Europcar España Reviews 

Staff when picking up the car at T4 Madrid Airport make little effort in checking and making note of small damage to car but when returning the car they unfairly refer to alleged damage/scratches which they charge to you. Very frustrating experience and left questioning honesty of system and company.

My daughter in law booked a 7 seater for us..3 adults and 3 children. She paid the full amount, over 1200+euros and paid extra insurance. She also had email from company that a visa debit card would be ok for deposit.When we arrived at Barcelona airport to pick up car, they told us that as we had booked a large van/bus type car, they would only accept visa..not debit, that it was the smaller 7 seater or less that debit was accepted for. We had booked a 7 seater, which we were able to confirm by our emails. However, their system had updated/upgraded to the more expensive vehicle, which we did not want. So, in order to get the car we originally booked and paid for, they had to cancel their error and charge us the full 1200× euro again, before we could get the car. We had to borrow from family back home as we had limited amount holiday
spending money. We paid half in cash and half on debit card, which was debited from card...pending....however, it took them 3 weeks to take it, leaving the owner of card in limbo, not knowing when it would clear. It took almost 2 weeks to get a refund of original 1200+euros.
The lady at the desk was extremely helpful and did her best to sort it, but head office were having none of it. I could never work with a company so lax in customer service, financial incompetence where customers are concerned, in actual fact, a total disregard for their customers. Never again....never.

Friendly, helpful staff. Offices for drop off and pick up are a long walk from the terminal. Car we were given had some minor scrapes which were noted on our paperwork. Some debate about further scratches to the wheels when we returned the car, but this was settled when it was identified that these were already mentioned on our paperwork - overall very satisfied.

Run away from this company, its a scam, once they had my creditcard info they withdrew a random amount of money for invented things like extra days that never happened.

Warning to other customers – Goldcar is a fraudulent company!

In August 2025, we rented a Citroën C3 Aircross at Málaga Airport. At pick-up, we paid a deposit of €457 and signed a report clearly showing minor existing damages. After 10 days, we returned the car with the exact same damages, confirmed by the return agent who assured us that everything was fine, no extra charges would apply, and the full deposit would be refunded. Based on this confirmation, we signed the return report.

Shortly afterwards, however, we received an email stating that we had supposedly purchased extra full insurance for €300, and therefore only €157 would be refunded. This is complete nonsense – we never ordered any “extra insurance.” Why would we, when we had already paid full insurance with Rentalcars (Booking.com)? Goldcar never informed us; they simply added it secretly to the contract so they could deduct the money.

The whole process is designed so that a tired customer after a flight signs whatever they are given without checking. It is pure fraud – hidden fees, false insurance charges, and unlawful withholding of the deposit. It would be absurd to pay €150 for car rental + €70 for full insurance via Rentalcars, and then buy the same insurance again at the airport for €300!

Goldcar is a disgrace to Spain. Their goal is not fair car rental but to extract as much money as possible from tourists. Unfortunately, we received no support from Rentalcars (Booking) or Europcar (Goldcar’s parent company). Nobody helped us – and the internet is full of similar complaints against Goldcar.

👉 Strong warning: never rent from Goldcar!

Versión en español

¡Advertencia para otros clientes – Goldcar es una empresa fraudulenta!

En agosto de 2025 alquilamos un Citroën C3 Aircross en el aeropuerto de Málaga. En el momento de la recogida pagamos una fianza de 457 € y firmamos un parte con los daños menores ya existentes. Tras 10 días devolvimos el coche con exactamente los mismos daños, lo cual fue confirmado por el técnico de devolución, quien nos aseguró que todo estaba en orden, que no habría cargos adicionales y que la fianza se nos devolvería íntegra. Con esta confirmación firmamos el parte de devolución.

Poco después, sin embargo, recibimos un correo electrónico diciendo que supuestamente habíamos contratado un seguro extra completo por 300 €, y que por lo tanto solo nos devolverían 157 €. Esto es un absurdo total: nunca contratamos ningún “seguro extra”. ¿Por qué lo haríamos, si ya habíamos pagado el seguro completo con Rentalcars (Booking.com)? Goldcar nunca nos informó; simplemente lo añadieron en secreto al contrato para poder descontar el dinero.

Todo el proceso está diseñado para que el cliente cansado tras el vuelo firme lo que le pongan delante. Es un fraude puro: cargos ocultos, seguros falsos y retención ilegal de la fianza. Sería absurdo pagar 150 € por el alquiler + 70 € por el seguro completo con Rentalcars, y luego volver a pagar el mismo seguro en el aeropuerto por 300 € más.

Goldcar es una vergüenza para España. Su objetivo no es un alquiler justo, sino sacar el máximo dinero posible a los turistas. Lamentablemente, no recibimos ayuda ni de Rentalcars (Booking) ni de Europcar (empresa matriz de Goldcar). Nadie nos ayudó, y sin embargo internet está lleno de experiencias similares con Goldcar.

👉 Advertencia clara: ¡nunca alquilen con Goldcar!

Europcar Spain,
Worst experience with this company. Avoid this company, huge penalty if you ask any question,only one reply go and refer the contract.

We chose Europcar because we have had positive experiences in the past. The team at Santander airport were excellent. Yolimar was charming and looked after us really well - there were a couple of small chips to the windscreen on the first car and when we reported this, she insisted on giving us a different vehicle. Then we couldn’t work out how to use the satnav! A lovely guy in the garage area came over and spent some time trying to sort it out- when he didn’t succeed he called a colleague over to help and he set it all up for us. Really good service and very pleased with the car!

BEWARE!
europcar granada train station
had my car booked + paid before
at the Office they made me sign an 'Upgrade' i did not want or need
did not really look at it
lady only said 'sign here'
50 Euro extra per day
ROBBERY!
1 star is toooo much

Europcar Barcelona airport - 17th September 2025 - Fraudulent scam

The booking was for 2pm, I arrived at 3.30pm because of flight delays. They said if I am more than one hour late, it is only "subject to availability if I get a car". The agent asked colleague of if there is a car available, she said yes a few (in Spanish). However the agent told me there was no cars available and I would have to pay an extra 220 euros (the original booking was 140 euros, so more than doubling my costs). Not only was I forced to pay an extra 220 euros, I was also given the type of car I did not want

I saw in the car park they had many cars available (all the spaces were full with cars ready for hire)

It is clear she was trying to gain a bonus by forcing me into an upgrade that was unnecessary and I did not want. I ended up paying more than double, and having an incorrect car.

Conned at Ibiza Airport. Assistant insisted fully comp insurance a company policy. Went back to him several times to challenge but he wouldn’t hire without. Avoid being lied to and misled and use another company.

Carla in Tenerife was very helpful and made the process easy for us. She offered local recommendations for food and sightseeing which was we visited and loved! Good experience. Thank you!

We sadly had a bad experience with Europcar Spain (Malaga) and would not recommend hiring a car from them. We had to pay extras we weren't expecting at collection. We were given a different car than advertised that we had to pay extra for. When we arrived at the car there was significant damage not recorded on the collection form, so we had a member of staff come to the car and note the existing damage, which they did and signed. We also took photos of the damage as evidence if we needed it. We needed it. We were charged for the damage on returning the car. We then provided a copy of the signed form where their own member of staff had noted the damage on collection together with all photos, date stamped. The response from Europcar was simply standard responses, saying we needed to pay for the damage. This seemed like a scam sadly and we expected better from Europcar. We won't be using them again.

In februari we rented a car in Malaga for 1 week via Sunny Cars. (All in) At first when we were back home they charged us 60 euro via our credit card for an extra insurance, while everything was included with sunny cars. We send an email to sunny cars and we got the money back, it was a mistake (at least thats what they told us)
Now 6 months later we received an email from Europcar about a fine for not paying for a parking space (Arriola) in Malaga.
We send an email to the parking company with our proof of paying, and a little later they send us an email in Spanish that the fine was canceled, so we were happy we didnt have to pay the fine.
A few weeks later 40,37 euro was taken from our credit card account,from Europcar Madrid without any explanation.
We informed sunny cars about it and they told us they cant do anything about fines, due to privacy rules(?)
They told us it was an administration cost Europcar charges when you have a fine.
We sent mails to europcar Belgium,europcar Spain and europcar.com including the mail from the parking company that the fine was canceled and no solution so far, no one really gives an answer and the money is still reserved on our account.
Its a shame that we have to put so much time and energy in this. Europcar? Never again.
Also not correct from sunny cars, they should help us because we booked the car via them!

Rented a car from Bilbao Airport for 16 days. First car we were given was dirty and was no cleaned.
The second car was cleaner, but after 3 days we we had an issue with a seat belt that would not latch. We called support and was advised to return the car to San Sebastien airport where we were advised the office was open, had been notified of the issue and would have a replacement ready.
We returned the car to rental returns to discover the office closes on Saturday. We called again and was told to return the car to Bilbao. We could not do this as we could not get out of the rental returns.
The next day we got a return notice letting us know we returned on the Sunday.
We let Europcar no that was not the case via email, but they informed us they had thoroughly investigated the matter and were adamant the office was open on Saturday on Sunday.
We were therefore charged for 4 days instead of 3. Europcar also modified the contract and made additinal charges such as CDW, premium location fee etc, and refused to acknowledge they were incorrect. The only useful Europcar did is tell me to file a complain with ERCRS. We have now done that a look forward to the results of their investigation

Extremely disappointing service at Malaga Airport with Europcar. We had booked a car in advance, but since I had forgotten my driver’s license, my friend was supposed to take over the booking. Instead of helping us out, they demanded an outrageous extra €400 just to change the driver’s name. Completely unreasonable and left us with a very negative experience. I would not recommend Europcar to anyone.

They accidentally charged me 1.5k EUR (on top of what I had already paid the booking in full) and they have not given it back. They charged me on two separate occasions for the full amount of the trip after having paid for it. It has been 7 weeks and have not received a refund for this. Have given all sorts of proof on transactions, invoices... They ignore my emails and don't have a number to call. Would not recommend at all... Horrible experience.

Appalling service. Very rude and aggressive upselling at Alicante airport. Are claiming a slight dirty mark is damage to the car. We had the list of damage already to the car which they refused to even look at. It’s clearly a scam to make more money. I would strongly advise not to use Europcar in Spain.

At Barcelona airport I specifically requested no premium insurance and I did not initial that specific box . They charged me 48 euros each day for this , I made a claim and they constantly gave me the same ridiculous response that it in the contract .
It’s a scam they probably pull on a lot non Spanish speaking customers , don’t use them !!!!!!!

Europcar Malaga Airport double charged for same rental
Which started of with a friendly assistant now I dread using Europcar
They double charge me for same rental
Trying to get refund phone number doesn’t work, emails go unanswered
Seems to be a regular thing of double charging customers from Europcar Spain

Very dissatisfied with this service.
We are still awaiting refund of a amount taken incorrectly from our account.
They charged us for an extra day car hire when we returned the keys to a staff member actually 3 hours approx in advance of our lease end time.
Their email responses have been delayed and extremely dismissive
Do not rent from this company