SIXT Portugal Reviews 1,847

I am delighted to share my experience with this rental, as it was truly outstanding from start to finish and fully deserves the highest possible rating.
Pick-up process: The collection at Funchal Airport was remarkably smooth. Despite arriving on a busy Monday morning, the queue at the Sixt desk moved quickly and the agent, who introduced herself as Mariana, was professional, friendly and efficient. She had all the paperwork ready, explained the insurance coverage clearly without any pressure to upgrade, and had me on my way within 15 minutes of approaching the counter. That kind of efficiency matters enormously when you have a long drive ahead and a demanding work schedule to meet.
The vehicle itself: I was assigned a Volkswagen Golf Variant in excellent condition — clean inside and out, with a full tank, no pre-existing damage beyond what was already noted on the contract, and a very recent service sticker on the windscreen. The tyres were in great shape, which was particularly important given the mountain roads I needed to cover regularly during my assignment in the Paul da Serra plateau area. The boot space was adequate for my work equipment and luggage without any compromise. The car's fuel economy was also noticeably good throughout the rental period.
During the rental: I kept the vehicle for 12 days, driving across demanding terrain including high-altitude roads with steep gradients and tight hairpin bends. The car performed reliably in all conditions, including a period of adverse weather with heavy rainfall and fog. I never experienced any mechanical issue whatsoever. The GPS system worked accurately even in remote highland areas where connectivity is limited.
Return process: Returning the vehicle at Funchal Airport was equally painless. The agent inspected the car quickly and thoroughly, confirmed there were no issues, and I received my deposit release confirmation within 24 hours — faster than I expected. No hidden charges, no disputes, no stress.
Overall impression: What sets this experience apart is the consistency. Every touchpoint — booking, collection, the vehicle condition, and return — was handled with professionalism and without any of the unpleasant surprises that can sometimes accompany car rental. For anyone travelling to Madeira for work, especially to remote sites, having a reliable and well-maintained vehicle is not a luxury but a necessity, and Sixt delivered on that completely. I will not hesitate to book again.

Great service. Fast turnaround. Great staff.

Sixt staff at Lisbon airport is very capable and motivated.

Very helpful and great value.
The vehicle was booked online. When I arrived Jose was professional and very helpful. The car was just as I expected and a pleasure to drive. The return at the airport although a little confusing was in the end very straightforward.

Great experience with a Van with SIXT. All the people I interacted were great with the interaction to enable me the great experience that I had.

I will never choose SIXT again!

Upon arriving at the counter at Madeira Airport to pick up our rental car, we were met by a seemingly welcoming employee. He asked for the necessary details and then offered us a "prepaid fuel" option. He claimed we could return the car empty for 90 EUR, asserting that the price per liter was the same as if I refueled it myself (which was the original agreement). During this conversation, he also asked if an extra driver needed to be registered.

I returned to the subject of refueling and asked: "If I only use, for example, 10 out of the 50 liters the tank holds, will I only be charged for those 10 liters at the pump price?" He gave a cryptic "no" to this. Even if I used only 10 liters, I would still be charged the full 90 EUR.

During the week of my rental, the price of petrol was 1.567 EUR per liter. Even if I had used every single drop of the 50-liter tank, the total would never reach 90 EUR. Therefore, the claim that the price per liter was the same as the market price was a blatant lie—an untrustworthy tactic designed to squeeze extra money out of customers.

When I informed the employee that I would obviously decline such a poor offer, he told me that because of this, I could not have an extra driver added to the contract.

Everything above was explained at a breakneck pace. I believe many people fall into this trap simply due to language barriers or because they don't immediately see through this scam.

They are predatory. Make sure you know exactly what you are paying for beforehand, and don't be upsold. Thankfully my credit card company correct their mistake, but they were terrible.

I am extremely disappointed with how SIXT Portugal handled what should have been a straightforward damage dispute.

After my rental, SIXT charged the full €3,000 excess for alleged damage. I did not deny involvement, but I strongly disputed their conclusion that I was fully liable. I provided detailed responses challenging their assessment and repeatedly asked for clarification on how their insurance team reached that decision.

For months, I received no meaningful response.

During that time, SIXT retained €3,000 of my money and ignored multiple follow-ups. In good faith, I even offered to settle 50% of the claimed repair costs while the matter was reviewed. That offer was ignored.

Left with no engagement from SIXT, I had no choice but to initiate a formal dispute via my credit card provider. The bank reviewed the evidence and issued a partial refund in my favour.

Only after the chargeback did SIXT “re-engage” — not to resolve the matter, but to escalate it to a Swiss debt collection agency, who then added further fees and demanded payment of an inflated amount.

So to summarise the experience:

• €3,000 charged immediately
• Months of silence despite repeated follow-ups
• No transparent breakdown of liability
• Good-faith settlement offer ignored
• Escalation to debt collectors after bank ruling
• Additional collection fees added

This is not the conduct I expect from an international brand that markets itself as premium and customer-focused.

Damage disputes happen. What matters is how they are handled. In this case, there was:

No transparency

No timely communication

No proportional response

No meaningful attempt to resolve the dispute constructively

Instead, the approach felt procedural and aggressive.

I would strongly urge anyone renting with SIXT to:

Photograph the vehicle thoroughly at pick-up and drop-off

Understand exactly how excess and liability decisions are made

Keep detailed written records of all correspondence

My issue was not the existence of a dispute — it was the complete failure of fair engagement and the immediate escalation once financial recovery through the bank failed.

This experience has seriously undermined my confidence in the brand.

They didn't deliver the car I ordered. Even worse, when I went to return the vehicle, they invented damage to the window that already existed, as they delivered the car at night and it wasn't visible. I am fully aware that I did not cause any damage. They kept the €300 deposit and, not content with that, they've already taken another €39 from my card twice!!!!

The whole pickup process was very convenient and efficient. It was a quiet time and there was no waiting. Staff were friendly. The car size was as we expected and its condition good enough for our needs.

I would give Sixt Portugal zero stars if that were an option.
Our car broke down in the middle of the road outside Lisbon, and I immediately contacted them by phone, email, web form, all that was available. I kept receiving repeated assurances that a tow truck was on its way. Three hours passed… nothing arrived. The taxi driver finally arrived and was also left waiting with us.
When we called again to understand the delay, we were told the system showed the service as already completed, which was simply not true. One representative asked me to stay on the line; I waited nearly 15 minutes before someone abruptly shouted and disconnected the call. It seemed the line had been mixed up.
After calling yet again and explaining the entire situation from the beginning, another agent instructed us to go directly to the airport and bring the key with us. Our first call had been at 9:08 a.m. By the time we finally received a replacement car at Lisbon Airport, it was nearly 1:00 p.m.
Although the airport staff were polite and offered us an “upgrade,” the damage had already been done. We drove from Portimão to Lisbon for two very important appointments in Ericeira, and due to the lack of proper assistance and coordination, we missed both.
My husband and I are extremely disappointed and dissatisfied with the service provided.

Sixt was a good choose. When I go to Portugal and need a car, I always choosed Sixt, because up to now I was always satisfied with Sixt.

Facturation abusive de carburant retrait de frrais de 30 euros sur la carte de creditv lorsqu on conteste et c est prfvuvz l'article 7 su contrat donc on ne sait rien y faire

Fair price easy receive and giveaway procedure

Hiring a car often feels very transactional. Sixt Madeira is always the complete opposite. The staff are all happy and smiling and make sure each customer leaves feeling like they’ve been treated as individuals. On this visit Claudia was great.

The employee on site was very friendly and helpful. He gave us excellent advice and was very responsive to our needs. Even with last-minute changes, we had a very positive experience with the same employee, and he was able to offer us a practical solution.

Very easy and helpfull! I did something wrong at my reservation. But they arranged everything, so that we could ride in a good car. We got also an upgrade. Very thankful and I appreciate there effort!

Very helpful clerk on duty. The car only had 16000km on it and was nice. She changed the dash to English for me 😀

Update: Booking reference 9730620582. I have already been refunded tnx to SIXT Sweden!

I will escalate this matter through Amex Centurion. This type of conduct is unacceptable for a global brand.

You may also terminate my membership entirely. I have no intention of renting from you again — even if it were offered free of charge.

For context, I manage over 35,000 reviews on Trustpilot and operate franchise businesses in five European countries. If any of my franchisees treated customers this way, their agreement would be terminated immediately and without hesitation.

This is not about money. It is about standards.

Original:
I am a SIXT Diamond customer, so naturally I took a Diamond ticket when collecting my car. I was initially told that I was not a Diamond customer. After presenting proof in the app, I was then informed that Portugal/Madeira operates as a “franchise” and that Diamond status allegedly does not apply there.

How is a customer supposed to know that? Instead of resolving the issue, I was instructed to take a new ticket and return to the back of the queue — despite already having waited 35 minutes, with an estimated total waiting time exceeding 1.5 hours.

This is not how a premium loyalty program should function.

I called SIXT Sweden directly, and they confirmed that Diamond status applies everywhere and that I will be refunded. Their support was professional and helpful — unlike the experience in Funchal.

At the Savoy Palace hotel, I was told I am far from the first guest who has had a bad experience with SIXT Funchal. The hotel helped me rent a new car from a more serious and professional company instead.

Very disappointing experience.

Excellent service and great vehicle! Clean, effective and sufficient vehicle for our needs. Great!