The days of taking my own car on holiday to Europe are over. No, it is not a question of my age or driving ability. Yes it is about cost. Ferry travel from Belfast is simply too expensive. It is cheaper for 2 people to fly and hire a car at arrival airports.
The Pick-up =========
I had ordered this car through the online travel agent when I booked my tickets. Asturiasairport was totally foreign to me and I did not want to risk getting around by other transport when I arrived in the late afternoon.
We arrived in Asturias airport care of Easyjet, a little bit late and I expected a few problems getting the car I ordered - a VW Polo.
There was a bit of a queue and the very fussy might suggest that an extra clerk in the office at arrival times, could have been an improvement. But really the wait was not too long.
I had carefully booked waver for all excesses etc before leaving home, as the agency were offering this for about £13 for the whole duration. And for a fortnight, that is cheap. The girl at the counter attempted to charge me for this again, and I struggled with her poor English and my very, very poor Spanish to resolve it. I am sure it was a genuine mistake. Once she went back to the booking firm and got a new printout, the issue was cleared up. She sweetly apologised and upgraded us !
The Parking Place. ==============
I include this, as I have discovered that some firms at some airports, give the impression that the cars are close by. Once you start to try and find where they are parked, you discover a long walk or even a minibus ride.!
At Oviedo, Europcar has its cars parked as near to the airport door as it is possible to be. A big 'well-done'.
The Car. ======
We had booked a 3 door VW Polo or equivalent, with aircon. They do the usual range - micro with 2 doors and no aircon, all the way up to people carriers. When we got to the car, we discovered that we had a 5 doorSeat Ibiza, with aircon. The car was spotless, maps were provided, it was diesel ( more economical), and it was shiny black. After a couple of days, it dawned on me that the car had only done 3,00 kms - it was almost new.
The Driving =========
We returned the car with 11,000 kms on it - we had covered about 8,000 kms in the next fortnight - that's our kind of holiday, about 5,000 miles - and had nothing to do to the car except insert the diesel on a few occasions. This is not a car review - but the Ibiza surprised me and is an easy car to get used to - that makes for a good hire car, I reckon.
Hand Over ========
I refilled the tank at the garage a few kilometres away, and there was no damage that I was aware of. However, there are all these scare stories of people who are accused - and charged - for handing back a damaged car.
It is an intimidating process then, as you wait for someone to check the car over, and give back their report.
Europcar did not bother.! We were politely treated by the same girl in the office, who took the keys, completed the paper work and handed back our credit card voucher - all in the space of two or three minutes.
I have used Europcar in England twice before, but this was the first time abroad. It was a most pleasant experience, making our holiday go extra well. They have outlets all over Europe including UK. By the way, the cost for the whole deal was £220 for the fortnight. I could have had a cheaper basic price from other booking agents, but this was the cheapest with that waver for all excesses.
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Advantages: It was a nice car and was absolutely perfect for our needs Disadvantages: Understaffing and a lack of training conspired to create a later departure than planned.
andymcf 30.08.2006 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Europcar
Advantages: Time Saving, Cost Competitive, Leading Car Rental Companies Disadvantages: as there is a third party involved, there is a risk the booking process might go awry
helencbradshaw 14.06.2006 (14.06.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of holidayautos.com
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Sep 24th, 2005
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