I rented a car from Budget for a road trip around Andalucia in Spain through Holiday Autos. This post will be about my car hire experience with Budget at Granada airport to help you make the right decision.
I picked the car up at Granada airport and drove into town that same evening. It was a five door Renault semi-SUV with a good size boot and plenty of space for the driver.
I made the booking on the Holiday Autos website a month in advance of my trip. The car hire for the five days cost a little under €130, excluding insurance. I think it was a good deal given that there were two of us travelling.
It gave us the flexibility of getting around Andalucia, visiting many more attractions than we would have been able to see using the train or bus network.
Picking Up The Car At Granada Airport
The rental desk is at the airport in Granada with space for two staff but normally there is only one person serving. This made the service extremely slow and I had to wait at least half an hour before I got served.
Otherwise the service was fine, the clerk gave me the keys pretty quick and I was on my way 10 minutes after we first said hello. He did try to upgrade me to their special insurance but I used my special strategies to avoid the hard sell tactics at the pick up desk and I was on my way pretty quick!
I am not saying you should not get insurance for your car, but there is a better way to avoid getting stung by high insurance excess costs and it is good to know them.
Budget Rent A Car – What Was Included?
This car comes with this special key which is in fact just a remote control and then you press this button to start the car. I have so far driven about 400 kilometers since I have picked up the car.
I rented a manual car which I think was a mistake as I drive an automatic at home and I am not used a manual.
Tip: check the insurance policy offered by the rental company – often they don’t cover the tyres and windscreen
Good Things About My Budget Rental
I loved that there was a multimedia system in the car with a free on-board navigation system – many rental companies charge extra for this. There was also a USB plug and plenty of space for cups and gadget between the seats. The side pockets were also large enough although I did not store anything in them.
Things I Did Not Like About The Car
The only thing I did not like was the manual transmission and that uphill it was struggling quite a bit. I did not like the glove compartment, instead of opening down it came out like a drawer.
Dropping The Car Off At Granada Airport
I got back to the airport safe without a scratch and dropped the car off without a problem. The clerk asked for my email address and sent me the receipt about half an hour later. There were no unexpected charges so I was happy with the service overall.