Mallorca car rental

[GreenTea]

Is there a particular agency that is better than others in Spain for our stay at Club Son Antem?

Perhaps someone knows the answer to this as well....do US issued credit cards offer the same rental car coverage while in Europe? I know I need to ask my personal agent for our insurance coverage also.

 

[bazzap]

Is there a particular agency that is better than others in Spain for our stay at Club Son Antem?

Perhaps someone knows the answer to this as well....do US issued credit cards offer the same rental car coverage while in Europe? I know I need to ask my personal agent for our insurance coverage also.

I guess it depends what you mean by better?
We used Hertz in the past with Marriott discount.
We never had a problem with them, but they have become crazy expensive lately.
Sixt have a desk on the resort, which could be convenient, but they have also become expensive.
For the last 2 years, we have booked through a UK broker but used Centauro.
They are a 5 minute shuttle transfer off airport, which is inconvenient for some people but they offer really good value and we have had a very good service from them.

 

[pafort]

recordGo

Is there a particular agency that is better than others in Spain for our stay at Club Son Antem?

Perhaps someone knows the answer to this as well....do US issued credit cards offer the same rental car coverage while in Europe? I know I need to ask my personal agent for our insurance coverage also.

Hi, I'm often at Son Antem and over the years I rented from various rental companies.
Care must be taken if the car longer than 3 days, you are required to make payment in full of fuel (with no possibility of refund if you return the vehicle with fuel).
I rent after many experiences with RecordGo. Being the Son Antem resort is 10 km from the airport, I decided to book rentals in the years following every 3 days, so I always got the devolution of fuel, bringing the vehicle with a full tank.
As for insurance, I always go for the extension "TODO RIESGO," a TOTAL insurance against any type of damage. The cost is about € 8 a day, but it's worth it.
Paolo

 

[MALC9990]

Hi, I'm often at Son Antem and over the years I rented from various rental companies.
Care must be taken if the car longer than 3 days, you are required to make payment in full of fuel (with no possibility of refund if you return the vehicle with fuel).
I rent after many experiences with RecordGo. Being the Son Antem resort is 10 km from the airport, I decided to book rentals in the years following every 3 days, so I always got the devolution of fuel, bringing the vehicle with a full tank.
As for insurance, I always go for the extension "TODO RIESGO," a TOTAL insurance against any type of damage. The cost is about € 8 a day, but it's worth it.
Paolo

The Spanish government have got wise to the full tank out return empty scam by the rental firms in Spain. Now if you are charged for a full tank when you pick the car up and you return with fuel still in the tank then the car rental company must reimburse for the remaining fuel. This is a little better but there is still an element of scam since the prices they charge for the full tank of fuel are much higher than you would pay at a gas station. However those rental firms that ask you to return the car with a full tank and do not charge for the fuel unless you return it with less than a full tank - these are the rental firms that charge the highest rental rates - HERTZ, AVIS, SIXT etc.

In June we bought a fly & car rental package from BA where the whole deal gave good overall rates for 3 weeks - that was with AVIS who are BA's Car Hire partner.

In September we used a car rental consolidator from the UK - Holiday Autos. They offer better rates. We actually used GOLDCAR through Holiday Autos and they were fine and refunded the fuel remaining in the car when we returned the car. The car had a few bumps and scratches but nothing major. I always take pictures with my phone of the existing damage so that I have evidence should there be a dispute upon return. However when I return the car to GOLDCAR, they did not even want to look at the car, simply took the keys and said ADIOS.

Rental rates in Majorca are not the cheapest in Spain - being an island all cars have to be shipped in by sea and most tourists renting cars are doing so at the airport so competition is not that fierce between the companies. In the past, like Barry I have used Hertz with the Marriott discount - but whilst Marriott may quote 35% - in Spain you get 10% discount. Others I have used are AVIS, SIXT but these like Barry says have become stupid expensive, Centauro and ATESA.

The costs vary greatly from summer to winter - very cheap deals can be had in the winter but in summer it is very difficult to get a cheap rate. If you do then check the car very carefully.

For insurance, the rental will come with most cover included. The big issue is with the excess that you will be charged if you do have significant damage. All companies will have an excess amount that they will charge if there is damage to the car - this may be 600 or 900 Euros or so. They will then try to sell you extra insurance at a significant cost to waive the excess. Whilst this might seem to make life easy for you - it is expensive. Here in the UK we do not tend to get car insurance with a credit card for car rental - with perhaps the exception of AMEX. What I do is to buy an annual multi trip car rental excess insurance polity which costs about £50 ($80) and that covers me for the whole world (except USA & Canada for 12 months and for trip of upto 60 days, and if I have to pay an excess charge then I recover that from my insurance policy - I use insurance4carhire.com

 

[GreenTea]

Thank you everyone!

I guess the Hertz discount links from the my-vacation website? Have not ever used that; I generally book via Costco. I will compare the Marriott discount. Thanks.

 

[MALC9990]

Thank you everyone!

I guess the Hertz discount links from the my-vacation website? Have not ever used that; I generally book via Costco. I will compare the Marriott discount. Thanks.

Beware that the Marriott discount at Hertz can be misleading. I did a test booking and what was actually offered over going to Hertz.co.uk was 10% not what Marriott claim. I found that you need to be booking with Hertz in the USA for a car in the USA to get the full discount.

 

[GreenTea]

I give up.....where is the Hertz information on the my-vacation website?

I think it really is one of the most poorly designed websites that I regularly use.

 

[MALC9990]

I give up.....where is the Hertz information on the my-vacation website?

I think it really is one of the most poorly designed websites that I regularly use.

I usually go to the marriott.com site

http://offer.hertz.com/offers/index.jsp?targetPage=MR_Welcome.jsp

I don't believe there is a specific HERTZ partnership with Vacation Club.

 

[bazzap]

I give up.....where is the Hertz information on the my-vacation website?

I think it really is one of the most poorly designed websites that I regularly use.

I don't know about the my-vacationclub website, but check out
http://offer.hertz.com/offers/index.jsp?targetPage=MR_Welcome.jsp

Oh, you just beat me again Malcolm.

 

[MALC9990]

Same advice twice - gotta be right.

 

[chris5]

Thank you everyone!

I guess the Hertz discount links from the my-vacation website? Have not ever used that; I generally book via Costco. I will compare the Marriott discount. Thanks.

I compared rates before staying there in September. Avis, through Costco, had the best rates for a week rental with automatic transmission for me. The Hertz discounted rate wasn't even close when we checked. But perhaps things have changed for your trip.

Just curious about fuel prices in Europe. Anyone know how much is Gasoline and Diesel there? I've been able to get $2.42 a gallon for gas and $3.28 for diesel for a 500 mile trip from Virginia to North Carolina, USA. Petro is cheap here in the States compared to prices I saw in Mallorca.

 

[bazzap]

I compared rates before staying there in September. Avis, through Costco, had the best rates for a week rental with automatic transmission for me. The Hertz discounted rate wasn't even close when we checked. But perhaps things have changed for your trip.

Just curious about fuel prices in Europe. Anyone know how much is Gasoline and Diesel there? I've been able to get $2.42 a gallon for gas and $3.28 for diesel for a 500 mile trip from Virginia to North Carolina, USA. Petro is cheap here in the States compared to prices I saw in Mallorca.

This link might help
http://www.expatistan.com/price/gas/palma-de-mallorca/USD
For us from the UK, fuel always seems cheaper when travelling especially diesel!
And with world oil prices going down, although this is not always reflected in pump prices,you should find it even cheaper than these October 2014 rates of $1.82 per litre
(which I believe equates to approx $6.89 per US gallon, so much more expensive than in the US, but perhaps better than it was?)