jackytoo

I wouldn't be happy with that. Have read a lot of complaints where Spanish companies are very slow in returning it, if at all.

paulo69

I live in Thailand and only go to Mlg once a year, if that. I guess the 40 quid insurance deal would not be worth it. It was my own fault that I took out the Comp insurance last time; I had flown Doha-Mad-Agp in 22 hours and I didn't want to wait in a 15 minute queue. But the girl did cheer up when I took the extra insurance, unsurprisingly. I think it was 78e more for a 4 week hire. At Mlg, though, it seems to me that Record is the furthest away from arrivals and is in the sub-basement

One thing in favour of Record Hire: I had to leave a few days earlier than the plan. When I emailed their HQ, they did refund me the hire for those days, about 10 days later. I suppose that some would not refund anythg.

paulo

amideislas

Tripadvisor is full of those stories. But I agree with some of the wiser contributors, who point out that the big names have a reputation to protect, and the smaller, cheap ones need not bother, especially if most of their business blindly comes from "agents" like doYouSpain, who in itself has a reputation for assuming no responsibility for anything. An extra layer of finger-pointing...

Insurance / damage is a very good scam, and legal too (all over, not just Spain). And they rarely actually repair the (€400) scratch. Just collect the money and put the car back in play...

johnnyone

I have never had trouble with car hire (other than some long waits) either renting directly or through an Agent.
I also thought that the standard insurance included damage to body work, with the extra insurances being for glass and tyres etc.
I invariably get a ding on my hire car when parked and have yet to have to pay or claim on my insurance. The only time I wasn't covered on a standard insurance was when I returned with a broken indicator lens. They charged me 30 euros that I thought was less than a replacement would be. I didn't bother claiming on my extra insurance.

amideislas

You are very, very lucky. Car hires are on the top 10 list of common tourism scams. Especially in Spain.

Hidden horrors of Spanish car hires

What TripAdvisor says

Goldcar charges - Guardian

There are plenty more to list. But curiously, you rarely see Hertz, Avis, Sixt mentioned in any of these complaints. None of those 3 are the cheapest, but you rarely hear about them conducting these scams.

Is that who you hire from?

johnnyone

The only time I did get charged the 30 euros was with Advantage (now Firefly).
I have never had trouble with damage to bodywork with any other Company including Goldcar as it has always been covered as part of the basic insurance cover. Your post stated that you get charged for scratches. I have never found that to be the case. I don't even bother checking the bodywork when I pick a car up for that very reason.

jonboy

I think you will find that there is an excess amount to pay before the included insurance kicks in, as much as 800euros in some cases. I'm always on my guard when taking a hire car.
The big players can give problems as well. I returned a car to Dublin airport and was charged 100euro for a new tyre as one was losing pressure and I reported it on returning the car. I paid under protest and later emailed the head office and asked then to audit the branch as I felt they may have more than the normal numbers of tyre repairs. The charge was later reduced to 18euros!

amideislas

Goldcar and a few others are notorious for this scam. This stuff is reported all over. It's not exactly a secret.

The usual scam with many of the "discount" car hires is when you arrive at the car hire desk at the airport, they tell you that you are obliged to take the "extra" insurance, or else they will "block" some amount from your card - usually €200-€800. Many have already booked insurance online, so they don't agree to the extra insurance, and so the money is blocked off the card. There's no getting out of it. Except to go to another company, hoping to get lucky on a "walk-up" car hire without a reservation.

OK, so when you return the car, they find "scratches" or other "damage" that may or may not be pre-existing, so they simply keep whatever they blocked off the card, and getting reimbursement from the insurance company is your problem. Many have reported they only find out about it several days later, after they're home. Sometimes they're not informed at all. The money is simply is taken from the card. YOU have to call them and ask why. Whether you caused it or not, it's too late to dispute it. It's a done deal.

Then, your "3rd party" insurance company will need to see a receipt for the repairs (a "3rd party" can also be the insurance you booked online when you made the reservation on the car hire's website, all too often has nothing to do with the car hire, and the car hire won't accept it as proof of insurance, even though they offer it on their own website).

Since the car hire likely never had the car repaired (if there were even any damage in the first place), getting a receipt from them is like pulling teeth. When they finally provide a receipt, it magically comes to exactly the amount blocked off the card.

Exactly that happened to me in the UK at Green Motion. Upon arrival, they demanded additional insurance to the one we booked on their website because, according to them, the one on their website is not affiliated with them (really? why is it on your goddam website then?). We refused, so they blocked 200 quid on the card. After the car was returned after using it for just 6 hours, with absolutely no possible chance of damage whatsoever, 2 days after returning home, we found out they kept the money and called them - and sure enough, they'd found unspecified "damage" to the car.

OK, after some shouting, we realised it was a lost cause. The insurance company we booked on Green Motion's website would not reimburse without a receipt for the repairs, and even more insulting, would not talk to the car hire directly. My problem, not theirs.

Long story short, after tireless hours on the phone, Green Motion promised to provide a receipt but after weeks of repeated requests without any action, we had a Solicitor friend send them a letter, and surprisingly, promptly received a poorly disguised receipt for exactly 200 quid (even with VAT separately listed - it magically came to exactly 200 quid). It took a while, but the insurance company eventually paid. Still, it was just a pain in the arse - to be kind. Green Motion: 1, Me: 0.

This stuff goes on all the time in the car hire biz. Really. It's legal extortion.

Now I ignore the el-cheapos and use Sixt or Avis all the time - and I have the same experience you do. Nothing to worry about. It always just works.

johnnyone

Different countries have differing terms. When I rent in the uk I go over the car with a fine tooth comb.

johnnyone

Ami, see my previous reply.

My experience in Spain is real, yours appears to be anecdotal.

jonboy

When talking about insurance excess to pay I was referring to Spain.

amideislas

I don't hire cars in Spain but plenty of others do, and a hell of a lot of their experiences are consistent. In fact these scams are one of the hottest topics on the travel forums like TripAdvisor. Especially referencing goldcar and doYouSpain.

Or perhaps we should ignore all that in the interest of being "positive".

MikeJ

I'm sure your experiences are real but may not be typical unless you take sensible precautions viz:

• Always check the car on delivery, including the condition of tyres etc -
• Take photos of any pre-existing damage (with your phone with photodate set)
• Make sure any damage has been noted on your delivery note.
• Make sure that they car is checked when returned - and accept that any damage that has occurred during your rental is down to you (some people may not be as honest as us and will try and claim any damage was there already which makes the rentcos cynical ). Unmanned late returns can leave you exposed so leave a note with the keys if necessary.
• Many rentcos will have an excess charge for any damage even though you have asked for CDW cover and will offer to insure this at a cost. As long as it's a reasonable then it may be sensible to pay it or have a separate annual policy (eg insurance4carhire - there are others available). If you do have separate cover then expect the Rentco to make a pre-allocation against your credit card but ensure that the money is only earmarked and not actually debited as you may get hit with a currency/exchange charge when it is credited back. [Note: this may be a pain if you are relying on your credit card for holiday spends and you don't have a big credit limit].
• If you use a debit card for the CDW excess then you can expect it to be debited as the Rentco will otherwise have no guarantee that there will be any credit available if they need to claim against it. You will be hit with any currency charges/exchange rates. I have a credit card which I only ever use for car rental.
• CDW insurance usually doesn't cover damage to tyres, underbody damage, damage to door lock if a break-in has been attempted, damage to glass and some others so I would advise that separate insurance cover is always advisable whether from the Rentco or an annual policy. But if you take the latter then you will have to cover the costs (ie the CDW excess or full costs if any of the exclusions apply) and claim it back from your own policy. You will need to get receipts/agree estimates.
• Go for rentcos with full/full fuel policies, you should be able to check all the rentcos on their web sites or through your broker. If the rentco doesn't have a web site - beware.
• Often the so called cheap rentcos are not really cheaper in the long run.

To be fair I have rented many many times over the years and the only problems I have had were Goldcar at Malaga airport and an American company in St Lucia.

If this is teaching anyone how to suck eggs I apologise but it may be helpful to someone

bobd22

I can only speak from personal experience re car hire in Spain with annual excess insurance. Never had any problems been allocated variety of hire companies main ones and lesser known. Mainly had full empty fuel policy but as there over a month always return near as I can empty. Never had any problem re deposit being returned usually never even taken just blocked on card that is even when one time car was damaged. Extra insurance if you do take it tends to cover underneath, roof damage, tyres and glass including lights. One thing to ensure is that any excess policy covers that and criminal damage which some Don,t.

MikeJ

Some people can afford to pay 30% over the odds for fuel for the convenience of not having to search out fuel on the way to their accommodation and have the b.lls to drive on fumes to the airport to catch a plane , others don't like feeling ripped off - chacun a son gout. That's absolutely fine.

BTW who's Don T ??