CAr hire

[Katerina]

Hi. Does anyone know any company who does do a fair deal on fuel - I'm hoping for (say) 1/4 tank and return in same state.

[Roz]

Record Car Hire don't charge for petrol.

[ashtondav]

Hellehollis refund you for any fuel brought back. Ie they charge you for a full tank and refund that charge if you bring it back full. Record is the only other major company operating this policy, although they don't charge you in the first place - they just say bring it back with the same amount you picked it up with.

I would get quotes for both companies and then ask for a quote from carjet and add €30 to €40 for the rip-off. If carjet are still cheaper go with them.

[TOZ]

www.doyouspain.com are brokers who only use companies in malaga with a fair fuel policy, in fact when i use them they usually book me with record and their prices are cheaper than booking direct with record car hire. best of luck

[casita-bonita]

We used doyouspain for the last few trips and they've placed the rental with Record.

Sure Record operate a full/full policy but I have yet to find a warning triangle, high vis jacket or spare bulbs in any of the cars they have supplied us. Bet that leaves us wide open to a fine for not having the correct safety equipment. What are we supposed to do bring them over in hand luggage? Yeah right.

[ashtondav]

Yes, Record are awful at supplying the legal Hi Visibility waist coats and triangles. And yes, it is your responsibility and you will be fined if stopped and caught.

Hellehollis, to be fair, has always supplied the legal requirements

[mirandamac]

We had a 1/4 tank, return same at Malaga airport in early June with Malaga cars - not sure who they used on that occasion. Had difficulty trying to find a reasonable cost full/full at Granada airport last week but booked with DoyouSpain (using Auriga Crown) who said full/empty unless car was for 3 days or under. At the airport we asked for full/full and no problem at all. Car had everything required.

[ashtondav]

AurigaCrown are notorious for their rip-off FULL/EMPTY policy.

It will be interesting to see if they change their policy every time a user requests it.

I for one would start using them again if they did, although those queues and their processing times (at Malaga) still look irritating.

[mirandamac]

Queues at Granada weren't TOO bad - we asked because OH had heard a couple of others asking & getting the full/full.

[casita-bonita]

Yes, Record are awful at supplying the legal Hi Visibility waist coats and triangles. And yes, it is your responsibility and you will be fined if stopped and caught.

Hellehollis, to be fair, has always supplied the legal requirements

Just looked up the full list:-

1. your passport, current until after your return home
2. Current driving licence, preferably the EU type with the ring of stars
3. Two EU approved, red warning triangles
4. Approved reflective jackets that must be worn by all outside the car at anytime, day or night, outside the vehicle at the side of any highway not in an urban (street lights?) area. The jackets must be kept inside the car so they can be put on before getting out and also must be visible from outside the car. The pocket in the back of the front seat is a good place. The jackets are inexpensive and can be bought at most supermarkets if you do not have them already
5. A set of spare lamps/bulbs for your car and the tool/s to change them
6. If you wear corrective glasses for driving, a spare pair
7. Your number plate should be an EU one with the ring of stars containing your country code, or a small plate/sticker with your country code (GB, etc) should secured to the rear of the car
8. Valid insurance
9. All vehicle documents relating to the car (legally certified copies are OK).
Recommended, but not mandatory is a First Aid kit and a fire extinguisher


I guess at a push you could take jackets and triangles in luggage. But a spare bulb set is impossible since you don't know what car you will have until you arrive.

Don't ever recall finding vehicle registration docs, or copies in the car either

[ashtondav]

Don't ever recall finding vehicle registration docs, or copies in the car either

The cops accept the car hire docuements as a proxy, in my experience. I must admit that while they did look for the two triangles and reflective jackets no mention was made of the bulb set!

[ron]

AurigaCrown are notorious for their rip-off FULL/EMPTY policy.

It will be interesting to see if they change their policy every time a user requests it.

I for one would start using them again if they did, although those queues and their processing times (at Malaga) still look irritating.

Last time I was over I had them at Granada. I insisted on full/full and got it.

Car had triangle and high vis but no bulbs - not even when I requested them.

[MattB]

I've just cancelled my reservation with Carjet and booked with Record Go - simply due to the fuel policy. Records prices (for my specific dates) were just as good as Carjet. Shame really - I used Carjet a couple of years ago and had a fantastic service from them - very nice car etc, with exception of the fuel policy. I hope Record's queues won't be too bad...

[Jool]

Did you tell Carjet why? I think its important to let companies know of objections to policies such as these.........then they may change it....if it hurts in the pocket, and each single customer adds up............

[MattB]

No I didn't. To be honest, I was in too much of a hurry to cancel the reservation. I agree with your points and hindsight says I should have told them why.

[oliveview01]

I would still email Carjet and tell them why you cancelled. I always used Carjet and they were good, except for the time when they did not have a car for me over the Easter period

[MattB]

Oh dear! - were they able to source a car for you, or did you have to go elsewhere?

[oliveview01]

They gave me a car like the bread sellers come around in...... everytime I stopped folk looked to see what I was selling I hated it, it had no ´go´ going up the hills and was dreadful to drive so I took it back a couple of days later. Stupidly I did not ask for a discount as I did not have a proper car. Hope I´ve not offended anyone who has a car like the bread mans

[MattB]

I would still email Carjet and tell them why you cancelled.

Emailed CarJet and got this reply back earlier today:

Thank you for you e-mail,all T&C's are set out by our supplier, as agents
Carjet are unable to intervine, however I will pass your e-mail onto our
supplier.

[Elaine]

For years we have used Carjet and asked for Auriga Crown, argued the last time regarding Crowns fuel rip off charges, but would not alter their policy. We did not turn up for a further two hire booking and received an e-mail asking why we did not go ahead with the booking's, I e-mailed Carjet back and said it was because of the fuel rip off charges and had rebooked with Do you Spain. had no reply to that.
Started to use Do you Spain and was given Record, who do Full/Full, only down side as has been mentioned is no high vis vest or warning triangle, I asked for them and was told to tell the police if stopped that it is a hire car, and it will be ok. If we had an accident I wonder were we would stand legally.

[strangerinandalucia]

Unfortunately, many people does not make use of the official complaint procedure in Spain. Every company should, when requested, hand out the official complaint form which must be filled out by the client and then send to the address of the governmental consumer department you find at the reverse of the same paper. It even happens that they immediately change their fuel policy with the excuse of "ok this time we make an exception" only to avoid this kind of complaints. Why? Because they should know that this policy is not legal. More, if you read the general conditions at the reverse of the contract you will sign, there's no indication that you have to return the car empty.
I got this info from a spanish friend and it really works.

AurigaCrown are notorious for their rip-off FULL/EMPTY policy.

It will be interesting to see if they change their policy every time a user requests it.

I for one would start using them again if they did, although those queues and their processing times (at Malaga) still look irritating.

[mountie]

We use Solmar car hire when we fly into Granada. They make you pay for a tank of fuel but if you return it with a full tank they credit the initial charge back to your credit card. Also for the sum of 18€ they have blue bags containing the required triangle/hi-viz jackets etc. Again when we returned the vehicle the charge was refunded.

Even better Solmar's office is now situated in the arrivals hall (previously they were housed in a portacabin down the road - meant waiting for a mini bus to get to them).

Unfortunately our forthcoming flight is into Malaga (not our favourite airport). Has anyone hired a car from Malaga airport recently? Does anyone know if there are any reliable companies prepared to refund the fuel charge if the vehicle is returned with a full tank?

[ashtondav]

hellehollis charge on collection and refund on return and record provide full and ask for it to be returned full.

All the other big operators and carjet.com rip you off with the thieving SCAM that is the FULL/EMPTY theft policy.

[Elaine]

Mountie,

We are the same as you. ie. would rather fly in to Granada only because it knocks half an hour off our journey. In July and for the first time we used Do You Spain (brokers) and had Record renta car at Malaga Airport. No probs with fuel (Full/Full) and no payment up front. only down side as I mentioned in a previous post, no warning triangle and high viz vest. Also a bit off a shock was that Record charge 45 euros for the little extras. tyres, glass, loss of key, clutch, filling up with the wrong fuel, (Auriga Crown last November charged 20 euros)
So much for the "No hidden extras advertisments" with Do you Spain and Carjet.

[ashtondav]

45 euros for the little extras. tyres, glass, loss of key, clutch, filling up with the wrong fuel

Do remember that if you are hiring more than a couple of times a year it can make sense to buy an annual policy to protect against all insurance excesses.

insurance4carhire it costs about £51 a year. Well worth it so you can just focus on the quotes from all the companies and forget about the excess/insurance policy.

[mountie]

Thanks Ashtondav, just purchased an annual policy through carhireexcess.com for £40.