car rental full tank con

[mike507]

I was furious last time I rented a car through Carjet. I was put with Europa gold car who cahrged me 50E for a full tank. I almost ran out of fuel during my stay and only just got to a station. Guess what a full tank was? 27E. Plus they make money on fuel left in the tank. This is a con and we should not put up with it - what to do? I think they all do it now unless I'm mistaken?
Mike

[costakid]

Crown dont but the queues are horrendous. It can take an hour to get your car so you have to weigh up the cost against long wait. Why is there never a queue at heli hollis?

[jan400]

Autobenelux offer full/full and the petrol station is just next door to the drop off point outside the airport.

I think they are a little more expensive than carjet though so maybe it's swings and roundabouts. As they're off airport, there's no queues so that's a bonus too.

[Chalky]

There was a time when you could get Carjet to put you with Centauro, who would agree to a full/full rental. While they charged you for a tank of fuel, if you returned the car full they refunded their fuel charge. The last time I used Centauro they refused to do this, saying it was Carjet's policy to rent full/empty.

I don't know Europa's view on this - has anyone asked them?

There might be enough of us on this site that, if we all wrote to Carjet complaining about the full/empty policy, they would consider changing it

Incidentally, as I've said before, if you compare Carjet's rates with almost any others, you're still better off renting from them even if you pay over the odds for the fuel.

[ashtondav]

Yes go with carjet they're cheapest. If you don't mind queues ask for Crown - they never charge for a full tank.

2nd cheapest i have found is record, although they do have an insurance scam for tyre and windscreen damage (don't pay and they charge your card with 150€ up front!)

Europa always charge a rip off amount for a full tank and when i complained to carjet they said it was "within the spanish tourist guidelines".

The emptier car hire desks at malaga (Hele, avis etc) are empty because they're more expensive than carjets' offers with crown.

Others here will recommend their favourites, which you can find by doing a search. However none of them beat carjet on price, although holidayautos came close on a couple of occasions.

[mike507]

Thanks for replies. I know Carjet are good and the cheapest however they are only the agent and not the rental company. It seems I have to put up with the con but I know I'm going to bite my lip when it happens again this month. Please everybody complain to Carjet! as I have done.(No reply yet)
Mike

[princesspentium]

Just want to agree with all thats been said. Have been hiring cars in Spain for several years every August - & my husband always complains about the full/empty rip off. Its impossible to know with a car that's unfamiliar to you, how far you can go when the gauge is reading low - & of course you dont want to run out completly and leave yourself stranded.Seems they've got you every which way!
We always use Carjet and book online in UK - have not found any probs, even had an upgrade to a bigger car last year for no extra charge. However I am concerned that as we are arriving on a Sat Aug 12th around lunchtime the queues will be really bad - am I right? Guess ther'll be nowt else to do but wait - we cant get intoour villa till 4pm!

[mike507]

Here is answer from Carjet and my reply.
Please note that our fuel system is published on our website and also stated on the printable version of your car rental voucher. All our suppliers now operate a full/empty fuel system except on hires LESS than 4 days (i.e. 1 to 3 days)
The rates are taken from the Spanish Ministry of Tourism and Trade website for average fuel rates in Spain. Premium fuel is used as per manufactures advice.
Carjet as brokers are unable to intervene in local fuel policies/rates.

Kind regards
Sara Vazquez
Customer Services Manager
Carjet.com
Thank you for your reply. However, being charged almost double for my fuel for you to say that it is derived from the Tourist &Trade website for average fuel rates is frankly ludicrous. What is the “average” fuel rate? And how come the cost of my fuel was almost double the cost it normally is at any Station?

Fuel and payment is done on site and on arrival so presumably you fill the tank locally. Why then are you saying it is charge from the tourist and trade average fuel rate?. Perhaps you are looking at Rocket fuel!? What is the price of fuel at the station that car companies use at Almeria Airport?

There are other companies that take full/full policy and I shall be looking into this more carefully in future. I would rather pay more than be taken for a fool.

You say that you cannot intervene with these policies but at least one car company has said that it is YOUR policy and not theirs? Also, given the size of your company you must have a great deal of clout. There is also a great deal of animosity from people on various forums that I have been in contact with and it seems answers to these concerns are not remotely convincing.

[ashtondav]

Mike

I got the same letter from them.

Crown do NOT operate a full empty policy. Nor do Record.

In fact the only time i have been subject to this rip-off using carjet is by Europa Gold. If allocated another carrier by carjet you can ask for a transfer to crown or record - or book direct with record. This is easier the further in advance you book.

Without a frequent user discount record (and i think holiday autos) will be about 10% more expensive than carjet - but thats less than a full tank at rip-off charge levels. They will charge you 3€ a day for insurance, though, so get your calculator out.

As to the other question of queues at crown in an august lunch time - they will curl back to arrivals! Allow at least an hour and be pleasantly surprised if less. Make sure someone runs to the desk while a pal collects the baggage

[Busymum]

Hi,

I know this is deviating slightly but I had the same problem earlier in the year when we needed to hire a car for 4 days from Malaga airport when we had friends visiting and knew I wouldn't use a full tank of petrol.

Cut a long story short I was advised on this forum to try a company called rentacar 3000 in Benalmadena. I got in touch with them for a quote and they were only a couple of euros dearer than Car Jet! Their fuel policy was to leave the car at the end of the rental with the same amount of petrol as it had in it on delivery thus only using what you need. It might be worth a look at their website, don't know what the prices are like at the moment though. I was very happy with the car and the company service .... they even delivered to my home free of charge instead of me having the hassle of picking up at the airport.

Busymum

[zanuck]

I've posted before with regard to car hire, in favour of Helle Hollis. It's possible they may be dearer than some, I no longer check. They offer €6 if you find te same deal cheaper than theirs - not a lot but every little helps.

They also have regular discount schemes based upon early booking, 10% I think, or a free upgrade from group B and above, and a Home Owners Club Discount of 15%.

I always find the staff courteous, at the Terminal and at their garage, they reply (in my experience) quickly to emails and deal with telephone queries promptly and again in my experience helpfully.

They operate a tank full going out, tank full coming back policy. They take a deposit on the full tank at the time of hiring, - the amount has steadily increased, a couple of months ago it was €59,but, it's refundable - all you have to do is fill up at one of the petrol stations near the airport and take the car back. they give you back the deposit in cash if you paid it in cash or to your credit card if you put the deposit on your credit card. If you take the car back with a partially full tank, they charge you per quarter tank.

No I'm not an employee, nor related to one. Their policies and service work for me. Is it a case that you get what you pay for?

[Conehead]

Completely agree with zanuck.
Have used Helli Hollis twice and both times returned car full and the "deposit" was immediately credited to the credit card. Prices/week also very competitive. Also the service was excellent at the airport and in their office near the airport. Never had to wait more than 10 minutes but obviously that may vary with time of the year.

[ashtondav]

ok

I've just taken a look at carjet and helle holis for my short 6 day trip in september. Both quoted 120€ and Helle offered a free upgrade.

Looks like helle it is - especially when you include that frequent visitor discount

[gronc]

I have rented from them all and have found Crown to be the best

[Nicks]

We have also always used Record, and yes they do ask if you want additional insurance and if you don't, they take a £150 deposit - although they don't seem to actually put this through on your card and it is just a deposit. We get 10% off each time we book for being a Record member/loyalty bonus for previous booking and have found them fine. Sometimes the Q's take a while but never as bad as Crown! One of us gets the luggage while the other arranges the car hire to be at the front of the Q! They usually tell you the level of petrol in the tank, as long as you bring it back with the same amount of petrol in, that is fine, no deposit or charge for petrol.

[mike507]

Record sound good and I like the regular user discount - make you feel valued! But they have not replied to my enquiry about this.? Anyway cheers the input about this topic has been great and informative!
Thank god for forums!
Mike

[Nige]

I was furious last time I rented a car through Carjet. I was put with Europa gold car who cahrged me 50E for a full tank. I almost ran out of fuel during my stay and only just got to a station. Guess what a full tank was? 27E. Plus they make money on fuel left in the tank. This is a con and we should not put up with it - what to do? I think they all do it now unless I'm mistaken?
Mike

Am still puzzling out what car will only accept 27 Euros for a full tank. That's about 27 litres isn't it? Even a modest Ka has a 40 litre capacity. On average it must be around 50litres for a small car.
Confused.

[rafiki]

I was furious last time I rented a car through Carjet...

Book through Premiercarjet. Same company as Carjet but they tend to deal with companies and regular travelers. They will arrange full/full on request. Similarly if you get allocated a hire company that you are not happy with Lisa will change it for you. We always use Crown and, yes, I'm always the one haring across the airport apron to get to the Crown desk first!

[mike507]

Thanks Rafiki this sound good I'll try and hopefully I'll get some satisfaction this time.
Mike

[rafiki]

Good luck.