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Cheap Car hire?

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:34am
15 replies756 views12 members subscribed
Stav

Posts: 13

6 helpful points

Location: Benijofar

Joined: 10 Mar 2020

Hi all

Can anyone recommend a good cheap car hire company. My mother in law has just been ripped off big time by DOYOUSPAIN and GOLDCAR rentals at Alicante airport! 

I would advise you not to use these companies!

Thank you in adv

Kenneth1

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:57am

Kenneth1

Very helpful member

Posts: 826

886 helpful points

Location: La Marina

Joined: 3 Feb 2017

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:57am

What about some info about what happened. What does ripped off big time mean? It might help others. 

Darro

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2022 12:09pm

Darro

Super helpful member

Posts: 1452

1260 helpful points

Location: Catral

Joined: 8 Sep 2021

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2022 12:09pm

Car hire prices have virtually doubled since the pandemic so if that's what you mean by "ripped off" then it's not, it's the new norm.

Stav

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2022 3:43pm

Stav

Original Poster

Posts: 13

6 helpful points

Location: Benijofar

Joined: 10 Mar 2020

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2022 3:43pm

Kenneth1 wrote on Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:57am:

What about some info about what happened. What does ripped off big time mean? It might help others. 

My mother in law booked a car on DOYOUSPAIN and got what seemed a very reasonable deal. She was offered and accepted a premier deal which included insurance that covered the €1100 excess. When she went to collect the car from GOLDCAR in Alicante airport she was told that ‘they did not work with YOUDOSPAIN’ and that they did not recognise the excess insurance and that she had been scammed??  She was told she could not take the car without taking out their own insurance at a cost of almost €500 on top of the €370 car hire. She was told she could cancel but there would be no refund?? She was also charged €67 for  admin charge( desk service and charged because it was after 2300 hours)!! To top all of this the guy at the desk was very rude, impatient and not at all understanding. All in all a very poor deal from  DOYOUSPAIN  and GOLDCAR. I advise not to use these companies. 

8102Mko

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2022 4:58pm

8102Mko

Helpful member

Posts: 329

210 helpful points

Location: Torrevieja

Joined: 30 May 2018

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2022 4:58pm

Stav wrote on Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:34am:

Hi all

Can anyone recommend a good cheap car hire company. My mother in law has just been ripped off big time by DOYOUSPAIN and GOLDCAR rentals at Alicante airport! 

I would advise you not to use these companies!

Thank you in adv

Do you know Spain are not a car hire firm but just an agency like many others and don’t have any cars. The insurance they sold you should cover you if the actual car hire firm “Goldcar” in this case were to charge you for any damage done. This insurance does not cover Goldcar themselves as the policy is in your name so they or any other firm won’t recognise it at the hire desk as they can’t claim in it. They have 2 choices then when you arrive for your car. They either try and sell you their own excess damage policy at the desk or alternatively put a holding deposit on your credit car for anything from €1,000 up to maybe €3,000 depending on the size of the car you’re hiring. Here if any damage is done they take the money from your deposit. The problem here is some of the more unscrupulous hire firm become very fond of these deposits & hate returning the full amount. They can charge & withhold money for spurious dents or scratches. You will be back home then before you find this out & would have to get details of any damage charged from Goldcar for to be reimbursed if you had taken out an excess policy yourself. In your case from DYKS. Isn’t always easy to get this documentation either especially if the damage is spurious and there isn’t any repair bill to see. In your case Goldcar went for the hard sell option and sold you their own policy. It’s hard to win either way. Goldcar have the worst reputation of all the renters but their are others at it too. Centauro are one of the better large airport firms if you take the all inc rental option. The smaller firms like Edi, Wiber, Coys and especially Lara are better options but may be sold out for the summer. 

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Kimmy11

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2022 5:25pm

Kimmy11

Legendary helpful member

Posts: 6869

12554 helpful points

Joined: 8 Aug 2017

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2022 5:25pm

Hi Stav,

DoYouSpain is just a hire car agent and I'm afraid that Goldcar are notoriously bad, especially their operation in Alicante airport:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/may/06/goldcar-named-worst-car-hire-company-in-which-survey

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/car-hire/article/car-hire/best-and-worst-car-hire-companies-aj00t0W8yvO2

I don't know of any hire car companies in Benijofar, but I've seen recommendations from other members for Lara Cars at La Marina:

https://laracars.com/

Unfortunately, no hire car companies are cheap at the moment.   During the height of the pandemic, when no-one could travel, the hire car companies sold off a lot of their vehicles.  Around the same time, there became a worldwide shortage of electronic chips, so car manufacturing has been badly hit and the hire car companies have found it difficult to replenish their stock.

Kind regards,

Kim

Douglas57

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2022 7:23pm

Douglas57

Helpful member

Posts: 83

71 helpful points

Location: Catral

Joined: 14 May 2021

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2022 7:23pm

What you describe is a worldwide problem, The UK  CAR hire companies at the airport do exactly the same, the prices are quadrupled (nearly £400) for a very small car for one day!!  the Forum member is correct in what they are saying the Insurance is via the BROKER and the car hire company tell you at the desk that you are liable for £1100 for damage/scratch/dents, they will charge you upon returning the car and you have to claim it back via the BROKER (Good luck with that).

The car hire companies do the same, you pay a premium rate for insurance for them to be covered directly.  If you had done it online it would have been cheaper, but as the booking is always via a Broker you got no choice.   Also the Broker insurance does not cover tyres, towing/recovery/windowscreens (marks or cracks), paint chips etc, it is mainly for accident damage that is not your fault.

I have been to Abu dhabi - Riyadh KSA and was subjected to the same treatment.   It is time to campaign to rid ourselves of BROKERS

Stephanie86

Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2022 1:24pm

Stephanie86

Legendary helpful member

Posts: 2748

2065 helpful points

Location: Lliber

Joined: 4 May 2017

Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2022 1:24pm

The easiest solution for anyone hiring a car is to take out excess insurance with one of the companies who specialise in this. In UK one of the best known is insurance4carhire, but there are others. The price used to be approx 40 sterling for annual policy and one simply refused the overpriced excess insurance at the hire depot. They don’t like it, but you have the document to prove it.

We had to claim twice, once due to a minor accident and once to deal with a spurious damage claim from the hire outfit. Both occasions it was extremely simple and efficient. No problem.

Moira01

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2022 12:20pm

Posts: 61

12 helpful points

Joined: 5 Jun 2019

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2022 12:20pm

Hi, I have always used Doyouspain, they are ok as a broker and also offer excess ins at alot lower price then the hire companies. I however have bought a yearly excess ins from World Wide ins and this is even cheaper and do pay out if you need them to.  The problem is always with the hire companies and I have found Goldcar to be the worst of a bad lot. You have to stand your ground and state have excess ins. If they said do not know of Doyouspain then they are lying but it is very tough while at the counter and see everytime people collapsing and then paying what is asked of them.

My daugh was taken in by Goldcar 2 years ago. She had done all that I told her to do but got to Goldcar and they kept saying her credit card was not working and we know this was a lie. She was so stressed she paid again.

This is when decided to buy our own car in Spain and park it at Alicante Airport. Best decision we ever made.

Gemily1

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2022 1:43pm

Gemily1

Very helpful member

Posts: 656

714 helpful points

Location: Torrevieja

Joined: 8 Nov 2019

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2022 1:43pm

Stav wrote on Thu Jul 14, 2022 3:43pm:

My mother in law booked a car on DOYOUSPAIN and got what seemed a very reasonable deal. She was offered and accepted a premier deal which included insurance that covered the €1100 excess. When she went to collect the car from GOLDCAR in Alicante airport she was told that ‘they did not work wi...

...th YOUDOSPAIN’ and that they did not recognise the excess insurance and that she had been scammed??  She was told she could not take the car without taking out their own insurance at a cost of almost €500 on top of the €370 car hire. She was told she could cancel but there would be no refund?? She was also charged €67 for  admin charge( desk service and charged because it was after 2300 hours)!! To top all of this the guy at the desk was very rude, impatient and not at all understanding. All in all a very poor deal from  DOYOUSPAIN  and GOLDCAR. I advise not to use these companies. 

I agree a rip off, my friend arrived at Alicante Airport last night at 8pm, with his wife and three young children the queue wasn't that bad but he was waiting ages, he paid 500euros for a two week hire, when he approached the desk to ask why it was taking to long they said he could be fast tracked for 35euros or could just wait  so an hour later and 3 tired kids he got to the desk and was basically brow beaten to take out the extra insurance which cost him an extra 350 euros what a total rip off.

Just for information I took out a damage waiver insurance which covered me world wide for one year for less than £50 and I would recommend people doing this if they are hiring cars. It will save you a lot of money at the airport. I would also recommend that you video or photograph every inch of the car you hire inside and out.

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