Renting a Car in Spain. Tips?

[NW-Bound]

The majority of road robberies happens along the Eastern seaboard of Spain. And Barcelona has been voted the "Pickpocket Capital of the World".

Near the end of the recent trip, I spent a couple of nights in a coastal town about 150 mi south of Barcelona. Same as many other coastal towns, this one had many Brit expats who were also local property owners. We had fish-and-chips at a restaurant owned by a Brit couple, and talked with a couple who owned an apartment there for something like 15 years. They told me a story.

One night, the wife heard some noise. At first, she thought it was made by the owner of the flat below her (this was a duplex arrangement, with an upper and a lower units). When the noise persisted, she got out of bed to get to the living room to investigate. And that was when she came face-to-face with the robber, and she said he could not be more than a few feet from her.

She let out a loud scream, and that scared off the robber and he ran off. She and her husband were laughing as they told us the story, but I didn't think they would be laughing as that happened.

I asked that the burglar had to be quite brazen to break into their home while they were there, and not when they were absent (they could not live there full-time as there were complications about taxes and visas, etc...). They shook their head and said that no, the burglars usually hit when there were signs that the properties got occupied. The couple explained that it was because that was when they could get more valuables such as wallets, purses, cameras, phones, etc... Darn!

Yet, life went on. They were still living in that apartment, and to come and go a few times each year. Said there was now a small airport nearby, where they could catch a direct flight to a small UK airport (not Heathrow). That saved them the hassle of driving too far on the Spanish highway, not that they were scared of it now.

PS. She said the burglar was dark-skinned, and most likely Morrocan.

 

[BigNick]

Don't pay for extras like GPS. Instead you can save locations in Google Maps as Favorites and if you open Google Maps on your phone, while logged in with the same Google account, those saved Favorites will be easier to re-find.

You need data access though to stream Google Maps for longer trips. So you need a charger cable and a cigarette lighter to USB adapter if you plan to use navigation on your phone a lot. Also need some kind of way to mount it higher on the dash, typically there are clips that mount to the heating and AC vents on the car.

Most rental cars now have a display that connects to Android Auto (or the Apple equivalent) when you plug in your phone. It may be worth having the app pre-loaded on your phone to save waiting (and 40MB of your precious data allocation on your European SIM, if you don't have free roaming) when you arrive. After that the display works like it has a fancy car GPS built-in, except that it's all driven by Google Maps. (Also worth downloading offline maps over WiFi before you travel, especially if you have an SD card in your phone.)

 

[brett]

We have Gamin GPS with Europe maps that we take with us IF we plan on renting for extended periods. I think that it has saved our marriage on more that one occasion in the UK, Italy (mainland), and Turkey. We don't travel overseas with cell phones and don't bother buying time on our ipads. We never had to use it in Spain or Portugal. Roads, main and secondary, were always well signed . The Avis and the Europcar maps were fine as well.

 

[walkinwood]

Use Autoslash to track any changes in rental fees. I've used them, but I rebook myself so I keep control.

I'll be renting a 7-seater van in Bilbao next month & driving 2 1/2 hours - mainly on highways. I'll let you know how that goes.

I've rented from Avis, Enterprise, Hertz & Europcar in Europe - declined insurance. But I take pics of the car before I leave the lot.

 

[explanade]

A lot of the offices of international chains are owned by local companies, so it’s like franchisees.

I haven’t rented from Hertz or Dollar in a long time. A couple of years ago, I made a reservation with Dollar for Munich but they didn’t require credit card.

I wondered if they were really going to have a car when I showed up. I checked some forums and they said Hertz and Dollar were the same company and they had weird practices like that.

I read the fine print a little more and they said if you cross borders there’s a surcharge, even if you return to same location.

Well I was mostly flying into Munich to cross into Austria so with the surcharge, it wasn’t that competitive a rate.

So I booked with someone else.

 

[brett]

We were standing in line at one spot. Heard the agent threaten the Brit ahead of us with fire and famine if he turned down the insurance. He was stoic,and patient god bless him. It was no, no, and no again.

When it came to our turn I looked her in the eye and said no insurance, I need to get going. All she said after that was what about the antenna? The car had an antenna for the radio. Antenna I said. She says that they often get stolen and we would have to pay if ours was stolen. Presumably her insurance would cover this.

We had another solution. The antenna was screwed on to a base. I simply unscrewed it and put it in the trunk. Told her I would re-attach when we returned the car. We could do without the Spanish radio stations. She was less than happy. Must have been on commission....just like the Budget counter guys at LAX!

She appeared to be a tough so and so who was adept at bossing strangers around and attempting to intimidate them with tales of fire and brimstone. Complete opposite to the one on a Greek Island who said give my your credit card details, if there is no damage to the car, etc we will rip up the contract and you pay me 25E cash. And, oh by the way, go out and pick any car on the lot.

 

[BigNick]

She was less than happy. Must have been on commission....just like the Budget counter guys at LAX!

I'm sure they are. I collected a car from Dollar at Dublin and tried to decline the extra insurance because my card would take care of it. The clerk went to put the deposit on my card and told me that it had been declined. I was in a hurry and it was Friday evening, so I gave in and bought the full insurance. On the Monday I contacted my bank to complain that their card had let me down and they told me that there was no trace of any attempted deposit transaction on the Friday. So next time I get told a similar story, I will ask to see the readout on the card machine.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm sure they are. I collected a car from Dollar at Dublin and tried to decline the extra insurance because my card would take care of it. The clerk went to put the deposit on my card and told me that it had been declined. I was in a hurry and it was Friday evening, so I gave in and bought the full insurance. On the Monday I contacted my bank to complain that their card had let me down and they told me that there was no trace of any attempted deposit transaction on the Friday. So next time I get told a similar story, I will ask to see the readout on the card machine.

Oh, man. That’s so bad!

 

[bmcgonig]

I'm sure they are. I collected a car from Dollar at Dublin and tried to decline the extra insurance because my card would take care of it. The clerk went to put the deposit on my card and told me that it had been declined. I was in a hurry and it was Friday evening, so I gave in and bought the full insurance. On the Monday I contacted my bank to complain that their card had let me down and they told me that there was no trace of any attempted deposit transaction on the Friday. So next time I get told a similar story, I will ask to see the readout on the card machine.

Hertz, and I think Thrifty and Dollar, will charge you €7/day for the privilege of using your credit card insurance in Dublin!

 

[explanade]

They're affiliated.

Like I said, they have some strange practices so whatever prices you see for them, read the fine print.

 

[bmcgonig]

They're affiliated.

Like I said, they have some strange practices so whatever prices you see for them, read the fine print.

The thing that ticks me off is that those charges aren't in any fine print. You don't know about then until you get to the counter. And even then at the end of the transaction. Then you're stuck.

 

[walkinwood]

Road signs - pretty easy for a US driver to understand
http://www.ukmotorists.com/spain-road-traffic-signs.pdf

 

[BigNick]

Road signs - pretty easy for a US driver to understand
http://www.ukmotorists.com/spain-road-traffic-signs.pdf

Helpfully, those signs are all standard across the whole of Europe, not just Spain.

It's worth noting that none of the red-outer-ring signs, which mean "No/Do not", have a red cross-out bar, apart from "no U-turns" (I don't know why that one is different).

For some reason, the meme of "red-outer-ring with red cross-out bar" is still very popular in the US (think, for example, of the "Ghostbusters" logo). In fact these signs mostly did have a red cross-out bar when they were introduced in the early 1970s, but then it was discovered that the signs were too "busy" and so many people couldn't work out what exactly was forbidden. Then some confusion followed as people thought, "Well, if it's not crossed out, that must mean it's allowed".

 

[walkinwood]

Renting in Spain was a breeze (Enterprise at Bilbao airport). Just be careful driving out of the rental parking lot. A couple of very tight turns.


As has been my experience elsewhere in Europe, an employee walked me around the car showing me previous dents. I pointed out a few more & had her record them. Also took pics. I did all this because I declined their insurance in favor of my credit card's primary insurance benefit.



The costco citi credit card works in the toll machines. The roads are very good and though we drove around Pamplona during the bull-running weekend, the highways were not busy.

 

[audreyh1]

Hey thanks for all the advice. I'm now getting ready to commit! And I will use AutoEurope

I see AutoEurope.com quotes in $ which surprises me a bit. I would prefer to see the rates in €.

I did read Rick Steves mention to also check AutoEurope.eu in case there is a bit more availability. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/booking-a-car

AutoEurope sells insurance coverage - CDW plus Theft. But I suppose the car rental counter will try to get you to buy such insurance directly?

 

[explanade]

You should be able to change the currency. Or maybe I'm thinking of booking.com.

ONe thing, they charge higher rates to Americans or they did at least a couple of years ago. If you booked with a UK address, the rates were lower.

Not sure if it's still the case.

 

[brett]

You will be charged in USD. Autoeurope's offices are in the US.

You pay when you make the reservation. But keep checking back because prices/cars vary. You could get an upgrade and/or a lower price on a reprice.

 

[audreyh1]

You will be charged in USD. Autoeurope's offices are in the US.

You pay when you make the reservation. But keep checking back because prices/cars vary. You could get an upgrade and/or a lower price on a reprice.

OK thanks - I was wondering.....as this doesn’t get mentioned in articles or reviews of AutoEurope.

I know you show up at the rental car counter with a voucher for the car. Does this mean avoiding some of the counter hassle?

I have occasionally checked the prices over the past couple of months, and they haven’t varied at all it seems - still over 2 months away, but I’ll check again as it gets closer. Sounds like rebooking is no problem even if you prepay?

BTW via AutoEurope.eu you pay in Euros. So far the prices shown appear to be about the same taking into account currency conversion. There were far more rental companies listed through AutoEurope.eu, but the car offerings from the companies listed under both sites appeared to be the same. The insurance offerings were different.

 

[bmcgonig]

OK thanks - I was wondering.....as this doesn’t get mentioned in articles or reviews of AutoEurope.

I know you show up at the rental car counter with a voucher for the car. Does this mean avoiding some of the counter hassle?

I have occasionally checked the prices over the past couple of months, and they haven’t varied at all it seems - still over 2 months away, but I’ll check again as it gets closer. Sounds like rebooking is no problem even if you prepay?

BTW via AutoEurope.eu you pay in Euros. So far the prices shown appear to be about the same taking into account currency conversion. There were far more rental companies listed through AutoEurope.eu, but the car offerings from the companies listed under both sites appeared to be the same. The insurance offerings were different.

I've been using kayak.com in Ireland for the last few years. I just did a comparison between a car in Ireland from Aug 15 for a week (just an example from top of my head). Cheapest on autoeurope.eu was €177. Cheapest on kayak was 99. And many more under €177. All reputable companies like Budget, Hertz etc. You might want to give it a try?


Edit:. Ah, just checked, the autoeurope one includes insurance.

 

[Bamaman]

You will need to add the CDW to the reservation when it's made--if it's reasonable. Those that add CDW when you arrive in Ireland may be taken advantage of by the rental agent. At least CDW in Italy is fairly priced and set by gov't. regulations.

Be sure to take pictures of the car--before and after.

FYI: The driving conditions in rural Ireland are about as bad as I've seen them. The roads are narrow and often poorly paved. Even on main highways, you may run up on single lane bridges. We also experienced deep ditches, brick and dirt walls and shrubs that come right up to the pavement. Driving here is simply not for marginal drivers--especially since they're right hand cars.

Getting back to Spain car rentals: We recently returned from Spain, and the roads were fine where we went by ground--Madrid to Granada. It's a thoroughly modern country.

 

[COcheesehead]

You will need to add the CDW to the reservation when it's made--if it's reasonable. Those that add CDW when you arrive in Ireland may be taken advantage of by the rental agent. At least CDW in Italy is fairly priced and set by gov't. regulations.

Be sure to take pictures of the car--before and after.

FYI: The driving conditions in rural Ireland are about as bad as I've seen them. The roads are narrow and often poorly paved. Even on main highways, you may run up on single lane bridges. We also experienced deep ditches, brick and dirt walls and shrubs that come right up to the pavement. Driving here is simply not for marginal drivers--especially since they're right hand cars.

Was just in Ireland last fall. The Irish are awesome drivers, but I would never drive on the rural roads. Rarely straight, bushes and ditches on each side, sheep around the corners, barely two lanes. No way.

 

[audreyh1]

I have an old company Hertz Gold Card that gives big discounts on car rentals. I sometime compare those rates to AutoEurope which is a U.S.based consolidater. I will use the cheapest.

I avoid all airport or.train station rentals as they always come with extra taxes or tariffs. I rent in city locations as I am leaving town. I use.my Capital One card in lieu of CDW except in Italy or Ireland where optional CDW is required.

We were in Spain the last two weeks, and it is a completely modern country. You should have no problems renting a car.

A major reason I'm renting from the airport is that MAD is already well on the outskirts of Madrid, and fortunately on the correct side of the city for our out-of-town destination. Otherwise I might not have been brave enough to do this.

I do all the driving in the US, including a huge diesel pusher motorhome, so I'm not sure why driving in Europe makes me so nervous. Especially since I read Spanish extremely well, so road signs are no problem at all. It's just going to be a new experience for me.

Yes, traveling in Spain for several weeks last year by bus and train it was quite obvious that Spain is a very modern country, and the rural highways are excellent.

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks for sharing that site (my bold).


I've planned a 40 minute flight for October that cost about $350 (flight plus taxis) for the two of us. I compared that same trip to hiring a car and driver from that site and it costs about $500 (and takes about 5.5 hours). But it's cool the way you can add-in various stops on the way for another $40 or so bucks. So a couple hours of driving, then an hour or so touring, then another couple three hours and you're there. Now, in the case of flying, we have more time at the destination, but there's nothing to see along the way.


Anyway, for the future, I'll keep this in mind as something in between flying and renting a car.

I strongly considered this last year. There was a transfer that we could have taken that even spent a couple of hours at a mountain town that we missed visiting. We took a train and then a bus instead - it was fine. But I'll definitely consider the transfer another time.

Gosh - those large intercity buses in Spain are very nice. Quite a few towns aren't reached by train, and we ended up taking 3 different bus trips and I enjoyed it - great views of the countryside.

 

[audreyh1]

Car rental agency gave me a hard time about the international drivers license thing. I had never heard of it, clearly didn't do my research. They went back and forth with me for quite some time and made me late to meet our AirBNB check in person. They eventually gave us the car, but it was a major complication and created a huge amount of stress after a long flight and at the beginning of a vacation. I had not considered a Plan B should they have decided not to give us a car.

I already got my international driver permit. Had to do it by mail, but AAA turnaround was super fast. I was impressed. $20 - good for a year from the start date you give them.

Not needed from France, AFAIK, but Spain still requires it.

 

[BigNick]

I already got my international driver permit. Had to do it by mail, but AAA turnaround was super fast. I was impressed. $20 - good for a year from the start date you give them.

Not needed from France, AFAIK, but Spain still requires it.

I don't know if France still needs one for US licences, but if it does, it's a different IDP. It turns out that there are three, from different conventions, and different European countries signed up at different times. This has become a potential issue for holders of UK licenses with the Brexit thing. See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/driving-in-the-eu-after-brexit-international-driving-permits