Car Hire Petrol con in Spain Hire full bring back empty

Car Hire Petrol con in Spain Hire full bring back empty

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rogerthefish

Original Poster:

1,985 posts

230 months

Monday 26th March 2012
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And the price of petrol is more than cost...lifted from the S.Times

Drivers in Spain hit by surprise fuel charges
Chris Haslam Published: 25 March 2012
Recommend (0) Comment (0)Print Europcar is one of the companies making money from overpriced fuel (Chris Howes)
Customers who think they’ve secured a good deal on a Spanish hire car could be in for a nasty surprise this summer. Rental companies in the country are hitting drivers with an unexpected, and hefty, fuel charge at the check-in desk.

This year, the vast majority of car-hire firms in Spain are operating a compulsory “full-empty” policy, meaning customers pick up their car with a full tank of petrol and are asked to return it empty. However, you’ll be paying through the nose for that full tank.

Last week, the price for a Ford Fiesta in Malaga for the first week of the school Easter holidays, booked through Argus Car Hire, was £117. But what Argus fails to make clear is that a further £77 (€93) is payable upon collection for that full tank. Since it would only cost about £49 (€59) to fill up a 45-litre Fiesta at an airport petrol pump, the company that actually leases the car, in this case Marbesol, is making at least £28 on every tank. In most cases, this figure will be significantly higher, because few customers succeed in returning their car empty — cars tend not to work without petrol in them.

A Fiesta booked from Palma de Mallorca through Rentalcars cost £139 for Easter week, but the on-the-ground firm, Centauro, adds a compulsory fuel charge of £76 (€91) — equivalent to £1.69 (€2.02) a litre. The pump price in Mallorca is about £1.23 (€1.47) a litre. Despite the maths, Centauro said: “We do not charge more for fuel to increase profits.”

Other companies making money from overpriced fuel include Record, Goldcar, Dickmanns, Hertz and Europcar, and the full-empty scam has spread to Cyprus, Italy and Portugal. However, the solution for drivers is not as simple as simply avoiding these companies. Online broker sites — such as Argus and Rentalcars — do not reveal the name of the rental outfit the driver will be picking their car up from until after a reservation has been made. Plus, the revelation that you’ll be paying for fuel on collection is usually buried in the terms and conditions — and the amount you’ll be paying won’t be there at all.

Argus Car Hire said it was aware of the overcharging problem and said it would “part company with any rogue suppliers”.

Its head of online, Barry Malone, said the company would be introducing “new filters on the booking page to allow customers to choose suppliers by their fuel policy”.

Rory Sexton of the broker Economy Car Hire advises drivers to seek out the rental websites that only deal with companies offering fair fuel polices. “Some of the bigger outfits such as Avis and Sixt and some smaller companies such as Malagacar and Cargest offer full-full options, at slightly higher lead-in prices,” he says. “To make sure, ask your broker, and if they won’t tell you, find another broker.”

BigMacDaddy

963 posts

180 months

Monday 26th March 2012
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This isn't a new thing though - the buggers at Almeria have been doing this for at least the last three years already.....

LuS1fer

41,086 posts

244 months

Tuesday 27th March 2012
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This has been going on for years and years. They overcharge for a full tank and you have to play roulette to bring it back empty. They know the roulette will end in their favour so you don't miss your plane.

The same applies to a "half-full, return half-full" policy I had with a Clio where the electronic fuel gauge never gave a true reading as it seems to be based on the consumption. So mine was a quarter and I filled it with 5 Euros twice to try to get it to half full but by the time I got to the airport, it was over...

The fact is that at least one company is going bust and no matter where the money is made, it has to be made. So you may well find a full, return full company but you can guarantee the rental cost will be higher. It's all a scam but that's the way it is for the most part.

It can also be counter-productive for them as I still had too much fuel in a Focus on the last day of my holiday so ragged the ar*e off the car with a full throttle run to deprive them of it so it was running on vapour by the time I got there.

Even if you can find a "full, return full" company, you can bet your sweet *ss they will slightly underfill it at collection.

Simon Brooks

1,517 posts

250 months

Tuesday 27th March 2012
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have noticed that the rental companies are now running this scam out of Faro (Algarve)

Kudos

2,672 posts

173 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
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Simon Brooks said:
have noticed that the rental companies are now running this scam out of Faro (Algarve)
Not all, but typically the cheapest ones do this

AndyT77

1,755 posts

161 months

Thursday 29th March 2012
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I hired a car from Autoreisen in Tenerife, on a half full at pick, half full at return.

I returned the car with slightly more than when i picked it up, so hopefully should not get charged?

LuS1fer

41,086 posts

244 months

Thursday 29th March 2012
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AndyT77 said:
I hired a car from Autoreisen in Tenerife, on a half full at pick, half full at return.

I returned the car with slightly more than when i picked it up, so hopefully should not get charged?
No problem there. I mean who the hell can fill a car to half anyway without intimate knowledge of the fuel tank capacity?

pateacaminos

1 posts

144 months

Friday 30th March 2012
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I found this post when searching spanish car hire fuel information.

I had written my own experiences down to post elsewhere, but it may be of interest and a help.

I live in Javea, near Alicante, and two weeks ago I planned to travel to Galicia just for a weekend and bring back with me my relatives and personal belongings. No doubt I was going to need a wide comfy powerful vehicle, a kind of 5+2 seaters or stationwagon.

My first thought was to fly to Santiago de Compostela, get the rental car at the airport for the weekend, and then drive it to Javea where I would return it.

But to my surprise, one way rentals for only three days or less seem to be really expensive: Picking up the rental car in Santiago and returning it either to Javea or any close location -such as Denia or even Alicante- would mean to pay more than 230€ for only three days rental!

Being a bit disppointed, I went through many message boards looking for some advice regarding this matter and I ended reading the FAQ in Tipoa Car Hire website.

Once I did this, I reconsidered the fact of hiring the car in Javea or nearby and returning it in the same location. But the rental car rates were way too high still and the stationwagon model I was searching for was not available.


Then I decided to search Google for further advice and I saw a number of recommendations, suggesting that renting from an airport might be cheaper and give me a better choice of vehicles. Although I was not going to fly from Valencia airport, I gave it a try by searching again at Tipoa Car Hire.

So I finally rented a Stationwagon as it was my wish, with zero excess and insurance coverage for a total price of 50€ (15€ of which was my voluntary zero excess cover with Mondial assistance). The confirmation voucher was sent by email a few minutes later.

The information on the booking voucher revealed that the car hire supplier was Centauro, well known Spanish rent a car company that operates the FULL OUT/ EMPTY IN fuel policy. So my initial reaction was thinking that finally the 50€ rate wasn't that good, if I at the end I had to pay the initial tank of fuel at a premium per litre price...


I printed my voucher and once I presented at the Centauro Rent a Car facilities in Manises Polygon (their office is not at the terminal building but they provide their customers with a prompt bus service) the staff behind the desk fully explained to me their fuel policy regarding three or less days car rentals : for rentals of three or less days duration, they apply the FULL/FULL fuel policy.

Although I still had to pay a deposit for the initial tank of fuel when collecting the car, I was told that I had the chance of returning it with the tank full and that initial amount of money I paid as a deposit for the fuel would be reimbursed.

That was good news!


A rental car that didn't seem to be the better deal (because the fuel policy I thought they would apply) turned in the perfect rental car for 12€/ day; with zero excess; with tyres, keys and windows insurance.

I must say I wasn't that lucky the time before when I rented a car in Alicante airport with Tipoa also. The provider at that time was SIXT and even when the fuel policy they operates was FULL/FULL, I was not convinced at all of the rental car model they offered me, as it was not exactly what I was expecting to get or wanted.

So I guess the moral of this story is that FULL/EMPTY fuel policy might not be that bad sometimes; and that it is also worthy to consider renting cars from airport locations, as their open longer hours and offer better deals.

I loved my red brand new Citröen C4 Picasso with panoramic windscreen!

pateacaminos
Ven a España, no está nada mal.

LuS1fer

41,086 posts

244 months

Friday 30th March 2012
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On a separate note, we used Centauro from Alicante last october and they had top quality baby seats which made them my choice this August too.

On a far more serious note, DoYouSpain quoted around £285 for 2 weeks for a Focus but when the e-mail arrived, the excess was a minimum of 700 Euros plus VAT. Companies like Centauro and even Economy Car hire offer (higher) rates with no excess and while you're paying £340-ish pound for the same car, you have to balance whether the cheaper price is worth the risk. I dare say DoYou Spain may well offer an upgrade on the insurance so it's worth checking that too - all I'm saying is the prices advertised need careful scrutiny even when they claim "no hidden extras).

Silver993tt

9,064 posts

238 months

Tuesday 3rd April 2012
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Kudos said:
Simon Brooks said:
have noticed that the rental companies are now running this scam out of Faro (Algarve)
Not all, but typically the cheapest ones do this
Avis do this in Malta together with Hertz.