Centauro Rent A Car Reviews

★★★☆☆
2.7 / 5
43.9% of users recommend this
  • Customer Service

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Latest Reviews

★☆☆☆☆

“Dirty cars and silly fuel prices”

Written on: 17/06/2013 by bob07790

Hired the car in June 2013 at Alicante airport had problems with the car before leaving the car park (so were other people) it took them an hour to find a replacement car, which was far from clean sweat marks on the front seats., windscreen never been cleaned on the inside since it had been a car, general condition of the car poor. The replacement car did not have a wheel nut spanner either, good job we never had a puncture. Their paper work says nil excess yet they will not give you the... (read more)

Ddreview's Response to bob07790's Review

Written on: 19/06/2013

I've used Centauro at Malaga a few times. The meet and greet service usually means you have to find their bus to the off airport site yourself. No rep waiting for you. Once you're aware of this it isn't a big problem - it usually comes about every 15 minutes. The site is near the Motorway and I think is better than collecting the car from the airport.

They operate a full-empty fuel policy for hires longer than 3 days and it does seem that they use very expensive petrol (!). Mostly the cars seem to be clean and relatively new.

If I have a gripe, it's the "no excess" phrase they use in their advertising. This misleading phrase turns out not to be Super CDW - just no excess on what they actually insure. The tyres and underside etc aren't covered so you still need your own policy or to buy the excess for those. Even if you have your own excess policy you'll still have to leave a deposit on your credit card.

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★★★★★

“stressfree experience”

Written on: 03/06/2013 by jeantoole1 (1 review written)

Third time rented from Centauro with a stress free experience. On arrival at alicante airport proceeded straight to centauro desk in arrivals hall. Paid for full tank of fuel which I already knew the policy of returning empty tank.PAid top up insurance and received an upgrade to a brand new alpha Romeo all within the space of 10 minutes. Will be booking soon with centauro for my next visit to spain. (read more)

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★★★★☆

“If you do your homework you won't get any surprises ....”

Written on: 20/05/2013 by swalker15 (1 review written)

A lot of these negative reviews boil down to the fact that people did not do their homework first or understand the policy offered ! We hired a Fiesta 2 dr (1.2 ltr) via Auto Europe and specifically picked Centauro as it appeared to have the (slightly) better reviews over the other cheap end companies. We hired for 7 days out of Alicante and fully understood that we would be hit for a full tank of petrol. We also chose Cenaturo over Gold Car as their reviews were dire and glad we did. When... (read more)

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★☆☆☆☆

“Total scam artists”

Written on: 03/03/2013

I recently hired a car in Barcelona from Centauro via Rentalcars.com, a subsidiary of Priceline. For three days' rental, the prepaid hire charge of about £30 seemed like an absolute bargain - little did I expect what was to come. When I collected the car from Centauro's premises - a 20 minute minubus drive from the terminal - the forecourt was poorly lit and it was difficult to inspect the (black) car for damage. The staff there seemed most reluctant to come and do this check with... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 24/04/2013

Could you please contact our customer service department so we can see what you were charged for? Are you sure it wasn´t the refundable deposit? ( customerservice@centauro.net)

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★★★★★

“Why bother with the rest, when Centauro are the best!”

Written on: 23/02/2013

We arrived at Alicante airport, proceeded to the Centauro desk based in the airport (unlike other car rental companies that lay on a shuttle bus to compounds miles away from the airport which is time consuming and stressful). There was a small queue as a few flights had arrived, only one male person on the desk but waited around 10 minutes. The male on the desk was very polite and spoke very good English, who offered us a choice of car, and we chose a cute Fiat 500. We paid for a full tank... (read more)

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★☆☆☆☆

“Worst car rental experience so far (Centauro)”

Written on: 19/01/2013

Rented out of Valencia, Spain in October 2012. Plane had massive delay, and first we went around the airport looking for the Centauro office.. Until somebody told us there was no office, but we had to go see outside (read: look for their shuttle)... I don't mind a car rental not having an office at the airport, but it would have been nice to have known beforehand.. When we got to the rental space, the assistant there was terribily rude, and almost kicked us out (with a car, fortunately). I... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 24/04/2013

We do advise all our customers that our office isn´t in Valencia airport, but a couple of minutes away, we provide all the pick up information which should be on your voucher, our free shuttle bus takes you straight to our office. Our fuel policy is also specified on your voucher and is agreed to by yourselves when booking the car. Our Valencia staff are frequently praised for their positive attitude, so to hear otherwise is surprising, but this will be addressed, thank you for bringing this to our attention. We hope you allow us to show you this was a one off. If you have any more questions you can contact us directly via email : customerservice@centauro.net

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★☆☆☆☆

“BE WARNED!!!”

Written on: 06/12/2012

The whole rental experience was fiasco, they have no idea what customer service is about, they are rude and inconsiderate, and sorry to say it - thieves! They have charged my debit card 3 more times after I left the car with them without my permission, and called the Police to report the car stollen because, as they say 'You did not answer your phone when we called you!' I would not in a million years rent from them again, even if they had the only car left in the world! Very disappointed... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, We aren´t aware of your situation and what happened during your car hire. Did you return the car on the day you were supposed to? As we don´t report cars stolen until 5-7 days have passed and we have not contact with the driver. This would be the reason for the charges, for the extra time you had the car.

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★☆☆☆☆

“Rip-off Centauro”

Written on: 11/10/2012 by olivia_h (1 review written)

Centauro's low car hire charges are part of an elaborate scam. When we hired the vehicle we were told we had to pay upfront for a full tank of fuel that cost 60 euros. The car was a fiat in the economic range. There were no refunds when we returned the car with half the tank unused. Mallorca is a very small island and you would have to travel across it several times to use a full tank. It's extremely unpleasant to feel ripped off in this way. I would not hire from this company again. Also... (read more)

Dpm95's Response to olivia_h's Review

Written on: 25/10/2012

OK think yourself lucky... at least you had a minibus. When my flight arrived in Ibiza @ 11pm there was no sign of a Centauro minibus. I eventually found their offices about a mile away only to discover that they had closed for the night (all the other car rentals were still open). I went back there next day and was told you were a no show and we do not have a car for you. They eventually found me a car with a big dent in the front which was better than nothing.

Avoid like the plague .... pay a bit extra and use the proper car rental companies Hertz Avis etc you can then relax and get on with your holiday instead of wasting most of your short break dealing with these annoying people.

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's reply to Dpm95's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, our office closes at 11 pm and reopens at 7 am. We do wait for our customers, but if they do not arrive then we close the office. Luckily we were able to provide you with a car the following day.

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's reply to Dpm95's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, our office closes at 11 pm and reopens at 7 am. We do wait for our customers, but if they do not arrive then we close the office. Luckily we were able to provide you with a car the following day.

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to olivia_h's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, We specify our fuel policy clearly on the rental agreement, on our website and on the voucher you hand over on arrival. we also sepcift that our office isn´t at the airport, but 3 minutes away, we provide a free shuttle service to pick you up and take you there, the same on return. We aren´t aware who you booked the car though but all our collaborators know of our office location and fuel policy.

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★★★☆☆

“Charges a Fuel Fee on pickup and hard to get refunded”

Written on: 07/10/2012

This company now charges a Fuel fee when you pickup the car and say you must bring it back full to get your money back. After returning our vehicle I wrote and wrote trying to get our fee back. One answer said if your car hire is more than 3 days you have to bring the car back empty. Rubbish, this was never mentioned at pickup time and besides their fuel charge would fill the car almost twice. Centauro needs to stop charging a Fuel fee on pickup or at least refund the fee immediately... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, according to your comment you had the car for 3 months, we have offices up and down the Mediterranean coast, we would have changed the car at any time for you if you weren´t all together happy with it, whether it be the cigarette lighter or any other reason, maybe at the time you wanted the change it wasn´t possible, but we´re sure that it would have been at some point during the 3 months. Our fuel policy is clearly stated on our website and in the rental agreement.

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★★★★☆

“After reading some critical Internet reviews we feared...”

Written on: 01/10/2012 by GrahamKing (1 review written)

After reading some critical Internet reviews we feared the worst - but it shows how wrong, or unfair, some people can be! Centauro check-in/out staff and vehicle were all superb. The Fiat 500 was a great 'fun' vehicle - clean, well presented, and a joy to drive. It served us well, and economically, for the whole week. (read more)

Buddha3134's Response to GrahamKing's Review

Written on: 02/10/2012

Glad to hear you had a good experience and enjoyed your car. It does not mean though that critical comments posted are wrong or unfair as you suggest. These are other people's experienceS just as yours was a positive one.
If you think paying 90 euros for a tank of fuel and only being able to use 45% of that is fair then good on you.

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Grahamking's Response to GrahamKing's Review

Written on: 02/10/2012

The tank of petrol was nowhere near 90 euros ... it was 60 euros and I took it back on the last fuel gauge bar. So ... 'good on me' I guess. (Yes, you're right about other people's experiences being valid for them, though. It was wrong of me to suggest otherwise.)

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Buddha3134's Response to GrahamKing's Review

Written on: 02/10/2012

Sorry, should have been more clear the 90 euro scenario was mine not yours. On holiday on a small island like Mallorca In a diesel car with a range of about 700 miles I could never have used that amount of fuel. Some may do and that is ok for them but as in my case it is just a rip off. They then fill the car up with another 50 Euros and sell it again at 90. That is at best a sharp practice. It is no reflection on the car mine was a nice car quite clean but the service was rubbish an the fuel a rip off.

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to GrahamKing's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Thank you for the time taken in leaving your comments, we appreciate all feedback from our customers, positive and the not so positive, this way we can improve our product ansd service where necessary.

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★★☆☆☆

“Don't care”

Written on: 29/09/2012

Booked this company via a UK agent, that went smoothly vehicle allocated was Renault Kangoo people carrier type vehicle, pick-up and drop off was at Barcelona airport from 24th to 28th September 2012. Informatiom was supplied about flight times, and instructions given about pick up point as this car hire collection point is in an industrial estate and requires transportation. went to the pick-up point at zone 'C' waited approx 20mins no transport, then I used the contact telephone number my... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, Please accept our apologies for the problems you encountered with your hire car at our Barcelona office. I believe you have already been in touch with our customer service department about this matter.
As you know, our Barcelona office can get busy, and we try to attend to everyone in a timely manner.

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★★★★★

“Ottima car renting”

Written on: 27/09/2012 by pippoz75 (1 review written)

Ottima esperienza con Centauro Rent a car di Malaga. Prenotazione effettuata via internet con buon prezzo per nr. 10 giorni, più sovrapprezzo per SWCD. All'arrivo abbiamo subito trovato l'addetto di Centauro che ci ha direzionatop verso il furgone di Centauro, che in 5 minuti ci ha trasportato presso la loro sede vicino all'aeroporto di Malaga. Mi è stata consegnata auto di categoria superiore rispetto a quella prenotata, in quanto non disponibile al momento del ritiro. Auto praticamente... (read more)

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★☆☆☆☆

“Awful Awful Awful”

Written on: 17/09/2012 by Andy1289 (1 review written)

Used Centauro in Ibiza. -They are 2 miles from the airport. They have 1 shuttlebus from what I could see. We waited A LONG time. When you have a flight to catch this is not good. When a queue mounts around you, you panic that you might not get the next bus. This is uncomfortable. -Customer service was awful all round, from basic manners to speed of service. -We ordered a baby car seat. We were provided with a piece of junk. Staff had no clue how to fit it and showed almost no interest in... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to Andy1289's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, Our apologies for your last experience, please understand our staff, for legal reasons, aren´t permitted to install child seats, this is the responsability of the driver, the same with the customers luggage, our staff, for health and safety aren´t permitted to move luggage, although many times they do!

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Andy1289's reply to Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Sometimes you need to accept that you haven't done a good job. The manager of the centre attempted to fit the seat after an hour. I pushed it over with 1 finger and he shrugged. No instructions were provided. I requested that some were printed from the internet. I have never seen such pathetic customer service or staff so uninterested in helping their customers. Your staff aren't permitted to help women take bags out of your mini buses? Are you sure you want to take ownership of this comment? There's no point in me commenting further - your own response exposes your terrible service.

Provide service like that and expect to be criticised. I should have paid more and gone somewhere better.

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★☆☆☆☆

“The absolute pits”

Written on: 03/09/2012

Where does one begin.I will never use there car hire service again and the best advice i could give is you shouldn,t either. (Regardless of price). (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, We aren´t aware of any problems you may have encountered during your car hire, if you´d like us to help you then please send us an email directly to : customerservice@centauro.net
We will be delighted to help you.

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★★★★★

“FANTASTIC!!!”

Written on: 02/09/2012

Best care hire company we've ever used. We go to Alicante every summer and always rent a car there. I chose Centauro because they were the best value for money for car hire located at the actual airport. The car they gave us was the cutest ever and she even let us choose which model. They were extremely polite and helpful. They charged us for a full tank of gas but the lady told us that if we return the car full they will refund it to us and it will save us money, which is what we did. We... (read more)

Xxx1's Comment

Written on: 19/09/2012

Did you get your fuel refunded, I'm still waiting and its been 10 days?

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Hi, did you ask our customer service department? As it should only take 48 hours to show on your credit card.

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Thank you for your great comments, hope to see you again soon.

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★★★★☆

“Could be better, could be worse”

Written on: 31/08/2012 by falconpl (1 review written)

Group A1 car to/from Alicante airport for 9 days. Total ca €170 + €70 fuel + €35 second driver (booked by rentalcars.com). Pos: reasonable price (especially for the second driver); the plane was late over 2 hrs and we were at the counter around 1AM - no problem with waiting for us; nice service; express drop-off (5 sec.): "just the keys please" Neg: I have never seen (except North Cyprus) a rental car with so many (marked in agreement) damages, so dirty windows from inside and with round... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to falconpl's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Thank you for your comments, we do try to maintain our cars in top shape, but as you witnessed first hand this can be hard, especially during peak season. The Fiat Punto is in the same category as the 3 door Ford Fiesta and the Hyundai I20, next time you hire with us you can send us an email directly specifying that you´d prefer the Ford Fiesta and we´ll do our best ! ( customerservice@centauro.net)

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★☆☆☆☆

“Avoid! Fuel Scam!”

Written on: 28/08/2012

Hired car from Palma airport, 92 euros for a full tank of fuel there is no way I could have used this amount on holiday on an island for a week. When asked for a refund on a 45% full tank staff shrugged shoulkders and referred me to customer service website. Hired car through rentalcars.com so had no idea who my car would be with until I had paid and been sent a voucher. I have complained to rentalcars let's see what thet do, but not holding my breath. This is a blatant scam and the more we... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, we do specify our fuel policy and our collaborators, like Rentalcars are aware of this and is printed on your voucher, also it´s in the conditions when you book. They are also aware of the office not being at the airport.
We do thank you though for your comments, this way we can improve our product and service.

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Buddha3134's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

CENTAURO- IT MAY WELL BE IN YOUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS BUT WHO ON HOLIDAY READS THE SMALL PRINT ON THE FORMS. YOU TELL ME HOW A FULL TANK OF DIESEL IS LIKELY TO BE USED GIVING A RANGE OF ABOUT 900 KM WILL BE USED ON AN ISLAND THE SIZE OF MALLORCA. OTHER THAN THE MOST AVID TOURIST. I HANDED MY CAR BACK WITH BETWEEN HALF AND THREE QUARTERS OF FUEL LEFT AND YOU THINK THAT'S OK BECAUSE IT IS IN YOUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
YOUR REPLY 7 MONTHS SINCE MY POST IS LAUGHABLE.

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 14/02/2013

Good morning, our customer service department answers all customers with a complaint, query or question within 48 hours....we thought it would be courteous to reply to your complaint here, as we haven´t received an email from you directly.....

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★★★★☆

“Centauro and BK Car Hire in Ibiza”

Written on: 24/08/2012 by ExperiencedCarHireUser (1 review written)

We have hired cars for many years on our holidays and always used Europcar or similar (what I'd call medium to large companies) and always been happy until recently when their prices rocketed. So for the first time this year (April and August in Ibiza) we tried BK through DoYouSpain and Centauro through Argus Car Hire via TravelSupermarket. Both smallish car hire companies. Both companies answered my email questions about the rental even detailing all additional charges accurately etc... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to ExperiencedCarHireUser's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Thank you for your comments and we hope to see you agian soon

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★☆☆☆☆

“ expensive and bad mannered”

Written on: 19/08/2012 by Takemyadvice1 (1 review written)

We hired a car from centaurs Palma Majorca airport The deal was found on argus car hire search engine which we have used before To our surprise in tiny tiny small print you are forced to purchase a full tank of petrol regardless to wether you use it or not. We are used to paying for what we use This by anyone's opinion was not clear enough from the start when purchasing We were not entirely happy about this but the staff in the office were not bothered at all They speak to you in a very... (read more)

Experiencedcarhireuser's Response to Takemyadvice1's Review

Written on: 24/08/2012

Why do people always moan about a full tank of petrol when it's nearly always mandatory when picking up!?

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's reply to Experiencedcarhireuser's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

We understand this can be frustrating if they are unaware of this, but like you say, 90% of car hire companies work this way.

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's reply to Experiencedcarhireuser's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

We understand this can be frustrating if they are unaware of this, but like you say, 90% of car hire companies work this way.

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to Takemyadvice1's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, we do specify our fuel policy clearly on our website, on the rental agreement and all our collaborators put this on their voucher. I´m sorry you were unaware of this.
There is however, no excuse for rude staff, maybe it was the language barrier as our Palma staff are praised for their helpfulness.

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★☆☆☆☆

“Fuel Rip off”

Written on: 14/08/2012

I know it's been said before but they completely rip you off with the fuel policy. We hired a 9 seater in Mallorca for a week and had to pay £130 for a full tank of fuel when we collected it. There was no way, unless we drove round the island 30 or 40 times that we could use that amount of fuel up. there was no mention of a refund for the unused fuel and i'm guessing they just sat there and rubbed their hands when we returned it with only a quarter of a tank gone. To get to the collection... (read more)

Experiencedcarhireuser's Comment

Written on: 24/08/2012

Why do people complain about a full tank of petrol, nearly all companies do it, they charge a bit extra cause someone has to use their time to fill it up and do you want to be looking for petrol at some ridiculous time of the day or at the start of your holiday? And yes they make a bit of money out of it that's why the hire is much cheaper than Avis and the like you should try them, and you'll still get charged for a tank of petrol.

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Buddha3134's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

A full tank of fuel is no problem you are completely missing the point.
As an experienced car hire user do you really think that paying for a full tank and being told to bring it back empty but only being able to use a quantity of it with no refund on the unused fuel is a good customer focused policy.
What is wrong with bringing it back full only paying then for what you use?

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Lumploo's Comment

Written on: 28/08/2012

The reason i have complained is because it made what was a reasonably priced rental car a very expensive rental car and had we known we would be charged that much we would have been better off using one of the bigger companies who are right outside the terminal and not had to put up with the hassle of waiting for an overcrowded mini bus in the blistering sunshine with 3 kids and 2 elderly parents to go to their compound, only to sit there for 45 minutes in the car park in the heat whilst getting allocated a vehicle.
Had we known that the fuel was going to add an extra £130 to our holiday we wouldn't have booked it.

It would be nice to have the option, and also not be charged their over inflated fuel prices. It's fine if you are on mainland spain or have hired a small car, but trying to use all the fuel in a 9 seater on a small island like Majorca in a week is practically impossible unless you drive round it every day.

The reason I have reviewed on here is so that other people thinking of using the company are informed about the downsides of using them, and whilst it may look cheap on paper but in reality is isn't.

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Thank you for your comments about our fuel policy, we appreciate your feedback. For the 9 seater car we were charging 130€, not pounds. As we are unaware of your contract number we don´t know whether you were in fact refunded for the unused fuel. We do specify that our offce isn´t at the terminal, and that we provide a free shuttle service.

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Lumploo's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Our contract number was 11646254, we did not receive a refund for the unused fuel and none was offered.
The charge to our bank account was £104.53.

Please feel free to refund us the difference, it's never too late!

The shuttle service wasn't the problem, it was the lack of facilities and the poor speed of service at your office that was the problem.

Many thanks
Tiffany

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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Hi Tiffany, We´ve found your contract and can see it was a 7 day booking, this was why you weren´t offered a refund on fuel.

We have taken into account your comments about the waiting time, we did have 2 minibuses constantly in use during peak season, but depending on how quickly customers put and take off their luggage...there is sometimes a wait, but 45 minutes isn´t a usual waiting time! Our apologies for this.

We hope you´ll try Centauro again in the future so we can show the improvements we make.

Thank you again,Tiffany for posting your comments, they are appreciated.

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Lumploo's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

I would never use you again and recommend that no one else does. You must make an absolute fortune on the unused fuel you charge for and show no sign of changing the policy in future.

At no point or in any comment I have read from you have you justified your fuel policy.

I suggest you don't offer a refund on fuel for a 7 day booking as you know full well that it is nigh on impossible to use a full tank of fuel whilst on a small island in that time, you can then go on to happily pocket the cash and charge the next one or two customers for fuel that has already been paid for.

Feedback is only ever useful is it is acted upon, and based on your very lucrative unscrupulous business model I doubt very much you will change your ways as this is how you make your money!


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Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 14/02/2013

Good morning. We have never said that we would never change our fuel policy....this kind of feedback is important to us, so we can see our customers opinions about these matters. So please dont think that we don´t take note of what our customers say, as we do, changes do happen!

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See next 10 reviews Showing 11 - 20 of 82 Reviews
★★☆☆☆

“Fuel Scam”

Written on: 12/08/2012 by irfn (1 review written)

Hired back in May having booked through rentalcars.com. I didn't read the fuel policy on the voucher and was told on picking up car about the 'pay for full tank and no refund for full or partially full return'. This company is stealing from every customer. Ordered Ford Focus estate but given VW Passat Estate. Bigger fuel tank equals bigger payment for full tank. Although the rentalcars website offered 'additional driver included' I had to pay 25 euros at pick up. (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to irfn's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, Rentalcars didn´t have the correct information on their website about the additional driver, you were charged correctly. If you were given a free upgrade and charged a little more for the fuel, due to it having a bigger tank, we apologise. We suggest that for your next booking you can send us an email at customerservice@centauro.net
and we will ensure you are given the correct group of car.

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★☆☆☆☆

“Worst I ever experienced!”

Written on: 10/08/2012 by crepas

Already knew about the fuel policy, but had to leave a 400 euros deposit even having full insurance?! Didn't make sense at all to me, and have rented my share of cars this never happened before. Apart from that, left the deposit from my debit card. When returning the car remembered the person receiving it that it was a debit card so the money was actually taken from my account and asked how would I get it back. The employee assured me they would make the transfer and maximum 1 day the money... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to crepas's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, normally we don´t accept DEBIT cards, only VISA CREDIT, for this reason. If you paid with a debit card you would have had the deposit charged, if you paid with a credit card your bank holds these funds for 10 days and then release it. To avoid any problems like this in the future please pay with a credit card.

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★☆☆☆☆

“Bad customer treatment!”

Written on: 19/07/2012 by taran (1 review written)

We have rented a car for 23 days, I have to admit that we knew about the fuel and it is written in the contract as well. So honestly it is strainge that it is a big surprise for many people. When we arrived to the airport in Barcelona we went to the place according to the instructions given to us via email. After waiting for 30 mins we have called to the number given on the booking paper. noone picked up, so after we used another one and we were told that the bus is coming. when we got to... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to taran's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, Our apologies for the unclear drop off, our office doesn´t open until 7 am and we offer the customer the choice to leave it in the public car park at the airport, at a cost.
Did you receive yout GPS holder? As we send all our found objects to their owners.

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★☆☆☆☆

“Centauro, double robbery”

Written on: 19/07/2012 by andersre (2 reviews written)

We rented a car from Centauro Barcelona airport office. First of all the rental office is not at te airport but a "short" minibus drive away. This would have been acceptable if we did not have to wait for the minibus for30 min. We traveled with two small children and for that reason had requested confirmedchlid seats. Centauro provided uss two seats, but they where not meant for children of ages 2 and 4. So confirmed and safety is a foreign consempt for Cenatruo. But to the... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to andersre's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning,
We are not aware of the type of car provided to you, but it seems like a 55 litre tank, which, including the refuelling charge, would be correct.
A car this size can travel around 700 kilometres on a tank.
We do ask our customers to be carefuel with their belongings, this thing happens everywhere unfortunately, airports, beaches, crowded places....
We aren´t sure what you mean about our staff handing you a phone...we would have called the police directly for you.

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★☆☆☆☆

“never again ”

Written on: 24/06/2012 by raymondo.manchester

I hired vw golf for 3 days on 9 June 2012 they charge 70 euro for the fuel they promise me on return of full tank fuel they would refund my 70 euro but so far to no avail and they know your are leaving Spain and can do nothing about it Please please please make sure you get you money before you leave Spain or if you have paid by credit card ask your credit card company to refund all the money including car hire and the fuel money from this horrible and dishonest company (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to raymondo.manchester's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, if your car hire was 3 days or under and you retunred it full then you would have received a full refund. you should have received this within 48 hours. If you didn´t receive this please contact our customer service department : customerservice@centauro.net and we´ll be delighted to help you.

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★☆☆☆☆

“horrilbe at best”

Written on: 21/06/2012

I am not even gonna work myself up again, but please everyone do not consider even saving 10 or 20 euros to use their service. you pay it in another form in anyway. They have a scheme of filling your car up for you where it cost me 77 euros, i got 520 km out of it ( corsa ), then i fillled it up myself for 40 euros and i got a proper 400 km without the petrol light going on and had to give the car back with all the petrol in. booked a gps as well...they just said sorry the day i got there.... (read more)

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★☆☆☆☆

“Total Fiasco”

Written on: 14/06/2012 by anndivo (1 review written)

Our experience with centauro was a total nightmare it took 40mins.to catch a shuttle bus then we had a further wait of 2 hours before we saw a staff member (all this took longer then the flight) They then wanted a credit card which i did not take as I had already paid the insurance waiver with Villaparade, the tour company we always go with, and I must say I have never had a problem with, in the end I had to pay fuel, insurance and a further 100e on my debit card before they would let us... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Response to anndivo's Review

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, We only accepy VISA CREDIT cards for payment, in yur case, as you didn´t have a credit card we alowed you to pay with your debit card and asked you to take out our full insurance. If you hadn´t done this we wouldn´t have been able to provide the car. We do specify this in our conditions and Villaparade are also aware of this.

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★☆☆☆☆

“Car hire Ibiza”

Written on: 07/06/2012 by Charbo (1 review written)

I advise not to rent with this company and would like to share my bad experience. First they do not apply the rates you sign on the contract and do not explain why. Secondly they do not reimburse the gaz you leave in the tank and I advise to give it back empty. Thirdly they treat you like sh... Finaly they are not inside the airport and your can wait for the shuttle more than 15 mn. Overall I had a bad service for a price not low at all and even more expensive than a regular rental car company. (read more)

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★★☆☆☆

“Centauro car hire ibiza”

Written on: 23/05/2012

We booked a wk car hire through Economy car hire in May 2012 and found transfer to and from airport really good, the car was ok, fuel is a rip off cause your charged for full tank and told to bring back empty which is almost impossible with the island being so small, we later found out that if you take it back full then they will refund your fuel but they dont tell you that at the time of taking the car. Unfortunately we had a slight accident with one of the wheels which caused slight... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, If you damaged the wheel and tyre and didn´t have the full insurance then unfortunately we have to charge for these to be replaced.

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★☆☆☆☆

“Fuel Scan nearly doubled the price of our car hire”

Written on: 22/05/2012 by debbie8667 (1 review written)

As mentioned by so many people on this site the fuel scam is what ruined our overall experience of this company. We have just come back from Malaga having booked a VW Caddy through Centauro. The office is outside the airport but they run a shuttle bus every 15 minutes, the vehicle was in excellent condition and very clean. I had used the Argus comparison website and therefore assumed i was getting the best value.....how wrong. We had been quoted 116 euros for the week the total bill was 250... (read more)

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★☆☆☆☆

“You'll be scammed, go elsewhere and pay a little more ”

Written on: 17/05/2012 by bigdasher

We picked out car up from Barcelona - the transfer from the airport was good. On arrival, we were dealt with quickly. Surly agent, then asked us to pay more collision waver insurance (90 Euros) - which we declined as we are well covered with the Amex holiday insurance. So then told couldn't have the car unless we then paid a 300 euro deposit ( at this point I wanted to turn tail and go elsewhere). If we wanted to take the car up to France, then another 9 euro per day for the entire... (read more)

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★☆☆☆☆

“Fuel Scam AND Insurance Excess Scam”

Written on: 07/05/2012

All seemed well initially .... the online quote was reasonable enough so we booked it through the broker (murciacar.com). The week before I got the odd email asking if we wanted to take out the OPTIONAL "excess insurance" but I declined. Got to Murcia airport and in addition to the balance shown on my paperwork that I expected to pay, the representative charged me a further 53 Euros for fuel. Having always hired cars with the "pick car up with a full tank and return car with a full tank"... (read more)

Centauro_Rent_A_Car's Comment

Written on: 13/02/2013

Good morning, the deposit is held by your BANK, not Centauro. They release this after 10 days, Centauro never charge it. We ask for this deposit if you don´t take our full insurance, as a guarantee.

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★★★★★

“Best at Barcelona Airport? ”

Written on: 27/04/2012

Booked with Centauro at Barcelona Airport with some anxiety as reviews patchy. Thankfully it exceeded expectations. Made online reservation for a Ford Galaxy at an excellent price compared to other companies. For 7 passengers the Galaxy was excellent - almost new, no damage, clean, roomy, ran smoothly. No waiting time possibly because April is not peak season. While the office was off-airport, courtesy bus pick-up and drop-off efficient. It was also easy to get onto the motorway and the... (read more)

Guest's Comment

Written on: 21/06/2012

I am not even gonna work myself up again, but please everyone do not consider even saving 10 or 20 euros to use their service. you pay it in another form in anyway. They have a scheme of filling your car up for you where it cost me 77 euros, i got 520 km out of it ( corsa ), then i fillled it up myself for 40 euros and i got a proper 400 km without the petrol light going on and had to give the car back with all the petrol in. booked a gps as well...they just said sorry the day i got there. not even worrying. their offices are bad, their cars are old 65000 km on mine. i really can start with everything but it is not even worth it.

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★☆☆☆☆

“Avoid. Fuel scam. Car unchecked.”

Written on: 25/04/2012 by Martin Blain (2 reviews written)

The first car they gave us had a flat tyre, the biggest concern for me was that I noticed it whilst their staff had not. I'm pleased I did not drive straight onto the motorway. They sell you a full tank of fuel and then insist that you return it empty, how can you possibly do that? What thet are actually doing is selling the same half tank of fuel over and over again....SCAM (read more)

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★☆☆☆☆

“Hire a wreck here”

Written on: 28/12/2011

Booked via HPB site. Took out full insurance but when we saw car they tried to give us we immediately rejected it. Not exagerating the car looked like it had been in a war zone. Totally unacceptable in every way. Covered in tremendous amount of dents, scrapes,scratches, paintwork deeply keyed passenger side.Instead of marking faults they would be better off pointing out which parts of car were undamaged if they could find any! Huge mileage and dirty. Indicator was held loosely onto wing... (read more)

Sufc2012's Comment

Written on: 01/03/2012

I find this odd, I´ve never had any problems with Centauro, cars have always been good ! Goes to show how people treat other peoples cars !!

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★★★★☆

“Centauro - Recommended!”

Written on: 20/11/2011 by alan_br12df (3 reviews written)

Rented direct with Centauro for Fiesta-sized vechile for Mallorca. We were upgraded to larger car, excellent condition, prompt service. Pricing fine too - (booked direct after checking comparison sites) and have used them a number of times before throughout Southern Spain and been completely satisfied. Payment is in Euros - you can elect to pay at pick up (no extra charge)- rather than the usual up-front. Only downside is that at Palma Mallorca they are off airport - however pick up was... (read more)

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★★★★☆

“Great value for money (Spain, Malaga)”

Written on: 21/10/2011 by N.S.

We rented a car for 10 days in Malaga airport. Booked 2 months in advance and it was one of the best offers. The car we were provided with was in a great condition and it was bigger than I expected (they gave us VW golf estate or smth like this, while I booked smth smaller). The only thing we did not like - Centauro office is located a bit far than other car rentals in Malaga Airport (for all car rentals there you need to take a bus), and we had to wait for around 15-20min to catch our bus... (read more)

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★☆☆☆☆

“worst car hire ”

Written on: 18/10/2011 by gavindavidlloyd

internet price did not match the pre-booked price. car hire would not extend months car hire by 5 days, 2 days or 1 day.rude service, location miles from airport, waited 1 hour for courtesy bus, signage to pickup oint bad, directions in booking inadequate, no map (read more)

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★★★★☆

“a good company to deal with”

Written on: 14/09/2011 by vundum (1 review written)

we booked a car through carjet uk as we have many times in the past and were booked with centauro.on arrival at alicante airport we followed the signs to the car hire desks and saw that they were all busy, but we only had to wait about 10 mins to be seen by a very helpfull lady who explained about the 28 euros for insurance and the full empty fuel policy that all hire companies in spain operate. we were then directed to the new car park and office to collect the car we were greeted by... (read more)

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★★★★★

“Best Car Hire Experience Ever in Spain”

Written on: 10/09/2011 by Bonjour60 (1 review written)

We booked two cars (Focus Estate & Corsa) with Centauro through Economy Car Hire. The combined cost was less than we paid for a people carrier 2 years ago from Goldcar (avoid! avoid!). The service at the airport desk was courteous, friendly and efficient, as was the service at the pick-up point in the car park. There was a detailed contract in English/Spanish which noted scratches etc on the cars. We pointed out a couple of scrapes which had not been noted and the rep added these, with a... (read more)

Bonjour60's Response to Bonjour60's Review

Written on: 10/09/2011

Just to complete the sentence! -

\"..signed off and were told it wasn't necessary. No deduction has been made from our credit card deposit.\"

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Guest's Response to Bonjour60's Review

Written on: 28/09/2011

Hi - I've booked just this, a Focus from Alicante via Ecomony car with Centuaro; I'm in two minds whwther to cancel though because I'm concerned about being ripped off re the fuel (pay for the tank on arrival at their premium rate and return it empty). What sort of cost did they apply for the tank, if you don't mind me asking?
Thx ever-so
Diane

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★★★★★

“Excellent Service”

Written on: 04/09/2011

I booked with Centauro via Care Hire 3000 for August 2011. The service was excellent. There was a pretty long queue at the airport office, but this is understandable at a peak time in summer - and all the car hire companies had big queues. The staff were very friendly and the rental process was very easy. I was provided with a spotless, nearly new (20,000 KM) Golf Diesel for just of £400 for 2-weeks. I did have to pay 80 euros for a full tank of fuel, which seems a bit steep - but all... (read more)

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★☆☆☆☆

“Do not succumb to this fuel scam”

Written on: 25/08/2011

Although we could not fault the service or the standard of the vehicle our overall impression of this company is completely soured by the fuel scam that this company operates. You are charged for the full tank of fuel and then are expected to return it empty. No refunds are given if you return any fuel. Unless you have access to fuel siphoning facilities or you drive around aimlessly to burn fuel then you will loose money. My advice - choose a different hire company that doesn't operate this... (read more)

Bonjour60's Comment

Written on: 10/09/2011

I'm sick of whinges about so-called \"scams\". It isn't a scam. You are told upfront that you will have to pay a fuel charge and (on our voucher, at least) that the charge is higher than the standard fuel price. If they didn't do this they would just include it in the hire charge, which woul then be coreespondingly higher. Get real.

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Guest's Comment

Written on: 30/04/2012

Don't be silly - nearly all car hire firms in Spain have this policy, so good luck finding one that doesn't! The fact that their service was excellent is all that counts.

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★★☆☆☆

“Why do this fuel scam”

Written on: 29/07/2011

Centauro Car Hire My friend has a place in Spain near Malaga and offered it to us for a holiday. He advised to book Centauro as he is a gold card holder and uses them all the time (including other friends and family that go to his house). We waited about 15 minutes for the bus exchange (no big deal) then when we got to the place to rent the car she took a 300 euro deposit and the said I am charging you 70euro for the fuel you bring back empty. I said what are you talking about I will... (read more)

Guest's Comment

Written on: 16/08/2011

I agree, it's a shame. They should at least offer people the choose to return empty or full. BUT.....I also believe you're responsible for your own actions, so if you hire a car somewhere, you should familiarize yourself with their terms and conditions. Almost ALL car hire companies in Spain have these almost identical terms and conditions. Furthermore you're complaning about your car. The one YOU picked from the list and booked. Because you don't want to pay more, you're complaning about the performance of you car. Not really fair is it ? And NO, I don't have any interest in any of the car hire companies. I'm just a Dutch guy, who sometimes needs a car when on holiday.

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★★★★★

“after a disaster with doyouspain.com & auriga crown...”

Written on: 22/07/2011 by silkyskilz1970 (3 reviews written)

i rented a ford fiesta through centauro after a disastrous experience with doyouspain.com and auriga crown (separate reviews for these on the site), the car was brand new and clean, i was able to pay the whole amount on my debit card and had to have their insurance which meant they waived the security deposit & prepay the fuel but i was told they would refund the fuel cost if i returned the car full, as we were staying 10mins from the airport that seemed like a good deal to me, we didn't use... (read more)

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★★★★☆

“Very happy with the car and service”

Written on: 28/06/2011 by Janak (1 review written)

This is the 3rd year running we have hired in Palma and have had no complaints. We have always had new looking cars and n previous occassions we have been upgraded at no cost. To be fully insured with no excess you do have to pay for the extra insurance but all the companies do this. Also, like most companies you have to pay for a full tank of fuel and don't get refund - I sort of accepted this but this year was 84 euros and we hardly used any fuel so asked for refund. Was not granted at the... (read more)

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★★★★☆

“Centauro car Hire Palma Majorca”

Written on: 24/06/2011

The overall experience was good. Off airport, but transfers were frequent. The car was new less than 2000km on the clock. Felt pushed to take super CDW at 28 euros as there was some complicated system about taking 300 euros deposit on the credit card otherwise. We were charged 84 euros for a full tank of diesel and told to return the car as empty as possible. Thought this was sharp practice but we had had no option but to comply and knew we wanted to do some touring. We soon realised Majorca... (read more)

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★☆☆☆☆

“Centauro fuel policy is a rip-off.”

Written on: 31/05/2011 by wendi.higgins (1 review written)

Centauro fuel policy is a disgrace. Their fuel policy is now to pick up the car full and return empty. This is ok if you plan to do a long journey - but ridiculous if you are hiring a car to get you to / from resort and little else. They charged us 82 Euro for a full tank and we returned it over 3/4 full. We would have had to drive around Ibiza island god-knows how many times to use that amount of fuel. This is clearly a money-making exercise and bumps up price of car hire beyond... (read more)

Mlindsay's Response to wendi.higgins's Review

Written on: 24/10/2011

Its a synical rip off to squeeze extra money from customers.
None of the other car hire companies I contaced have this policy. It is almost impossible to hand a car back empty (unless you plan on pushing it back), so they profit from what you leave in the tank.
The look of incredulity on customers faces when they pick up their cars, and the penny drops as they learn the fuel policy, suggests that in time Cenauro will alienate enough people to hurt their business.

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★★☆☆☆

“Post hire there was no reply to my e mails asking for...”

Written on: 19/05/2011

Post hire there was no reply to my e mails asking for clarification as to why I was charged 92 Euro for the initial tank of fuel.I could have filled two cars up for that ammount ,also I noticed that I had been charged 18 Euro for the first additional driver although I was quoted this as free on original quote.Although the car appeared clean and tidy inside ,the outside could have done with wipe.I would like to know if anyone else has tried to contact centauro after the hire period with with... (read more)

Guest's Comment

Written on: 31/05/2011

Hi - did you receive a response about whether anyone has contacted centauro with any success, regarding ridiculous fuel policy? We hired in Ibiza and was charged 82 Euro for full tank of fuel. It would be impossible to use a whole tank of petrol in a stationwagon without driving around the island 2 or 3 times!!!! The fuel policy had changed from the initial T&C's I signed up to, so was not happy at all. Would have been cheaper to take a taxi! Do let me know if you get any response please? I am going to write direct to centuaro (although not confident) and also to Argus car hire.
Thanks,
Wendi

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★☆☆☆☆

“Ordered via CarRental.co.uk (Argus). 6 days booking &...”

Written on: 12/05/2011

Ordered via CarRental.co.uk (Argus). 6 days booking & needed a child seat, extra £18 which I added. Total cost = £114.
No confirmation email so called Argus on the morning of the flight to ask about details and they emailed some docs.
Read the docs and it was with a co. called Centauro, who's office wasn't at the airport? We're told to call them on arrival to find out more & to wait for a bus, this was @ midnight! Got to the office and they wanted another £18 for the car seat which was... (read more)

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★★★★★

“I arrived at the Centauro office adjacent to Palma...”

Written on: 22/04/2011 by GeeKayTee (1 review written)

I arrived at the Centauro office adjacent to Palma Mallorca airport only to realise that I had left my UK Driving Licence at home!
The staff were superb, they advised me that it was possible to get the DVLA in the UK to fax details of my Licence and they would accept it. I had never heard of this facility before.
They gave me the DVLA phone number and when my mobile refused to connect allowed me to use their phone.
The car was immaculate - and an upgrade.
I found their location far easier to... (read more)

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