11 hours ago
4
November 3, 2025 — 5:00am
In early December I’ll pick up a Sixt hire car in Seville for a 12-day jaunt around Andalucia. That’s a juicy prospect but I’m not looking forward to the car-hire process.
After a polite greeting at the Sixt desk, the screws will start to turn. When I decline the full insurance to reduce the excess to €0, which will probably add €30 ($53) per day, I expect an eye roll from the agent and a warning about the possible consequences.
No GPS navigation at a cost of €8 per day? No, because my smartphone takes care of that. Another shrug.
Returning the vehicle is just as fraught. Was that scratch on the mirror there when I hired the car? What about the scraping sound when I didn’t spot the speed bump?
The car-hire business is highly competitive. Multiple operators are vying for business and at the same time, they must stake out prime real estate, in airports or close to major hotels to achieve the kind of presence that makes them stand out, and that’s a huge cost. To win market share most operators offer bargain-basement rates as bait and pile on the fees and charges to make their operation sustainable.
Department of dirty tricks
Car hire operators find novel ways to stack on fees and charges that might not be divulged at the time you make your booking.
An extra driver charge can add $20 per day to the hire cost. There might be a mileage limit, or a compulsory prepaid fuel fee for a full tank, and any fuel left in the tank when you return the vehicle is a win for the hire company. Minor misdemeanours can result in a major cost.
Returning the vehicle with crumbs on the back seat or sand on the carpet might involve a cleaning charge which can be anything from $50 to $200. Anything less than a full tank when you return your vehicle and you’ll pay well above pump prices.
Bring back your hire car an hour past the allowed time and you might be hit with an additional day’s charge. Some companies will add an extra day’s charge if the car is returned when the rental office is closed, yet still before the end of the hire period.
There’s also the upsell. Last October at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, Sixt again, the sensible, smallish hatchback I’d booked wasn’t available. Those are usually the first to go, leaving the more expensive marques for those who book late.
I was offered a Jeep, then a Mini Countryman and then a Volvo, at a much higher price. Negotiations stalled, they said I’d have to wait until they could get my chosen car delivered from another depot but I wasn’t about to pay for an upgrade I hadn’t requested. After a protracted stand-off, I drove out in the Volvo, at no extra cost.
One of the most common causes of customer complaints against car-hire operators arises from disputes over alleged damages following the return of the vehicle. It’s a “gotcha” moment, and some operators are notorious for their car-return vehicle inspections.
Several years ago, after a self-drive trip through southern Italy, I returned my hire car to the Hertz depot in Naples. As soon as I parked it was swarmed by several intimidating gents who ran their hands over every square centimetre. A couple of weeks later a bill arrived for more than €200 for “damages” I’d supposedly inflicted. I’d been gouged, but Hertz had already charged my credit card and without proof there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
The return depot was located in a bus station but all too often you pick up your hire car from an airport parking station or a subterranean lot. “Always photograph every panel of your hire car,” writes Traveller reader Bill Wiglesworth of Castlemaine, Victoria, and that’s sage advice, but when it’s dark and at the end of a long flight, you’re in a hurry to get going. You might be working out how to drive an unfamiliar vehicle with the controls on the wrong side and trying to get your smartphone to tell you where to go, and that vital inspection often goes by the wayside.
Some car hire companies are now using advanced digital scanning technologies powered by artificial intelligence to check for damage when a car is returned. These scanners probe the exterior, including the undercarriage, to detect dents, scratches, glass damage and tyre wear. Before and after scans should put an end to false claims for damages, but even the smallest scratch will now be recorded.
Little recourse for disputed damage claims
If you’ve got a problem with charges applied to your booking that seem unreasonable, redress can be difficult. Many large car-hire companies operate as franchises, and getting a foreign franchisee to respond to a complaint might be impossible.
Traveller reader Tim Stephen of Haberfield, NSW, was the victim when he was pinged for a speeding fine that happened months after he returned his vehicle. Stephen hired a vehicle from Avis in April 2024, but the offence took place seven months later. Seems when Avis received the fine notice, they transposed the date of the offence to the American month-day-year format, and so the date of the fine, November 4, 2024, became April 11, 2024, when Stephen was the hirer. Efforts to persuade Avis of their mistake fell on deaf ears, and Stephen was left with the problem of convincing the Italian police that the fine belonged to another driver.
Naming and shaming on social media is not likely to produce a result. Avis’ Facebook page is a long litany of complaints, with no recorded response from the company, suggesting that criticism is water off a duck’s back. Consumer protection is often thin to non-existent. However, there are a few bright lights. When he complained to the European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ECRCS) about a charge for full insurance cover that had been added to a Hertz contact without his consent, reader Paul Demaine of Dee Why, NSW, was able to obtain a full refund. That might have been a fluke, the ECRCS handles complaints only from residents of the EU or UK, and the rental must have taken place in a different EU country from the resident’s.
The car-hire process may not be a joyride but despite the pitfalls, the ability to drive when and where you like is worth all the angst. Forewarned is forearmed. Snap your photos, read the fine print and keep your cool because in the rental game, the smartest driver is the one who leaves with their wallet intact.
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