At last, something that's cheaper in Ireland than in Spain, writes
CONOR POPE, but it could still end up costing you
It will hardly come as much of a surprise to learn that there is a substantial difference between the price of renting similar cars in Dublin and Malaga for a week beginning on August 22nd.
However, what is surprising is that, in almost every case, Dublin is currently working out considerably cheaper, with cars costing up to twice as much on the Costa del Sol. Take that, Iberian peninsula.
The joy at finally being cheaper than the Spanish in at least one area is tempered by the fact that the people most likely to be hit with these hiked hire charges are those of us who decide to flee the gloom in Ireland and go in search of sun on the cheap.
The best deal Avis in Spain could offer us earlier this week for seven days rental beginning on Saturday was an Alfa Romeo Mito for €412, while the cheapest price Hertz managed was €557 for a Volkswagen Polo. That is the online price. If you pay when you arrive in Spain, the rate climbs to €667.
The cheapest car available through the Irish division of Avis for the same period, meanwhile, was €290 for a Ford Focus, while Hertz had the same car for just €9 more.
It is a remarkable turnaround in less than 12 months. Over the last three decades, Spain has been one of the cheapest places in Europe to rent a car.
Prices have always been so low and cars have always been so plentiful that Irish holiday makers travelling to the Costas have frequently not bothered booking ahead, secure in the knowledge that they were always able to pick up a bargain upon arrival in airports, where dozens off operators aggressively touted for business.
Not today. As a direct consequence of the global credit crunch, car-hire prices on the Med have rocketed this summer, increasing by as much as 300 per cent over the last 12 months.
While much is made of the Irish banks’ reluctance to lend businesses money, the same situation is being repeated across the world, particularly in Spain, where an enormous property bubble has also burst and since last autumn, car-hire firms have faced immense difficulties getting credit lines from banks to lease new cars.
Concern about a fall off in tourist numbers because of the recession has also seen many of the 200 operators who do business in Spain scaling back their investment in new cars, and a severe shortage has meant many operators are relying on expensive-to-run older cars with more than 200,000km on the clock, or are simply turning people away at their counters.
The knock-on effect of the shortage will be that the cheap and cheerful holidays currently being dangled in front of people by desperate tour operators and airlines will increase in price dramatically.
Tourists have been warned that they will have to phone around the 200 car companies based near Malaga to find an available car and to expect to pay top dollar.
Industry sources in Spain say it is now almost impossible to rent a car in busy airports such as Malaga airport unless it is booked well in advance.
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