Hi, just a quick update on ZitAuto, they have emailed me the following:

Regarding breakdowns in Portugal or Seville you will have to call the office
(00351) 289315559 or out of office hours (00351) 912255085 and we will then go to where you are and replace the car. The car is insured in Portugal and Spain.

Jayjan, I agree, via Economy Car Hire, all the suppliers offer border exit to Spain, however, only 1 offers breakdown cover which is Drive4Fun, all the others, as you say, I assume will insist on you getting the car back to Portugal.

Interesting! So does anyone have any experience of Drive4Fun or ZitAuto (yucky name! ).

By the way, last week Travel Rent produced for the first time a car which we refused. There was bad collision damage the whole way along the offside, not just scrapes and scratches. The car was also smaller than we had paid for, and it had taken more than half an hour at the new box in the car park to get this far. After another half an hour of phone calls and head scratching, they said all they had was one which had just been returned, and they offered to clean it if we waited another 15 minutes. We took it dirty! Luckily we didn't have to produce the paperwork at any time, because it was all for the first car. It rather put us off Travel Rent, which we've used many many times without a problem.

i am beginning to think the "car park box " is a backward step i much preferred it when you signed up in the arrivals hall, far less time spent in a queue, does anyone know if any reputable rental companies still do this ?

I have just spoke to ECH and although you can travel in to Spain they will not recover in the event of an accident or breakdown and this is not mentioned anywhere when you book.
I have now booked with "zitauto" but be aware they will only cover you as far as Seville if you drive in to Spain, again this is not clear when you book so my advice is if you do intend to drive in to Spain with any hirer you should ask the question as you may end up having to foot the recovery costs to the portuguese border.

SB

Hi Superbok - With regard to bookings via ECH, Drive4Fun do offer breadown cover, and their details on the ECH website state:

Border Exit: Vehicles can only be taken into Spain, which is free of charge. Breakdown assistance will still be provided within a reasonable distance of the Portuguese border.

However, their definition of "reasonable" distance would need total clarification.

Thank god we all do our homework eh?

Scoya

Hi Scoya,

Yes you are correct regarding that some of the companies that are booked through ECH do suggest that they will cover "Some assitance" in Spain it is very unclear as to where it applies.
Even the ECH rep did not know and was very unsure as to which of the companies offered what service which all in all made me very uneasy given the potential costs involved in recovering the vehicle to Portugal it is not a risk i would consider.
As you correctly state "reasonable" distance needs to be clarified but my fear is that it could change if this situation ever arose, and i must question the fact that it is not clearly definded ie. 100 Kms from the border or something like that.

Regards

SB.

Superbok, that's amazing that ECH are aware of the situation, yet appear to do nothing to ensure the "i's" and dotted and "t's" crossed and have the situation clarified. I must say it is this type of attitude from ECH and a couple of their suppliers that's caused me to re-think my booking of cars through them. Will look forward to your report on ZitAuto when you return. Wishing you a safe trip. Scoya.

hi just back from a glorious 8 day break but we had to queue for over 1 hour at the shed to pick up the car this ia becoming annoying !! i see that some companies like rentauto and drive 4 fun still operate by the cafe in the arrivals hall and they are on Economy car hires web pages.
does anyone know if any of these hirers are reliable or any other alternatives

Drive4fun have quite high ratings in the reviews, but never used them. Rentauto also covers you for glass tyres, etc within their quote, not used these either. Both these companies state on ECH website you will be met in arrivals hall by a representitive.

We're going to look at Drive4fun in January as we might go to Seville. We were surprised how long it took at the car park box a month ago, but it seems to have got worse, not better.

hi Roseweb, yes i picked up a business card from their guy on our way home, so let us know how you get on if you use them.

Will do.

Just back from a very last minute trip to Spain (via Faro airport) and booked via ECH with Drive4Fun as I needed to travel to Huelva everyday, ECH had to call Drive4Fun directly to check that they would cover me for breakdown and recovery as far as Huelva, which they were happy to do as it is approximately 60minutes from Faro airport. In addition due to circumstances beyond my control I had to delay my return for a week, contacted Drive4Fun directly regarding keeping the car on which they arranged for me and I paid them directly for the extension. Carlos and his staff were extremely helpful. The only concern I had is on returning the car they just asked that I leave the car in Car Park 4, Row H or I with the keys in the sun visor!!!!!!!!!!!! This is obviously quite normal for them, however, due to them being quite busy, there was a member of staff there checking the cars back in, but they took no interest in the fuel level (I have photos of fuel levels on collection and return) or indeed the bodywork (but that is covered on the all inclusive rate).

In short, I would certainly hire with Drive4Fun again and would happily recommend them and after having two very nasty and unfortunate experiences earlier this year with AirAuto and TravelRent (both booked via ECH) Drive4Fun have certainly restored my faith in car hire companies.

I have just noticed on economycarhire.com website that they are not naming the companies for cars available on their quote page. Not their normal procedure, wonder why. I for one will not book with them unless I know the companies name, ie drive4fun, travel rent, rentauto, as some companies they use like International & Auriga Crown & AirAuto seem to have had lots of complaints.
EDIT: Just been into the website again and you have to go into "book" on a particular vehicle before it tells you who the company is, this is stated at the bottom left handside, so please make sure you check the company you are dealing with before you go to the payment stage.

Just an update i used "Zitautos" (Unfortunate name!) and they were very reasonable price wise, on getting to the car it did have some scrapes and one dent in the side which i had to point out to the rep, who made a note of it with no comment is it me or do you find most car hire reps miserable?
Anyway due to family reasons we had to cut short our break and returned the car 4 days early at Faro airport and i must say how surprised i was that they reimbursed me for those days.
I did not expect nor indeed even asked for this as it was our decision to come home early and to cap it all we were met by a lovely lady who even apologised for making us wait 10 minutes to get the money!
So they get my reccomendation with the caviat to check the car over which you should of course do anyway,

Happy new year to all HT readers.

SB

That's excellent service Superbok (Sorry to hear you had to cut holiday short though)

Happy New Year to you and your family

Note for Jayjan & other users of ECH who think they can't see the supplier. If you have registered with them you can see the supplier. Go for a quote & look for a box in the left hand side. If you enter your details you can then see the supplier. I asked this as I was extremely dissapointed with travelrent's car last time out.

Although I realise you don't necessarily get the car you go for I wondered if anyone can advise. Anyone know the difference between A ford Fiesta & a Seat Ibiza. WE are looking at drive4fun through ECH.
Many thanks in advance.

We're trying Drive4fun through ECH for the first time tomorrow. Voucher says SEAT Ibiza (or similar) but the best bit is "Upon entering the arrivals hall from baggage reclaim, turn left and head towards the ground floor cafe. You will be met by a representative from DRIVE 4 FUN. On meeting the representative you will complete the paperwork and then be taken to collect your vehicle from section 4 of the airport car park." How much better is that than the new office in the car park?! Or even the kiosk in the Terminal. Happy memories of quick service from one of the seats along the wall by the cafe. Will let you know how it goes.