gigi

Hi there<BR>I'm afraid I've got another question- <BR>I've been researching car rental rates for southern Spain on the web. Looked at Avis, Hertz, AutoEurope. Then I discovered some sites for local rental companies-Andalucia Car, AutoPro, and Dannycar. The Spanish companies appear to have far better rates with decent insurance coverage. So my question is-<BR>Has anyone rented from these or any other Spanish car company? Is it true there are "no hidden charges"? Any recommendations or complaints? <BR>Thank you very much in advance<BR>(Boy I hate sounding like such a skin-flint in these posts...<BR><BR>

Angel 2

gigi,<BR>I rent cars in Spain frequently; I still swear by dealing with the big multi nationals. Avis has consistently given me the best deals and cars, but I've begun renting through AutoEurope, who contracts with Avis in Southern Spain. AutoEurope matches or often beats their prices. Their service has been super. I'd ask AutoEurope to match the cheaper deal you find through the local rental companies. You might be surprised how close Auto Europe will come. Then if you have any unforseen problems that can't be resolved during your trip, you can deal with them through their toll free number once you're home.

Tony

gigi,<BR>It's nice to hear from someone who is budget conscious. Check out the links below. I think you will find that their ALL INCLUSIVE rates will be better than all the others' headline grabbing rates.<BR>I have used them all and can testify that there are no extra mileage or insurance costs. Nothing, nada, zilch. Just walk away at the end of hire even if you have a prang!<BR>I think they even through in free extra drivers (no not actually a person) on the same insurance and roof racks if ordered.<BR><BR>http://www.carjet.co.uk<BR>http://www.all-inclusive-car-hire.com<BR>I think the above are the same agent just with differing offers.<BR><BR>http://www.hispacar.com<BR><BR>I hope you and other readers/subscribers use these agents as I would like to see the thrive so that all us less well off travelers have a budget option.<BR><BR>Tony

MILE

I GOT GOOD PRICING WITH AVIS AND GREAT<BR>SERVICE. CHECK WITH YOUR HOTEL CONCIERGE<BR>HE CAN DO EVERYTHING FOR U, ALSO IF YOU<BR>WANT TO DO IT ON YOUR OWN DO NOT FORGET<BR>YOUR PASSPORT THEY WILL ASK FOR IT.<BR> NO PASSPORT NO RENTAL.

Brian

Last weekend I reserved a car in Spain online with Avis. Everything was fine until they asked me how I wished to pay. I chose the Visa option and then received an email telling me my reservation was confirmed. However, they did not ask for my card number. How can my reservation be confirmed if I did not give them my card number? Has their system malfunctioned I've sent them a message querying this but had no response so far. Any thoughts most welcome.

Dolby

I've made a reservation for a vehicle with Record Rent a Car. I got their website through the Mallorca On Line website. Their rates seem to be far better than some global big name companies and offer similar insurance coverage. I hope it's okay. Has anyone rented from any Spanish rental companies or this particular one before?

RJ

Gigi--<BR><BR>My family and I just returned from Spain. We rented a Ford Focus station wagon through carjet.com with a pickup in Malaga. The prices were the most reasonable I found. Carjet is an on-line broker that will book your reservation with a Spanish or international company, all of whom have desks in the airport. All of the arrangements were professionally handled and there were no problems obtaining or dropping off the car. R

Maira

Brian--- Hertz, Avis, Alamo have been doing that for a while now (not asking for CC until you are actually at the counter). I just rented a car for a stay in Puerto Rico over New Year'Eve and had the same procedure. It sorts of forces you to confirm closer to the date, doesn't it?

Eric

I have had bad luck with rental car companies I've never heard of. In Europe I always went with a multinational and booked it in the USA before departure. I used Alamo for three rentals in Spain. Be aware that Alamo has no desk of its own in any Spain location, instead the actual agency is National/Atesa. National owns all Alamo operations in Europe and operates under the name Atesa in Spain. Atesa is one of the largest car rental agencies local to Spain. The rates I got (reserving through Alamo here) were significantly better than either Hertz or Avis. The three rentals were in 2000 and 2001.<BR><BR>The full amount of the rental was charged to the credit card upon pickup. No credit card number was required at reservation time. Insurance was simple: there was a deposit taken on the credit card, refunded upon return if all is OK, or for a little extra (little compared to what is charged in the US) all is included; just hand in the paperwork upon return and go.<BR><BR>I always carried Euro-denominated travelers cheques worth about 200 euros at all times when driving a car in Spain. My understanding is that if you are stopped for a violation a fine can be imposed on the spot. However I never had to test this theory in practice.

Brian

Hi Maira and Eric - Thanks a lot for your input. I was thinking of booking with someone else as Avis did not reply to my message query which made me think that perhaps their site was having problems but I'll stick with it now. I had just never experienced NOT having to give my card details upon booking or buying something over the web. Hopefully it I turn up at the Avis desk with the confirmation email it should be OK.