Economy car rental Malaga airport

Justin wrote to me to say: "Mike, I need to rent a car from Monday 22nd June until Monday 29th June. Pick up and return at Malaga Airport, economy car ideally and 2 drivers. I need to pick the car up at 15:00 and return 22:00. Do you have anything available and can you give me an idea of prices, in £ sterling if possible. Many Thanks, Justin"

I wrote back: "Hello Justin, I had a look at my Cartrawler car rental search engine for Malaga airport car hire and in the economy range (that's one up from the mini range) came across a Toyota Agya for 161.98 pounds for the seven days. This is a four seater.

There was also a Ford Fiesta five door for 168.83 pounds for the seven days. The Fiesta is a five seater

Adding on an extra driver comes to a maximum of €20 for the seven days, it is around €3.20 per day to a maximum of €20.

To find these deals and also to have look at the mini range, click through to www.gomarbella.com and fill in the dates and times on the car rental search engine box and Cartrawler will automatically find you the best car rental deal available at Malaga airport.

Best wishes from Marbella, Mike

Marbesol hire car pick up Malaga Airport

Joan uses www.gomarbella.com a lot and wrote to me back in March this year to ask: "THIS IS FOR MARCH WHEN WE COME OUT AGAIN DO WE GO TO THE CAR RENTALS AREA FOR RESERVATION WITH MARBESOL THROUGH CAR TRAWLER?"

I wrote back to Joan:

"Hi Joan thank you very much for writing in again and especially for using Cartrawler. Marbesol is one of the car hire and rental companies at Malaga airport that is most used by the www.gomarbella.com Cartrawler rental and hire car search engine.

I checked with the Marbesol car hire office at Malaga airport and they confirmed that you will be met by a Marbesol representative just outside the baggage retrieval area automatic exit door before you enter the public waiting area. Just look for the Marbesol sign held by the representative.

You´ll be taken in their mini-bus to the Marbesol car hire offices which are right at the entrance to the airport and you'll pick up your car there.

If you are using a GPS to get back to the airport you´ll need the address of the Marbesol offices at Malaga airport:

Marbesol
Avda García Morato 50
Edif. Checkpoint Malaga Airport
29004 Malaga

Tel: + 34 952 233 507

Out of interest the Marbesol fuel return policy is pick up half full, return half full. There is a garage right next to the Marbesol car depot so it's very easy to top up the tank if needed.

As you drive out of the Marbesol office, go anticlockwise around the roundabout keeping to the right with the big San Miguel factory on your immediate right before you swing right to pick up the A7 down the coast.

March will be a great month to come out in. With the heavy February rains behind us and all the reservoirs on the Costa del Sol full for the first time in as long as I can remember, the countryside will be stunning especially with all the rivers running.

I hope that helps you Joan and don't hesitate to ask for any more information.

Best wishes from Marbella Mike"

Hertz car rental email address and telephone number at Malaga airport

Back in January this year I had this exchange with Daniel from Canada:

Daniel: "I'm looking for the email address of the Hertz car rental office at Málaga airport but I can't find it anywhere. Do you know where I can find this information? Thank you."

Mike: "Hello Daniel, I picked up your email yesterday while visiting my grandchildren in London yesterday and so on my way back through the airport last night I walked down the long ramp from arrivals to the Hertz division in the Malaga airport car hire section.

I stood in line to get the information and at the Hertz desk itself I was given the web address of the Hertz car rental department at Málaga airport as www.spagp50.com. I haven't checked it yet but you should be able to find the email address on the site. Best wishes from Marbella, Mike"

Daniel: "Hello Mike, I tried the web address for the Hertz car hire at Málaga airport you sent me but unfortunately it doesn't work. Thank you for your help anyway, I appreciate it."

Mike: "Hello Daniel, I should have tried it myself before I sent it to you. I asked the fellow to repeat it three times. I have just tried it too and it didn't work. Anyway I looked up the central Hertz number in the Spanish Yellow Pages and after getting the run around with recorded voices and extensions I managed to found a live voice and a live operator.

The agent gave me the telephone number of the Hertz desk at Málaga airport as 95 223 30 86 and so I phoned them and the girl there gave me the email address as spagp50@herz.com. Obviously the guy behind the desk last night had no idea about email addresses.

Try that and see if you get through to them. Best wishes Mike"

Footnote: I didn't hear back from Daniel but I imagine he managed to make contact with the Hertz desk at the airport. At least I hope so.

Car Hire at Malaga Airport

With Malaga airport in the background the cars approaching on my right are leaving the airport and heading for Malaga city. They will cross the road bridge behind me and then swing back under the bridge to head east to Malaga and destinations beyond such as Antequera, Nerja and Granada.

You can see car rental companies and long term airport parking buildings to the right of the picture. Malaga airport control tower is just visible in the background.

The cars on the lower road leaving the airport to my left are tucked in just below the big San Miguel beer factory and will turn off to the west along the coast to Torremolinos, Fuengirola, Marbella, Estepona and Algeciras.

UK papers are reporting car hire clients facing last minute cancellation of their pre-booked car rental reservations so that the car hire company can then re-rent the car at a higher price.

My own guess is that in most cases any cancellation of car hire reservations by the car rental companies is due to a genuine shortage of cars. Car hire companies in Spain are facing a 10% drop in tourism overall and just haven't renewed their car hire fleets this year.

It is more likely to be the small independent car rental company who runs out of cars and finds it easier to cancel a reservation at the last moment than to make the effort to honour it even if it means losing money.

The good news is that all of the bookings made through the Gomarbella Cartrawler car rental booking engine this summer have been honoured. The car rental companies who work with Cartrawler simply cannot afford to be out of line.

My advice to travellers for a trouble free start to your holiday on the Costa del Sol is to book early and do it through the Gomarbella Malaga airport car hire booking engine. It works worldwide too!

Car Hire Return Malaga Airport

A gomarbella visitor wrote in to ask about returning a car to Marbesol Car Hire at Malaga airport and the cost of refilling the tank.

On Sunday evening I was at Malaga airport collecting my wife from the airport and so I popped into the Marbesol office and asked them about their fuel return policy.

Basically the car renter must return the car with as least as much fuel as was in the tank at the time of collection. So when a car is returned with a half full tank, that's how it will be passed to the next client. The fuel gauge is checked when the car is collected and again on return.

If there is more fuel in the tank on return, there is no refund and if it is short, then there is a charge for topping it up to the original level. It seems a fair system to me. I always wonder how much fuel gets "lost" up the fuel tank neck when I have to return a hire car with the tank full. There is a filling station 100m from the Marbesol offices at Malaga airport which makes it very easy to top up when returning a car.

I checked fuel prices last night 1/9/09 at the BP station next door to Marbesol:

Diesel Plus 0.838 € litre
Ultimate diesel 0.898 € litre
Euro Super petrol 9.887 € litre
Ultimate petrol 1.00 € litre

The upside of the slowdown here in Spain is that fuel prices have nearly all dropped below the €1 for 1 litre mark. I went to the Algarve the weekend before and filling the tank with fuel was a lot cheaper than in the summer of 2008.

With the filling station and lots of self service fuel pumps right next door to Marbelsol it makes it very easy to do a quick top up, check the fuel gauge and put a drop more in if necessary.

Check across on a later blog if you need information about where to collect the Marbesol rental car at Malaga airport

Regarding the question as to whether it is always Marbesol that is selected, the www.gomarbella.com car hire engine selects the company that offers the most competitive price based on the client's selection of car, length of hire and point of pickup and return. Very often it is Marbesol. When I asked the staff why this was they said "Because we are the best!"

Let me know if I can do anything more for you regarding destinations, parking or driving experiences.

Marbesol Car Hire at Malaga Airport

Joan who is a frequent gomarbella reader wrote: "In March when we come out again, do we go to the car rentals area at Malaga airport for our car hire reservation with Marbesol through Cartrawler?"

I replied, "Hi Joan, just outside the baggage retrieval area exit door at Malaga airport, just before entering the public waiting area, you will be met by a Marbesol representative. You'll be taken in their mini-bus to the Marbesol car hire offices which are right at the entrance to the airport and you'll collect your car there.

As you drive out of the Marbesol office, you'll go anticlockwise around the roundabout and keeping the big San Miguel factory on your immediate right, swing right and pick up the A7 towards Marbella.

I hope you have another great stay Joan, best wishes. Mike"