HM Car rental in Croatia...need feedback/advice
 

We are renting our car through economycarrentals.com and they have partnered us with <b>HM Car Hire </b> in Croatia.

I have not heard about this car company before and since we will have the car for 3 weeks, I just want some assurance that they are reliable if something happens. I only read 1 review (quite old, 2007) about this car company.

Did anybody had any experience ....... good and/or bad....... with HM Car Rental he or she would like to share?

Thanks.

Could the name really be "HM Rentacar" ? Try searching for that instead. For example, from 2009:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...sts-Split.html

Yes Andrew, it is HM rent-a-car.

The 1 review I have read was also not flattering.

http://www.reviewcentre.com/review260670.html

I really am having second thoughts.

Andrew, did you rent a car on your trip to Croatia?

on all rentals I have had in Central and Eastern Europe over many years, I tried wherever possible to stick with the big boys. In Croatia, I rented with Budget a few times, no problems, even when it was still Yugoslavia.
stu

I rented from Sixt in Croatia last fall. I used Auto Europe to book my car (best rate I could find booking from the US) and they used Sixt as the rental agency. Sixt was fine - the car was a bit dinged and smelled like an ash tray, but it was fun to drive and pickup/drop-off went fine. Lucky me the car had the papers to drive into Bosnia and Herzegovina - I had forgotten to ask about that. Agent at Sixt told me that some cars don't have the papers; my car was the last one they had at pick-up and just happened to have papers.

Thanks Stu and Andrew for telling me about your experiences on car rental agencies in Croatia.

We are reconsidering, at this point.

Joy

Hi Joy. We are renting from Uni-Rent and picking up in Zagreb at the airport.
They are not a broker but the company. I haven't used them before but they have been very prompt with replies to emails, the price is pretty good but I don't know much about them.
I have used Economy before but they have always placed me with Sixt or Budget.
Hope you have good luck.
They also allow their cars to cross borders as I asked them.

We did the exact same thing: rented through the broker Economycarrentals (at a very good rate) and got a car from HM. We picked up at the dock in Split and dropped the car at the Pula Airport.

The car was fine. At both pickup and dropoff we had to jog the memory of the company by cell phone. But we were early for dropping the car. And our arrangements for picking it up were slightly complicated. (We arrived in Split by catamaran at 8:30 AM, did a mini-walking tour of the city, and picked up back at the dock at 1:00 -- approximately.)

So I advise a cell phone, also very desireable when traveling the back roads of Croatia -- or any place else.

I first used economycarrentals in October 2007, I don't remember who exactly I collected the car from at Split Airport but it was outside the terminal buildings so obviously a lesser company. Anyway, I was given an upgrade to an almost new and bigger car (not actually what I wanted!) which had all the correct papers. Sometime during my rental period it collected a long rubbery scrape along one side, probably from the bumper of a truck of some sort passing too close when the car was parked on the street, either in Mostar or Dubrovnik. This worried me quite a lot, but when I returned it the man just shrugged and said it would come off in the wash, and all was well.

I've booked with them again for 3 weeks time, and this time they have come up with Sixt. I have requested the cross border card as I will be driving to Sarajevo, and have been told there is no additional charge for this. (Yes this surprised me, but it was part of the deal when I booked, so nice to have saved 50 euros!)

I was very happy with them first time round, and I'll post back at the end of May letting you know if I'm still as pleased with them then!

Thanks everybody for your replies.

We have always had good luck with economycarrentals and have used them as recently as last month, in Italy. I would say 95-99% of the time, they have partnered us with the usual big car rental companies. For this rental, I was hoping we would either get Sixt or Hertz or National but alas not this time.

We might either go with Sixt or Hertz. There is a special promo from Hertz that gets up to 15% off on rentals in Croatia this summer.

Sher, I have also looked at uni-rent, and you are right, they seem to be pretty reasonable and they get good reviews. I will try emailing them and see what they offer.

And julia....I will be waiting for your post regarding your experience, especially on taking the car across the border.

Joy

Hi Julia! Can't believe it's May already! I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip to Sarajevo after you get back!!!

Hi JoyC! Funny, I found this forum as I googled exact same the thing as you did today - I have booked a car with Economyrentals in Croatia, for 3 weeks - in June - and wondered what the HM Rent-a-car was like. So I stumbled upon this site and became a Fodorite..

Unlike yourself, I was more concerned about Economyrentals, as this is the first time I've booked with them. Being Croatian, I was less concerned with the local company-- as I have so far only had good experiences. Being Croatian is an obvious advantage, not only because I speak the language, but also understand what is being communicated.

I travel to Croatia once a year. So far I've rented with Avis, Hertz, AMC, and some smaller companies, such as Welt Krk. Also, I've rented twice with Unirent, and they were professional, cordial, really a pleasure to rent with. HM seems to be one one the newer companies that probably competes for the markets covering major locations. As for their low rates, my guess is that they use less hype cars (f.ex. Skoda) as these may have lower maintenance costs, and be cheaper to start with. My feeling is good. I am now quite confident that this car rental will be fine.

My advice to you in Croatia, or anyone travelling there is the same as anywhere else really - just treat people with respect, and they will treat you in the same way. Croats are in general very approachable and exceptionally helpful people. They will not respond well to being treated with suspicion or arrogance. If you are smiling, trusting and relaxed, expect excellent service. Not to say that you cannot encounter an occasional villain; but this is so exceptional, you will sense it right away.

Hope this helps, have a nice trip.

Sonja

Hi Sonja!!

Welcome to Fodors!! I hope you will find this site as helpful with your travel needs as I and many, many others do!!

Thanks for your perspectives, especially about car rentals in Croatia. Although we are quite well-traveled, Croatia and its surrounding countries are fairly new areas for us to explore and discover, and so there is a bit of uncertainty on our part.

Hope you can report back on your experience with HM rent-a-car.

Joy

Driving in Croatia (and BiH) was fun and easy for me - until I got to Dubrovnik. Then I found myself driving in circles (and finding a petrol station was not easy). Fortunately, I had a cell phone because it was not clear where I was supposed to drop the car off; apparently the Sixt office is inside the Hilton Imperial, but you are supposed to drive it into the parking garage (there are no markings or signs on the outside saying "Sixt" - you just have to know to do that. Might have been nice had someone TOLD me that ahead of time!). Even then, when I called the Sixt office at the Hilton from my mobile, there was no one at the office; I was transferred to a cell phone or another office, and I was told simply to drop the car in the garage and leave it there with the keys in it. That made me a bit nervous, but once I drove in I saw spaces for Sixt inside and just parked the car in one of them. I had scratches on the side from before I rented the car and had wanted to confirm when returning that I hadn't put them there. Still, it all worked out fine - no extra charges on my bill later.

Thanks, Joy.
I will certainly try to leave a report, late June.

Is anyone familiar with AMC car rental in Zagreb?

Joy, I don't have any experience with that particular car rental company but we too used economycarrentals.com for our Croatia trip (and our recent trip to Turkey as well) without any problems at all. In Dubrovnik they even drove the car out to us. Maybe you can talk to them about your concerns?

Dubrovnik was kind of a nightmare for us as well. We picked the car up in Dubrovnik for the remainder of our trip, and promptly got turned around (and around and around) getting out of Dubrovnik. And we were given a car with like a quarter of a tank of gas. We decided to get out of Dubrovnik before getting gas which was almost a mistake because by the time we finally found a gas station, near Ston, the gas was very low and we were starting to panic!

Good luck and happy travels!
Tracy

I wanted to say that my trip to Croatia is not until October. I checked with Economy first because I have had good luck with them
I even called them and they say they have no small car inventory for October. It was hard for me to believe but maybe it is just too early.
I am happy so far with the service I have gotten from Uni Rent and the price. So I may just stick with them. I like those little ends tied up before I go so that I can concentrate on research.
I really don't want to call Economy in September which is what they suggest.

I have no problem booking a small car in October with Economy.

LittleVicky. Was it an automatic and were you picking it up in Zagreb?
Because I couldn't believe they did not have any available so I called them and they did not.
I havent' tried lately, though.

Have you guys tried Auto Europe for renting a car in Croatia? I was satisfied with them (used Sixt) last fall...

Andrew, I tried Auto Europe and they turned out to be the most expensive among the 4 rental car companies I tried, for the dates that we will be there. When I called them, they were more expensive than Sixt.com for the same car and time frame (hard to believe, isn't it??).

Sher, I ended up renting from Uni-rent. I'll try to report back our experience.... (hope I don't forget) as we will be in the area for approximately 4 weeks this summer.

JoyC. So glad you have that taken care of. By the way I did check today and ECC is still saying it does not have availibility for October.
I was surprised that UniRent is throwing in a free GPS because it is in October. They don't do it in the Summer months. That will be one less thing I have to take.
And I would appreciate if you report back. They are not a broker so the car actually comes from them sort of like you get a Hertz car from Hertz.
Again, good luck and have a wonderful trip.

I still don't have a problem in getting a car for October from Economy. Same goes for Autoeurope.

Then you are lucky because I just checked my dates again and all they have are intermediate cars for one week from Zagreb for $500+

Has anyone used Dollar/Thrifty?

I just got back from Split. Although I'd booked with Economy Car Rentals and had been put with Sixt, when I got to the Sixt office I was sent outside to Last Minute RentaCar.

They were very efficient, and I had no problems with them, apart from a short wait when I returned for the man to turn up.

I picked up a flyer at their offices with prices, and they look pretty reasonable. Two other travellers were waiting with me, and they were happy enough with their cars and service.

www.rentacarlastminute.hr

tel +385 91 139 5260

[email protected]

In fact the prices on the flyer look better than those on the website, so it might be worth contacting them direct.

Prices include tax, unlimited mileage, 2nd driver and CDW.

Hi Julia_t. Thanks for the input about the car rental company.
I am not booked with Uni-rent for a small automatic for one week picking up in Zagreb.
The price is E288 for the week with the same included points you mentioned. Plus they are giving me a GPS to use gratis.
The price for the same week with Last Minute is E392. But I am still going to contact them with the email address to see if they come in with a better price.
I may be getting a smaller car then they would provide.
Thanks.

Hey JoyC!

Did you visit Croatia already? We are going to Dubrovnik in July and I will propably choose uni-rent for car rental.
If you've already been there, how was it?

Thanks!

Reporting back....

We were very satisfied with Uni-rent and will mostly likely rent with them again when we return to Croatia. We rented for almost 4 weeks and had no problems with the car or with their customer service (they were excellent). We started in Slovenia and covered most of the western part, then into inland Croatia, including Plitvika Jezero, then the Dalamatian Coast, into Bosnia-in-Herzegovina, to the islands of Hvar and Korcula, then to Dubrovnik and Montenegro. And lucky for us, they made us return the car at the Hilton, which was next door to where we were staying, instead of the airport!!

A very late feedback, considering I promised to report late June. Glad to hear that JoyC had a good experience with Unirent, a Croatian company that I have used on three occasions (different locations) and will certainly use again.

HM- rentacar company did not even have a desk inside the Split Airport. It was just a guy, who arrived with the car. He asked if we minded paying in cash, and we did, simply because an outdoor cash transaction without a proper receipt did not sound safe to us. He grudgingly agreed to credit card payment. The car was quite battered and not all parts were in good condition. We had a small accident (a screw got stuck into a tyre so we had to change to the spare tyre). We reported the accident and were asked to fix the tyre at a place near the airport. This however went quickly and cost us just 50 KN. To sum up, HM rentacar was a cheap deal and it went fine, but we were not in any way impressed.

Later in the year I rented on my own, a car with automatic gear, for 4 weeks, from Zagreb Airport. I chose Unirent, for excellent rates and good service. (Unirent's slogan is "Yes, we can!") I only chose the smallest economy car with an automatic transmission, but was treated to an upgrade (nice touch). When I phoned to extend the rent for another 4 days, I was promptly called back from the headquarters and told that all my conditions are met, no problems whatsoever. Excellent service at the airport as well, friendly and helpful (even with luggage). Great to support such a local business, when friendly and professional.

SonjaJ. We also rented from Unirent at Zagreb. IT also was a small automatic. I can say the service was very good. The car was very nice and got great gas mileage.

Is not aware that car rental in Croatia is exorbitant. Auto Europe quoted for two days (pick up Rovinj; drop off Split end of Sept.) for standard automatic,$300+. Uni Rental never replied and Last Minute about $220. Is there any alternative to this? Thanks.

We've just returned from a trip to Croatia. We would not recommend renting a vehicle from Uni-Rent. Our car was two years old with over 65 000 km, had extensive damage to the interior and exterior and was provided to us with dangerous tires that were bald and peeling on the surface. After complaining, we had to wait several hours to get the tires replaced. (We were offered to take another vehicle instead of waiting. The tires on that car were even worse!) Later in the trip, the check engine light came on warning of a problem with the fuel injection. Several more hours wasted at the mechanic. It seems that rather than repairing the problem, Uni-Rent would clear the check engine light between customers and send the car on its way. Uni-Rent may offer lower prices over the competition but definitely not worth the hassle and certainly not worth risking your life driving a vehicle that is not road-worthy.