car hire advice needed please

[parakeet]

I'll be hiring a car from Marseille airport for a week in June. I've gone to money supermarket and got some quotes. The cheapest quote was from Holiday Autos but when I go to trip advisor I discovered it's not a car hire agency itself, it's a broker, and just sorts you out through another agency. It had some bad reviews, with one factor being that if something goes wrong you effectively have to deal with two different companies (the broker and the rental company).

The cheapest quote going through a rental company directly is a good £40 higher. Does anyone think it is worth paying the extra?

Not sure about the broker thing but I found car hire 3000 very good when I hired a car in Majorca, Dublin and Cape Town.

Coincidentially I have read of other people having problems with this company on other travel forums as well. Could therefore only advise you to avoid and pay the extra £40 to use a proper care hire company instead rather than a car broker.

Thanks - I am leaning towards going direct to the car hire company then (Budget). But now I have seen some bad reviews of them too! Oh dear, I think car hire is fraught with difficulty. I will certainly read the contract closely, check the car over with a fine tooth comb, and buy my collision damage waiver separately via the internet.

I have used holiday autos several times in Majorca with no hassle. We always got the car we had booked and they've always been clean and tidy - even the car seats.

I suppose it depends on how reliable the car company is really.

Funnily enough the only time I had problems was when I paid through the nose was with hertz who tried to give us a Renault Clio instead of a 7 seater!

Try the company linked to the airline for a quote, especially if you are flying BA, as the rates can be competitive compared to going direct.