Algarve Holidays - Algarve Hire Car Rental

Make sure you know the facts before renting your Algarve hire car

An Algarve hire car is a great option if you want to spend time exploring the Algarve or perhaps if your holiday accommodation is out of town. Thankfully, compared to other countries, car rental is relatively cheap in the Algarve.

You can pick up your car rental at the airport if you like, or alternatively car hire is available in most towns. I generally take car hire at the airport, but if your flight is late and you don’t want to have to find your accommodation in the dark, you may opt for arranging your own transfer and hiring a car in your resort. Perhaps you just want an Algarve hire car for a few days of your holiday or you have too many passengers/too much luggage for the car size you want. In which case, hiring a car in resort is probably the best option.

Car Hire in the Algarve If you do want to hire a car at Faro airport, there are a number of car rental companies represented here. They are Auto Jardim, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National, Alamo, Rentauto and Sixt

Some will have cars at the airport, and some will bus you to nearby facilities to pick up your hire car. Other local Algarve car hire companies’ reps will meet you at Faro airport arrivals concourse and take you directly to your car, which will be parked in one of the airport car parks.

Algarve Hire Car – Avoid the pitfalls!

If you do hire a car there are some common pitfalls you should avoid, if you don’t want to end up spending far more than you’re original quote. The first is the ‘excess’ that your insurance policy will have and additional optional charges to negate this ‘excess’. Before you sign any forms, make sure you know what you are signing (don’t just blindly sign where the crosses are) and do read our guide about Algarve Car Hire Insurance so you understand the options.

Before you take charge of your Algarve hire car, make sure you have cover for additional drivers and any trips you may plan over the border into Spain.

Car hire company - Fuel Policy
Ensure you understand the fuel return policy for your Algarve hire car. Getting this wrong can cost you money and leave a bad taste in your mouth and ruin a great holiday. Normally you will be sent off with a full tank of petrol and are expected to return the car with a full tank. This is usually the cheapest option, but finding a petrol station near the airport is not easy, and if you don’t return it absolutely full you may be stung with an inflated charge for hire company to fill up the tank.

Alternatively you may have the option to buy a full tank from the car hire company before you set off and return the car with it empty. This is invariably poor value for money as you’ll be charged over the odds for the petrol and you’ll have been charged for any fuel you don’t use if it isn’t returned completely empty.

A final option is to be charged only for the petrol you use. However, you’ll be charged way over the odds for the petrol in the first place making it, again, poor value and a bad option.

Inspect the car carefully before driving off
Follow these tips to avoid being ripped off for any damage to the car:

Make sure the car can be inspected in a well lit area. Insist on this

Inspect the car very very carefully. Make sure any scratches, dents and anything else which is not in prisitine condition is noted on the inspection document. Even if you have Super Collision Damage Waiver protection (see Car Hire Insurance ), it will not cover damage to windows, tyres, the underside and roof or the interior of the car.

Photograph the car, preferably with the time and date in the photograph

When you return your hire car, make sure it is inspected by staff and that you are given a copy of the final report.

Breakdown Cover
24 hour breakdown cover should be included in the price of the hire car.

If you have an accident in your Algarve hire car

If you have an accident in your Algarve hire car or any other event that requires a insurance claim you should call the police and get an incident report number. Without this the insurance company will not pay the claim. It is your responsibility to do this.

Choosing a company for your Algarve hire car

With the right advice, a little of research and forethought, you should be able to avoid the main pitfalls with Algarve car hire and have a pleasant holiday without getting ripped off.

I'm not a huge fan of car hire companies, but if I were to choose one to go with, it would be Holiday Autos because they are brokers using a wide selection of car rental companies and usually get some of the best prices. They also have a low Super CDW daily charge, so you pay no excess if you have an accident.

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