Having a nice new car to drive on holiday, with all the mod-cons and the steering wheel on the appropriate side, should be one of the pleasures of travel though all to often it turns into a headache.
Drawing on our long experience providing fly-drive holidays in Spain and Portugal we’ve drawn up a 9-point guideline to help you avoid the pitfalls and have an enjoyable car rental experience…
1. Choose a reputable car hire supplier
2. Respect the pick-up time (& tie to your flight number)
3. Documentation required at car hire pick-up
4. Car hire insurance – excess & excess insurance
5. Car rentals and SatNav / GPS
6. Inspect your car hire thoroughly on collection
1. Use a reputable supplier
If the car-hire deal looks to good to be true – it probably is…
The most important rule when booking a car is to select from the more reputable suppliers. These will generally offer on-airport services, full-to-full fuel policies and unlimited mileage (thus avoiding common pitfalls).
Using the better suppliers means the initial cost is higher but cheap rental deals are almost always a false economy with initial gains lost later in the process.
At Casas Cantabricas we have a long experience of renting cars and know who to trust in Span and Portugal. That said there are still several things it helps to be aware of when renting a car anywhere.
2. Don’t miss the pick-up time (and tie it to your flight number)
Delays, flight changes & no-shows
if you are picking the car up directly from a flight make sure the arrangements are linked to your flight number and the local agent will track the flight arrival and know when to expect you (making adjustments for flight delays).
If, however, your flight number changes and the arrival time is later it is imperative that you let the supplier (or us as your tour operator) know in order to avoid being registered as a ‘no-show’ in which case the rental may be cancelled and the full amount forfeit.
If you have ‘walk-in’ arrangements for the pick-up it is important that you collect the car within 1 hour of the contracted time to avoid being categorised as a ‘no-show’. If you can’t make the pick-up time call the office number on your voucher to let them know, otherwise this may also be considered a ‘no-show’.
3. Documentation required at car hire pick-up
Be prepared…
You will need to present the following documentation:
-
- A full and valid driving licence (for Spain & Portugal you don’t need an International Driving Permit unless you plan to stay for 90 days or more)
- A valid credit card (not debit) in the lead driver’s name (plus you may need the PIN – be sure you know it)
- Your rental voucher (digital may be accepted but we advise taking a paper copy also). Please read the voucher before travel and familiarise yourself with the important clauses
4. Car hire insurance – excess and excess insurance
Understand the excess amount and insure before travel
Normally your rental car will be ‘fully’ insured but in most cases will come with an Insurance Excess (the portion of the costs that you, as the insured, must handle personally before the insurance steps in), which can be significant, as well as a list of items which are not covered (incidental damages such as damage to wheels, tyres and windshield as well as key loss, incorrect fuelling, late pick-up etc) this is standard practice across all suppliers.
As excess amounts can now be very significant, and waiver options at the pick-up desk expensive we recommend taking our Excess Insurance (or an Excess Refund Policy) before travel.
There are many third-party suppliers (specialist companies and providers of travel insurance) who offer excess insurance in the form of single trip or annual policies to cover the excess amount plus incidental items such as damage to wheels, tyres and windshield and key loss, etc. It’s relatively inexpensive and simple to arrange on-line or directly with your travel insurance supplier and provides peace of mind.
If booking with casas Cantabricas we will have inform you of the excess amount and the availability of insurance which covers that risk as well as most of the other items. If you prefer we can offer an Excess Refund Product as part of your package.
Important note: If you have taken Excess Insurance before travel you will not need any further cover even though the local agent may insist that you do. You will need to pay any costs up to the excess amount for any incident(s) you may incur during the rental period but you then claim them back upon your return.
5. Car rentals and SatNav / GPS
Built in SatNav or Smartphone in-car connectivity
In general SatNav is not explicitly included with your car rental though in reality most cars come with either Satnav installed or with a smartphone connection system (which works with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to link your phone’s navigational capabilities with the vehicle’s display and audio).
If built-in navigation is important to you ask the local agent if the car has either of these features. It’s possible that they may state that the vehicle has no Satnav whilst in reality the car does come with smartphone connectivity which may well serve your purposes.
If you’re not familiar with the functionality you may need to take a few minutes or ask the local agent to help you with the set-up, though generally it’s a quite straightforward ‘plug-and-play’ set-up and has the advantage that you’ll be familiar with the user-interface once set up.
6. Inspect your car hire thoroughly on collection
Take 5 minutes and buy yourself peace of mind
When taking delivery of the vehicle we strongly advise that you make a thorough inspection. photograph any damage and make the local agent aware.
Ideally the local agent should note the defect on the collection paperwork and sign it out. Beware – any damage, however slight, which is not noted and signed by the supplier may be considered your responsibility at the end of the rental. Should they consider the defect too small to take note of we recommend taking photographic evidence.
As well as obvious damage to the bodywork we recommend paying attention to the wheels and tyres, windscreen, bumpers and the lower parts of the vehicle (particularly the bumpers where kerb damage can go unnoticed).
NB Some pick-up locations can be quite dark – we advise that you take the car out into the light for inspection before driving away.
7. Familiarise yourself with the rental car
Another 5 minutes, well spent!
On receiving the car it’s imperative that you take time to familiarise yourself with all the controls. In particular check out the SatNav functionality and smartphone connectivity (see note 5 above)
We advise that you also check that you can find the basic safety equipment (two warning triangles and a high-viz yellow vest) and the supplier’s emergency contact number.
8. Fuel policy – be aware…
Full-to-full fuel policy
First of we would avoid any deal or supplier where the fuel policy is full-to-empty. The supplier is relying on the fact that it’s impossible to return a car empty and thereby are making a nice extra income on every rental – not illegal of course but shady practice which doesn’t reflect well on the provider.
The full-to-full fuel policy means that the car is full on collection (worth checking) and should be returned with a full tank. In practice as long as you fill up within 10 or 15 kms of returning the car you should be OK.
Be aware: failure to do so can result in some very punitive charges as the supplier will apply a service charge as well as an inflated per-litre rate for any shortfall.
Also, as part of the familiarisation do make sure that you check which fuel the car runs on. Mis-fueling (putting diesel in a petrol car or vice-versa) can be an expensive business (though you usually get some cover along with excess insurance policies – see note 4 above)
9. Receipts and Contracts
Retain all car-rental paperwork!
We strongly advise that you request copy of the contract detailing any additional items and charges and ask for a delivery receipt upon return of the vehicle as proof that you have delivered it in the correct condition and fully fuelled.
Likewise if there are any damages or fuel charges keep the receipt in order to facilitate any claim or investigation further down the line (it may prove difficult otherwise!).
With over 30 years’ experience providing holidays in Spain and Portugal Caminos by Casas Cantabricas have a broad knowledge of the region and the rental car market.
By including a rental car as part of a fly-drive holiday package we’ll help you select the best rental for your needs, navigate the pitfalls as described above and resolve any issues which may arise along the way.
As part of your holiday package the car hire comes under the Package Travel Regulations and is protected by our bond.