Timeline for What should I be aware of when hiring a car from one of the cheaper rental firms in Spain?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
21 events
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| Jul 12, 2017 at 5:11 | history | edited | paul | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
update
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| Apr 13, 2017 at 7:22 | history | edited | paul | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
follow up
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| Jan 18, 2017 at 2:30 | comment | added | Michael Mason | @Relaxed my comments were from a UK point of view, where hiring a car is a relatively pleasant experience compared to Spain (although still has its issues). I haven't rented a car elsewhere in Europe, so maybe we're the odd ones out... | |
| Jan 17, 2017 at 19:48 | comment | added | Relaxed | I am a bit puzzled by some of the comments/answers. Some issues (large deposit on the credit card, extra fee if you don't fill up the car before returning) are not specific to Spain or independent rental firms at all. I have experienced the same with Europcar, Avis, etc. in other European countries. | |
| Jan 17, 2017 at 18:44 | answer | added | Richard Gadsden | timeline score: 2 | |
| Jan 17, 2017 at 14:06 | comment | added | CptEric | they do have expiry date, but it's on a very long time span(i made mine on 2013 and it says 12/2019), and usually payment platforms already ask it (So the payment isn't performed after that date), so you shouldn't be able to book after that date. Haven't had hardware issues, but that could be an edge case where it is a hassle, but again, to cancel a card or renew one the bank personally checks with you via phone the "consequences" of doing so, like pending credits. In my case, i had a booking back in 2013 on the old card with number X and my bank redirected the payment to my new one. | |
| Jan 17, 2017 at 13:55 | comment | added | Michael Mason | @CptEric I stand corrected, thanks for explaining. So your cards have no expiry date? In a theoretical scenario where your card stops working (e.g hardware issue with the chip - and this has happened to me twice!), you would just get a new card with the same number and it would be transparent in terms of a company checking it was the same card used to make a booking? Starting to make sense why that poor rental assistant was so confused! | |
| Jan 17, 2017 at 12:02 | comment | added | CptEric | @MichaelMason we don't have disposable credit cards, they are issued by banks on-demand, they are directly tied to a bank account, and the only reason they can be "disposed off" is closure of account or stolen card. Here they are basically and extension of the debit card that allows the user to take low risk, low interest, credit amounts " for those payments at the end of the month you didn't expect" or "that cool DLSR camera you can't save for because it's on offer till friday". | |
| Jan 17, 2017 at 6:15 | comment | added | Michael Mason | ...a quote from a Centauro employee after discovering my card had been replaced in the 6 months since I booked: "in Spain we don't throw away old cards". I'm convinced that is untrue as you're supposed to cut up and dispose of them but perhaps someone could enlighten me! That time I had to cancel the booking and start from scratch with the new card at the Airport desk. Another time they wanted that €1050 deposit on credit card or me to pay €300 for insurance and my limit was only £500. Luckily a friend was also driving on that trip so they took her card which had a higher limit instead. | |
| Jan 17, 2017 at 6:07 | comment | added | Michael Mason | Some gotchas: Some companies will make you pay a much larger deposit for not taking their expensive insurance even if you have your own excess insurance (e.g can be in the region of €1000+). You will also probably need to use a credit card rather than debit card. The credit card must be in the name of the main driver or at a push another named driver. If you pre-pay or book online using a credit card, and that card is lost/stolen/expires and is replaced, this will be a huge issue, even if the card number hasn't changed but the expiry date has. Read all the info and T&Cs very carefully! | |
| Jan 16, 2017 at 22:18 | answer | added | yankee | timeline score: 5 | |
| Jan 16, 2017 at 18:26 | comment | added | JeopardyTempest | @user13190, this seems like not just worthy of being an answer (if filled out with a little more information), but probably the best answer. After heavy research into options a couple years ago when trying to find the cheapest rental cars in Europe for a trip, and finding numerous reports of similar things in some of the cheaper countries, I decided to scrap the whole idea. | |
| Jan 16, 2017 at 18:01 | comment | added | user13190 | Another thing to be aware of is that some of the smaller Spanish car rental firms have a bad reputation for hidden charges and for adding unwanted insurance products (sometimes, even after they've been refused). Some advice and accounts of a firm that used to be notorious for this sort of thing: theguardian.com/money/2016/sep/11/… | |
| Jan 16, 2017 at 15:03 | comment | added | SJuan76 | Additionally to the answers, coastal zones in Spain depend much of the touristic cicles. There is little coastal tourism right now or in march, so they have lots and lots and lots of cars that will make a neat profit in summer but are now standing idle and unproductive. This brings prices down. | |
| Jan 16, 2017 at 14:32 | answer | added | gerrit | timeline score: 13 | |
| Jan 16, 2017 at 12:56 | history | edited | paul | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 29 characters in body
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| Jan 16, 2017 at 12:51 | answer | added | Laurent | timeline score: 15 | |
| Jan 16, 2017 at 12:48 | review | Close votes | |||
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| Jan 16, 2017 at 12:44 | history | edited | paul | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
reduced number of '?' to exactly 1
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| Jan 16, 2017 at 12:36 | history | edited | paul | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
clarify question
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| Jan 16, 2017 at 12:29 | history | asked | paul | CC BY-SA 3.0 |