I am staying in Feungirola area for 6 weeks starting May and 7 weeks from 27th Aug and am looking for a deal on car hire.

I don’t use credit cards, debit cards ot pre loaded mastercard though.

Want a small/medium size car, golf clubs and shopping to fit in but only 2 people (fiesta or simikar)

Looking for reasonable price. No petrol rip off (tank full at overcharged cost petrol) Full insurance cover

Any local knowledge which can help is appreciated.

We are coming to live on the Costa del Sol for 13 weeks in 2012 and possibly longer in years to come.

Can I buy and insure a car in Spain rather than always rent ?

Hi.
Firstly a bit of admin…
I have merged the two queries as they both relate broadly to the same subject.

In answer to your queries…
Car Hire… Cant think of a single car hire company anywhere these days that does not require credit card as the sole means of payment. Debit cards are not generally acceptable. All have ways and means of charging additional fees. petrol, insurance, CDW insurance. Do your own research on the subject by googling Car Hire on the CDS.

Buying a car… yes you can but would it be cost effective? Annual car insurance, road tax, ITV (MOT) inspections, where will it be parked? All of these are things you will need to consider. there are certain legal requirements you will have to comply with; you will need an NIE number, and be registered on the padron at your local town hall. You will need the certificates in order to buy a car over here. Plus of course the cost of the flights for two people twice a year… plus the notional cost of the vehicle itself.

To be honest your most cost effective solution all round would be to drive your UK reg car over. Make sure that the Road Tax and MOT are valid for the duration of each trip. Provided that the car doesn’t stay over here for more than six months in any one year period it is not liable to any Spanish taxation and you wouldn’t have to put it on Spanish registration. OK the steering wheel might be on the wrong side but given the poor standard of driving on the CDS that shouldnt be too much of a problem.

Dont be tempted to buy a Spanish reg car in the UK or a Brit reg car in Spain… in both cases there are lots of scam artists about.

One last word on the admin side of this forum… be careful of the plugs for your business. Too many and you will suddenly find yourself banned…
We run a fairly tight ship here these days and SPAM posts are deleted and the poster banned without warning.

fb

Mod / Admin

AS FB says all require a debit or credit card of somekind (their insurance they can charge you for any excesses/damage etc.)

If you really had to… I am sure you could do a ‘cash’ deal with some of the ‘under the radar boys’ down here, but not recommended! (You may find you are not insured in any shape or form!) 

Credit/cards are for your protection as well as the vendor/supplier

Good luck on your move

telecomexpert - 07 January 2012 09:13 PM

I am staying in Feungirola area for 6 weeks starting May and 7 weeks from 27th Aug and am looking for a deal on car hire.

I don’t use credit cards, debit cards ot pre loaded mastercard though.

Want a small/medium size car, golf clubs and shopping to fit in but only 2 people (fiesta or simikar)

Looking for reasonable price. No petrol rip off (tank full at overcharged cost petrol) Full insurance cover

Any local knowledge which can help is appreciated.

I go about 2 times per year at Fuengirola, and usually hire cars. Is more confortable and at the end of the day cheaper.
It is a bit complicated in buying a car in Spain. First of all you need to have the NIE number, in case you do not have it already. In the moment when you buy it, you need to insure it and also find a parking space when you are not in Spain, and sometimes may be complicated. If you leave it on the street you may find it at the police station in case they have to do some works during that time and of course you have to pay for it! plus a fine.
Also, if it is second hand you need to know that if it is cheap problems may apear and the repairs can be quiete expensive.
I know because I have in Holland a car dealer shop.

With the hire cars is easier and if something happens to the car they can just replace it.
I normally rent in Spain on victoriacars.com . is a broker and on the search I can find a lot of choices from diferent companies and the prices are good.

Mi advice, forget about the hassel of buiyng a car and paying taxes and hire a car.

Good luck.

Maybe a bit late in posting. There is a cheap and cheerful set up in Fuengirola called King Car Hire, I never used them so can’t say either way, but they would do a deal without a credit card, the drawback is they wanted 500€ cash deposit. I haven’t hired a car in a few years but, even though rates have come down, they still have you by the short a curlies!

Maybe a bit late for posting also but I always prebook mine before actually arriving off doyouspain.com and it’s as easy as waiting for me at the airport on arrival. The prices are pretty good, never had any problems with them generally. Another good thing is that I can pay on arrival instead of putting money down in advance, and amendments and cancellations are free of charge. The cars have usually be pretty decent.