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Renting a Car in Spain? Drivalia Was the Worst (and Here's Why)

May 2024


Jump to: Sevilla Travel Guide

Our recent car rental experience was, well, underwhelming. The dashboard was filthy, like it hadn't been cleaned in a long time, which made us question their overall hygiene standards.

They have only one car available whether you call or book online. When we called, they were eager to help us book the car. Suspicious, I asked if it cost more to book through the phone than online. The staff confirmed it would be more expensive, so keep this in mind before booking by phone. The car itself was very old, full of scratches, only used diesel, and was manual.

A small but considerate touch would have been a protective sheet in the back for luggage. Unfortunately, our bags ended up quite dirty because the back was so dirty.

They charge €0.17 per extra kilometer, but we didn't need to pay extra because 350 km per day was sufficient for us.
Overall, it was an okay experience with this branch. They were still better than Drivalia Alicante, which charged us €0.25 per extra kilometer and only gave us 2000 km for 14 days.

This was outrageous compared to Hertz, which gave us 1750 km for 5 days. Also, when we booked online, we were promised unlimited mileage, but Drivalia didn't honor that. We had to pay extra and book our second car with Hertz because Drivalia wouldn't let us drive outside Spain. They didn't make this clear and only informed us after a few days when we called to check.

Limited Mileage: Drivalia offered only 2,000 km for 14 days, which seems restrictive compared to Hertz's 1,750 km for just 5 days.

Unlimited Mileage Deception: Our online Drivalia booking promised unlimited mileage, which Drivalia didn't honor. We ended up paying extra and having to rent a second car from Hertz.

Border Restrictions: The biggest issue was the lack of transparency about crossing borders. Drivalia never mentioned their restriction on taking the car to Portugal, according to a Hertz staff member, some car rental companies commonly don't allow cars outside the border and will charge you €600 or more if you do. At least Hertz was clear that we could take the car outside Spain.

Get this: our insurance alone cost us €319.83 for just 14 days! And that's not even including the actual car rental fee.