Car hire scam

[janner]

Europcar in Faro, Portugal has its own pumps on premises yet they charge 86 euro for full tank for Polo ... And mind you, they have full to full policy however with rental longer than 7 days it changes to full to empty.

At Faro use economycarrentals or economycarhire and pick the cheapest with a fair fuel policy. The 'little' companies are great and you pick up and drop off at the airport car park. Avoid Avis, Auto Jardim, Hertz and Europcar.

edit..
Actually, that's a bit harsh because Auto Jardim is okay but their drop off point is outside the airport and you have to get their shuttle bus back.

There's a petrol station right at the airport entrance. Handy for the full-full cars.

 

[Dryce]

Travelsupermarket - a comparison site.

Try going direct.

Enterprise can be quite cheap at some UK airports. Prices vary by date and location a bit like booking a low cost airline. (The airports are sometimes a good bit cheaper than the adjacent non-airport locations when booking ahead). It's worth checking down the lists of cars as the pricing can be such that the prices on smaller vehicles aren't always lower than the intermediate ones.

You'll still get hit with extras at the desk - excess reduction, additional drivers. But the fuel policy will be full to full by default with the option at the desk of prepaying and the chances are the default excess will be lower.

 

[Spinal]

Thanks - will check later. I don't worry about excess reduction... I travel a lot for work, which has meant that I have an annual excess reduction policy for car rentals. Additional drivers is something I abhor. Every time I travel with my other half, she insists on being added; and every time, she never drives...

M.

 

[itaintemeyouno]

One piece of advice is to check if you are a member of an airline frequent flyer scheme. I am a member of BA's and at the top tier - Gold. With that, I get free additional drivers as standard with Avis.

I do fly a lot - most of my 11,000 miles between last August and now has been between home in South Wales and Heathrow on the M4. Avis give this perk to British Airways Executive club members of silver and above. Other airlines may have similar arrangements with hire companies too.

 

[PenelopePitstop]

At Faro use economycarrentals or economycarhire and pick the cheapest with a fair fuel policy. The 'little' companies are great and you pick up and drop off at the airport car park. Avoid Avis, Auto Jardim, Hertz and Europcar.

edit..
Actually, that's a bit harsh because Auto Jardim is okay but their drop off point is outside the airport and you have to get their shuttle bus back.

There's a petrol station right at the airport entrance. Handy for the full-full cars.

Thanks for the advice but I'm not planning to go back to Faro. I booked via Alamo which was cheapest one with Full to Full (which in the end wasn't real full to full). And Alamo is using Europcar in Portugal.

I spent some time finding the best deal and I was really annoyed with the charge for full tank.