Goldcar Rental

Terrance
1 year ago

Just returned from Portugal where I rented a car from Goldcar in Lisbon. The team was very kind, informative and the pick up process was fast and quick.

The car was in good state, clean and full with little damage and worked perfectly (a Renault SUV).

As always, I would suggest as best practice taking photos of all the car panels if one does not take full insurance cover, just for a peace of mind.

Fantastic value for money and well maintained cars.

Special thanks goes to Diego who gave us the car, he ensured all functions in the car was explained, existing damage was captured and explained the rules of the road especially around the Toll roads in Portugal.

Looking forward to use your services again.

Raviv

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Evan
1 year ago

I would like to report several situations that occurred to me in my experience when renting a car with Goldcar at the Madeira Airport from 25/12/19 to 31/12/19. My reservation was made online and I chose the Compact category which clearly stated a Nissan Pulsar, Opel Astra or similar. I am seasoned traveller and rent cars constantly abroad, and I know if I want to travel on an island with very steep hills and mountains with a family of four plus luggage I need a reasonable vehicle with some power in order to drive safely and comfortably. That's why I never rent from mini or economy categories that normally contain cars with 1.0 motors. In every single company that I used before until this date you are certain to be given a car with a motor at least 1.3/1.5 in the compact category. Even more so when the company lists a Nissan Pulsar or an Opel Astra as the reference for the category.
But apparently, not with Goldcar in Madeira.
On my arrival, the lady in the Goldcar balcony started saying "I know that you probably were expecting a more powerful car but we only have a Kia City 1.0 to give to you". Well, this is clearly a proof that this situation happened before and she was prepared to offer "apologies" that my Compact similar to Opel Astra was actually a Kia City 1.0.
Needless to say, I was not happy with what she offered me and I said that in similar situations anywhere in the world, if you don't have a car in the chosen category you will get a car from the the immediate above category. But the lady then insisted that the Kia City 1.0 was in the same category that the Opel Astra because it could take 5 people and 4 bags. Well Goldcar, if that is the way you categorize similar vehicles we could just have a huge, massive category comprising almost all the small vehicles in the world because almost all of them would have those characteristics (btw, you need to specify the size of the luggage if you want to make that claim).
What is the point of Goldcar listing a Kia City 1.0 as similar to an Opel Astra other than trying to mislead the customer to a vehicle that he doesn't want only to be forced to upgrade to the above category on arrival? Because that was exactly what happened next. With the expected refusal from my part to take the Kia City 1.0 as a similar vehicle to an Opel Astra, the lady gave me the only other option as an 60,00 euros upgrade to a Ford Focus which, ironically, is a vehicle actually similar to the Opel Astra.
The lady suggested me that I rented from other balcony in the airport so off I went and I actually found a better deal in a different company but when I tried to cancel the Goldcar reservation, the lady in the Goldcar balcony said that she couldn't guarantee that I would have my money back from Goldcar. I asked her who could give me that reassurance and she told me to call Customer Services. I called customer services from the phone in the Goldcar balcony and the person from Customer Services also could not guarantee that I would get my money back. So, in short, no one knew anything. Neither the lady in the balcony nor the person from Customer Services knew the policies from the company regarding the refund, so there I was stuck again in the situation that Goldcar created.
I had just arrived with my family in Madeira to start my holiday, I had two tired kids waiting to leave the airport and I couldn't waste more time with this so I had to accept the only option given to me that was to pay 60 euros more for a car that I was already expecting to have based on my booking.
The issues didn't finish there with the lady assigning me the Kia City even after I asked for the Ford Focus, so I had to go back to the terminal to fix that. Also, the car seat for kids 9-15kg that Goldcar provides doesn't contain seat harness which is pointless for kids of this size. But after so much frustration I didn't have time or patience to discuss about that anymore so I just left with what they provided me.
When I went back to return the vehicle, while the Goldcar employee was inspecting the vehicle, I was making a video with my cell phone of the vehicle condition at return, when the Goldcar employee started shouting at me saying that he would call the police if I didn't stop filming. I was very confused at first on why he was shouting at me and being aggressive when he started screaming about privacy issue so I had to stop filming "him". I tried to explain I was not filming him and not interested at all in doing that (why would I?) and I was just filming the car's condition, but he would always interrupt me and keep shouting that he would call the police and became more and more aggressive. The more I tried to explain, the more he would interrupt me and be aggressive. I couldn't end a single sentence. I tried to show him the video I've done to show him that I was not filming him but only the vehicle, but it was in vain. He would keep shouting, making threats of calling the police to intimidate me and it was an extremely upsetting situation that left me very distressed. Finally, he would let me go, but not without screaming, hustling and bustling as I was his worst enemy.

So, this is the summary of my first experience with Goldcar, needless to say will be the last one:

1 – Mislead information when booking the car and clear abuse when trying to give a Kia city 1.0 as a similar vehicle to a Nissan Pulsar or Opel Astra.
2 – Complete lack of knowledge from the employees of the company's own policies on refunding the money to the client when facing a situation of booking cancelation.
3 – Car seat for kids 9-15 kg doesn't contain seat harness so your kid ends only with the seat in the lap because the other section of the car's 3-point seat harness would suffocate the kid in the neck in case of an accident.
4 – Extremely uneducated and aggressive employee at return, making threats for something that didn't happen and causing a very uncomfortable situation and stress without need.

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Juan
1 year ago

Dammn these scammers! I got to the counter at Lisbon airport and they are telling me I must pay for Airport tax for picking car at airport (I said ok, how much?) The guy tells me it will be 30Eur!! I was like.. whooo that's too much, what is this charge based on? Percentage? or fixed amount? He could not tell… I thought this was already fishy! Then I accepted and paid, and was waiting to see what the invoice said. And on the invoice the payment for airport tax was 0.36cents… I was like?? WHAAT? At the time I was already out of the desk and went to see what car they had for me( They gave me a FIAT 500 with 2 doors and 4 seats when I paid for a Ford Fiesta for 4 doors and 5 seats) Even here this was baad!!!, so I went back to this guy and asked for explanation. He checked and tells me it was an error from the system. Right!!! I should have asked for the police to arrest this guy. I will still make an official complaint, but for now I am just waiting until they unblock the amount of 1200Eur I have blocked on card for several days, even after car has been delivered back totally fine.. Let's see how this part goes, but I am not expecting smooth ending. My friends told me not to try it, because they also got scammed with fuel 8/8 not refunded… GOLDCAR SURE IS SCAM, NEVER AGAIN!!!

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Callie
1 year ago

Agree with all the other reviews but found out too late that this company are just charlatans. Shameful.

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Damon
1 year ago

Tralasciando l'opinione personale su marca e modello del mezzo. Noleggiato a Porto.
la caparra da 1200 euro passa a 1400 in ufficio, non ho capito il motivo e non l'ho trovato nel regolamento.
Auto del 2018 ma gi脿 con rumori ai giunti meccanici anteriori.
Altro trucco 猫 usare auto a benzina, che a loro costano meno, ma a me di pi霉 quando faccio rifornimento, rispetto al gasolio.
Trovato pulito ma con il parabrezza interno sporchissimo, appannato. L'ho pulito io, gliel'ho fatto notare, comprato carta e detergente, ma mi hanno addebitato 50eu perch茅 c'era "troppa sabbia" nei tappetini.
Valutiamo il costo in aspirapolvere per la sabbia: 猫 pari al costo di pulitura del parabrezza.
Ma no, l'operatrice senza specificare mi dice "nessun problema, firmi qua" e mi ritrovo a fattura chiusa addebitate ben 50 euro. Si definiscono da soli.

Leaving aside the personal opinion on the mark and model of the vehicle. Rented in Porto.
the 1200 euro deposit goes to 1400 in the office, I didn't understand the reason and I didn't find it in the regulation.
Another trick is to use petrol cars, which cost them less, but to me more expensive than gasoline.
Found clean but with very dirty, fogged interior windshield. I cleaned it, I pointed it out, bought paper and detergent, but they charged me 50eu because there was "too much sand" in the mats.
We evaluate the cost of vacuuming for sand: it is equal to the cost of cleaning the windscreen.
But no, the operator without specifying tells me "no problem, sign here" and I find myself with a closed bill charged a good 50 euros. They define themselves.

Deixando de lado a opini茫o pessoal sobre a marca e modelo do ve铆culo. Alugado no Porto.
o dep贸sito de 1200 euros vai para 1400 no escrit贸rio, n茫o entendi o motivo e n茫o o encontrei no regulamento.
Outro truque 茅 usar carros a gasolina, que custam menos, mas para mim mais como combust铆vel.
Encontrado limpo, mas com para-brisa interior muito sujo e emba莽ado. Limpei, apontei, comprei papel e detergente, mas eles me cobraram 50eu porque havia "muita areia" nos tapetes.
Avaliamos o custo da aspira莽茫o de areia: 茅 igual ao custo da limpeza do p谩ra-brisas.
Mas n茫o, o operador sem especificar me diz "n茫o tem problema, assine aqui" e eu me deparo com uma conta fechada cobrada uns bons 50 euros. Eles se definem.

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Jamie
1 year ago

Usual story you will find repeated about this awful, immoral company. Booked online with insurance. Waited in a queue for almost two hours at Verona Airport to be informed that my insurance was useless and demanded a payment of 拢1100 as a damage deposit. As if. Ended up paying about 拢300 for their insurance. Whole saga would have cost less by opting for a reputable company, which I will do in future. Absolute rogues.

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Jerry
1 year ago

They attract you with some offer that seems cheap and the best among other car hire companies, but after that you鈥檒l be charged for this and that. I was even charged 50 euros for extra cleaning without warning, without an invoice. I had to contact the customer service and ask what鈥檚 the charge for… I鈥檒l never again use Goldcar

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Tonya
1 year ago

God I wish I had looked at trust pilot before booking. AVOID AVOID AVIOD. Was a nightmare, they were so unhelpful. Rules set up to make sure you end up paying extra. Terrible company. Regrets.

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Darin
1 year ago

I would under no circumstances recommend Goldcar. Their business ethics are at a very low point and Goldcars business model is built on tricking you to rent a cheap car – then forcing you to buy unnecessary insurance at ridiculous prices. Goldcars tricked us to buy a 320 euro insurance claiming the other insurance from Ryanair wasn't valid.

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Eileen
1 year ago

Booked online and paid, when we arrived at Pisa airport they wanted 200 euros and 90 for full tank of fuel. Complained and told if we didn鈥檛 pay we wouldn鈥檛 be covered on insurance, if the car broke down we would have to pay recovery etc, etc. Next to us was a man who paid full comprehensive cover when he booked online and they managed to extort 45euros from him. When we got the car the fuel gauge showed 3/4 of a tank. Not full as charged! Recommend that whoever you book a rental car from get them to confirm via email that there are no additional charges at car collection point. Disgraceful behaviour.

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Barbara
1 year ago

Would newer rent a car again from "Goldcar". Paid double price than stated while booking. When booking online it was written no extra and hidden fees, and of course I took full coverage. Was supposed to pay 166Eu. But at the airport came all the extra fees and coverage and ended up paying 327Eu which is almost double that much. People waiting at the queue before us had same problems. Would never again rent a car from there and would not recommend it to others.

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