Airauto Rent-a-Car Arvostelua 

VOLEURS à Faro ! Une arnaque bien huilée est en place chez ces voleurs : ils vous donnent une voiture abimée par endroits et vous disent que ce n'est rien, ils notent tous les impacts lors de l'état des lieux SAUF 1 ou 2.
A la restitution de la voiture, ils vous font remarquer ces 1 ou 2 détails et ponctionnent une somme rondelette sur la franchise.
C'est scandaleux, l'Europe devrait légiférer contre des voleurs pareils car une fois partis nous n'avons plus aucun recours. Il reste nos yeux pour pleurer.

Same experience as many others. Given a car with lots of scratches and dents.I insisted all were recorded but I suspect one was deliberately missed and you've guessed it, on return, the very rude female walked round past all the other marks and went to a tiny mark on the front bumper. I had pointed this out on collection, witnessed by my passengers. I'm suspect it was a pre arranged trick. This is a bad company. Do not use them. I am surprised the Portuguese Tourist Office hasn't taken action and reported them to the Portuguese police. Airauto certainly leave a very bad impression of car hire in Portugal.

I’ve just experienced the worst customer service on drop off at Faro airport. Real shame, they used to be good but now just trying to rip you off at every opportunity. Just got charged €184 for a scratch that we didn’t even do. If you use them photograph every inch of the car before. The women on drop off was rude, ignorant and patronising. Certainly can’t recommend and will never use them again.

Everything was great until I got my credit card report and saw they charged me €21.60 for the motorway, which I used twice, and it was around €3. I contacted them and they said it was admin costs and that is written on the contract, those very small letters!
No one mentioned me a €1.85/day fee otherwise I would have said no. And the admin cost for the device is BS as I had that same device when living in Portugal and it has a cost of €26.50 one time only, and if you pay the tolls by direct debit there are no admin fees involved.
I made a complaint, though I know I won't get anything from it as it's a he says she says situation, and it is written in the contract, those small horrible letters most people can't read, but I'll make sure to warn others for the future.

Just had the misfortune of returning a rented car to AirAuto Faro, Algarve
Complete scam artists, DO NOT BOOK WITH THESE CON ARTISTS
Returned a car to them and the woman walked past all of the scratches and dents on the car without looking and went straight to the drivers door to inform me that that drivers lock had been damaged. The car has key fob for remote door access so we never used the key.
They wanted €615 for repairs and when I said I would refuse to pay they said it would be taken out of my €2000 deposit.
As we had a plane to catch we had no option but to pay.
They know I had insurance so just told me to claim off the insurance when I got back. Believe they’ll use this same claim on the car on another unsuspecting holidaymaker

Having read the negative reviews ,I decided to cancel my booking months ahead.I have not received a refund.On emailing them and giving all the details of the booking ,they state they cannot give a refund without the booking reference number,even though this was supplied with the cancellation email.The deposit should be refunded without any arguments.As I am away from home I did not have the booking reference at hand.It is my opinion this is a ploy to delay in giving a refund refund.as surely they must have my details.

COMPLETE SCAM. Charged me €30 extra for being out of hours. The car had scratches all over and was dirty inside and out. WORST CAR HIRE COMPANY. DO NOT USE.

You must have a credit card in your name that they can reserve 1500.00 euros ! Not a pre paid credit card, debit card nor ANY card in your partners name. As I do not do credit, I learnt the hard way and it took me 4 hours to sort a car out in the end . I have lived in the Algarve many years before, My advice is to do your homework in that there is a car company that does not need a credit card.

Begint bij aankomst met lang wachten op een bus. Vervolgens wordt geadviseerd om te lopen naar het kantoor. Daar begint men met een vaag gecommuniceerde en enorme borg van 2000 euro. Ik heb toen maar gekozen voor volledige verzekering. Dat was duur, maar achteraf waarschijnlijk de beste keus.

Netjes bij boeking tijd van terugvlucht en inleveren gemeld. Dit wordt door air auto automatisch veranderd in kantoortijd. Doel is, dat dit niet gezien wordt. Als je dan buiten kantoortijd komt, wordt glashard opgedragen om 30 euro te betalen. Dit wordt stelselmatig gedaan.

Mijn advies: geef liever iets meer uit voor goede en duidelijke afspraken. Uiteindelijk ben je dan goedkoper uit. Geleverde auto was overigens wel prima.

These guys are sharp operators. They may appear cheaper than some other car rental companies but they will be more expensive in the long run. The car we were given was quite heavily scratched and had signs of damage on all 4 doors, tailgate, both bumpers and 2 of the wheels.

The guy we picked the car up from rushed us through the inspection and even joked that the car was so badly scratched that it would be hard for them to charge us for any damage.

There was significant kerb damage to the left front wheel and damage to the left front door (which showed up on the initial damage checklist) but when I returned the car they charged me over 300 euros for a scratch on the bumper right beside that wheel even though it was obvious from the other damage down that side of the car that it had been damaged before. The scratch was tiny and there so much other damage on the car I missed it during the rushed inspection when we picked the car up. We had absolutely no control over the charges, they had taken our credit card in advance so they could do what they liked.

The staff member who charged us for the damage was very rude, bordering on aggressive. Even when we asked to speak to a supervisor, the supervisor just shrugged us off. They seem to take advantage of the fact that you are generally in a rush to get to a flight when you drop the car off so you can't hang around for long.

There is a schedule of charges displayed inside their "Car Return" kiosk. It shows charges like €369 for damage to a door, €738 for damage to locks, €430 for damage to back quarter panel etc. The pricelist is not displayed publicly but is inside the kiosk so their staff know what to charge for even minor damage. The costs are huge and, from experience, non-negotiable. It seems that even small scratches incur the full charge shown on the list.

If you do have the misfortune to have booked with them, do not let them rush you when you're inspecting the car. There may be a lot of scuffs and scratches but take a video or photos of everything. Make sure they're all noted on the inspection list when you pick the car up.

We go to Portugal every year. The people are lovely and it's a beautiful part of the world. AirAuto make a point of treating people badly when they leave the country. They could easily turn people off returning.

Just got back from renting a car for 8 days with air auto. As a family of 8 we rented 3 cars together.
There were damage on all cars as to be expected from a hire car as nobody seems looks after them as there own. We were delayed on arrival and had to pay 30 euros as it was after 8pm we rented 2 car seats one for a toddler and one for infant for 28 euros which were in a decent state and clean.
They went round the car checking for damage on arrival but the day after I noticed a large scratch at the bottom of the bumper which was missed as it was dark on pick up, he did mention this on return as it wasn't marked on the defect sheet, he went and checked at head office and checked the last 20 defect sheets and it had been mentioned before so he said it was fine. I have got my excess back so they have not charged me so that's one of the reasons for a good review as they could have tried ripping me off but they did not so I'm happy with the honesty. My car had a lot of damage but it was a cheap car hire and it did its job getting me where I wanted to go. Only reason for the 4 star is the out of hours between 8am and 8pm which could be improved but other than that I was very happy with the experience. The fuel is full to full which is a lot easier to work as you don't have to go looking for fuel on 1st day and just fill it on the last day. Will definitely use again and im very happy with the service thanks.

Our bad experience started already at the airport in Faro when the pick up driver told us we had to pay 30 Euros for arriving after 8pm. Our flight was delayed so we had no control over this.
When we got to the car hire place we had to take out their CDW insurance despite already having paid extra for this when we booked our holiday. Because it was done via the broker and they couldn’t secure 2,000 Euros from my husband’s credit card we had no choice over this.
We have been to the Algarve several times and rented cars from different companies and they were always nice cars. This one not so much! We got given a car that was covered in bumps and scratches so we made sure to take photos of every single one and made sure they were marked on the sheet. We were not taking any chances! I had worked in a credit card company for 20 years and had been used to dealing with car hire disputes so knew what to do. If we get any extras charged now I will also know what to do.
We realised that we were going to have to return the car before 8am and were then going to be charged an extra 30 Euros again. That is the first thing the guy said to us when we arrived and I said: “I know, and will never be using your company again!” He didn’t seem happy and my husband was worried that they might find issues with the car, but luckily not as we had been so thorough when collecting it. In total we were charged an extra 200 Euros for no gain to us whatsoever!
I would steer well away from this company but if you do use them, be prepared to pay for extra unnecessary charges.

Hired a car from Air Auto and appeared hassle free throughout
However on checking my bank account 2 days later a charge of 153 euro was deducted.
I contacted Air Auto by email and reply was the charge was for a scratch to the back bumper
. At the hand over this scratch was never pointed out to me and the car was cleared of any damage.
When I checked the signed return document there appears to be a tick in the damage section of the document
Why was the alleged damage not pointed out to me. There were a number of scratches on the bumperr when I picked up the car and I dont know the one I am suppose to be responsible for. As stated the return was smooth and no mention of any damage.
I never damaged any part of the car nor was I shown any damage to the car suppose to be caused by me.
This is a scam and blatent theft from my credit card as even when they clear the car of damage you can still be charged. Avoid Air Auto at all cost. Scams like this should be investigated by the police.
Irish customer.

Despite many adverse reviews I hired a vehicle based on price alone, which at around £5 per day for my 11 day stay was more than reasonable.
The airport pick-up took no more than 5 minutes and the Air Auto depot was no more than half a mile (1km) away.
The supplied Fiat Punto certainly had a few minor dings and scratches but nothing to be alarmed about. I went over the car with the very pleasant Air Auto rep. I photographed everything including the interior and fuel gauge and checked all locks, wipers aerial etc.
Eleven days later I returned the car, in clean condition, and the hand over took no more than 10 minutes. Completely hassle free hand over and an enjoyable holiday involving over 300 miles driving.
A few tips for those hiring cars in the future: book as soon as you have fixed your holiday for the best prices, Take out your own Excess insurance cover, go over the vehicle and take photos of everything incuding wheels, tyres and under door and under bumper trims, interior and ensure the rep has marked everything on the sheet before you sign it. Bring it back clean and with time to resolve any unexpected issues.
It seems that many of the people who complain of problems have expected far too much - if you pay bargain basement prices you're not going to get top flight vehicles and treatment - be realistic.

Scam Artists, Debited €370 for a Parcel Shelf that was never present in the 1st place, long wait for airport transfer to rental company, I would advise paying an extra few euro to get on site Airport rental and avoid Air-Auto like the plague?!

They tried to overcharge us with 500 euros for a littyle dent in the windshield, you could barely see the dent. It was probably even there when we picked up the car. we tried to defend our rights and find explanations and were kicked out of the premises ina very rude, even aggressive, way. Stay away from them

We rented a car from Air Auto Faro airport last week. We took lots of photos of this white hire car in the 5pm
sunshine. There were some obvious marks which were accounted for by the agent. I pointed out a long scratch above the door of the boot which was not visible when the boot was open and the agent hadn't noted.
After a very enjoyable week of driving in the Algarve sunshine we returned the car to Air Auto around 2pm.
As we have experienced accusations of damage and overcharging by other car hire companies on our last two holidays we anticipated similar. Thank goodness for my camera phone pics! A vague "scratch" over a rear wheel was pointed out to us. Along the scratch there were two tiny whiter marks. This was almost impossible to see in the glaring sunshine. Eventually in the shade of the car boot I found my photo of the area. All the while I felt the agent was rushing me and wanted us to go to the booth in their car park to sort out a payment. When I found the picture and magnified it sure enough the white marks were visible. The agent had to agree these marks were there when we hired the car and said he wouldn't charge us for this or for another mark he found elsewhere on the car that he was just mentioning now. He shook our hands and apologised. So be warned. Photograph every inch of the hire car inside and out in the best possible light. Our experience with Air Auto was an unhappy end to a wonderful holiday in the beautiful Algarve. Just to let Air Auto know, we are an honest couple and we would own up to damage if we caused it. My partner's passion in life is classic cars and he has been a very very careful driver for many many years. Stop treating people like fools.

Ik heb hier vorig jaar wel een goede ervaring mee werkelijk voor 35 euro een week een auto met zelfs een free upgrade naar een klasse groter een vrij nieuwe auto goede uitleg bij ophalen geen gebruik gemaakt van de aangeboden extra verzekering (wat me dit jaar bij de (schurken van Goldcar op Barcelona Airport zonder vragen is aangesmeerd) ook bij het terugbrengen geen gezeur auto werd in mijn bijzijn gecontroleerd, ik kan voor dit bedrag zelf hier geen auto rijden. Dit was trouwens in Portugal Faro airport je moest wel even wachten om van P4 naar de plaats van de autoverhuur te gaan maar voor deze prijs is dat bij mij geen probleem.

7 hours after returning the car, they charged me 125 €, claimed some documents from the car were missing. Just a lie, ive never even touched those documents, have never seen them. They didnt believe me.

We rented a car through Argus car hire and the actual rental company was Airauto. Pickup was fine and I checked the car for damage with the check out guy. He told me not to worry about minor scratches (do this at your peril), I recorded front back and side damage on my phone. We returned the car 14 days later and as we didn’t have any incidents, (the car was parked up in a private complex most of the time) we expected a clean check in. Right from the start the check in guy was determined to find a reason to apply an extra charge. He inspected the bonnet and claimed it had new scratches and said he would have to charge me.When I produced the video he then proceeded to inspect the boot and wanted to charge for a damaged parcel shelf, it was damaged on pick up.He then proceeded to inspect the roof of the car and pointed out what looked like cleaning scratches and said that these were new scratches as they were not marked on the check out documentation. I saw the guy that checked out the car to us so I said to him these minor scratches were on the roof when he gave us the car. He said the check in guy was his boss and he couldn’t contradict his boss and shook his shoulders. We were charged €307.50 for minor scratches that already existed on the car at checkout.
When I was paying the charge under protest the guy went on about people not having Airauto CWD insurance, Whilst this was going on this guy also checked in a white Fiat Punto in a fraction of the time. My wife noticed that he did a minimal inspection on the Fiat. It turns out that the Fiat driver had taken out Airauto CWD insurance, my wife talked to the driver. I suspect that if you take out Airauto CWD insurance you will have a smooth;charge free check in. If you have to use Air auto and have independent CWD insurance as I have just make sure you video front, back, sides, roof, glass, tyres, wheels, boot including spare and jack and underneath and inside of car, you will probably still be scammed though if the check in guy we had is on duty.