Beat the car hire blues

Kerrrranngggg!

“Oh, Sweet Jesus, I’ve crashed the hire car and we’re meant to be in the airport in half an hour.”

Those thoughts went through my head as the ear-jarring sound of clanging metal echoed through a busy petrol station near San Sebastian airport last year.

I gingerly emerged from the car, scorn on my driving skills now ringing in my ears - “How could you crash the car in a petrol station!!!!?” - dreading the carnage I was about to find. 

But at the back of the car there was…nothing. Not a dent – nor even a scratch. The car had hit a bucket which clanged into a fire extinguisher. It sounded like World War I, but no damage done – at least not to the car. Pride and stress-levels were another matter.

The ‘crash’ was caused by my anxiety to fill up the tank as quickly as possible. 

I’d driven in on the wrong side of the pumps and then tried to reverse back on the right side.

Normally I’d drive on, turn around and come back. But this was a packed motorway service station with a queue and we were already in danger of missing our flights. 

If I drove on, God  knows where I’d end up – probably speeding down a motorway in the wrong direction (which has happened before during these dreaded last-minute car-hire fill-up dashes).

Earlier, I’d brought back the car with a half-full tank of fuel. We hadn’t seen any petrol stations on the route back near the agency (do car hire agencies deliberately site themselves so?). And in fairness, it’s very hard to time the last fill-up correctly. Go early and the tank won’t be full – leave it too late and you won’t find a garage.

I thought, I can ‘suck up’ the extra fuel charge. 

I was wrong.

The car-hire person had a conscience and simply couldn’t bring herself to charge us what her employers insisted she must.

“Señor, this is not a good idea,” she hissed conspiratorially, “Do you know how much they charge to refill the tank?” 

She showed me. And she was right…it was unthinkable to pay such an outlandish sum.

More stress was added by the location of the car hire agency. To get a reasonable deal – and often even any deal -  you can’t go to an agency handily located within the airport.

You have to find one that’s not far from the airport but not that close either. So we still had to get a shuttle bus, adding to time pressure.

We made the flight, just, but that episode sums up a litany of grief caused by dealing with car hire companies.

Hidden fees, insurance excesses and charging the earth for hard-to-see scratches are just a few ‘tricks of the trade.’

R

Car hire companies with examine every potential scratch or dent so make sure to photograph the vehicle before leaving in case you're blamed for someone else's damage.

ental agencies are  among the most complained about companies.

The European Consumer Centre Ireland even has two letter templates especially for complaints to car hirers – one for general issues and one specifically to dispute rental deposits being withheld.

And consumer champions such as Which? regularly expose car rental firms for practices that drive their customers around the bend.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: 'Booking car hire should be straightforward, but all too often it feels like the wild west, with travellers lamenting fraught experiences, poor customer service and spurious fees. 

But here’s how to avoid the worst car rental shenanigans:

Check everything – and that means EVERYTHING

We all know the routine. We film every millimetre of the car before departure with the macro-thoroughness of a David Attenborough documentary on the “Secret Life of Ants.” Otherwise, we’ll be charged a fortune for a micro-blemish that may have been there already. 

But also check everything works too – from lights to locks. One colleague was charged hundreds of euros to replace a manual lock she had never even used on the trip. Others have been charged for major repairs to things like clutches. The car renter may insist that a failure of such parts was caused by misuse and it’s hard to prove otherwise. 

Book with the best 

Which? investigates and surveys car hire firms regularly.  Cicar and AutoReisen regularly stand out in Which? surveys, scoring over 90% and earning a recommendation.  However, they are mainly based in the Canary Islands.

 The best of the rest is Centauro (83%) and (despite its cowboyish name) Alamo, who scores 73%. Fifth is Enterprise, which also scores 73% but offers less value for money, according to Which? 

Get a broker

There are many smaller car rental firms – too many to include in the Which? survey - that provide good value. However, there are also many dodgy ones so choose carefully.

Which? recommended using a ‘broker’ such as Zest Car Rental to assess them all.

“If you use a good broker like Zest, they'll also be able to advocate on your behalf in the unlikely event of issues,' Which? says.

'Despite being the cheapest broker in the table, its rates always include either zero-excess insurance or excess reimbursement insurance, free cancellation up to 48 hours before pick-up and a free second driver in some locations. It carefully vets the providers it works with and unlike some brokers, doesn't work with Goldcar (which came last in the past six Which? surveys including the one above). As one customer put it: "Zest was simply a breath of fresh air."'

Buy car hire excess insurance separately

The biggest rip off in the car hire business is ‘excess waiver insurance.’ Basically, agencies buy inadequate insurance that leaves  ‘excesses’ to pay in case of an accident – running to thousands of euros. And they expect their customers to pay this! Or rather they expect their customers to buy another insurance policy to cover the crappiness of theirs. And this is called ‘excess waiver’ insurance.

Then they frighten or pressurise you into buying their own overpriced ‘excess waiver insurance’ so they can make a massive profit on it.

Which? analysis reveals “holidaymakers could be charged up to €230 for inferior excess waivers at the car hire desk - when superior policies are available online for as little as €19.” Carhireexcess.ie, for example, charges from €2.99 a day.

If you do buy your own insurance, brace yourself for a battle at the car rental desk, where operatives are often paid commission to pressurise customers into buying their own brand of pricey cover.

Navigate clear of sat navs

Never pay extra for a sat-nav. Most recent cars have them already and apps such as Google Maps can be free (though watch out for roaming charges especially outside the EU).

For example, Avis charges €89 and Sixt €85 (for rental from Amsterdam May 1-8) for GPS rental. 

Bring your own booster seat

Even Ryanair doesn’t charge for transporting a booster seat – even as cabin luggage. But car renters will hit you for around €13 a day to hire one. 

Location, location, location

Car rental can be so expensive that its cost can come into the reckoning when choosing a holiday destination.

The U.S. is the most expensive destination. Cheapest were Cyprus, Portugal and Greece, according to a survey by Zest Car Rental.

Don’t hire a car at all

Is it better not to hire a car and avoid all of the aforementioned stress?

This year I decided to forego car rental while on holidays in France.

The taxi to and from Biarritz airport to a holiday site cost €180, which was very expensive for two 30km journeys. But it still worked out cheaper than car hire (€350 plus fuel plus ‘extras’).

There is a lack of freedom. But it was far more relaxing NOT to go off on what often can be stressful driving excursions and simply cycle around the locality (I usually rent bikes anyway).

And without the extra stress of dealing with car agency shenanigans, it was a far more relaxing holiday than usual. 

Bon voyage!