Car rental - what is the deal with off airport suppliers?

[jennymac]

We are off on holidays in a couple of days and have left car hire to the last minute. Now all the good deals relate to "off airport suppliers" and they say there is a shuttle bus service. Has anyone experience of this and do they tend to be much of a distance from the airport? Also, I take it you have to return the car to the supplier and get the shuttle bus back to the airport?

We had this twice. It was ok and yes, you are ferried to the place by bus and drop off the car and get the bus again.

It adds at least one hour each time.

It may be cheaper on the first glance but we found quite a lot of hidden extras which were included in the price of Sixt etc. So have a very close look at the price breakdown. For example one added the fuel at an horrendous price while another had mandatory insurance we needed to add despite having them already with our general travel insurance.

Thanks Noramum - the added time is enough to put me off as our return flight is quite early anyway. Just out of interest, have you ever turned up at a rental place and not booked a car in advance? I have heard that it can be cheaper that way.

Hi, it really depends where you are going.

We have got cars on spec at Lanzarote and Tenerife, but if it's a small airport e.g. Bergerac if you don't book in advance then there is a chance you won't get anything.

What we have found is that it's worth paying a bit more to hire with a reputable car hire company and we try to avoid the one that's linked to the airline as it will have a long queue. Oh and if yo uare going to Europe avoid Goldcar like the plague.