The other day whilst I was in Santiago del Teide having a look at the trail of destruction left by the Tenerife forest fire, a deluxe silver convertible with a car rental sticker on its bumper pulled up beside me.
“You don’t happen to speak any Spanish, do you?” The driver asked. “The car’s making a funny noise and I haven’t a clue what this means.”
He pointed to the dashboard where, very cleverly, the on-board computer was telling him what the problem was. Unfortunately for him it was in Spanish. As it turned out it was telling him that his gear box was on the blink.
It was just one of those unexpected incidents that can happen when you hire a car in a foreign country, but it suddenly occurred to me that although we’ve written a guide to discovering the island by car; we aren’t, as yet, providing any advice relating to actually renting a car on Tenerife. With over 100 car rental firms on Tenerife to choose from, it can be a bit of a daunting task which I remember only too well from my first visits to the island.
To rectify this, and help visitors make a more informed choice in the future, we’ve included an independent on-line guide to hiring a car on Tenerife on our Real Tenerife Island Drives website. So, to help us I ‘d like to hear from people who’ve rented a car on the island.
What I’m especially interested in is:
- If you collected your hire car from the airport, was the process quick and easy?
- Were there any unexpected charges, or ‘add-ons’?
- Was the car’s petrol tank full, or was finding a petrol station the first thing you had to do?
- Did you feel that the car hire firm were friendly, service was good and there weren’t any communication problems?
- Was the car in good condition?
- If you had an accident, was the car hire company supportive in helping you deal with it?
Also feel free to leave any other comments that you feel would help visitors to Tenerife make the right choice when hiring a car.
Thanks very much for your help.
P.S. There’s at least one car hire company on Tenerife who have their customers’ overall holiday experience in mind and that’s Poul’s Autos. If you book on line with them you get a FREE copy of Island Drives, but only if you ask for it.
N.B. All or part of your comments may be published and credited on Real Tenerife Island Drives website
WE HIRE FROM AUTO RAYMOND IN LAS AMERICAS
WE PICK UP THE CAR AT THE AIRPORT AND THE SERVICE IS VERY FRIENDLY AND HELPFULL
THE PETROL TANK IS USUALLY OK BUT THE DEAL IS TO LEAVE IT AS YOU FIND IT AND WITH THE PETROL STATION ON THE WAY OUT YOU DONT HAVE TO GO FAR
WE ALWAYS HAVE HAD A GOOD CONDITION CAR.
Hi I know its been a while since you left the info about auto raymond in tenerife but you dont happen to know the adress of auto raymond do you? A friend of mine recomended him to me and said they were very reasonable but you have to contact them in playa de las americas and i dont know where he is based any help much appreciated.
Sorry, Martin, I don’t. He wasn’t even on our radar until someone mentioned him in a comment. Try Paginas Amarillas.
Thanks, Michaela
Auto Raymond wasn’t on our radar so it’s really helpful to get info and comments on some of the smaller firms operating on the island.
do you happen to know the address of auto raymond perhaps any help much appreciated
For the last four years I have been booking my hire cars through . http://www.doyouspain.com. they seem to get the best prices going at the time and you only pay when you collect the car. I have always had nearly new cars and have not had any problems
Thanks, Stuart
I know that they’re an agent and I’ve heard that they use CICAR here, but I don’t know if they use anyone else. I also heard that you can sometimes get a better deal with them than renting direct.
we were pleased making a reservation with TJ rent a cars in Tenerife last october and we paid an amount of 20€ for the reservation cost done by Petchey Leisure – mrs Daisy Sanwikarja -, I got informed about the price by Petchey Leisure (I have it on paper!) included an amount of 60€ because the car was in Tenerife Northe and the 20€ because it was after 20h. We were said to pay the amount of 193€ as final amount (by visa) but what happened? By picking up the car I had to pay the amount of 235€ and I was told I had to phone to mr Antonio ,who would make no problem in order to be reimbursed of the difference, because he would adapt the amount into the wright figure. .
I tried to phone him twice but he allways forgot to phone back and the 3th time he promised me I got debited by the correct amount. I believed him .He also told me to fill the tank when we left the car by leaving to Belgium- which we did.
Back in Belgium I have been debited of the full amount and until now I still have problems to get my money back.
Mr Antonio I ask you to contact me by e-mail to get this problem arranged.I feel cheated by TJ rent a car.
I have a problem with TJ cars too now. I visited Tenerife at 24th of November and rented a car for a week.
They’ve charged my credit card twicely. I called them at 14th of December and told about the problem. I was redirected to Mr. Antonio. Mr. Antonio checked everything and agreed that I payed double sum, he promised to debit my credit card (the sum is EUR 181).
Then I waited for the money for several days, called him back and he then told me that he was not able to return the money and I should have given my account number. I have written him all the details at his hotmail.com account at 22nd of December but didn’t get the answer.
It’s very difficult to reach Mr. Antonio on the mobile phone, he always ask to call back (tomorrow, next week, in 5 minutes).
I’m very dissapointed… Hope they’ll return my money nevertheless…
Below are details I have sent to my carhire insurance company -:
“I am not aware of any incident. All I know is that my credit card has been debited with £227.39 by Orlando Rent a Car.
When I arrived at the airport they picked us up and took us to their depot where I took over the car. I said we would return it at 2100hrs on 1st February. They said that was no good as they closed at 2100hrs so I said that I would be there in time for them to take us to the airport. When I arrived back at the depot at 2030hrs on the 1st February the place was all locked up.
I tried the speaker phone on the gates and what I believed to be their local number to no avail. I had no alternative but to drive the 7miles to the airport. When I arrived I rang Carhire3000 in Manchester and told them what I had done and the car was in Avis space 62 with the key locked in the boot. This phone call was made at 2050hrs – still before the time they had said that they closed. I told Avis that I had put the car in their space, they were not impressed but as I had no key by then I couldn’t move it.
The following morning, 2nd February, I rang Carhire3000 to make sure that everything was OK and they said that it was “all sorted”
I have no idea what the charge is for, all I know is that it had no new damage when I left it. It was very scuffed all over so I took photographs when I reached our apartments.
I have had many hire cars before in Tenerife, Lanzerote, Switzerland, Italy and Cyprus. Also I have driven and towed the caravan in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Italy without incident.
It only goes to show that one should listen to what other people say and file it for future reference.
I have just spoken to my brother and he told me a story about how he had problems with Orlando in Tenerife and, also, in Lanzerote. He had told me the story before but I failed to take it in. Sharks he called them with ‘sheds’ for cars.
I suspect that the money has been taken to ‘tart it up’ prior to resale. They advertise second hand cars on their website.
Had there been any one to receive the car I was going to report that the screen washer ran but failed to produce water, the centre consul display was not illuminated, the aerial was missing and the drivers seat swab was falling apart. Also there was an occasional ‘chunk’ from the rear offside, RH side.
I know it is a scam and the sooner people like Orlando are out of the market the better”
Thanks Robin,
I’ve added a link to your comment on the Orlando entry on Real Tenerife Island Drives’ independent car rental guide webpage, so that others are made aware of the potential problems that they might face.
En el caso del este contracto de Alquiler de coche.
Mi reclamacion es en 2 partes
En el fecha de alquiler al 18.00 hora en el dis de 29-03-2008 el representante de este negocio preguntan para yo pago por un tanque de gasoline con el gasto de 50.00 Euro’s. Yo creo que un tanque de gasoline para un Clio de vacio al lleno no vale 50.00 Euro’s.
El explicarme que cuando yo devolve el vehiculo devolve con el tanque vacio. En este momento yo explico el que no quiero el tanque lleno y pregunto si es possible un coche con tanque cerca de vacio. – El repueste ‘no
Pregunto si devolve con el tanque lleno otro ves si es possible ellos devolve mi pago de 50.00 Euro’s. El repuste ‘no
El dia de 04-04-2008 yo me llamo con la oficina para una precio de alquiler por otro 7 dia. El repusto estaban 210.00 Euro’s. Este precio estaban mucho mas de el precio indicial de el internet.130.00 Euro’s. y mucho mas de coches en alquiler en los calles de Tenerife. Yo explique el que el tanque es medio lleno y pregunto si devolve medio de mi dinero para el gasoline. Repuesto de el ‘no, no es nuestras policia.
Tanto en este caso yo creo este empresa tiene una policia de combra dinero falso de son los clients. Yo tengo leo los condiciones de alquiler detras de el contracto y en ninguna sitio escrite este ‘condition. Quien ganan el dinero 25 Euro’s para medio tanque de gasoline.
El empresa original de alquiler Carhire 3000 en la paginas de web tambien tiene falta porque no informe este condition.
Con este tipo de empresas operacional en Tenerife yo entiendo porque son los touristas van otro paises.
Sandra Ashton
We hired a car with Record Tent a Car. The car was ok, but the service was slow and the staff incredibly rude. It took three hours to get to our villa from the agreed pick up time (we arrived early) despite the villa being a 10 minute drive! We were also adviswed that we had not prepaid despite our documents proving that we had paid in full. We had to pay twice or find our way from their offices (in the middle of nowhere at 10pm). The staff seemed indifferent to our problem! We did eventually receive a refund but were not contacted by their manager as agreed and they did not answer their phones when we called. I would not recommend using this company.
We did not have any difficulty with the car itself, but spoke to other customers who did.
Hi everybody my name is martin walsh and i have discoverd a fantastic little website for anyone who phones abroad a lot. It is called dialwise Website http://niftylist.co.uk/calls/telcom/dialwise/ just copy and paste that address into you address field and away you go. They with then give you a drop down menue of whatever country you are going to visit and a phone number prefix to dial before you enter the long international number. Its quite a lot 30 digits sometimes but the cost of the call is only local rate in the uk 0.5-1p per minute ive used them and it doesnt even show up on you phone bill. Best of luck
Hi
I’ve booked car hire through holiday autos when on tenerife (because i’ve used them in a number of places and they’ve been reliable and reasonably priced and it saves trawling a number of sites separately). On tenerife they have always used Record for me who have been ok in terms of decent car and so on. Petrol has been on the basis of bring it back at the level it was provided. Only issue really is that they aren’t at the airport so you have to find the rep who puts you on the minibus and takes you up the hill to the depot, which means you are you are in your own instant queue to do the paperwork. This always takes ages but thats a car hire issue not a Record issue (why does it take so long to check that the license and the credit card are the same as the details you provided when booking???).
Have already booked for the next trip in Jan but might give one of your recommendations a go next time.
Hope this helps
Regards
Ian Stevens
Thank you, Ian, that’s really helpful. Record do now have an office at the South Airport so that makes life easier, but the paperwork is still the same!
In October 2009, we hired a car from Auto Reisen, via the internet. They were very helpful and always responded quickly to my various queries. We picked up the car keys immediately after getting our luggage, at the north airport, all without any hitch. About 1/2 tank of petrol and we were told to leave the same amount in the tank when we dropped off the keys.
My gripe with car hire is that no one seems to quote the engine size when you want to hire a car – as the roads and hills around the rural areas of north Tenerife are so narrow and steep, a small car with a large engine is essential (we find) but the hire cars that we have always had, although fairly new, are simply not powerful enough! It would help considerably if hire companies would give engine sizes in their info.
That’s an extremely helpful observation, Mary, and you’re right, there are many roads around the north of the island that my Fiat Punto refuses to drive up!
I’ll add something to the car hire page on our website about being aware of engine size if you’re exploring the upper reaches of the island. Thank you for taking the time to post your comment.
HI, everyone, i think i can recommend you a better car hire shop, please reference
http://www.vouchercodeonline.com/3404_voucher_details_holiday_autos_discount_voucher_Up_to_25_off_Italy_car_hire_at_holiday_autos.htm
I am looking to travel south for a week or so. What’s the best car rental accompany among dollars,hertz and avis? I’d be waiting for your response! Thank you so much and more power!
The car rental service you are offering is really good. Car rental services today offers a lot of convenience to people. Hopefully more people will avail rental services.
Nice blog post and Thanks for sharing
I have just returned from Tenerife and hired my car through Holiday Autos who subcontracted to Orlando. Thishas to be the worst consumer experience I have ever had.
The first car I had was not road wothy the sterring was distorted and bits of trim were falling off. On fixing a puncture the day after collection I found the spare to be flat. The olocal Orlando office said they could not help becuse they were too busy and the main office said that I should drive the car to their Las Americas office myself and that it could offer no othe solution.
Eventually I managed to get the car chaged for a ratty old Punto which was little better. On returning the car there was a queue of people who had been abandoned at the south airport outlet (3km from the airport) and then when the minibus enentualy arrived it was forced to return to the office by the police as it was overloaded leaving us running for our flight.
The staff were rude and arrogent and do not in my opinion desrve to have a business at all. AVOID ORLANDO CAR HIRE AT ALL COSTS.
we hired a car from “holiday autos” which turned out to be Orlando. We expected to collect the car from the airport as the website gave that impression instead we were collected & taken to a village a few miles away. After filling out the paperwork we were shown to the rattiest car in the garage, an old model Clio with many dents over it! There were some newer cars there but perhaps the guy thought we didnt look respectable enough! ( we were dressed casually & I wear my hair long but I am an engineer & at home I drive a 190mph Audi RS4!)
Although we had no breakdowns we were a bit disappointed with the car – its wipers were badly torn so a drive to the (often rainy) north of the island was out had we wanted, the brakes made a bit of a noise at times ( I suspect the pads were getting worn) & the radio didnt work. As we only used the car for trips to the beach & one longer drive up to Teide we werent bothered enough to get it changed ( especially after filling it with fuel!)
All in all, the next time we go to Tenerife ( this was our 6th time) we will use the company we used last time – Auto Reisen- they have cars at the airport & are all late models in good condition!
Orlando – you need to pull your socks up if you want to keep customers!
I found all of these comments really useful. I’ve been using Auto Europe for quite a while and things have gone smoothly. You can book directly from their website http://www.auto-europe.co.uk/ and find your pick up location. They also have a 24-hour customer service which was a great help on my last trip to Tenerife. The car was in good condition and we got a full tank.
I would like the writing removed from the Sanasty S.L advert so people can read it, owner of Sanasty S.L
Thank you
Hi John, I’m afraid you have me at a bit of a loss…what advert? If you mean the Sanasty SL listing on the car rental page, that’s not an advert as you know since you haven’t paid for it! It’s an independent listing of car hire companies on Tenerife to give readers an idea of who offers what and at what rates. If you’re referring to something else, let me know what it is because at the moment I’m confused! Thanks.
I had booked a car using http://www.carhirespain.net, they are pretty new and are using cartrawler booking system, we got exactly what we were looking for a automatic minivan and had a great time with the booking.
Me and my wife hired a car through https://www.price4rental.com/ for Tenerife South. It is a relatively new company, but service is very good and their suppliers seem to be reliable and reputable companies. Long story short – we had no problems whatsoever and will book again.
What I have discovered for myself – it is not important what booking company you are using – they all work with same car hire suppliers. Just choose the one who has best cancellation and refund policy.