Thankyou for your warning and thank goodness you had the sense to ignore this .

I would urge people to read this topic.

13. If hiring a car, keep all valuables locked in the boot, keep the doors locked at all times even when driving in the daytime, thieves have been known to rob cars waiting at traffic lights and don't let anyone flash you to stop, pretending something is wrong with the back tyre or some other fable"¦they will rob you.!. continue driving until you can pull up somewhere safe to check yourself and again lock the doors whilst you are checking.

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=68271

besos xxx
sanji

My old man who live in La Marina, warned me about this but at the time he told me it was in the Barcelona area

Its something to be aware of wherever you are! These Morons sometimes follow people from the airport when they have just picked up hire cars, knowing that many will be unfamiliar with the area, or driving abroad in general! They often fake an accident in the road too and try & flag you down.

Are most of the hire cars very obvious that they are hire cars?

Are most of the hire cars very obvious that they are hire cars?

From my own experience, yes. The Hire Car is normally plastered with adverts for the Hire Company and their own Company Logos. Stickers in the rear window are the only things needed really to give the game away, and there will always a sticker of somesort in the car.

In addition to which, we ourselves, as tourists, often give the game away, by the passenger having a map book, or atlas sat on their laps, or on the dashboard, or rear parcel shelf.

You just need to adopt a bit of common sense. And you should not have any problems.

The thieves are operating in and around airports all the time. They get used to which companies have which vehicles. Some hire cars are signwritten, some companies buy a fleet of a specific vehicle with sequential numberplates. They know where all these vehicles are parked, and watch when holiday makers are collecting/returning them, sometimes you will be escorted to a vehicle by an employee of the hire company, for a vehicle inspection. All these things, the thieves are aware of, and watch for. Never forget, that whilst these people are Scum, they are also Professionals...its their Job...and unfortunately they are damn good at it!

Following on from what Taggy has mentioned above, and baring those very good points in mind, would it not be better to get a Taxi from the Airport into Resort, and then hire a car whilst you are there? Have the Hire Car delivered direct to your Hotel? Would that not play these people at their own game? Surely it would illiminate some of the potential risks involved by driving away in a Hire Car at the Airport?

I don't know, as I have never hired a car whilst on holiday before, but now that I have read what Taggy has written above, I have grave doubts I would hire a car to be waiting for collection for me at the Airport. Its seems to big a risk to take. No matter how villigant I might be and no mattter what precautions I might take, I doubt I could outwit the 'Proffesionals'.

That's an option if you are close to the airport but would mean extra costs for those with further to travel. And if you are only going for a short trip, it wouldnt be cost effective. We know this crime happens and is a real risk but if you weigh up the thousands in a year that hire from Alicante airport, against the numbers targeted, I think the actual risk is low.

I have grave doubts I would hire a car to be waiting for collection for me at the Airport

BHIC - I did'nt mean to put you, or anyone else for that matter, off using hire cars, which are collected and returned to the airport, and indeed I hope I have not done so. It was mearly a case of highlighting certain methods that these morons employ! As long as we are all aware of the various methods used by these people to part us from our cash/possessions, the more able we are to adopt strategies to defeat them, and safeguard ourselves. As Laurie highlights, the majority of people who hire cars on holiday, do so successfully and safely. Unfortunately, there are some who ar'nt so fortunate. Its really about awareness and risk minimisation I suppose, and yet again thats an area with which this forum can hopefully help, I know its certainly helped me!
Best Regards - Taggy

We are picking a car up from the airport what kind of things do we need to be aware of?Is it just Alicante airport that this happens at or is it as bad at Murcia airport?When we booked this holiday we were really looking forward to it now i'm quite worried there seems to be lots of reasons not to go(bad reports on the area Playa Flamenco and the hire car situation)
Sue

I didn't want to allarm anyone I only wanted to warn people, it was not aggressive and I didn't feel threatened at all.
I even went back to Guadelest to visit the animal sanctury the next day(a most for anyone).
I am going again this year and will do the same, please don't be put off just be more aware than at home....

I've had cars from most of the bigger companies at Alicante airport and, as far as I can remember, none of them had any markings indicating that they were hire cars. The company operators are not stupid, they are hardly likely to invite these scum to crash into their cars are they? The only things which do have the company logo plastered across are the optional child seats, presumably to discourage theft. When we had one we just put a towel over it when the car was parked up.
If you are driving to Benidorm I think you are pretty safe because you drive out of the airport and are on the busy stretch of the A7 (motorway type road) behind Alicante within a minute or two. From the reports it seems you are a more likely target if you are heading the other way towards a more remote villa. Personally I wouldn't stop even if someone crashed into me, certainly not for some dodgy looking guy waving at me!