July 17, 2014
BEJA to FARO AIRPORT - 142km
 
(continued to Parede, Cascais by train - see next post for that)


Cheap-o Car Rentals through "Holiday Autos" 
 
 
The pretty morning drive to Faro took us 3 hours. No dilly-dallying. We were right on schedule when we pulled into "P4" to drop our car off at noon. We expected things to go smooth and quick at car-return, boy were we wrong. We had done a pretty good cleaning of the car, because we had read in the small print that they would charge €25 if the car was extremely dirty. We didn't want to give doubt to interpretation and dropped it off clean. 
 
Dave explains the turn of events from here:
 

120% Cost Over Run

Our planned 162€, 10 day rental ended up costing 357€ total as a result of my naiveté and the questionable business practices of International-Car.pt and HolidayAutos.com. Yeah, I got screwed and should have seen it coming.

I had used Argus and Cartrawler for discount car rentals in Morocco and Turkey and was treated fairly. Sure, they niggled extra charges adding a few percent to the original cost but overall, the benefits outweighed the inconveniences of this kind of arraignment. This time, I used HollidayAutos.com and that was a costly mistake. Holiday Autos steers unsuspecting clients, like us, to unscrupulous rental companies, like International Car, to be sheered like sheep. We got burned to the tune of 195€ and it went like this….


Got Screwed on the Front Side

First, they don't reveal the actual renting company until after you confirm a booking. That should have been a red flag. Second, I did not understand the fuel policy and I ended up paying 92€ for 50€ worth of pre-paid fuel. That was something I should have seen coming but I did not. "My bad."

 
Got Screwed on the Backside Too

We noticed one cleaning charge clause in the agreement before we returned the car. We were leery now so pulled over before returning the car and removed all the trash and dusted off the finger prints. No way could they say we returned the car unreasonably dirty.

We pulled into the return lot and expected a quick inspection and to be out of there pronto. Instead, we got Filomena'ed!
   
The lot boy who inspected the car immediately called over another International Car employee and demonstratively tried the passenger car lock with the key. It didn't work. The car has keyless entry so there was no reason for us to notice or suspect this kind of hidden damage. The International Car rep said I needed to approve 153.75€ repair charge or she would keep the entire 750€ deposit hold.

I asked to see the manager and she claimed to be the manager. I asked for her business card. She said she did not have one. I asked her name and she refused to give me her name. So I took her picture with my phone and she called the police. After 10 minutes, I tried to leave the office, which was a just space by an open desk really. The manager physically raised her fist and blocked my way. I outweigh the fireplug of a manager by a good 5 pounds but it would have been bad style to push my way past her. Besides, she has a very low center of gravity.
 
The police had arrived at the moment of the stand-off. They informed me that I needed to delete the photo off my phone according to Portuguese law. I said I would be happy to if I could get the name of the manager so I could lodge a complaint with the company. The manager still refused to give her name but the police said they would need her name for their report and they would pass it on to me afterward. I deleted the photo and asked for the complaint book. It took 20 minutes for the company's complaint book to arrive from another location which, by Portuguese law, is supposed to be kept on-site, and I completed the form. The police gave me the manager's name after I left the office space.

We suspect International Car, Faro pulls these shenanigans all the time and pressures customers into paying unjustifiable extra charges on a regular basis. After all, we cannot prove they gave us a damaged car. We can just say circumstances were suspicious and staff unusually sharp to point out the bad lock and surprisingly rude and unprofessional. Not all the staff were rude, just one Filomena Elisa Viegas Cardoso.


In Hindsight, We Made a Mistake at Inspection Time Too

The second clue of upcoming problems was at pick-up when the original International Car lot boy said helpfully, "We've already filled out the damage sheet. Don't worry about the small scratches and dents because it is already an old car". We made just a cursory check. Why did we let him rush us? Next time, we'll video every inch. That's what we did in Morocco because that beater had dents and scratches everywhere.


Car Rental Summary:
 
-1561 kilometers (970 miles) over 10 days.
-2007 Chevy Spark with 77708km. 
-Cost 35.72€ ($48.36) per day (averaging in the extra charges). 
-Spent $240 on gasoline at $8.41 per gallon. The tiny car got only 34mpg.
 
We loved the 10 day journey by car. Top 3 stops were Mertola, Marvao, and Monsanto. Add Manteigas, with its scenic alpine area, as a bonus.

Start          Faro Airport
Day 1        Mertola
Day 2     Serpa
Day 3     Evora
Day 4     Borba
Day 5 & 6   Marvao
Day 7     Monsanto
Day 8     Manteigas
Day 9     Belver
Day 10   Beja
End      Faro Airport

We continued on to Cascais on the 3PM train