Article about Goldcar

[Si Tie]

This is an article about car hire firms and Goldcar 
features also Cicar and Auto Reisen.  

https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/9010482/...hire-firm/

EDIT: Change of title and category. Sam

[Rasputin]

I would have thought that everyone knows about this shower by now. 
Maybe some people see a cheap headline price and book with the airlines. It’s an expensive lesson so be careful.

[bedouin]

I think most people by now recognise that Goldcar are basically crooks.  In the Canaries, I've always found Pluscar and Cicar to be good value and basically honest.  Unfortunately, the choice in mainland Spain is often more restricted.  I used Solmar once from Murcia and they charged my card with €1000 excess which they refused to refund - it took 6 months or so for my card company to get it back.  I now actively seek out hire companies which don't want excess deposits.

[Can the Man]

I can’t understand how Goldcar are still in business with the amount of bad publicity they get, I can only assume it is through some of the airline off when you don’t know who you get when you’re booking, and others that don’t think to research the available car hire companies before they engage them.

I only used Goldcar once and it wasn’t me that booked it, it was a friend who comes over to Fuerteventura with me and he decided to surprise me with a car hire as I normally do the hiring. Anyway needless to say it was a financial disaster. I had known from the reviews on the old forum to avoid GC like the plague but as it had already been paid for we proceeded,  but before we left it cost my friend another €300 before we could drive out the gate. This compared to my average car hire with plus car of less than €100 for a Fiat Qubo for a week with no extras. 

GoldCar gets its name from making gold from renting cars and ripping off people.

[Spitfire58]

It should also be know that Inter Rent is now part of Goldcar. I normally book directly myself with whoever I go with but this time went with Ryanair & inter rent (after deliberately discounting Goldcar) to arrive at the booking desk to find out that they are now all the same company !! Not happy at all but no other choice, will report back how it all works out !!

[Cotillo_Tom]

Like Ron, I too booked car hire via Ryanair and was booked with Inter- rent.  They demanded a CASH deposit of 300 euro!  After returning the car (washed the day before it was returned), my credit card was charged 30 euro as "the car had not be washed before return".

I eventually got the Money back from my credit card, but have now been banned from renting from them, no great hardship as I never would book with them again (purchased a car in Fuerteventura now).

Tom.

[Spitfire58]

Hi Tom,
That is shocking !! I have NEVER washed a hire car car prior to return, as far as I am concerned that is part of the service you are paying sweetly for. Didn’t get charged a cash deposit though. It was a 900€ “block” on a credit card. We shall see !!!

[Si Tie]

It should also be know that Inter Rent is now part of Goldcar. I normally book directly myself with whoever I go with but this time went with Ryanair & inter rent (after deliberately discounting Goldcar) to arrive at the booking desk to find out that they are now all the same company !! Not happy at all but no other choice, will report back how it all works out !!

Ron,

Maybe too late but I would pay for if possible on a credit card.  That way if you
have any issues you can do a charge back.  Your CC company then refund you
and the onus is on Goldcar to prove the things they are trying to justify as legit
payments are.  Like a dirty car (new one on me), damage no fuel etc. Good luck!

[Can the Man]

I have hired cars in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and have never been expected to return it washed. I do know that some of the car hire companies in a Fuerteventura will charge you if you bring the car back with sand in the cabin and in the boot, and rightly so I say. If I have the grandkids with me and we’ve Ben to the beach I always go to a petrol station and vacuum the car before returning it.

[gattaca66]

I know of four people caught out by the Goldcar ‘bumper’ scam, two here and two in mainland Spain! When you pick up your car, you check for dents, marks etc, and Goldcar do provide cars in apparently good condition. You mark off any existing damage, but who looks under the front painted bumper? Gets down on their knees and looks under the car? 

Well, the kerbs here are high and the bumpers are low, and for some reason people like to wait until the front wheels hit the kerb when parking in a space....you see it everywhere. The area under the bumper gets scuffed. Every time that car is returned to Goldcar, the repair cost is 350€. Of course, they don’t actually repair it, they just let the next person bring it back for another 350€ charge. In my friend’s case the guy went straight to that point on the car when they returned it, checked nothing else!