We have used the CarJet hire car service many times from both Alicante and Murcia airports when we go to our little place in the sun. CarJet is in the business of providing one of the cheapest car hire options. Their website is great and we have never had any difficulies re payment and the many bookings, but beware of the optional extras and how they sucker you and me when you arrive at Alicante or Murcia.
CarJet operates by buying a number of block bookings with a variety of car hire companies and then resells them to CarJet customers. They act as pimps and tout for business, never a problem if the whore is value for money, but like true pimps they never explain the true cost up front (ok, don't ask how I know). Since CarJet are simply selling bookings they are not interested in customer service or customer satisfaction.
The customer never knows which car hire company they will get until the booking is confirmed and some of the Spanish hire car providers are dire. Every time we have used CarJet we never get the car we wanted and an upgrade at additional cost is offered. If you stand your ground and demand the car you wanted they make you wait an hour or so.
The 'full tank of fuel' is at an enormous cost per litre and there is no option but to pay the Spanish provider what they want for the fuel if your rental is for 4 days or more. The charge they levy bears no relation to the size of the car's fuel tank. On two occasions we found the tank was not even full. Spain is full of crooks, not all of them British. You lose any fuel you return in the tank, further inflating the fuel surcharge cost. Everyone errs on the side of caution and returns some fuel.
If you complain about the fuel charge then the girl behind the desk is usually rude or shrugs her shoulders and says it is company policy. CarJet is in collusion with the Spanish provider in this rip off and couldn't realy care less. Remember CarJet have to sell their block of bookings they bought earlier in the year and decent customer service is their least concern. They refer you to the Spanish hire car provider; guess how far you get!
The practise of offering tyre insurance in case you damage a tyre seems to have stopped. Think about it, what are the chances of damaging a tyre if you drive sensibly and with due care, even on Spanish roads.
What are the alternatives to car hire in Spain? If you are a regular visitor to, ask a friendly resident neighbour to pick you up and return you to the airport and pay them an appropriate amount for their trouble. Use local transport or taxis if you want to travel, it works out so much cheaper in the end. Local taxis will give you a decent quote to and from the airport if you discover these in advance - don't try to bargain with a taxi driver at midnight with the family and suitcases on the pavement outside Arrivals. His extortion skills would shame even CarJet and Spanish hire car companies.
How many days of a two or three week stay in Spain does the hire car stand idle? Forget car hire use friends and local transport if you can. Perhaps CarJet and the rest of the crooks will eventually go forth and multiply. If you do need to use a Spanish car hire company say no to all the extras, demand the car you ordered and compain very loudly, make a general nuisance and be as difficult as you can about the rip off charges you are being forced to pay. Complain with a smile, don't get angry and don't get arrested. The whole crooked system might then eventually seize up and something might change.
While you are enjoying yourself remember that no-one, least of all CarJet, really cares and certainly not the staff and managers of the car hire companies. But I guarantee that it will make you feel better when sipping that first cold beer on the terrace of your Spanish villa! Go on, don't accept bad service, complain!
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Advantages: Fantaastic website fantastic service - All together a pleasure Disadvantages: you may not get the car you book BUT will be as good if not better
rachel1431 27.07.2005 (27.07.2005)
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Review of CarJet
Jun 3rd, 2009
