Car hire

[widge]

Too many variables I'm afraid Phil.

I prefer taking my time and avoiding the airport chaos. Spain is a beautiful country and a few overnight stops en route are a welcome addition to the holiday. The cost is only a consideration if you can't afford it

[Geoff]

I wonder if anyone can provide some advice, please, re car hire v. driving?

It's a quandary I keep toying with....a long time ago, breakeven was about 6 weeks, but ferry prices are a lot more ( lack of competition ?) , but carhire prices are even more, whilst flights can be a lot lower.

Simple maths for 4 weeks in April/May for flights & car hire was about £600....ferry was £1000 for crossing/cabins/meals on board/petrol....to which you add a couple of nights ( minimum) in a hotel plus meals plus motorway tolls, so it's at least twice the price to drive. Having said that, there's lots of lovely places to stay en route, almost a separate holiday in itself.....but then there's driving on right with a right hand driven car, all the extra strain of driving.....

Ferries to France rather than Spain a lot cheaper....but then a LOT more driving/petrol/tolls/hotels....

I know people who do it, some like driving, some explore new routes, some bring a lot of stuff from UK with them, some bring pets.....straight economics indicate flying : personal reasons might weigh more for driving. As yet, we have yet to drive.....with winter flights at £25pp single, ferrries look pricey....

[widge]

Uhmmmm ..............too many variables

A Renault Clio for 4 weeks in May €700

A decent sized estate or MPV €2200

We drive a Discovery Sport which, if you could rent, would be even more.

Flights include all the luggage you bring down in your car - a bit more than £25 I think.

[Geoff]

Flights include all the luggage you bring down in your car - a bit more than £25 I think.

True....but assuming you have a property in Portugal, we find that a carry-on small bag with EJ is just about adequate , so no extras for luggage, just basic flight cost.

[widge]

During the pandemic we drove straight from Santander stopping only for fuel, we did this on 3 occasions in 2 years.

Not our chosen option but completed in 10 hours with no overnight costs just fuel & some optional tolls.

The longer you stay the more economical the driving option becomes.

Normally we stay a night on the ferry, and at least one night in a hotel either Salamanca or Caceres. It's not comparable to a 2 hour flight, taxi to & from the airport and a squeeze in the airport lounge if you've got a pass. Not to mention lugging your suitcases to and from the car rental booking office in P4 and joining a queue of disgruntled Brits.

[widge]

we find that a carry-on small bag with EJ is just about adequate , so no extras for luggage, just basic flight cost.

Your wife must be well trained !

PS Even before the taxi fare and flight ticket price, a cabin bag is £38 each way on EasyJet in May that's with a complimentary seat !

[PhilT]

Thank you gentlemen, for your comments.
As I suspected, it's a horses for courses scenario. A forlorn hope that by now someone may have constructed a flawless algorithm .
My own workings, Poole-Cherbourg ferry and a couple of nights potter on the way, using the viamichelin route planner, suggests a break even around 45 days.
Choice of carrier and seat location is another can of worms of course..
Thanks again

[PTBUXTON]

Steen, informed me last week that Zest have further charges down the quote process, I went through the exercise and found this to be true a further 35 euros which made them 15 euros more expensive than Algarve driver for June. The quote I received originally was the most I have been quoted in June for 17 years.

[FrankSheffield]

Yes, I must admit to a bit of a shock after a more than two year absence (not by choice of course) at the cost of car hire for my late April break. About two and a half times what I was used to paying. However, Steen still seems competitive in the current market and I've used him for years without problems. That trust counts for a lot; prices are clear and the staff are friendly, and my priority is to see Carvoeiro again. Mind you, my gas and electricity have only doubled! I need to count my blessings I guess, and after two years of no overseas holidays I won't be counting the pennies too much.

[mojowilts]

Can I digress a bit on this thread. Given the significant increase in car hire costs, has anybody any experience of buying a second hand car in Portugal and leaving it in CV for future use? I am lead to believe that second hand car prices are high. Is this so; what other costs should be taken into account if one goes this route. Any advice or experiences would be gratefully received.

[Geoff]

has anybody any experience of buying a second hand car in Portugal

Short answer is no, but I gather Portuguese car insurance is for the car, not the person, so anyone can drive it , which could be useful. rummaging on the web I found ...."in Portugal, there are no taxes when you buy an used car - you'll only pay the registration fee (about 55€/65€, online/offline)."

Plus usual cartax and service...I think MOT is every 2 years.

[widge]

Agree with Geoff's observations.

I bought a second hand car last September, having been renting since buying our house in 2004.

MS Cars on the road to the airport were good people to deal with. I bought a very low mileage Kia MPV - 7 years old and still €15k.

Insurance is as Geoff says and cost €400 per annum.

Only really makes sense for extended stays as the airport transfer is €100 return,

However, with rental cars becoming more expensive it might start to make more sense especially as a large MPV cost three times the price of a Clio to rent.

[idensussex]

As Widge says there comes a "cross-over" point where Pt car ownership is more cost-efficient than repeated rental. I'm heading over to CVO this afternoon for 1 week and the very reasonable guys at Guerin ( a company I trust) are charging me £330 for a compact car for 7 days (and thats after my 10% Holiday Autos discount). Without doubt the cross over point is now approached earlier than it was in the days when car rental costs were reasonable.

Apart from supervising some building work in Carvoeiro my other aim this week is to buy a Portugese car ! I'm being brave and using OLX (think eBay) which lists a lot of both private & trade secondhand cars at reasonable prices. If you set a search filter OLX will alert you daily to any new ads that are relevant to your needs. I'm setting a budget of about €10K for a petrol hatchback with an auto box, OLX are advertising a plentiful supply of such cars within a 50km radius of Carvoeiro. As I have a reasonable knowledge of cars I'm planning to buy privately but will probably tag a Portugese speaker to provide moral/linguistic support. Just be prepared for the fact that most Portugese cars sold privately feature mileages equivalent to the moon and back, but a good service history and signs of conscientious upkeep can offset this.

Car tax is similar to UK, sliding scale dependent on engine capacity, emissions and age of the car. Also you have IPO (MOT) which triggers at 4 years post first registration, then years 6 & 8, subsequently annually.

[djprescott]

Thanks for the info widge and idensussex most interesting as we are now getting into this position of potentially looking at buying a car in PT.

[Geoff]

Other alternatives.....

Drive down.....ferry and petrol and overnight stays aren't cheap, but breakeven with carhire narrowing......treat the trip down as an additional holiday!

Import a UK car,.....I understand this can be expensive though

Drive down & leave car ( if you have a second car that isn't used much)....and fly back in between visits.....6 months is limit & I believe it needs to be parked on private land. Still need transport to Faro, but shuttles are cheaper than taxis.