Spanish Car Hire Scam?

[camerafodder]

The Crafty Traveller: Hiring a holiday car? Don't let yourself be taken for a fuel | Mail Online

It's becoming increasingly common sadly...

Still haven't booked a car, and am now seriously considering losing the £50-odd flight tickets and flying somewhere else...

M.

Just rent one from Budget, you get the option to return the car full without paying for fuel in advance. Simples.

 

[DSB SL AMG]

worked around spain a couple of years ago...always used Avis / Europcar...returned car back with full tank, no charge, no issues...

 

[edstrom76]

I think it's more commonplace with brokers as they are very competitive and car hire companies try to recoup money wherever possible. It's very dubious business though, and as someone already mentioned the same tank of fuel can be sold many times over. My advice is to carry on using brokers/comparison sites to get the best deal possible, but check that fuel policy says full/full (pick up with full tank, return with full tank - just like most of us expect it to be).

 

[janner]

Just rent one from Budget, you get the option to return the car full without paying for fuel in advance. Simples.

A Fiat Panda from Budget for a week in November is £73
A Fiat Panda from economycarhire is £50 with full-full fuel and full insurance.

Even Budget have some small print (I know Malaga's not in the Canary Islands)....
Fuel Policy for The Canary Islands
When you pick up your rental car it comes with a full tank.
You should bring it back to us empty. We charge you 75 Euros (including taxes) for A, B, C, H, L groups and 80 Euros (including taxes) for O, D, F groups for the fuel.

How can you use a full tank of fuel in four days on a tiny Island and how do you get 75 Euros worth of petrol in the Panda's 37ltr tank (at 1.04e/ltr)?

 

[Rory]

Just rent one from Budget, you get the option to return the car full without paying for fuel in advance. Simples.

As per janner's example above, you can't make blanket statements like that - T's and C's can vary by location and a lot of car hire places are operated as franchises. They can also be different depending on how, and through what route, you book.

 

[Spinal]

I've emailed a few companies with full/empty policies asking what a tank of fuel costs.

One (delpaso) has replied... I wont post the whole list, but here are some extracts:
Ford Focus 115 euro
B Class 120 euro
Mondeo 130 euro

May be me, but those seem a little steep for a full tank...

m.

 

[Dieselman]

I've emailed a few companies with full/empty policies asking what a tank of fuel costs.

One (delpaso) has replied... I wont post the whole list, but here are some extracts:
Ford Focus 115 euro
B Class 120 euro
Mondeo 130 euro

May be me, but those seem a little steep for a full tank...

m.

The price of unleaded is e1.39 per litre currently, so allowing for a 50 litre tank on the B class it should cost e69.5 to fill at pump prices, so there is a e55 markup there.

Do you think you will use a tankfull? Even if you do it's expensive.

 

[janner]

May be me, but those seem a little steep for a full tank...

Which is why you should always avoid full-empty companies.
Realistically, you're never going to risk running out of fuel on the way to returning the car so there will always be a few litres in the tank and they charge way over the odds for fuel in the first place.
It's a scam, pure and simple.

 

[Spinal]

Which is why you should always avoid full-empty companies.
Realistically, you're never going to risk running out of fuel on the way to returning the car so there will always be a few litres in the tank and they charge way over the odds for fuel in the first place.
It's a scam, pure and simple.

Realistically, I'm the type of person who would rather do burn-outs in the airport parking lot, syphon whatever fuel out and give it to other motorists and then push the car back the last few meters

I'll have a look at economycarhire - otherwise it's hertz for me...
M.

 

[Kris-H]

I think its a question of you get what you pay for.

The smaller, local "mom and pop" companies are more likely to try it on thinking they will get away with it as you won't notice or the people that use them are less likely to be aware of the issue as they don't hire cars that often.

The larger multinationals such as Hertz, Avis etc have company wide policy's applied worldwide, and deal with people who regularly rent cars and are familiar with the process so are less likely to try it on.

 

[BigSilverEstate]

In Mallorca recently you could choose between full-empty or bringing back the car with the same amount of fuel - and you paid for the latter at least they were open about the fact they are making money out of the fuel policy I suppose. Same people charged me 180 euros for a scuff on the rear bumper despite the car being supplied covered in dents and scratches which they clearly never repair

 

[Dieselman]

Same people charged me 180 euros for a scuff on the rear bumper despite the car being supplied covered in dents and scratches which they clearly never repair

Ha, ha. Sounds like good business...

 

[janner]

I think its a question of you get what you pay for.

The smaller, local "mom and pop" companies are more likely to try it on thinking they will get away with it as you won't notice or the people that use them are less likely to be aware of the issue as they don't hire cars that often.

The larger multinationals such as Hertz, Avis etc have company wide policy's applied worldwide, and deal with people who regularly rent cars and are familiar with the process so are less likely to try it on.

Sorry, but that's 100% not my experience.
Hertz is the only company to try and rip me off. They put the deposit through as the rental fee then told me it had been repaid to my card but their printer wasn't working. Economycarrentals sorted it out and got my money back. Me vs Hertz Fuerteventura directly might have been a different outcome.
I've seen people arguing about scratches that they're being charged for at both Hertz and Avis.
You just need to avoid companies that do the full to empty scam and record every mark on the paperwork before you drive off.

 

[janner]

..Same people charged me 180 euros for a scuff on the rear bumper despite the car being supplied covered in dents and scratches which they clearly never repair

Very common. Name and shame...

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Think I might move to Spain and start up a car hire company, it sounds like they're raking it in.

 

[janner]

Not just Spain.
Some hire car companies assume you're knackered after a flight and just want to get driving. Sign here, here, here and here... Gotcha!!

 

[BigSilverEstate]

Very common. Name and shame...

Company was called OK Rent a Car in Palma and I would emphatically recommend steering clear. Aside from the sharp practices on fuel and minor damage, they are offsite from the airport so you have to take a minivan transfer (a nightmare with the two kids+ luggage+ car seats) and (in September) we queued for over an hour once we got there to get our car as they seemed to take an age to process each customer.

When someone complained we were told in all seriousness that we were lucky as the waiting time in high season could be three hours!

 

[camerafodder]

As per janner's example above, you can't make blanket statements like that - T's and C's can vary by location and a lot of car hire places are operated as franchises. They can also be different depending on how, and through what route, you book.

Yes I can. As I said before I hire from Budget all over the world and never had this problem as I check the T&C's before signing. I also checked that the options were available to Spinal at Malaga (which of course is the subject of this thread) and they are, as indeed they seem to be everywhere else too.

http://www.budget.com/budgetWeb/html/en/smartservices/fuelServices.html

 

[camerafodder]

A Fiat Panda from Budget for a week in November is £73
A Fiat Panda from economycarhire is £50 with full-full fuel and full insurance.

Even Budget have some small print (I know Malaga's not in the Canary Islands)....
Fuel Policy for The Canary Islands
When you pick up your rental car it comes with a full tank.
You should bring it back to us empty. We charge you 75 Euros (including taxes) for A, B, C, H, L groups and 80 Euros (including taxes) for O, D, F groups for the fuel.

How can you use a full tank of fuel in four days on a tiny Island and how do you get 75 Euros worth of petrol in the Panda's 37ltr tank (at 1.04e/ltr)?

There's only £23 difference and you neglect to mention that the budget quote is also fully fueled and insured. I really wouldn't be quibbling over £23 for peace of mind.

 

[Rory]

Yes I can. As I said before I hire from Budget all over the world and never had this problem as I check the T&C's before signing.

If you're so sure it applies everywhere then why bother checking the T's & C's?

I also checked that the options were available to Spinal at Malaga (which of course is the subject of this thread) and they are, as indeed they seem to be everywhere else too.

Fuel Service & Payment Options - Budget.com

That looks like a US page - does it apply in Europe?

I did a test booking Malaga - Did you notice the bit where it says re fuel "This option may not be available at all locations outside the U.S. Please check your Rental Agreement at the rental counter before check-out." The snag there is that you don't see the rental agreement in advance and you've got to wade through it possibly while hot/tired/hassled.


I've experienced these things personally, and there have been consumer TV programmes about it. Typically what happens is the person you're dealing with absolutely insists you pre-pay for fuel or you're not getting the car.

The only company that I feel confident about renting from is Hertz, and they're not without issues, but Hertz have always sorted them out. Trouble is their pricing can be bonkers unless you catch a sale price.