Hi dsj37

Just in the past few minutes gave up on hiring a car and booked transfers

That said -

Thats the best quotes i've seen in weeks.

Just back from 12 days at a friends appartment in Formentera, near Guardamar. On recommendation from kevin (shute) we used Do you spain.for care hire. Car was supplied by Auriga crown. Ford Focus 5 door diesel. Cost inc extra insurance €343.12. Returned the car with full tank of fuel and had €70 refund. This converts at £305.89 and £58.22. Worst part is it cost £9.84 in commision on the Barclaycard.

We recently reported a shortage of hired cars in parts of Spain and the Algarve, due to rental suppliers being unable to increase fleet stock levels as a result of the current economic climate.

This has since been borne out by members finding it difficult or impossible to rent cars at their holiday destinations.

However, we now know of at least two members who had successfully reserved cars with Auriga Crown in Majorca and Valencia, but have now received emails informing them at very short notice that their bookings have been cancelled due to the non-availability of vehicles. No alternative options were made available to them and it seems the only option may be public transport.

We are not suggesting that any or all bookings with Auriga Crown are at risk but anyone holding reservations with that company, either directly or through a car hire broker, may like to keep an eye on their email inboxes or spam folders for any unexpected or unwanted news.

David

Just read this thread and am now really concerned we go to alicante on sunday morning and have booked through doyouspain(Auriga crown). does anybody know if things have gotten any better because i cant find anymore bad experiences after late june on other forums.

Thanks lee

Hi Lee ... I personally haven't heard of any further cases, but those mentioned above relate to members travelling to Majorca and Valencia on 18th and 22nd July respectively. I know that one of them was a DoYouSpain customer. One member told us that he was advised by his agent that his booking was one of 500 cancelled in just one day, but that is not something which we are able to confirm. There was also a suggestion that those paying on arrival were more likely to be affected than those who had prepaid in full, but again that is not something which we can confirm. I hope that everything works out okay for you.

David

Hi Guys,

Just wondering with all the trouble about car hire (which may affect me in 2 weeks time). has anybody had any success at getting a car in june/july/august? surely there must be some?

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

We got a car off Europcar at the airport at the end of July. It was a Seat Ibiza with 60,000 kilometres on the clock and a minor damage list as long as your arm. I've never had one before with more than 10,000 on the clock. It was cheaper than last year's though. I have to say it drove great and in a way it was nice not having to worry about where I left it!

For anyone that does not have a credit card, Goldcar take debit card but will charge you extra for 'insurance'. We originally booked a Clio (through Carjet) but when we arrived at the Goldcar desk we had to down grade to a Fiesta and pay extra for the 'insurance' . We paid £440.00 in the end for 2 weeks which I did not think was too bad. Car was fine (we got our moneys worth and used it everyday) and I would use Goldcar again as they are the only Company that seem to take debit card.

Hope this helps anyone without credit card.

Had good service from Victoria Cars last week. Didnt book direct but via James Villas. Only possible down side for some is a brief mini-bus transfer from Alicante airport to the car hire depot, but there was a mini bus waiting at Alicante on both arrival and at departure. No queues at all, paperwork and collection took about 5 mins. We paid the daily excess waiver of 5 euros a day. Car had a full tank of petrol which we had to pay for but that seems to be standard these day, we returned it with about a quarter tank. You need to leave credit card details as security. Car new only 3000 miles on clock.

Can anyone recommend a car hire company that will also hire a child car seat?

Don't want to pay the earth for it, as will probably only use the car to/from the airport, but obviously must be reliable and have transparent pricing ie, not rip us off for any extras when we actually collect the car (as the last company we used did).

Anyone renting cars to travel from Alicante airport to Benidorm???!

Can't believe everyone takes their baby on the bus??!

Hi Emma,have you thought about arranging a private transfer if you haven't got coach transfer with your flights.It may be cheaper and they will probably provide a car seat for your daughter.

I would suggest http://www.doyouspain.com but you will have to pay for a child seat. Current price is €4.99 per day, maximum €49.99 per booking. I believe that probably all car hire companies charge now for child and booster seats.

Hi folks,
I have booked a car with Centauro next summer. Does anyone know if the vehicle comes with the required high visibility vest. I read somewhere that the law has changed and all passengers must now have a high visibility vest. Can anyone confirm.
Thanks