Goldcar Rental Reviews 1,461

we arrived last night and it took forever,nor because of the staff but because of people uneducated, uninformed people who do not book prior to travelling. I wanted to congratulate the 2 gentlemen working between 20h30 and 22h00 - you have the patience of Job! To the DUTCH group of cycling men that were insulting the staff member ... you were absolutely disgusting! the syaff member informed you RESPECTFULLY of what happened and the due to YOUR mistake he cannot edit legal documents. YOUR THREAT to get his name only showed everything you are about. YOU WERE THE OWN THAT COULD NOT SPELL YOUR OWN NAME CORRECTLY and now you tried to pin it on him ?? Tell me, in Holland do they let anyone edit legal documents?? no right??? you were disgusting ! I congratulated the staff member for his conduct and applauded his professionalism and kindness... maybe you should do a shift with him a learn a few things ... your entitlement makes you an embarrassment!

My husband had his passport, uk driving licence and credit card in his name. He now lives in the uk. They refused at the counter in the airport at Cagliari to let him have the pre booked and fully pre paid car we had rented. They stated he also needed an Italian identity card. He does not live in Italy anymore so does not have an identity card. Their website requirements for renting a car state passport, driving license and credit card - my husband had these and still they refused to let him have the car we had paid in full to rent. In 22 years of living in the uk and renting a car in Italy multiple times a year have we ever been refused car rental when he has all the documents that the website said are needed. Tried phoning gold car multiple times to be just left on hold. Disgusting customer service which left us stranded at the airport. We had to rent a car from another rental company who did let us rent with the documents my husband had. So have now had to pay for two car rentals. Still waiting to hear back from gold car……… never again will we rent with gold car and would never recommend anyone else too.

First they withdrew a high deposit (1,500 Euros) from my card. When I brought back the key, nobody checked the car in person but later they sent me a photo of a "new" scratch. When I pointed out it was made after I returned the car, they wanted a photo without the scratch from the time of arrival! In the end, I lost about 350 Euros they charged for the "repair".
This is the experience from Málaga airport office. Never ever use Goldcar.

This was one of the most frustrating and disappointing car rental experiences I’ve had, and I strongly advise others to avoid Goldcar Warsaw.

First, let’s address the biggest issue that isn’t made clear at booking: **this is NOT an airport-based car rental**. After collecting the keys from the Goldcar office, we were told to **walk nearly 3 km** to where the car was actually parked. There was **no shuttle**, no assistance, no clear warning beforehand.

This walk was not through a pleasant or safe route. We had to:

* drag luggage after **2–4 hours of travelling**,
* walk along **terrible, poorly maintained roads**,
* navigate sections **against incoming traffic**,
* with **no proper pavement or pedestrian path**.

For an “airport” car rental, this is completely unacceptable and honestly felt unsafe. After a long journey, the last thing anyone expects is a long roadside trek with luggage just to reach the vehicle they’ve paid for.

Unfortunately, the problems didn’t end there.

After returning the car, **unexpected charges** were taken from my card. I accept the late pick-up / out-of-hours fee, although this was **not clearly communicated by staff at the time**, causing confusion. However, I was also charged a **petty and completely unjustified cleaning fee**.

The car was returned in a perfectly reasonable condition:

* it was not dirty,
* it was not soiled,
* it was not in any unacceptable state.

At no point during the rental was I informed that the vehicle needed to be **washed before return**. I have rented cars many times in multiple countries, including Poland, and this has never been a requirement. Receiving an email later claiming the car was “not washed” feels like a convenient excuse to apply additional charges after the rental is complete.

To make matters worse, **customer service was non-existent**. Multiple emails were sent and ignored. No proper explanation, no photos, no evidence — just money quietly taken from my account.

This isn’t about a small amount of money. It’s about **misleading practices, lack of transparency, and extremely poor customer care**. Between the unsafe walk, misleading airport location, surprise fees, and complete silence afterward, this experience felt more like a trap than a service.

If you value honesty, safety, and clear pricing, do yourself a favour and **choose another car rental company**. Goldcar Warsaw is simply not worth the stress.

Finding the office after getting off the plane is very complicated. Then picking up the car is even more difficult. They charge a €900 deposit or additional insurance on top of the one I already had, with an extra €100 deposit that they promise to return within 48 hours, but in the end, they never do. Returning the car is no easy feat, even just getting to the location. In conclusion, I'd rather pay a bit more with Avis or any other reputable company than be misled by these low-cost companies, which end up costing the same or even more than the good companies, and on top of that, they return the car with the windows and mirrors covered in grease. All in all, a very bad experience with Goldcar at Milan Airport MXP (Malpensa); I wouldn't recommend them to anyone!

I booked a car initially via Ryanair and accidentally selected the wrong return date. They would not allow me to extend the contract for three day when i collected the car and advised that i needed to bring the car back and set up a new contract. I therefore set up a new contract online and bought the initial hired car back. On returning the car i went to the airport desk to pick up the new contract and spoke to an extremely unhelpful person called Tisani and was advised that i needed to present my passport which i had left in my accommodation. I had presented my passport a few days earlier and i had a photograph of it with me but she said it was company policy that the original passport needed to be shown and would not allow the contract to progress. This resulted in an expensive taxi journey back to my accommodation.
I have never experienced such ridiculous behaviour and someone sticking to company rules without being reasonable. I strongly recommend you chose an alternative company for your car hire

They are running a scam operation. We were charged for a tiny scratch on the side mirror which was definitely there before. Be aware!!!

The check in procedure was cumbersome due to the machine not functioning correctly. The staff at the counter seemed annoyed that they had to do something to help. On returning the vehicle an hour or so later than scheduled due to a motorway accident, I was assured that there would be no further charges. Goldcar, however, automatically charged me about an extra €90 for the late return saying that their employee has no authority to commit the Company to anything. This company are a bunch of opportunistic sharks and should be avoided like the plague!

I am really disappointed with GOLDCAR Italy services, they have a policy to not let a driver under 21 years of age drive their car and i am 20 years old, but the problem is that they let me pay online for the car without checking my age and then when i got to the airport and tried to take the car they told me this policy and said that is impossible to refund my money. That’s not professional at all they have to verify drivers age, before letting him rent the car, because otherwise this act can be considered illegal in some countries.

declined a documents, even it was printed at their webpage, but anyway declined - no car provided and no refund as well. Unprofessional stuff

Avoid this one, they made some changes to the rules what driver license is acceptable and even if yours one is international, if you are not from EU, you cannot rent a car.

Avoid at all costs, and do not be misled by a cheap price. When picking up the car, “All-Risks” insurance was presented as almost obligatory (€400). Then the car broke down, and I had to take a taxi (€250) to pick up a replacement vehicle. I was told the taxi cost would be reimbursed, but it was later refused.

The breakdown was apparently considered my fault, so the All-Risks insurance did not cover it (€500). The second car had a non-functioning air conditioner—two weeks in Puglia in the summer with no A/C. I could exchange it, but I was required to drive to the office myself, a two-hour trip each way.

A complete drama and 1100 euro extra costs!

I rented a car in Bari airport, I must say the guy at desk was rude and insisting I took their insurance to cover excess and I was telling them that I had my own insurance as it was much cheaper than gold car one, I am Italian living in the UK so I spoke the language and understood everything. At the end he gave me the car.
After a few days one morning when turning engine on an oil light on dashboard came up and a message to check the oil, when checked the oil there was none. Called the emergency number where a rude guy told me to go and by oil and I said no as its no my responsibility and don't want make damage to car, he then said he would come and take the car away with a recovery truck and I needed to get a taxi to the airport and get a new car. Tried to contact by email Bari goldcar office, nothing, called Goldcar custumer service and the girl didn't have a clue and didn't have a number for Bari airport Goldcar office and to go and buy oil. I was at about 3 hours from Bari airport taking a taxi was to much and nether they said they will bring a car to me or replied at emails. Eventually I found a garage near the hotel and got oil, still waiting for a refund after 3 weeks.

Valencia Airport.
Booked through Booking.com and thankfully took out extra damage waiver insurance. On collecting the vehicle and checking paperwork noting the existing damage it was a case of trying to find an undamaged part of the vehicle rather than damage i.e., too many faults to accurately check.
Almost 1 month after returning the vehicle I'm hit with an unexpected bill for alleged damage to the two rear wheels i.e., a photograph of two wheels without any indication of the position on the vehicle (the pre collection damage report notes the front wheels are already damaged).
Failed to respond to two emails containing a video and stills that I took when I collected the vehicle which show the rear wheels were already damaged!
Given the excessive damage to the vehicle, I wonder how many other fraudulent damage repair claims they have previously submitted without actually repairing the vehicle?
The repair costs have been taken from my credit card without prior notice or my consent (consent is probably in the small print), fortunately the insurance company are reimbursing me but it's companies like this that drive up insurance costs through their shady practices.

Rather their employees are incompetent or their system is designed to rip off customers. There is no possibility to pay the deposit by Debit Cards, nor Prepaid Credit Cards. They don’t even accept cash. To pay a deposit they charge you 95 euros extra. No alternative was offered.

They gave us a car that was so dusty we couldn’t even see the condition of the body. We drove it for less than 350 kilometres and always parked it at the resort. When we returned the car, a staff member wiped a specific spot on the bonnet near the driver’s side of the windshield with a tissue—almost as if he already knew something was there. He then pointed out a barely noticeable scratch and asked us to pay for it. The first thing he asked was whether we had insurance. We are certain the scratch was already there, and the way he went straight to that spot makes us believe they were aware of it. Still, they accused us and charged us over £300. I can’t help but wonder if this is something they do regularly to make extra money.

The worst customer service everrrrr , getting scammed and forcing me to take the mega relax insurance even tho I said I don’t want it, when i called the customer service a girl named Dowa hangup on me not once not twice but 3 times saying there’s nothing they can do for me , honestly i expected more ngl

I am currently in Spain and picked up a car at Girona airport that we had paid for in the UK on Saturday 20 September. We were told we had to pay a further 300plus euros as a deposit as the money we had paid in the UK was just to “ reserve “ the car only. We paid it and have emailed 2 customer service email addresses and have had no reply’s . We have just phoned the customer service and were told that at the airport we had to either pay a 2000 euro refundable deposit or pay 300 non refundable deposit. We didn’t know anything about this then or in the uk and really felt angry and let down. Does this sound right to you costing over £500 for 1 week car rental plus we have paid a refundable fuel deposit as well
Look forward to hearing from you
Neale Brewster

1 star is too higher rating I would not rate this company.
I booked a hire car through the jet2 app following making a flight reservation.

At the time of making the booking I opted to purchase Damage Refund Insurance.

Upon arrival at Palma airport Majorca at 21:30 we made our way to the goldcar desk as it proved impossible to check in online. We were given a ticket with the number C15 and told to wait until the number showed on the screen with a desk number.

It was extremely busy at the goldcar desk and we could hear people becoming frustrated, I approached the deck and asked how long approximately it would be until we were served and wax told quite bluntly 3 hours!

Eventually after almost 5 hours our number was called and we're met by the rudest assistant who said the delay was normal and it was after all high season.

We were then told that we had 2 options to either buy the additional insurance for an additional €288 or pay €1100 excess. I advised that I had purchased the additional damage waiver insurance so therefore did not need anymore insurance. They told me I had been scammed by AXA and that it didn’t matter what I bought and needed to take option 1 or 2.

I endeavoured to show them the documents from AXA which they rudely replied they don’t want to see them and advised that AXA had nothing to do with this booking. When I insisted that I didn’t need the additional cover they became confrontational and extremely rude and informed me that everyone had to take out this additional cover it pay the excess and if I hadn’t been dtupid and read the documents emailed to me I would know this.

As it was by now 03;30 I reluctantly agreed to take out the cover at a cost of €288 and an additional €91 Is pending in case the fuel tank is not full upon returning the vehicle, as I was by now extremely tired and somewhat infuriated by the rudeness and the staffs indifference and surly attitude.

The key was handed over with no directions as to where the car was other than its outside. After 1 hour of looking we returned to the goldcar desk to ask for assistance to find the car to be informed it’s on the 3rd floor of the multi storey car park.

Finally we had the car only to add insult to injury to find the car in very poor condition in terms of cleanliness and we aldo noted some scratches and dents in the vehicle at no point did anyone from goldcar walk round the car with us to confirm the condition of the car.

This service is wholly unacceptable and I would suggest that jet2 not only stop directing customers to goldcar but they undertake their own investigation into what I can only describe as unlawful practice.

DO NOT BOOK GOLDCAR (EUROPCAR) - CRETE

Absolutely awful experience — I strongly recommend avoiding this company at all costs.

Aggressive Insurance Upselling
From the very beginning, the staff were extremely pushy about buying their in-house insurance, even though I already had coverage from my booking platform. Their insurance was about 3.5 times more expensive, and the way they tried to scare me into buying it was honestly uncomfortable. They claimed my insurance wouldn't cover various made-up scenarios — for example, that if the car needed repairs and couldn't be rented out, I would be charged €40 per day until it was back in service (something that of course their insurance conveniently covers).

Fuel Return Scam
They strongly encouraged returning the car with an empty tank instead of the normal full-to-full policy. When I asked about full-to-full, they said I'd have to pay a €350 deposit and that if even 0.5L of fuel was missing, I'd lose the whole deposit. This clearly pushes customers toward leaving fuel in the tank — which means they profit. I ended up returning the car with way more fuel than I used, just to avoid any issues. Feels like a scam.

Vacation Ruined by Stress
Since I didn’t fall for their overpriced insurance and stuck with my original coverage, I spent the entire vacation stressed out. I was constantly worried that they’d find a tiny scratch or make up damage when I returned the car. It made it hard to relax, especially when the car was parked and unattended.

False Advertising – Car Restrictions
I booked a semi-SUV (Fiat Cross), which is supposed to be suitable for light off-road use. But at the counter, they told me I wasn’t allowed to take the car to the two most famous beaches in Crete — Balos and Elafonisi. Why offer this car in a location like Crete if it can’t even go to the key tourist spots?

To top it all off, this all happened during a very stressful personal situation — my girlfriend was extremely sick during the flight and needed medical attention right after landing in 35°C heat. The last thing we needed was high-pressure tactics and shady policies.

Bottom line: The whole experience felt exploitative and dishonest. Goldcar (operated by Europcar) made our vacation significantly worse. Avoid them — you’ll regret it.