Everyone tells me ATESA is the best bet for renting a car in Spain but it looks to me like renting here ahead of time through National gets me a better deal. I'll need an automatic midsize for 11 days and Atesa is quoting about 389 Euros. Any suggestions? Thanks

Hey Juan:

I rented a car when I was in Spain in December. ATESA is, I think, owned by National anyway, so their rates should be close if not the same. I went through autoeurope b/c it was the best deal I could find. If you can live with a manual they are much cheaper. Also, make sure you know exactly what kind of collision, theft, etc. protection you are getting. I felt much more secure with the comprehensive coverage, although it added considerably to the cost. Good luck,

Cooter

ATESA supplies cars to Avis, National, and several other car rental agencies. I found the best rate with http://www.carjet.com for our trip last summer. It was ATESA supplied car too.

WOW! Thanks for all the wonderful information, everyone! I too am considering renting a car from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela for 5 days during Semana Santa. I'll look into those companies/links above for sure. You people are incredibly helpful. Thank you very very much.

Saludos, MadridMan

And the car we booked through Aerocity was collected from Atesa too.

Jo

I spend numerous hours trying to find the best deal on a car rental for my trip to Andalusia last December/January. The best deal I could find was with www.alamo.com but I picked up the car at the ATESA counter in the Santa Justa train station in Sevilla. So, even Alamo seems to subcontract with ATESA.

We rented through AutoEurope and picked it up from Avis in Madrid and dropped it off at Avis in Santander just before Christmas. Avis Madrid was on Gran Via and car was in garage about 1.5 blocks away. Given the one way streets and the like, we ended up carrying all our baggage (we were loaded down with Christmas presents)to the car. They do not bring the car around for you as they generally would in the US. Something to keep in mind.

Also, make sure any insurance is done from US. In Spain the cost would have been much higher.

Finally, service in Madrid was very poor, with the one employee spending approx 1/2 hour trying to communicate with the customer ahead of us, a Brazilian lady with very limited Spanish. Very lackadaisical about the growing line, although there were other employees in the back not doing much. Dropping off in Santander was also in the city center, but service was very good.

My experience this summer was similar to Cornelio's. I had gotten quotes online from rentalcarinspain, Avis, Hertz, Atesa, National, Carjet, Aerocity, and Alamo. Even with a few discounts with the bigger companies, the best deal was with Alamo. I was quoted 234 € for 9 days with a cheap economy car (3 door manual w/ air, Citroen Saxo or similar), but actually got a 4 door manual, diesel Peugeot 206, with air and cd player (to the delight of my teenagers), for 218 €. What a deal. It was very stingy on fuel, and drove like a dream, even on the steep dirt roads climbing up hills in the back country. (But then I’m a longtime Peugeot fan. I always wanted a 205). I picked up the car at Bilbao’s Sondika airport at the National/Atesa counter.

I've probably posted this info in a dozen other fora, but it's appropriate here, too:

I've always rented from the US for pickup in Spain via Avis and have gotten great prices and accomodating service. The last rental through Avis (cheaper than the other "sucursal" of the competitor in the Santiago train station) was an on-the-spot transaction, but I got a good deal and was able to drop a one-way with no penalty.

Speaking the language seems to help, but always being nice gives them a reason to give you a "special deal" that "just became available"...

Happy renting!! And Renfe can a take a powder for all I care!

Another vote with Cali for Avis. I've rented from Avis both prior to departure and directly once in Madrid - prices, services, etc. are the best I've found.

Puna: Isn't it odd, though? Their US service and prices are never the best...at least we can count on them in Spain!

I just rented a car last weekend. I went through www.carjet.com who did all the work and sent me to Atesa! The good thing is that carjet quote you an all-inclusive price of 30 euros a day and there are absolutely no hidden extras. One little trick that's worked for me on the three previous occasions I've used Atesa is to book the cheapest model, reserve it for near closing time and you'll find that your economy car is no longer available and you get an instant upgrade to something fancy at no extra charge! No responses with moral outrage please.

barry: How dare you! [Yeah, how dare you wait until now to tell us the trick...I would've done that years ago!!]

I'm a great fan of AutoEurope for a couple of reasons: Their telephone agents are always very helpful and knowledgeable (in the USA 800-223-5555), and they give you a toll-free international number to use to contact them during your trip if there are any problems with the local rental agency. We had to do this once when returning a car in France and the problem was resolved immediately. Through AE we have had cars from Avis, Europcar and Hertz, all at lower cost than these companies were offering at the time.

Barry - you do know that we all will be trying to put your ploy to good use ... I can see the back-up now. Will they all we wearing MM t-shirts and waving MM baseball hats? That would be a dead give-away thou!

In Sept., I'm supposed to pick up my rental car at Charmartín Station. Has anyone else ever done that and how difficult should I expect it to be? I just read that the metro--Línea 10 will be closed for obras then too, so what's the best way to get to the station with bags from the Callao area? I'd appreciate any help!

I've never picked up at Chamartín, but I have dropped off at Atocha, and the procedure was utterly painless. It was with Avis, and they didn't even go check the car for "arañazos" [scratches].

As far as getting "there" [Chamartín] from "here" [Callao], if the 10 is down, you may be able to get there the "long way" on other lines. Taxis are always there...