# Car rental Malaga airport



## englishowner (Sep 1, 2013)

Hi everyone

I'm going to Playa Andaluza later in the Autumn and before have always organised a private taxi transfer through the resort concierge. This costs about 90 euros each way which with the exchange rate seems very expensive.

Can anyone recommend a car rental company? I have been looking at Carjet who are offering very cheap prices but with companies that get terrible comments on Tripadvisor. These comments are about huge 2/3 hour queues for picking up cars, scams on fuel, extra hidden costs etc. 

If anyone has experience of a good rental company that is also value for money would appreciate any advice. Can't bear the thought of hours waiting to pick a car up but nor do I want my transport to the resort to be more that my return flight from the UK.

Thanks,

Lynne


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## jerseyfinn (Sep 1, 2013)

We've done 16 visits to the Marriott Costa del Sol resorts over the years. Some visits we've used the car a lot and others we hardly use the car except to run into town a couple of times. So we also on occassion use the airport limo strategy along with taking taxis to town on some trips. Essentially we make our 'best guess' about how much driving we will do on a trip and factor out the cost of rental vs limo/taxi strategy. 

As to car rental prices in the region. The best prices tend to be found at the Malaga airport-- that's just the way it is. The Marriott resorts can also help with car rentals picked up at the resort but these rates are higher by the day, but do come down in price when you rent for multiple days. You might consider pricing a limo ride to the resort and renting a car for airport drop-off.

As to reviews about Carjet on Trip Advisor. My own attitude towards any sort of review ( includes here on TUG ) is that one must filter out varying amounts of subjectivity before one can divine the true context of information. 

It's also important to clear up a misunderstanding about Carjet which some folks here and on Trip Advisor have. Carjet is a consolidator who negotiates prices between the various franchise rental companies. They have nothing to do with 'gas scams'. When you rent from Carjet, they quote you the lowest price at that moment and only after confirming a reservation do you learn who the company is. When I parse through Trip Advisor commentary on Carjet I find many threads which date well before 2010 along with a couple of prolific posters ( one a local who lives there ) pounding away at Carjet. Many do complain about typical car rental games, but most ingnore the fact that Carjet is a consolidator, .

Some of the "better" airport rental companies charge much higher prices, so we almost always use Carjet when we do rent because they get us the lowest price every time. The dice roll with Carjet is always going to be which rental company they are able to broker the deal with. And yes, some of these companies will tell you to bring the car back empty. Some folks on Trip Advisor call this a gas scam. As a regular traveler, I simply call this "buyer beware" and I figure out how to strategize around this. Folks who are doing a one week visit would be most impacted by this 'empty tank' policy as you may only do a couple of short trips during your visit leaving you with a lot of unused fuel  ( we always did 2 week visits & had more control over this policy ). If you've got a lot of side trips planned, this problem becomes moot as you can top off along the way. 

As to stories of long lines and long waits at Carjet counters for pickup. Yes, this is often the case, though not always. The reason for this is because Carjet's low prices attract a lot of business and as arriving flights pile up, so too does the wait line. Our strategy around this was for me to grab all of our carry on luggage and head straight to the queues whilst my wife gets the checked bag(s) and finds me <now near the front> in the queue. Another reason for the long queues is that many Europeans seem to arrive without reservations and this slows the queues ( yeah, a subjective comment indeed, but I never saw any Americans without a reservation ). 

In practice, the Carjet queues tend to move along -- provided they have enough cars to keep turning over customers. Malaga Airport at high season is a mass of people returning cars ( in the garage not at the counters ) and arrivals lining up for cars at the same time. The irony about Spain car rentals is that the cars often only get a splash of water on them before the next driver arrives, so these cars are not 100% clean. Also we observe more dents and dings on these cars but have never had a problem with the return becaue of them. As with all car rentals, they try to sell you extra insurance which one should decline as you've got your own coverage plus your credit card's coverage. That said, we have on occassion taken the extra coverage on tires and rims when we anticipate lots of driving in the moutains and back roads.

Well that's my own subjective take on car rental out of Malaga. If you're going this fall you might want to make a reservation or two and shop again for price as you departure nears. We've held our reservations until the end before choosing between renting and the limo route as we see how our final goals work out. Have a nice visit.

Barry


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## Pompey Family (Sep 1, 2013)

I have always used Sixt when flying to Malaga, mid-priced, cheaper than Hertz, Avis and Budget but more expensive than Carjet.  The cars have always been clean and no older than a year.  When we picked the car up in April we went straight to the desk whilst the queue for Carjet was hundreds long.  I also didn't like the look of the Carjet cars in the parking bays.

Personally I wouldn't use them and the old adage "you get what you pay for" rings true with Carjet.

For the sake of £50 or thereabouts I can do without the hassle when I'm on holiday.


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## MALC9990 (Sep 1, 2013)

englishowner said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> I'm going to Playa Andaluza later in the Autumn and before have always organised a private taxi transfer through the resort concierge. This costs about 90 euros each way which with the exchange rate seems very expensive.
> 
> ...



There are several issues when using these sort of car rental consolidator companies.

1. The Full tank / empty tank scam. One of my big complaints with firms like car jet has always been that you do not discover that this scam will operate until you have signed up then youy are stuck. For that reason alone I have in the past refused to use them

2. The offsite car rental location. Many of the firms used by these consolidators are not actually at the airport, some are miles away in parts of town I would rather not visit. Again, like the fuel scam it is often after you sign up and pay that you find that you are stuck with a trip in a bis or some other poor quality transport to an off airport site which is not what I want.

3. You are committed to pay up front and there are no cancellation options.

4. The actual rental companies are never ever any of the mainstream companies and again I would rather avoid.

So until this year I had always avoided Holiday Autos in the UK since the typically fell foul of items 1 and 2. However I always checked them out to see what the price was. Then this year I noticed that they state the fuel policy upfront and also show whether the company they will use to supply the car is on or off airport.

So I would recommend you look at Holiday Autos online as a start and also look at Hertz, Avis, Sixt and Atesa(Enterprise) at Malaga. The details of the fuel policy, on and off airport and actual hire company can be found with a little effort when searching the Holiday Autos site and you will see the prices up front.

We are off to Marbella Beach Club for a week in Dec. Currently I have a car booked with Hertz using the Marriott Rewards CDP number for a 10% discount. This booking can be cancelled at no cost and so I will look at Holiday Autos soon for a better rate (but only if the Ts&Cs are as good as Hertz).


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## englishowner (Sep 1, 2013)

Thanks for your help everyone,


I've found a good(ish) rate with hertz and sixt, think I'll stick to using the bigger companies even if they charge a bit more than Goldcar or some of the others. 

Then, all I've got to do is get brave enough to tackle the roads. I have driven all over the US and not batted an eyelid but the Spanish roads and drivers scare me a little!


Wish me luck....


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## MALC9990 (Sep 1, 2013)

englishowner said:


> Thanks for your help everyone,
> 
> 
> I've found a good(ish) rate with hertz and sixt, think I'll stick to using the bigger companies even if they charge a bit more than Goldcar or some of the others.
> ...



You'll be fine. Take the AP7 (Peage) after departing the airport - follow the CADIZ signs and then keep on the AP7 past Marbella and down to Estapona. Then come back along the A7 in the direction of Marbella and after you pass the Crowne Plaza on your right the resort will be the next exit on the right. You will need some Euros for the toll charges.


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## bazzap (Sep 1, 2013)

Our choice is often decided by offers available for the time we travel, especially when from the companies Malcolm mentions. Currently Hertz are offering 30% discount, so certainly worth a look.


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## MALC9990 (Sep 1, 2013)

bazzap said:


> Our choice is often decided by offers available for the time we travel, especially when from the companies Malcolm mentions. Currently Hertz are offering 30% discount, so certainly worth a look.



Yep - just cancelled my Hertz car for Malaga in Dec and rebooked same car same dates same times with Hertz and saved the 30%. However the same did not work for the USA next week - price was up a bit so decided not to cancel.


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## Pompey Family (Sep 2, 2013)

englishowner said:


> Then, all I've got to do is get brave enough to tackle the roads. I have driven all over the US and not batted an eyelid but the Spanish roads and drivers scare me a little!
> 
> 
> Wish me luck....



No luck required.  The majority of the Spanish roads, particularly the major ones are either new or in very good condition and most of the drivers are fine although don't expect to be let out of a junction if it's busy, I did that to a young Spanish woman last time I was there and she was so shocked she stalled the car.

I find it easier with an automatic and whilst that's never a problem in the US in Europe automatics command a premium.  If you're nervous about driving then it may pay to upgrade to an automatic just to alleviate that additional bit of stress.


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## n777lt (Sep 2, 2013)

We've stayed in Marbella several times and rented a car each time -- either Sixt, Hertz or Avis depending on who had the best rate at the time. I've ended up paying a little more than the consolidators offered, but I prefer to be dealing directly with the rental agency - if there were a damage or theft claim, I'd prefer not to have a third party to contend with as well.

We have found driving throughout Spain to be pretty simple. However, if your comfort level depends on being able to drive automatic shift (which IS quite pricey throughout Europe I gather) be warned - as some friends of ours discovered, your reservation of an automatic is NOT a guarantee that the agency will have one when you show up!  Be sure someone in your party is willing and able to drive standard shift if necessary.


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## pafort (Sep 5, 2013)

englishowner said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> I'm going to Playa Andaluza later in the Autumn and before have always organised a private taxi transfer through the resort concierge. This costs about 90 euros each way which with the exchange rate seems very expensive.
> 
> ...




www.marbesol.com.

fuel full/empty pay on arrive


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## MALC9990 (Sep 5, 2013)

pafort said:


> www.marbesol.com.
> 
> fuel full/empty pay on arrive



This is exactly the system I do not like - there is no way you can return the car empty. Thus the car rental company is always profiting at the drivers expense. 

In Majorca this summer, Atesa (Enterprise) charge 80 Euros for the full tank at the start but when the car is returned full the charge is refunded to the credit card.

Unfortunately as far as I can see the companies used by the consolidators in Malaga all do the full/empty scam - so I use Hertz who do return the car tank full rentals.


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## pafort (Sep 5, 2013)

*rent a car in Malaga airport*

Dear Malcolm,
unfortunately I do not like to give fuel to the car hire companies.
The best way to rent in Palma (as you know are not the owner but there Cupido pitch 10 weeks a year ...), is to book at recordgo (www.recordrentacar.com). But by August this year, they force you to pay for a full tank even if you do rentals of 3 days, although then returning the car with a full tank, you are credited back to the money on the card.
A malaga, the first few times I always rented the car at Hertz, using the discount Ryanair (www.ryanair.com), making the booking directly from the airline's website, but then once I chose marbesol, I never went back to rent with other companies. The prices are lower, much lower even with a full tank of fuel

Paolo


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## bazzap (Sep 5, 2013)

I have just booked for Palma for our trip this weekend with economycarhire. (5 weeks for under £400 for a Renault Clio 5 door aircon...etc. Yes, they do operate full/empty, but their price was 60% less than the Hertz and Sixt equivalent prices of approx £1000 even with Marriott discounts and up to 33% summer sale deals!


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## MALC9990 (Sep 6, 2013)

pafort said:


> Dear Malcolm,
> unfortunately I do not like to give fuel to the car hire companies.
> The best way to rent in Palma (as you know are not the owner but there Cupido pitch 10 weeks a year ...), is to book at recordgo (www.recordrentacar.com). But by August this year, they force you to pay for a full tank even if you do rentals of 3 days, although then returning the car with a full tank, you are credited back to the money on the card.
> A malaga, the first few times I always rented the car at Hertz, using the discount Ryanair (www.ryanair.com), making the booking directly from the airline's website, but then once I chose marbesol, I never went back to rent with other companies. The prices are lower, much lower even with a full tank of fuel
> ...



I must have misunderstood your post - I thought fuel full/empty pay on arrival meant that the car must be returned empty and you pay up front for a full tank at the rate the hire company charge which is always more than you pay at a local gas station.

As for Record - at Palma airport the queue to get a car is always enormous and I simply do not want to hang around in the arrivals baggage hall for several hours to get my car - also the reports on Record are not good.


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## MALC9990 (Sep 6, 2013)

bazzap said:


> I have just booked for Palma for our trip this weekend with economycarhire. (5 weeks for under £400 for a Renault Clio 5 door aircon...etc. Yes, they do operate full/empty, but their price was 60% less than the Hertz and Sixt equivalent prices of approx £1000 even with Marriott discounts and up to 33% summer sale deals!



Thanks for that info Barry - will check it out for next year in Majorca.


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## DebBrown (Sep 6, 2013)

Is the Hertz 30% deal with a coupon code?

Deb


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## bazzap (Sep 6, 2013)

Hi Deb

These are the 2 promotional offers I tried
http://www.marriott.com/hotel-promotions/hertz-promotion.mi
https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/specialoffers/index.jsp?targetPage=HEL_Global_Sale13_Solus.xml


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## pafort (Sep 6, 2013)

*express check in by recordGo*



MALC9990 said:


> I must have misunderstood your post - I thought fuel full/empty pay on arrival meant that the car must be returned empty and you pay up front for a full tank at the rate the hire company charge which is always more than you pay at a local gas station.
> 
> As for Record - at Palma airport the queue to get a car is always enormous and I simply do not want to hang around in the arrivals baggage hall for several hours to get my car - also the reports on Record are not good.



since August, with only 8 € you can do an express check-in and can not find row


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## pafort (Sep 6, 2013)

bazzap said:


> I have just booked for Palma for our trip this weekend with economycarhire. (5 weeks for under £400 for a Renault Clio 5 door aircon...etc. Yes, they do operate full/empty, but their price was 60% less than the Hertz and Sixt equivalent prices of approx £1000 even with Marriott discounts and up to 33% summer sale deals!


 economycarhere is a broker. It takes the cars at Goldcar, RecordGo Atesa ... depends on the type of machine. And as a search engine google style, but then you have to go at the bench Goldcar, recordGo because you will not find on the spot the bench economycarhere.Concetto identical to autoeurope.com

Paolo


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## bazzap (Sep 6, 2013)

pafort said:


> economycarhere is a broker. It takes the cars at Goldcar, RecordGo Atesa ... depends on the type of machine. And as a search engine google style, but then you have to go at the bench Goldcar, recordGo because you will not find on the spot the bench economycarhere.Concetto identical to autoeurope.com
> 
> Paolo


I am not sure I understand your "the spot on the bench" reference?
I do know that they are brokers, and in this case they use Centauro. 
Like most car rental companies Centauro do have positive and negative reviews, so I have read all the tips relating to them.
Unless we have significant problems with them, and I will provide an update on our experience, the potential saving is so substantial that just had to give them a try.


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## Fasttr (Sep 6, 2013)

bazzap said:


> I am not sure I understand your "the spot on the bench" reference?



I read that to mean economycarhere will not have a booth at the airport because they are simply brokers.  I think pafort was just wanting to clarify that if you book through them, make sure you realize you need to go to the actual car rental area that the broker booked your car though.  That said, from your reply, it sounds like you have it covered.


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## answeeney (Sep 6, 2013)

MALC9990 said:


> As for Record - at Palma airport the queue to get a car is always enormous and I simply do not want to hang around in the arrivals baggage hall for several hours to get my car - also the reports on Record are not good.



It's not just Record. Last year we were an hour+ in the queue waiting for an Alamo/europcar this year 45 mins for a Hertz. Good cars though.

I used to use Lastminute.com and had a really mixed bag of on and off site no name hire companies with mixed results. Not such long waits and some okay deals but we stopped using them after we got a car that was bordering on a write-off. I am still searching for the best company to use.


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## bazzap (Sep 6, 2013)

Fasttr said:


> I read that to mean economycarhere will not have a booth at the airport because they are simply brokers.  I think pafort was just wanting to clarify that if you book through them, make sure you realize you need to go to the actual car rental area that the broker booked your car though.  That said, from your reply, it sounds like you have it covered.


OK, thanks that makes sense.
Economycarhire do explain the pickup process and where to find the Centauro shuttle.
Just to be sure though, I did also download the process and maps from Centauro's own website.
From past experience, most of the car rental company collection areas are on the same road heading out from Palma airport, so hopefully it will be straightforward - we shall see?


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## MALC9990 (Sep 7, 2013)

bazzap said:


> OK, thanks that makes sense.
> Economycarhire do explain the pickup process and where to find the Centauro shuttle.
> Just to be sure though, I did also download the process and maps from Centauro's own website.
> From past experience, most of the car rental company collection areas are on the same road heading out from Palma airport, so hopefully it will be straightforward - we shall see?



Ah Centauro! Hilary will not allow me to use them any more since the last time. Their rental site is well off the airport one junction towards the Marriott on the motorway. Mosquitos can be a problem at night.


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## bazzap (Sep 8, 2013)

I won't mention the mossies to Sue!!! We do have tropical strength repellent left over from Thailand though!
We are just waiting in the departure lounge now, so I will let you know our experience.


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## bazzap (Sep 8, 2013)

bazzap said:


> I won't mention the mossies to Sue!!! We do have tropical strength repellent left over from Thailand though!
> We are just waiting in the departure lounge now, so I will let you know our experience.


With some further detail on my email to you Malcolm and for information to others.
Actually all went very smoothly with Centauro. 
It was easy to find their shuttle pick up point, directly outside the terminal building in Palma airport.
One shuttle was just leaving as we arrived, but another came within 5 minutes.
Their depot is off airport, but it took less than 5 minutes get there.
You take a ticket from a dispenser to confirm your place in the queue, but there were only 4 in front of us and we were leaving in our car in less than 10 minutes.
We received a free upgrade, as they apparently only had a few diesels - very strange, but most welcome.
In summary, so far anyway, it has been a very satisfactory experience and at a 60% discount v Hertz, Sixt..etc I am even happier.


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## greenfrog (Sep 13, 2013)

Just booked with Budget.

Pick up at Malaga airport, 22 days, economy car £161 inc all taxes (just the excess to deal with via an annual policy thanks to Malc660 advice) fuel pick up full, return full. Can also cancel within 24 hours of pick up if something better comes along.

Didn't seem too bad. Has anyone seen anything better with a comparable reputable company ?


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## greenfrog (Sep 13, 2013)

When I said Malc660 I should have said Malc9990. 

Sorry to Malc and thanks for the advice.


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## MALC9990 (Sep 13, 2013)

greenfrog said:


> Just booked with Budget.
> 
> Pick up at Malaga airport, 22 days, economy car £161 inc all taxes (just the excess to deal with via an annual policy thanks to Malc660 advice) fuel pick up full, return full. Can also cancel within 24 hours of pick up if something better comes along.
> 
> Didn't seem too bad. Has anyone seen anything better with a comparable reputable company ?



That is a really good deal.


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## bazzap (Sep 13, 2013)

Yes, that is a staggeringly good deal - well done.
I just checked what our last 22 days would have been with Budget here in Palma.
I might expect it to be a slightly higher rate here, but not by too much
The standard rate (I don't know what discount you were able to get) for the smallest available car a Fiat Panda 1.2 would be £447.80!!!
http://pluto.budgetinternational.co...rm&SessionID=4D30AE5D3A5AC4C1C1257BE500587E2E


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## abdibile (Oct 24, 2013)

I do not really care if I am full/empty scammed as long as rental plus fuel still costs way less than with any other rental company without the full/empty rule 

I will be at Marbella Beach Club in January and my return flight departs 7:35 am. My impression is that most rental companies only open their office/counter at 7:00 am which is too late for me to return the car.

Some consolidators/brokers ask for something like $50 surcharge for returning the car outside of their office hours.

So I really need to pay that?

In spain I never had to sign anything and never got a receipt. Just parked the car, handed the key to a guy wearing the company T-Shirt and that was it. Why pay $50 for doing that an hour before they open?

Isn't there a way to just park the car and drop off the keys in some kind of deposit box without needing the help of a rental company employee?

Any experience with this for Malaga rental companies?

Thanks a lot!


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## n777lt (Oct 26, 2013)

abdibile said:


> In spain I never had to sign anything and never got a receipt. Just parked the car, handed the key to a guy wearing the company T-Shirt and that was it. Why pay $50 for doing that an hour before they open?
> 
> Isn't there a way to just park the car and drop off the keys in some kind of deposit box without needing the help of a rental company employee?
> 
> ...



With Avis, a couple of years ago, we were leaving on Xmas Day.  Despite advance assurances that the return office in the Malaga airport garage would be open and someone there to check us in, when we arrived on Dec. 25, there was no one - just a box for keys and contract.  We left them, had no problems. (The rental office by baggage claim WAS staffed, but inaccessible without going through security)


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## CH2013 (Oct 29, 2013)

*Best Car Hire Company by far*

xxxxxxxxxx


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