Rental car in Malaga: experiences & tips for RecordGo, Firefly, Goldcar, Centauro and co.

The Costa del Sol and especially Malaga has been one of the top holiday destinations in Europe for years. Larger distances to hotels and sights such as the Alhambra make a rental car irreplaceable in most cases. The good news: There is a large selection of providers at Malaga Airport (AGP), and most of the vehicles are in excellent condition. What can be annoying: Opaque additional regulations such as “accept tank full, return empty” should be avoided as much as possible!

Rental car price comparison at Check24.de: These settings must be correct!

The intermediaries RecordGo, Firefly, Goldcar, Centauro etc.

On the Costa del Sol, in addition to the classic providers such as Sixt and Europcar, there are also intermediaries and providers, some of whom have their own fleet. In 2013, for example, we were very satisfied with the provider Centauro, where we rented a brand new Golf 1.6 TDI for over a week for less than €200. Spain is currently far ahead in the rental car price comparisons Firefly. As far as we know, this provider does not have its own fleet, but only mediates – just like the other providers mentioned above do. Basically, the following applies: yourself Don’t be put off by the unfamiliar names leave, but compare the landlords according to ratings!

Never rent Europcar, Hertz, Sixt and Avis directly!

At such tourist destinations, the prices directly with Sixt, for example, are many times higher than the tourist providers: We think that this is the case because many business travelers have these rental cars booked by their group and the price is therefore irrelevant. So it’s more worthwhile to book, for example, through a provider like Firefly: Then you can usually still get a rental car from Hertz and co., but for a fee much cheaper price.

Good hit: Golf 1.6 TDI with good equipment for less than 200 € / week

The broker’s business: supplementary insurance and strange fuel regulations

Now these intermediaries have to earn their money somewhere. The most popular here is double insurance: When you compare rental cars, you book in Germany usually fully comprehensive With. On site, the intermediary such as Firefly then tries for commission reasons once again at the counter, impose fully comprehensive insurance on the driver, even though you already have them. We have therefore explicitly recommended the rental car price comparison from Check24.de since 2018: Here you can see at a glance what is included and what is not. There is also one after booking multilingual printout that can be presented to the rental staff and which shows that you don’t need or want a second fully comprehensive insurance policy. 😉 We also strongly advise against tank regulations like “take over full, bring back empty”! You never get the tank exactly empty and therefore pay extra. The most important thing when it comes to insurance: Always get one at home when you book online Book fully comprehensive insurance, which also includes glass and tire damage covers!

Especially in Malaga airport: Always give preference to rental companies “in the terminal”!

Our offer from Centauro from 2013 was great. However, we weren’t really paying attention: according to the info, Centauro is somehow “at the airport”, but not in the airport terminal! This means that after arrival we first had to look for the Centauro Shuttle, which takes customers free of charge from the airport to the industrial area – that’s where the rental takes place. It’s annoying and takes time, but you can accept it if you stay for 14 days anyway.

It’s a good offer, but it’s essential to book fully comprehensive insurance (= additional protection). You will also be shuttled to the landlord by bus.

The be-all and end-all: read reviews on the booking portals

As with Amazon, most rental car comparisons are available customer reviews. You should read these for 15 minutes before booking and explicitly follow them when booking. They are a good and up-to-date guide to the quality of the provider!

Which price comparison is best?

There are numerous providers of price comparisons for holiday rental cars. We are currently recommending Check24.de, as it simply has the best setting options and the site has the most reviews and is very clearly laid out. Only here is there a multilingual confirmation (= voucher) for the staff on site. Our second choice would be billiger-mietwagen.de, which is technically just not quite as good as Check24, but also offers a great selection.