Goldcar Portugal Reviews 2,230

During my rental, the car window was smashed by a third party in a clear act of vandalism — reported to the police with documentation on file. Goldcar then charged me €150 for a "Special Cleaning" fee, despite their own Terms and Conditions (Clause 6.2a) explicitly restricting this charge to dirt caused by the customer through abnormal use of the vehicle. Vandalism by a stranger does not meet that definition by any reasonable reading of the contract.
The experience at the rental counter set the tone for everything that followed. When I disputed the charge on the spot, the employee was openly hostile and dismissive. She told me I had no choice in the matter and that she was the one calling the shots — this while being demonstrably wrong about the contractual basis for the charge she was imposing. Being spoken to that way as a paying customer, at the end of an already stressful rental experience, was frankly unacceptable.
I then raised my contractual argument five times across detailed written communications. I received three identical copy-paste responses that did not address a single legal point I made. At one point they promised photographic evidence to support their position — twice — and failed to attach anything either time. The cleaning fee was also initially charged twice, without any invoice or explanation. The second charge was reimbursed after my written complaint.
This is not a misunderstanding. This is a company charging fees it knows have no contractual basis and then stonewalling customers until they give up. I have not given up.
I am currently in the process of filing formal complaints with the European Consumer Centre (ECC Germany and ECC Portugal) as well as the Portuguese consumer arbitration authority. I encourage anyone who has been similarly charged to do the same rather than accepting it.
Avoid Goldcar if you value transparency, honest billing, and a company that actually abides by its own terms and conditions.

DON'T BOOK WITH THEM. I mean it. Clearly a fraudulent company. They say you can pay with a debit card (it is even in the rent agreement, and the booking.com support also confirmed it) but once you arrive you cannot anymore and they say the only solution is paying a 300€ insurance. The person at the counter was David at Lisbon Airport. Terrible Fraud. There is no money or stress in the world worth it booking with them. Please avoid at all costs!

If you need to return the car outside office hours, be aware that any later claim for scratches/damage may be difficult to dispute, because the keys are typically left in a key box and (in my case) the return area was very dark around 4 a.m., making it hard to take clear photos.

At pickup, I felt there was strong pressure to purchase the company’s full insurance. During the handover inspection, I was shown a screen that appeared to mark affected panels in green, but I was not shown close-up images of each scratch at that time. I later received a report by email stating the vehicle had 38 pre-existing scratches; based on what I could see myself, I noticed far fewer.

After returning the vehicle, I was informed there was one additional scratch recorded, bringing the total to 39. I do not believe I caused any new damage. I barely used the car and parked it in a mostly empty hotel car park.

Tip for consumers (Portugal/EU): If you dispute a damage claim and the company relies on photos, you can consider making a GDPR Subject Access Request for all personal data they hold in relation to your rental/booking, for example:

All photographs/videos taken at check-out (collection) and check-in (return), including original/native files and available metadata (EXIF), timestamps, and device/app logs.
Any annotated, compressed, or edited versions of those images.
The check-out and check-in inspection reports/checklists, damage diagrams, staff notes, and system entries.
Any internal communications/logs/records referencing the alleged damage, charges, or liability decision.
Copies of any repair estimates/invoices and the basis for the amount charged.
In my case, after I requested this information, the charge was withdrawn. Do all correspondance via email.

I rented a car from Goldcar in Alicante and the warning signs were there from the start. The queue to collect the keys was painfully long, and the staff were aggressively pushing their own insurance. That should have been my first clue.

The car collection took place in a dimly lit multi‑storey car park, making it almost impossible to inspect properly. I moved the car into better light and recorded a full walk‑around video just to protect myself.

Despite this, after returning home to the UK I received a £300 “damage” charge. Goldcar sent a photo of a superficial scuff on the driver’s door — the kind of mark that would wipe off with a cloth. The paint wasn’t scratched, chipped, dented, or damaged in any way. They have refused to explain how this qualifies as chargeable damage and are refusing to refund the money.

Since then, I’ve read countless reviews from people who have experienced the exact same scam. I wish I’d seen them sooner.

Please avoid this company. They are dishonest, predatory, and rely on manufactured damage claims to make money. Don’t become their next victim.

Disgusting company! When I dropped the car back the woman went over the whole car and using her torch on her phone found some light scratches along the side of the car which arent visible. I did not do the scratches and now the are charging me 705 euro to repair! Avoid this company it is just a rip off!

Goldcar Faro

Worst experience ever, the fact that they tried to rob me and say I dented the car, also front brakes were metal on metal and I paid extra for the upgrade.

I returned the car at 5.30am, at 6.20, I get an email with pictures showing a dent and scratches.i knew I was the only person that drove the car(barely used as had no front brake pads)

They said its going cost around €230 to fix.

The car was covered in dents and scratches when I picked it up so how they can say this is beyond me.

When I returned home I emailed and questioned this, especially the fact that the picture of the dent was taken is broad daylight, yet at 6.20, I was still at the airport and it was dark. Also no pictures showed the number plate.

Still disputing the upgrade charge as the car was not roadworthy but response, they have returned my deposit is full and said they realised it already had those scratches and dent.

DO NOT EVER LEAVE THE CAR OUTSIDE BUSINESS HOURS, THEY WILL SCAM YOU!!!!

SCAM ARTISTS AT FARO AIRPORT
Picked up a car and was impressed with service. Car was checked by employee and myself and photos were taken.
When we returned the car the employee went on his knees and photographed the underneath of the car pointing out damage .I know I didn't do it but the lad said he was only doing his job .I asked why the lad who gave the car didn't go on his knees and point.out anything, he couldn't answer .
As a man of nearly 70 I have never had a problem with any company worldwide. AVOID AT ALL.COST.

Treated appallingly, tried to upsell excess damage waiver aggressively even when shown it was already purchased and is now trying to claim damage where there is none and put through a charge of 230 euro . The Credit Card companies should not allow these scam artists to be credit card merchants .

Scam artists I’m afraid; prepare to be hit with some rule of use or term that wasn’t made clear at booking, either resulting in an extra cost or being unable to pick up your vehicle.

Goldcar has proven itself at its worst again. Upon picking up the car and the request to jointly inspect it (based on previous experiences) I didn't notice anything special separate from the indicated damage left front. However.. when returning the car the airport of Valencia staff looked with every detail and flashlight to clearly want to identify any small damage. And yes, they found a tiny scratch on the bumper. So small you couldn't detect it without flashlights or a magnifying glass. It was a scratch that could easily be brushed or sandwashed away but they dared to charge 196 euro's for this. More than I paid for the whole rental! I have provided pictures and video's that we made ourselves to prove how invisible the scratch had been from the beginning, but they never used our information. This was unfortunately a confirmation of the bad reputation of Goldcar and the very last time we gave them a chance to rebuild confidence and trustworthiness. They just don't deserve that!

"All scammers – avoid at all costs!"

If you don’t buy their overpriced insurance, they will find any excuse to claim against your own policy – even when the damage was clearly there before. They know exactly where to look: the spots you’d never think to check.

When you pick up your car, do NOT trust what they say – not even "we’ve checked it carefully." Inspect everything yourself, especially the hidden areas:

· Under the car (yes, underneath)
· Inside the black plastic door sills
· The black plastic trim around the entire car

Take detailed videos and photos of every inch. The car they hand you is already full of scratches and dings, yet they expect you to return it in brand-new condition.

Complete scam operation at Porto airport. Save your money and sanity – rent elsewhere.

Basically criminals.
They don't accept "internet banks" for the deposit. But will accept "internet banks" for their stupidly overpriced insurance.
It's basically criminal because it is actually being made illegal soon.

I’ve had many years satisfactory car hire from Goldcar, but in the last few years something changed in the company’s ethos.

The first issue was in 2022. After filling the car and dropping it off, I then got a bill for not returning it full. The bill was for 10 Euros of fuel and 50 Euros penalty. I disputed it, but I forgot to take a photo of the fuel gauge when I dropped it off, so I didn’t have any evidence.

Thinking this was a one off blip, I decided to give them another chance and hired another car from them. This experience turned out even worse. Over a year later after dropping off the car, I notice that they had taken money from my credit card.

I contacted GoldCar and they said the charge was a “Fine management fee”. So I asked what the fine was for? They said they weren’t allowed to tell me. So I asked them what was the date of the alleged fine? Again they wouldn’t tell me, saying “The traffic authorities will send you the fine information and payment instructions by mail.” But nothing ever came.

I didn’t want to post a bad review straight away, just case they were telling the truth, but now after 3 years and no fine arriving, I can finally post the review with confidence.

There’s only one reason why they wouldn’t give me the date of the fine or any details, it’s because it never happened. It’s just a scam to get money from innocent people.

Ps. Both happened at Lisbon Airport.

AVOID AT ALL COST, TRAINED SCAMMERS! (Madeira Airport)

If I could give it a zero, I would. Due to a last minute emergency, we quickly booked the car via Booking.com, and went for the cheapest option without reading reviews with much care (our bad!). We paid for additional insurance on Booking and were prepared to pay the rather high deposit (over £1k), however, got charged for Goldcar premium insurance at pickup instead.

The Goldcar employee forcefully took our credit card from our hands and process two payments - we weren’t able to confirm the amount as she moved quickly before we could protest. First the fuel deposit, which we excepted, then the Goldcar premium insurance (£255) which we thought to be the deposit.

Once we figured out what happened, we questioned numbers, requesting to be charged the £1k deposit instead. The employee immediately started firing pre-prepared answers, getting progressively more aggressive and condescending, until they fully raised their voice to interrupt us.

The car itself was fully scratched on the outside, stained interiors, and had evident issues with the breaks.

Needless to say, we’re trying to raise claims against the employee and the unexpected charges. However, customer service is virtually non-existent and completely unhelpful.

Save yourself the stress and anger. Spend a little more and use literally any other company - it’ll probably cost you £250 less regardless as you won’t get scammed.

It was a real mafia-style scam: whilst we were unloading our luggage, the employee carrying out the inspection scratched the driver’s side wing mirror, and we were forced to pay an additional charge of €104.00 without being given any receipt. As a loyal customer, I’ll NEVER use Gold Car again!

We rented a car in Lisbon for 4 days and the vehicle already had multiple scratches and dents. When we asked staff to inspect the car and sign the condition report, they refused. The shift manager, Pedro Lopes, said scratches under 5 cm “don’t count” and refused to record them.

When we returned the car, the employee spent a long time circling the vehicle clearly trying to find something. Eventually she claimed to find a tiny dent and tried to charge us for it. Fortunately we had third-party insurance, so the €1,400 deductible will be reimbursed.

This felt like a deliberate attempt to charge customers for pre-existing damage. Extremely dishonest experience. Avoid this company. 🚫🚗

Awful Company, very unclear about additional charges, constantly trying to catch you out at any opportunity, rude and unhelpful, would not recommend at all.

Avoid Goldcar Lisbon Airport – hidden fees and very poor customer experience.

I rented an electric car in Lisbon Airport and received no instructions on how to charge it in Portugal (which requires apps and is not tourist-friendly).

At return, the vehicle was fully inspected by staff (Gabriel / Fastline) who clearly confirmed everything was OK. No mention of battery level, no warning about extra charges.

After I left the airport and checked in for my flight, I was charged €60 for missing ~20% battery.

This is the key issue:
Had I been told at the counter, I could have recharged the car at the airport for around €5–€6. Instead, they waited until I left and applied a very high penalty fee.

Customer support response was generic and unhelpful, just pointing to “Terms & Conditions” and ignoring the actual situation.

⚠️ Be careful with:
• electric car rentals
• return process at Lisbon Airport
• additional charges after drop-off

This feels like a hidden fee practice, not transparent customer service.

I would strongly recommend choosing another rental company at Lisbon Airport.

We rented a car at Madeira airport and the sales person Louis was extremely helpful, nice and competent. He gave us all the necessary info in a clear way so it was easy to find the car and also understand the contract details. The price was way more friendly than in other car rental places ath the airport. Totally recommend Goldcar rental in Madeira.

I had a very disappointing experience with this rental company (Goldcar Lisbon airport) last night and would not recommend them.
When I collected the car allocated to me, the staff were chatting among themselves, did not complete any check‑in procedure, and didn't provide a proper handover. I was simply handed the key while in their cubicle office at the car park.

The vehicle was parked tightly between two others, and I was simply given the key and ignored. No instructions, no inspection, nothing.

When I returned the car (a day early), the experience was completely different.

The staff member used a tablet and a special light, rubbing specific areas of the car before claiming to find two “scratches” over 5 cm. These marks were so small that they were as thin as 2 strands of hair together, and completely invisible to the naked eye, yet I was charged 577,92 € for them.

I took great care of the car and I believe I absolutely did not cause these scratches. They were so fine that they could easily have been caused by a passer-by with a zip or bag. The return staff ignored my concerns and simply told me I would receive the bill for this damage.

The inconsistency between the zero‑inspection at pickup and the hyper‑strict inspection with a light at return is unacceptable. I have rented cars for many years, including from budget companies, and have NEVER experienced such unprofessional and passive aggressive treatment as a customer.
I do not believe these charges are fair or justified, and the overall service was extremely poor. I strongly advise others to take photos and videos of the car at pickup, because this company certainly will not do it for you.