Once again I have had my hire car broken into whilst on holiday in Carvoeiro. The first time was back in May when we were parked at Centiennes Beach. And then last week the lock was forced and damaged outside our apartment in Carvoeirto itself. I have no idea why they do this as we leave nothing in the car, not even in the boot.It just seems like mindless vandalism. Its expensive too 227euros a time. Luckily I took out Excess cover with an insurance company before I left UK. Beware CDW cover does not cover locks with most car hire companies. This time I booked through Algarve Driver and they sorted it out for us couteously and efficiently at Faro airport.\The problem is getting an invoice for the new lock that you pay to be fitted as the insurance company require this, I'm still waiting for mine.Once again make sure that you take out excess insurance cover or you could be seriously out of pocket and also report it to the police. They will make out a report for which you have to pay 12 euros, but at least it backs up your claim.

If there's nothing to steal in the car, leave it unlocked. It is very unlikely to be stolen, all they want is anything they can sell on.

Michael Crane wrote:If there's nothing to steal in the car, leave it unlocked. It is very unlikely to be stolen, all they want is anything they can sell on.

Trouble with that is if they trash the inside you're not covered because the doors weren't locked.

laserblazer wrote:

Michael Crane wrote:If there's nothing to steal in the car, leave it unlocked. It is very unlikely to be stolen, all they want is anything they can sell on.

Trouble with that is if they trash the inside you're not covered because the doors weren't locked.

. . . force it yourself, then.

Please check http://www.insurance4carhire.com/index. ... refID=1808 - for just 49,99 GBP you get a full years Annual European excess insurance

*Covers excess on damage to the vehicle, theft and damage to windows, roof, undercarriage & tyres.
*Up to £4,000 per claim & £5,000 per year.
*Unlimited number of rentals per year.
*31 days continuous cover per rental.
*Cover for you plus 7 additional drivers aged 21-85.
*Covers Car Club rentals.

We use Economy Car Hire. For a small daily fee you can add a top up insurance to cover locks, keys, tyres etc. Their rates are good even with this.

many moons ago I worked for a tyre shop, they had a contract to tyre repair a large building company's cars/ trucks/ etc....
I played football on Saturday afternoons with one of the head guys there, after footy he used to drive us round building sites to let tyres down on any compressors & diggers we could find, then we'd get calls out on Mondays to go round & 'repair' them,
I wonder whether this fad of hitting hire cars is some sort of local scam from some lock repair companies?

Now the car rental companies have large stickers on the car to highlight the fact that its a rental.
Is this a new regulation ?
Years ago you could identify rentals as the cars had no wheel covers.
So locks and tyres are not covered under the excess with Algarve Driver ?

Very reluctant to leave hire car unlocked in case it gets stolen then have to pay 900 euro excess. I think that there is a scam going on over here with regard to broken locks etc. and I think the car hire companies are aware that we think so as well. But whats the alternative? Surely its just going to push insurance prices up again.
Desperate times call for desperate measures in todays climate.

It begs the question as to why these thieves would want to break into cars even when forum members in the past have made sure the car is empty and nothing is visibly worth stealing!

What Martin wrote about placing stickers rings a bell. There was a caravan site that was plagued by break-ins during the winter when the park was closed. The site owners came up with the idea of asking the individual caravan owners placing stickers on the caravan windows stating that nothing valuable is placed inside. The result? Break-ins were drastically reduced. Who is going to break into a caravan that has nothing of worth in them and risk getting caught! I think these warning signs are now common practice.

Maybe these car hire companies should have stickers stating in Portuguese and English stating that NO valuables are left in the car! May work!

When locks are replaced it is done at cost price for the client and the car rental company lose time, labour and revenue during the repair time. Unfortunately locks are often hugely expensive due to the electronic chips in car keys.

The best way to avoid a break-in is to leave the car boot uncovered, the glove compartment and any other covered area open and completely empty. And absolutely no objects on the seats - they could be seen as covering valuables.

At 12 euro for a police report it seems to me the police benefit the most, it is outrageous.

Sad situation.

Steen
The gripe I have with this is that the client just wants insurance to cover everything - i.e.- comprehensive
What percentage of the original car rental rate that covers insurance ?
After this there is another charge of approx €6/€7 per day to cover the excess (approx €700)
And after all this...... one is not covered for a broken lock,
What cover has one got if a thief breaks the lock, steals the car which is then found later with
no damage other than the broken lock ??????????????? Is this covered under theft ???
Damage to a tyre is a different matter as this is more than likely caused by the driver.
Its all just another way of subsidizing the stiff competition thats there in the car rental market.

martin.cork wrote:Its all just another way of subsidizing the stiff competition thats there in the car rental market.

Yes it is.

One answer might be to accept a car with an excess, save on that and get better insurance using e.g.
http://www.insurance4carhire.com/index. ... refID=1808 - the inconvenience is that you'll have to advance the excess charged though.

One way or another car rental prices are very low compared to any other country.

I've been renting cars in the Algarve for quite a few years now. I think my first was with AutoJardim. They always have their sticker in the back window. Over the years though, I have come across hire firms which preferred not to have any stickers in the cars because the thinking at the time was that crooks would be more attracted to tourist's vehicles. The reasoning being that tourists would be more relaxed/careless whilst on holiday and leave stuff inside. I've mentioned a few times that most of my hire cars were missing a rear parcel shelf. I believe this is to show that the parcel space is empty (or should be!). Ironically the first car I've had for a while with a rear shelf was a Mitsubishi Colt last month from AlgarveDriver/YOR Car (Steen take note). This vehicle had YOR's website address printed across the rear hatch, so YOR have no qualms about identifying it as a rental. I think stickers saying that no valuables are inside might have a negative effect as some thieves may think these are there because you actually DO have something to hide.

In the summer I'll always park my car and keep the roof down and the doors unlocked.... I think the chances of a car being vandalised out of badness is far less likely than the windows being smashed by someone looking to steal stuff. I don't think the car being stolen is a possibility so thats not a concern.