Auriga. I have used this company several times; they are based in a van in the car park at Valencia airport but this is normal procedure for a lot of car hire companies.

Thanks Laurie, I will google Auriga and have a look

try carjet
i have booked with them twice now from valencia and both times it was cheaper than going direct to the hire firm itself

I agree that carjet do seem to have the most votes on all the forums for cheapest car hire. I did a price comparison last summer, as I was going for six weeks in peak season and carjet were about £100 cheaper than the price quoted by my UK agent. As I have done a lot of business with the UK agent, I asked whether they could compete with carjet and they then matched the deal!

Have used Carjet at both Valencia twice and Alicante four times and they have always been cheaper.

My husband uses car hire each week from Valencia airport we laways book through doyouspain or bravocarhire They are just a broker we always ask for Centauro cars as very reliable and they always seem to give a free upgrade. They offer a fully comphrensive insurance policy included with just the option to pay maybe 10 euros more per week for tyre cover to be included.

Thanks to you all, I have now booked 2 cars with carjet, they were the cheapest and also looked the best.

Anyone used Arguscarhire ?????? - we normally go for carjet / solmar etc etc ie the usual crowd !

The main difference seems to be that with Argus you pay a nonreturnable deposit at the point of booking and then pay the remainder when you get to Valencia.

With all the other carhire companies you can make your online booking(pay nothing) and if it then becomes cheaper cancel your orignal booking an make another one at no cost. If you keep your booking you pay on arrival.

Chris

Anyone got any suggestions re car hire companies at Valencia airport that do not operate the pay for full tank of fuel - return empty policy. We have found in the past that they overcharge for the fuel and we never use it all and they do not give anything back.

Most companies I have looked at operate this policy - perhaps there are some smaller companies out there?

Pippa

Pippa, did you book a car? This thread relates to Alicante but pretty much the same at Valencia...

http://holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=34812

Despite my annoyance at the fuel policy, used carjet twice last year and will be using them again this year (Valencia this time). They used GoldcarEuropa last year, they were good to deal with.

Better the devil you know IMO, the last thing you need is any hassle with your car at the airport at the start of your holiday.

Hope this helps.

Hi there,

Yes, we have booked with Do You Spain who use Auriga car rental at Valencia airport. They do operate a pay for full tank - return empty policy but the prices were good and nothing to pay until we get there.

Thanks anyway,

Pippa

Just had an email from AurigaCrown cancelling my carhire booking for next Wed 22 July - unable to book anything else as all the other companies in Valencia and surrounding areas all fully booked - strangely odd but true.

I'm sure you will all know how I feeling at this moment so I won't go into print.

I also expect to receive further emails from AurigaCrown, probably again just a few days before we, our family and friends fly to Valencia in the coming weeks / months relating to the next 4 carhire bookings we have with them during the summer. These expected cancellations will affect 15 people.

If you have a booking with AurigaCrown during the summers months may I suggest you keep a keen eye on your inbox and if. like us, you need to go into the rustic areas of Spain and really need a car, you make consider making a plan B - NOW.

Chris

If anyone is interested there wasn't a car for us at Valencia airport (as expected).

Solmar did us a deal, well it was take it or leave it ! Got a car, a Fiat Bravo, for 3 weeks - cost €1,243. AurigaCrown have now bought a further 650 cars and hopefully this problem is now over for this year.

Regards, Chris

How does that €1,243 compare with the price of your original booking Chris ? What about your future bookings, have you left those in the hands of AurigaCrown or have they also been cancelled ?

David

David,

Our original booking was for 2 weeks and I had another booking for 1 week (the third week) when some family were using our villa but given the car availablility issues I took the Solmar car for the whole 3 weeks.

Regarding costs, this car cost me €412 a week. Solmar included every insurance they had as a mandatory part of the rental - I said I didnt need the insurance but if I wanted the car I had to take them. I never take these insurances - the original booking was for €110 a week.

Currently our next 2 bookings for a weeks time are still OK but in anticipation of problems I have prebooked other cars, but not prepaid anything, with another supplier.

Regards Chris

Thanks for the update Chris. We did have another member who had his AurigaCrown booking cancelled just before he left for Majorca, and now a Sixt customer with a booking cancelled shortly before leaving for Faro. But the biggest problem for members still seems to be finding any car hire availability at some of the major holiday destinations.

David

There is a further story from BBC News today about the car hire shortage problem and the reasons behind it, etc., ... please click here.

David

Just to complete the picture relating to my involvement with car-hire with Auriga Crown.

Auriga Crown did provide the 2 cars for our August booking at the previously agreed price. The cars were a little more 'worn' than those they supplied on previous visits but each had 4 wheels and went !

Regarding the Auriga Crown cancelled July booking and us then having to book a car when we arrived at Valencia at great cost.

The company we make the booking through in the UK have made an offer to contribute to the extra costs we incurred when we booked our car at the airport with Solmar. This offer does not cover all the costs but it does help and I'm not sure if they were legally obliged to do this (I suspect not) but it was nice to see that they did. Just waiting for the cheque to appear.

Here's hoping that Auriga Crown have a car for our next visit in a weeks time !

Regards, Chris

Thanks for that update Chris, please feel free to name the UK company if you wish, for the benefit of anyone else who may be considering using them. I hope all goes well next week.
David