Because a rental car in the Costa Blaca region is almost indispensable, there are a lot of rental companies around the airports of Valencia and Alicante. Outside the summer months you can often rent very cheap here, but beware: make sure you are well informed before going to the desk, know exactly what you want and don’t want!
The business model is often: attract people by offering low rental prices, and then try to add all kinds of (much too) expensive extras. You really are not the first to look strange when his standard ‘ all-risk ‘ insurance proves to have an excess of 1050 euros, which is blocked when you pick up your credit card. If your card does not allow that amount (e.g. because you have already paid your airline tickets by credit card) you will still need to purchase their extensive Super Collision Damage Waiver Insurance, for 16-23 euros per day. Insurance, second driver, child seats, fuel policy ‘ full-empty ‘ are thus a major source of income. Not a problem in itself, being so cheap is not for nothing of course. The problem is that some companies are unclear about their business model and/or apply much too much effort to talk people into such insurance.
A first good step is to visit a comparison site, such as Doyouspain, AutoEurope or RentalCars. There you can, for example, see the costs including desired options. You can also uncheck certain rental companies (did I really say G*ldcar? Or it’s daughters Interr*nt or Rh*dium?). Furthermore, you can also clearly see how much is your ‘own risk excess’ amount and what it would cost to re-insure that. If you do not plan to have an expensive insurance on the spot, check that your credit card has enough space to block that excess!
You can also choose not to re-insure your own risk from the rental company, but through a separate insurance. Doyouspain offers this possibility for something like 6.50 Euro/day. Other options are directly from insurers such as Allianz and Europeesche. A whole year’s coverage is already profitable if you rent a car for more than 10 days, and can be done here, here or here. Some practical experiences and these pages (in Dutch) have provided me with a lot of insight into this somewhat shadowy business.
Centauro – one of the better companies at the airport, in my subjective experience. Often has cheap options outside the high season, even if you count the ‘ flexi-fuel charge ‘.
Sunny Cars – More expensive, but always all inclusive. So without hassle on the spot or afterwards.
Giner Rent a Car – Local company. Here as well: bit more expensive in low season, but less hassle. Low excess amount and always including second driver.
To be clear: the above concerns purely our own opinion, based on subjective experiences. We are not paid or favored by any of the listed companies or organizations. We list both good and bad experiences for the sole purpose of helping our tenants getting started. If you think that the information on this page needs to be adjusted or expanded, please let us know.