and just had a three week rental from Granada airport, excellent service.

Discount codes

Helleholis  -  H6486

Malagacar.com  - hellofan

both good companies

 Many thanks to all who have replied and I will take note of the reputable companies you have all recommended.  Got totally burnt this time booking through DoYouSpain - Firefly had me over a good one and neither them or DoYouSpain will refund the money that was taken without my consent!  I have now registered a complaint with my credit card company - only God knows how long this will take to resolve!

I just know that I won't use DoYouSpain or Firefly and wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy......

Hi Iznalloz, does your name mean that you have property in said town?  Our Economy Car Hire rental from Granada airport recently was with Atesa, great service and really good car.  The car was pristine on pick up, we returned it covered in yellow dust (delivered to us free from the Sahara courtesy of the warm winds coming up from North Africa during our first week), they didn't bat an eyelid and the service was courteous and very efficient.  Also the fuel station next to their office had the cheapest fuel anywhere in Granada.  So if you ever fly into Granada, I can highly recommend them.  Otherwise for Malaga definitely Malaga Car.

Is the coast road from Málaga to Marbella as dangerous as it was reputed to be?  I read that it's Europe's most dangerous stretch of road.  It would be interesting to hear the views of those on the CDS.

Drove to Benalmadena from Torre del Mar last month and wasn't aware of anything untoward.  

It's dangerous if you try to walk across it! In all seriousness, I've never had a problem, although you have to careful at a lot of places, as you are joining traffic doing 80kph from a standing start at some junctions.