This is a guide filled with rental car tips for a safe and scam-free trip!
Renting a car online is one of the most frustrating and anxiety-inducing things to do when you’re planning a trip. It’s a ridiculous hassle and a chaotic mess of insurances, options, fuel policies and fees that can drive you crazy.
Renting a car is a low margin business. Most of the car rental companies profit comes from the desperate upsell of all kinds of expensive extras, insurances, and upgrades to your rental.
So here are 8 rental car tips & hacks for your Spain road trip. They’ll surely prove helpful to avoid these traps that can save you some time and money.
When considering your car rental options, don’t assume that most Spanish rental cars have automatic transmissions.
In fact, most of the rental cars in Spain are stick shifts. Because of this, sometimes it’s actually difficult to book an automatic transmission rental.
If you only know how to drive an automatic, I’m afraid that automatic rental cars are more expensive than stick shifts. Most rental cars in Europe have manual transmissions. So, assume nothing!
Some rental car companies set a cap on how many kilometers you can travel per day. This is more common with some smaller, local companies throughout Europe, so be sure to read the fine print.
If you plan to rent a car at the Madrid airport, for example, be sure to give your flight number and scheduled arrival time. If the flight is delayed, your car rental reservation will be preserved.
If you’re not collecting from an airport, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get to the depot and always inform them of any delays.
Make sure the car has air conditioning. It would be really odd if a car rental in Spain offers you a car without air conditioning. But confirm it, just in case.
Once you verify this, check out that the engine is powerful enough to cope with some decent speed and the air conditioning. I once rented a car I had to drive at 80km/h (50 mi/h) on the highway because the poor thing couldn’t handle going uphill.
The 3 most common fuel policies that car rental companies use are:
Double check the fine print to see which fuel policy your car rental company uses because if you don’t, you’re going to end up paying an extra charge:
Check your fuel policy in the fine print and save yourself some cash.
Again, if the car rental company’s fuel policy is pre-purchase, try to specify that you don’t want a full tank by the time you pick up your vehicle. The company will charge you a fortune for this gasoline.
Before leaving the car rental office car park, always make a thorough inspection and take photos and videos of the vehicle.
In similar fashion, before you return the rental car, take a slow walk around the vehicle and take note of any scratch, mark, bump or knock. Check there is no damage to the wheels, make sure the spare wheel is also there and inflated, and record the mileage and the fuel tank level.
You should also photograph the car. Take photos of each panel, the wheels, the mileage and the fuel tank level.
I once did a road trip around Ibiza and when returning the car, the rental car company charged customers for damage I not commit. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any proof that it wasn’t my fault. I learnt the lesson the hard way…
That’s why it’s crucial you have as much evidence as possible. Following this rental car tips could save you from having to pay for any damage you weren’t responsible for.
This article is part of a complete tutorial about car rental in Spain where you can read all the information you need to organize your road trip around the country.
Here is a complete summary of all the guide:
1. What’s the best way to travel across Spain: a road trip or take the train?
2. Traveling to Spain by car
3. 10 epic Spain road trips
4. How to book your rental car online
5. How to find cheap car rental rates?
6. 8 Rental car tips & hacks for your Spain road trip
7. Do you need an International Driver’s Licence?
8. Getting around Spain: rental car
9. 6 tips for driving in Spain
10. Car parking in Spain