Top 10 Car Hire Tips

Published on 3/30/2012 in Driving in Spain

Thinking of renting a car? Below are key pointers of what to do and what not to do when renting your next car hire. Follow these tips for a hassle free car rental experience...

1) When booking your car hire always ask if the price is fully inclusive. Are there any additional charges that will be added when you collect the car? For example, additional insurance, fuel charges, etc.

2) Always ask what the insurance excess amount is; this is the amount you have to pay in the event the car is damaged. This can range from €500.00 to €1000.00 depending on which car hire supplier you book with. The supplier will always say the price includes insurance but never actually tell you what the excess amount is.

3) Ask if you have the option to reduce the insurance excess and what the daily cost to do this is. Bear in mind most companies will give you a daily fee but remember they may be quoting you a cost before VAT is added to make the cost sound cheaper.

4) Make sure you fully understand the collection procedure of how to collect the car as some car hire companies that offer car hire at the airport are not always based inside the terminal building. You may have to call a telephone number on arrival or meet in a certain area at the airport.

5) Make sure you know exactly what ID you need to have with you, if you have a UK Drivers Licence you must have the counterpart of your licence as well as the photo card.

6) Always ask how much deposit will be taken when you arrive as this can range between €150 - €1,000. And if you do not have the available funds on your credit card the car hire company will not supply the car to you.

7) When collecting the car, make sure you read the rental agreement/paperwork you are signing and make sure the amount you are signing for is the amount you were quoted. Make sure no additional extras have been added without your consent as once you have signed the agreement you have agreed to the charges.

8) Make sure you have a good walk around the car and any damage you see make sure this is noted on the paperwork. If this is not go back to the supplier and get the damage details added. If the supplier says it's all fine then do not accept this as you can be liable for the charges on return.

9) Make sure before taking the car the fuel is at the agreed level, also make sure you understand what level of fuel should be in the car when you return.

10) When returning the car, make sure you get a staff member to check the car and agree there is no damage so you can leave knowing that no damage charges will be added.

If you follow this advice you should be able to enjoy a stress-free car rental experience.

Written by: Cherie Walker

About the author:

I am Cherie Walker, Company Director of Indigo Car Hire. We offer UK Car Hire at all airports. We advertise locally in many of the English Expat Newspapers and already have a large number of regular customers on the Costa Blanca and the Costa Del Sol. We really do look after all our customers and offer a personal service to ensure you get the best deal for your requirements. Find out more at http://www.indigocarhire.co.uk/

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Comments:

rogerstellon said:
Wednesday, August 5, 2015 @ 7:03 AM

This is effective tips while hiring a car.
http://www.seasoncars.com/

AnandShah said:
Monday, January 12, 2015 @ 8:32 AM

I loaded vehicle two with the contents of vehicle one and just before I was about to leave the MARBESOL premises, I decided to check the tyres of vehicle two and discovered the tyres were in a worse condition than vehicle one.

kimberlyjoseph said:
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 @ 8:41 AM

I must say a very well compiled post on the important legal, financial and operational preparations that a car rental startup needs to take before it launches. Once start-ups do get finished with all these activities, there is another big challenge waiting for them and that is to get noticed, get the word out to gain visibility, and win clients and retain them.

Ask any successful business startup and they will tell you, the first stride towards success starts with creating a corporate identity – knowing your target audience very well and then composing a message that speaks uniquely to them. And the first creation of that attempt is almost always a professional logo.

Displaying your logo, company name, message (tagline) and contact information near a busy road, lawn signs, on your car window decals or door, business card and flyers will quickly introduce your business to targeted customers for a very small investment. Exhibiting the logo on all forms of signage will facilitate the community to remember the service you provide.

http://www.logodesignconsultant.com/logo_design_gallery/Car-logo.html

I am in no way endorsing or promoting the website but it is quite attractive because of the colors it has used in car business logos. Also, the company has categorized the car rental logos according to the genres of the business.

david said:
Monday, October 1, 2012 @ 10:45 AM

Beware brits driving big bikes , the uk 2 yr wait after the 125cc test does not apply when changing to a spanish license , req a letter from dvla claryifying that you are able to drive a big bike and take it along to your gestoria with the change of license application

david said:
Monday, October 1, 2012 @ 10:37 AM

beware british motorcyclists in spain , the 2 yr wait and then drive a bigger bike facility does not apply
the uk bike license shows 25 kw and does not change after 2 yrs so before changing to an es license (carnet ) request a letter of confirmation from dvla ( fiver ) and take it to your gestoria along with the change of carnet application

john D. said:
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 @ 11:53 AM

The full/empty petrol policy applied by man car rental companies is a rip-off !
As you will never return the car totally empty, anything left in the fuel tank is extra income for the supplier.
If everyone insists on having the full/full policy, where you pay really for your actual consumption, the rental guys will be obliged to follow.
There is absolutely no advantage for the client in accepting the full/empty practice !
John

Gerard Ellis said:
Saturday, March 31, 2012 @ 8:50 PM

Cherie, I agree, but in addition check the tyres on the inner wall for tread.Be aware of hiring non roadworthy cars form Marbesol car Hire, just outside Malaga Airport. I was given three cars that had front tyres that were illegal.

I took the vehicle to NORAUTO MIJAS, MIRAMAR N340 Mijas Costa whose staff members viewed the first hired vehicles’ tyres and declared there was insufficient tread over the full width of the tyre. MARBESOL had leased me a vehicle with tyres that were not roadworthy and illegal; ‘permitting’ the vehicle to be taken on to the road.

When I returned this vehicle, With the vehicle a female representative who with her mechanic viewed the tyre specified the tyre was legal: “the tyre has tread in the middle of the surface of the tyre and is roadworthy. The tyre specialists are incorrect.” I disputed this allegation emphatically.

I knew I was not going to be successful in convincing MARBESOL staff the tyre was illegal so the following day I attended NORAUTO MIJAS once again; on this occasion I had a conversation with a new member of staff, Jose NAVARRO. He viewed the tyre and confirmed emphatically the tyre was void of tread and illegal. He rang MARBESOL using my mobile telephone and spoke to a representative explaining his findings and the danger of driving the vehicle in this condition. Whilst telephoning, Mr NAVARRO examined the other front tyre on the vehicle and declared this was also illegal and in a worse condition than the punctured tyre. (Photos taken)

I returned to MARBESOL at Malaga Airport once again. A male representative examined the tyre and agreed with Mr NAVARROS’s comments The MARBESOL representative then replaced vehicle one 7595GVH with vehicle two 5362GVM and completed the ‘exchange’ paperwork. I loaded vehicle two with the contents of vehicle one and just before I was about to leave the MARBESOL premises, I decided to check the tyres of vehicle two and discovered the tyres were in a worse condition than vehicle one. Once again, MARBESOL were ‘permitting’ an offence, in other words giving me permission to drive their vehicle on a public road illegally. Furthermore, the safety of persons renting this vehicle from MARBESOL would be in great jeopardy. I subsequently explained this to the male representative and he agreed they were illegal. He returned to the office and proceeded to search for a replacement vehicle. He returned and showed me to vehicle three and examined the front tyres. He agreed they were also illegal and returned to the office to make phone calls and returned. MARBESOL were going to upgrade me free of charge for the reasons explained.

Gerard Ellis said:
Saturday, March 31, 2012 @ 8:43 PM

Be aware of hiring non roadworthy cars form Marbesol car Hire, just outside Malaga Airport. I was given three cars that had front tyres that were illegal.

I took the vehicle to NORAUTO MIJAS, MIRAMAR N340 Mijas Costa whose staff members viewed the first hired vehicles’ tyres and declared there was insufficient tread over the full width of the tyre. MARBESOL had leased me a vehicle with tyres that were not roadworthy and illegal; ‘permitting’ the vehicle to be taken on to the road.

When I returned this vehicle, With the vehicle a female representative who with her mechanic viewed the tyre specified the tyre was legal: “the tyre has tread in the middle of the surface of the tyre and is roadworthy. The tyre specialists are incorrect.” I disputed this allegation emphatically.

I knew I was not going to be successful in convincing MARBESOL staff the tyre was illegal so the following day I attended NORAUTO MIJAS once again; on this occasion I had a conversation with a new member of staff, Jose NAVARRO. He viewed the tyre and confirmed emphatically the tyre was void of tread and illegal. He rang MARBESOL using my mobile telephone and spoke to a representative explaining his findings and the danger of driving the vehicle in this condition. Whilst telephoning, Mr NAVARRO examined the other front tyre on the vehicle and declared this was also illegal and in a worse condition than the punctured tyre. (Photos taken)

I returned to MARBESOL at Malaga Airport once again. A male representative examined the tyre and agreed with Mr NAVARROS’s comments The MARBESOL representative then replaced vehicle one 7595GVH with vehicle two 5362GVM and completed the ‘exchange’ paperwork. I loaded vehicle two with the contents of vehicle one and just before I was about to leave the MARBESOL premises, I decided to check the tyres of vehicle two and discovered the tyres were in a worse condition than vehicle one. Once again, MARBESOL were ‘permitting’ an offence, in other words giving me permission to drive their vehicle on a public road illegally. Furthermore, the safety of persons renting this vehicle from MARBESOL would be in great jeopardy. I subsequently explained this to the male representative and he agreed they were illegal. He returned to the office and proceeded to search for a replacement vehicle. He returned and showed me to vehicle three and examined the front tyres. He agreed they were also illegal and returned to the office to make phone calls and returned. MARBESOL were going to upgrade me free of charge for the reasons explained.

Manxmonkey said:
Saturday, March 31, 2012 @ 4:07 PM

I have just been stupid enough to rent a car from ADVANTAGE car hire at Malaga Airport as I was offerred a cheap deal from Thomson when I booked my flight. The deal was just €32 for a week for an automatic car. I rang a friend who said it was genuine as all the car hire companies were doing stupidly cheap deals so I went for it. It turned out to be a Smart with not enough room for 2 people and luggage so my friend went by train as they literally said they had no other cars. I should've walked away and just lost my €32 which I pre-paid as they then demanded a €400 deposit which the other girl in the office told me, "No one gets it back so you would be better selecting our full insurance deal". The insurance was twice as much as the vehicle rental but I agreed as at that stage I hadn't seen the car and she did say, "It is not expensive for an automatic car". Then after picking up the key I noticed another €58 was taken from my card ON TOP of the insurance which she said was for Petrol. I was annoyed that they took this without my permission as it states, "Cars will be supplied full, bring back full." On my trip I completely ran out, rolling into the garage in San Pedro (yes queues) and filled it to the brim for €43. To add insult to injury when I returned the car half a day late after a misunderstanding they had already taken a €60 late return charge and the smug staff seemed quite pleased about it. So real cost of a tiny smart car from Advantage was €160 for a week, I could have had a nice Seat from my regular place for much less.

I usually use Europcar who have always been really good, I've learned a hard lesson!

Tamara said:
Saturday, March 31, 2012 @ 10:37 AM

I live in Javea, near Alicante, and two weeks ago I planned to travel to Galicia just for a weekend and bring back with me my relatives and personal belongings. No doubt I was going to need a wide comfy powerful vehicle, a kind of 5+2 seaters or stationwagon.

My first thought was to fly to Santiago de Compostela, get the rental car at the airport for the weekend, and then drive it to Javea where I would return it.

But to my surprise, one way rentals for only three days or less seem to be really expensive: Picking up the rental car in Santiago and returning it either to Javea or any close location -such as Denia or even Alicante- would mean to pay more than 230€ for only three days rental!

Being a bit disppointed, I went through many message boards looking for some advice regarding this matter and I ended reading the FAQ in Tipoa Car Hire website.

Once I did this, I reconsidered the fact of hiring the car in Javea or nearby and returning it in the same location. But the rental car rates were way too high still and the stationwagon model I was searching for was not available.

Then I decided to search Google for further advice and I saw a number of recommendations, suggesting that renting from an airport might be cheaper and give me a better choice of vehicles. Although I was not going to fly from Valencia airport, I gave it a try by searching again at Tipoa Car Hire.

So I finally rented a Stationwagon as it was my wish, with zero excess and insurance coverage for a total price of 50€ (15€ of which was my voluntary zero excess cover with Mondial assistance). The confirmation voucher was sent by email a few minutes later.

The information on the booking voucher revealed that the car hire supplier was Centauro, well known Spanish rent a car company that operates the FULL OUT/ EMPTY IN fuel policy. So my initial reaction was thinking that finally the 50€ rate wasn't that good, if I at the end I had to pay the initial tank of fuel at a premium per litre price...

I printed my voucher and once I presented at the Centauro Rent a Car facilities in Manises Polygon (their office is not at the terminal building but they provide their customers with a prompt bus service) the staff behind the desk fully explained to me their fuel policy regarding three or less days car rentals : for rentals of three or less days duration, they apply the FULL/FULL fuel policy.

Although I still had to pay a deposit for the initial tank of fuel when collecting the car, I was told that I had the chance of returning it with the tank full and that initial amount of money I paid as a deposit for the fuel would be reimbursed.

That was good news!

A rental car that didn't seem to be the better deal (because the fuel policy I thought they would apply) turned in the perfect rental car for 12€/ day; with zero excess; with tyres, keys and windows insurance.

I must say I wasn't that lucky the time before when I rented a car in Alicante airport with Tipoa also. The provider at that time was SIXT and even when the fuel policy they operates was FULL/FULL, I was not convinced at all of the rental car model they offered me, as it was not exactly what I was expecting to get or wanted.

So I guess the moral of this story is that FULL/EMPTY fuel policy might not be that bad sometimes; and that it is also worthy to consider renting cars from airport locations, as their open longer hours and offer better deals.

I loved my red brand new Citröen C4 Picasso with panoramic windscreen!

Ven a España, no está nada mal.

Andrew Shanks said:
Saturday, March 31, 2012 @ 8:36 AM

Cherie Walker is correct in all she says but misses out on some essentials. As more and more renters use brokers to book cars, the ability to communicate and ask the questions that she advises has been drastically reduced. Each broker needs to know the precise conditions that each car hire company applies. It is our experience that brokers will say anything that the hirer wants to hear even if they know the car hirer cannot or will not comply. It needs to be a condition of the contract between the car hirer and the broker that the conditions of the company who will be supplying the car to the hirer are available PRIOR to ordering the car.

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Top 10 Car Hire Tips

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