Mitzyboy

Booking through doyouspain I have ended up getting a car through Goldcar. I know lots complain about them. Doyouspain have made it clear they will try to sell extra insurance and if you take it they take hundreds of euros on your credit card to cover themselves.

Does anyone know what rate goldcar charge for the additional insurance? Doyouspain have offered €2.99 a day saying that goldcar charge €4.29 a day, vbut I do nt necessarily believe them until I hear it from elsewhere.

Thanks

Lloyd2012

I did use them in the past but this lark of charging u for a full tank from the onset and telling you to bring it back empty is just as good as saying " we are smiling as we rip u off".
I used them from Seville and decided to try out the return the empty tank policy, the service person thought the needle was faulty when I returned the car. It was running on fumes for the last few KM's.

Mitzyboy

Yeah, I know they will overcharge for the fuel as well, but most of them do that. Im having the car for three weeks and have more or less got it down to a tee with the fuel levels :-)

missile

Hi,

I prefer to use Goldcar. Maybe not the cheapest, but I find them to be reliable with new cars and no hidden charges / hassle / scams about damage which was there before you rented.

Last time I got what I thought was a good rate. You can get a quote on their website http://www.rentalcars.com/en/country...Fczm7AoduQ4AJQ

amideislas

Goldcar (in Mallorca, and a few other of the usual "el cheapo" car hire names) has a terrible reputation for insurance and fuel ripoffs.

It seems many have reported that even if you book the "extra" insurance online, when you arrive at the desk, they claim the insurance company has nothing to do with them, and offer you their own insurance, and if you don't accept it, they block up to €600 off your credit card. To add insult to injury, they don't fill out pre-existing damage forms when you take the car.

When you return the car, if they find any damage, pre-existing or not, they simply take whatever they blocked on your card and tell you to contact the insurance company to get it back. The insurance company of course makes you do their work for them, forcing you to act as the liason between Goldcar (who ignores your requests for repair invoices), and the insurance company (who also ignores you).

FUEL: Yes, many car hires routinely impose an upfront charge of up to €120 for the tank of petrol (which normally costs about €50 or less) and you are supposed to return the car "empty" (although most rentals rarely use an entire tank), but usually you find out about it only when you arrive at the desk. However, it's written in the contract fine print that you agree to at booking time, so that makes it legal.

Considering the unexpected (but legal) insurance and fuel scams, it's always better to use the brand name car hires that not only don't conduct their business this way, but are very up front about charges. In fact, when you book Avis or Sixt and Hertz and many others, the price you see on the screen at booking time is actually what you pay with no surprises at the check-in desk. And most of the majors will give you the option of paying for a full tank and returning empty, or returning it full and paying nothing.

I reckon that explains a lot about why the majors always have higher advertised prices. But then again, the "el cheapo" companies like Goldcar who advertise cheap prices can cost much more than the majors at the end of the day.

snikpoh

Budget will allow you to work either way - full to full or full to empty.

bobd22

I used goldcar a few years ago through Doyouspain, I had no problems yes as most full to empty re fuel, I used Budget also once and that was full to full but not always the same, depends who you book through so if in doubt suggests checking. As for insurance Doyouspain will offer cheaper rates however if you use their or any other insurance than the company you hire from you will have to leave a security deposit against a credit card. Depends how long the hire is for if long and you hire fairly regular better with an annual policy for around £39 per year. I do that have to leave deposit but never ever had any issues on returning vehicle re getting deposit cleared. Only ones I have had trouble with were Record who still kept trying to get me to buy their insurance even though I had my own, mind that was quickly dealt with by a bit of Yorkshire short shrift!

Mitzyboy

Thanks all, Ive bought an annual insurance for £40 as sugegsted, although I'm sure it will meet with some annoyance from GoldCar when I get there. If they block off my card then so be it, but I believe in these circumstances they dont actually take the money, just "reserve" it

bobd22

Yes that has been my experience blocked on card only. I Dont think I had any problem re having my own insurance with Goldcar.

snikpoh

Make sure it's a sterling card though.

I only had UK debit card so had to use a Spanish Credit card. They 'reserved' an amount but when they removed the reservation, exchange rates had changed and I lost out (quite a lot).

agoreira

I've been using it for about 3-4 years now, a fortnight's holiday and you are on a winner, plus you can use it as many times as you like after that, I really don't know why more don't use it. True, they may not like it, but it's not compulsory to use their's, they have to deal with it. Yes, they swipe your card, and "reserve" it, but I've never been charged yet, even when I took a car back badly damaged. Depends on the company though, I guess.
Edit. Seeing snikpoh's post, the company I use have never actually taken anything, so no conversion charges.

Mitzyboy

insurance4carhire.com

I think the bottom line is that the car insurance is so cheap they try to recover it in many other ways ..... just like Ryanair I guess!!!! Twenty one days car hire costs only €83, hence why I'm guessing I'll get the big fuel bill.

Having said that Spain is no different to elsewhere .... in the States they try and hit you with everything they can. Upgrades, fuel, extra insurance ... you name it .......

agoreira

I nearly always hire from Málaga and have used the same company for many years now, they give you so much in the tank, you bring it back the same, so no charges, no fuel rip off prices whatsoever. But they aren't all like that!
Your charges, around £4 a day is a good price!

MrsMac59

We've used both Goldcar and Record because of the prices (£3/£4 per day), refused their extra insurance and let them block a sum off my credit card. Never had any problem with being charged for any minor damage - wheel rims etc. We pointed out a scuff to the bumper paintwork that had happened last visit when we were parked and not in the car, and the Goldcar rep just waved us off. Yes, I appreciate that they make some money on a full tank of fuel but given that hire fees here in the UK are £20-£30 per day I don't really feel I'm being ripped off - and we've been driving a lot of miles every trip so far, so we've had our moneys worth out of their depreciation budget and emptying the tank has not been a problem

Mitzyboy

I wasnt asking about being tripped off though, I just wanted to know what the rate per day for the extra insurance was