Holiday apartment in Spain

Most of us, when we go on holiday go away to get away from it all, so the first thing we all want to do when we pick up our holiday car hire from your airport, is to get in the car and get to our accommodation. That is exactly what I had done for the 3 or 4 times I had previously visited Spain.

Then one day after searching on the Internet, I found a car hire broker who was offering their cars considerable cheaper than the company I normally used. I was suspicious, so I read through the terms and condition and discovered that although they were advertising fully inclusive insurance, there was some small print that explained that not everything was included. I then went back to my normal holiday car hire provider and was shocked find that they also advertised fully inclusive insurance package, but offered the same conditions in the small print. I had spent many holidays in Spain and had previously hired a car not knowing that I personally was responsible for certain charges should an incident occur. In short fully inclusive does not mean everything is insured.

Here are the conditions that are part of some Spanish car hire agreements.

Fully inclusive insurance may not include, tyres, wheels, windows and sometimes the underside of your car. So-

If you catch a kerb and damage a tyre, it is your responsibility to replace If someone smashed a window to steal the stereo, you may be responsible for the window. If you run over a manhole cover or serious bump in the road, (not unusual in Spain) and damage the underside of the car, you may be responsible.

But I also discovered that an excess payment is also required for damage, that can’t be proved to be done by another driver, in this case 200 euros.

This hit home, when I picked up my next car from the airport, drove it to my accommodation, then ½ hour later I realised there was a substantial dint on the wing. I have no idea whether this was done prior to picking up the car, or during the ½ hour after it was parked outside our accommodation. What I did know though, was I had not hit anything and I was now liable for an excess payment. I rang the car hire company, and fortunately they understood the damage could have happened back at the airport and wavered the fee.

Of course like me you may have visited Spain many times and never had an incident and decide that it is not worth the extra payments. But by knowing the situation at least you can make an informed choice when you next pick up your holiday car from the airport.

To summarise, make sure you read the small print of any Spanish holiday car hire agreement. Fully inclusive does not necessarily mean everything is covered for all eventualities. There may be an excess payment should an incident occur, unless you pay extra. Happy Spanish motoring!

Mark is webmaster for Holiday Car Hire and Direct Insurance and La Cinuelica