Europcar Portugal Reviews 

We reserved a car online and paid ! We arrived at Lisbon and they charged us $1500 more than what we paid ! Total scammmmm! Initial booking we had our return from faro and it gave us a differenr price than returning at lisbon and we were ok so we got the more expensive one to return the car in faro and they charged us evennnn more $1500 more ! We could have flee w that money !!!!!! On our reservation it shows the price for pickup in lisbon and return to Faro ! So Idk why they have to charge even more !!!!

Hidden fees really piss me off. Why is the rental agreement not available to read digitally before arriving? Had to pay 120 euros extra because I had debit card which usually fits but not for them. Had changed it to my wife's credit card. Plus premium station surcharge, which was 50 euros. How is it related to me as the customer?Ripoff!

In total this circus made my rental TWICE as expensive.

A lot of hidden conditions that were not clearly communicated upfront.
We rented a car that was indicated to have "reduced excess", only to find out at collection point that it had an excess of 3.000€ _per incident_ (i specifically asked the guy at the desk "if i had two scratches on two different days", do I have a limit fo 3.000€ for both, or for each of them, and he said - it's up to 3.000€ per scratch, so bascailly the liability is uncapped).
This is not a reduced excess in my book - it´s way above even the highest excessess for the region.
Additionally, there were fees that were not indicated at all during rental, such the need for a via-T daily subscription, and the fact that they wanted to charge us for cross-border driving for the whole 13 day period even though we only wantd to drive cross border for 3 days. Finally, there´s a mix on the site between stuff with and without taxes, despite the legal requirement for all prices to be indicated with all taxes included.
Overall, the resulting price would have been 2.5 higher than what we originally paid for. After we complained repeatedly and the manager came by, he told us we should rent then from another company, which we did, on the spot. We rented directly with Centauro with is a non-BS company, for 40% less, without any deposit.

I was misled at Europcar Barcelona Airport. I was told the car I had booked was too small and that I needed an upgrade. The agent clearly wrote “€80” and confirmed it was the total cost, with no mention that it was a daily charge or that additional fees would apply.
Only after signing and going through multiple counters did I discover the total cost was far higher than promised. The pricing was not explained transparently, and key information was withheld.
Avoid the Europcar Barcelona Airport rental desk if you don’t want to be misled or overcharged.

At Funchal airport, the Europecar staff were excellent. Angelo in particular was so efficient and helpful. The booking was seamless and we had our paperwork and car organised within minutes. Would highly recommend this car rental service at Funchal Airport.

Rented a car from Europcar at Lisbon Airport for two weeks. Paid £308 in advance. Was surprised that there was no pressure to take out premium insurance but when I got home realised they had added it without asking me so they took another £540 without permission. Total ended up as £848! Crooks! Then car had to be returned the following day as ABS warning light came on and was dangerous to drive. Wasted a day and had to pay for the petrol to return it. Second car was as bad - overdue service warning came on every time I started it up and the steering was dodgy. This company’s sharp business practices border on the illegal. Beware! Sign for nothing unless they explain what you are signing! You think you are signing for the car. You might be signing for extra charges they have not mentioned. How can this happen in the EU in 2026?

Very long wait at Lisbon airport after booking via EasyJet. Last time I use EuropCar. Staff spending time selling additional services/ insurance. Just need to process a car hire - no more.

Worst rental Company ,Money Maker!!
Small damage Nobody can really see when we picked up the car they charge me more than 300€

Dishonest Europcar representative from Lagos, Portugal, who didn't explain that he had unilaterally elected to put us on the Premium insurance cover, which more than doubled the agreed and quoted price of 180 euro to 380 euro. Still fighting with Europcar who are refusing to accept that this happened. Stunned by their duplicity and lack of customer care. Whatever you do, DO NOT USE Europcar.

I am particularly disappointed by this experience. When I collected the vehicle, it already had numerous scratches and signs of wear visible on several parts of the bodywork as well as on the wheels. As a precaution, I immediately took detailed photos and videos to document the vehicle's condition.

I was very surprised to discover that my credit card had been charged an amount without any explanation or prior justification.

After three weeks of emails and follow-ups, I finally received the reason for the charge: an alleged wheel rim damage for which I am not responsible.

I immediately provided evidence showing that the vehicle was already damaged at the time of collection.

What is most regrettable is the lack of genuine communication. Despite providing clear evidence, including photos and videos, my complaint was not seriously considered, and my last email was simply ignored.

I understand that a rental company must protect its vehicle fleet, but this should be accompanied by an objective assessment of the evidence provided by customers. This situation leaves me with a strong sense of unfairness and little confidence in the way customer claims are handled.

I genuinely feel that the company took advantage of the fact that no representative was present when the vehicle was returned in order to charge us for damage that was not justified.

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Je suis particulièrement déçue par cette expérience. Lors de la prise en charge du véhicule, celui-ci présentait déjà de nombreuses rayures et marques d'usure visibles sur plusieurs éléments de carrosserie ainsi que sur les jantes. Par précaution, j'ai immédiatement réalisé des photos et des vidéos détaillées afin de documenter l'état du véhicule. J'ai eu la désagréable surprise de voir ma carte de crédit débitée d'un montant sans justification. APrès 3 semaines d'envoi de mail, de relance, j'ai enfin obtenu la raison de la facturation. Une prétendue dégradation de jante dont je ne suis pas responsable. J'ai immédiatement envoyé les preuves que le véhicule était endommagé au moment de la prise en charge. Le plus regrettable reste l'absence de véritable dialogue : mes démarches, pourtant accompagnées d'éléments concrets, photos et vidéos, n'ont pas permis d'obtenir une prise en compte sérieuse de ma contestation et ils ont tout simplement pas répondu à mon dernier mail. Je comprends qu'un loueur doive protéger son parc automobile, mais cela doit s'accompagner d'une analyse objective des éléments fournis par les clients. Cette situation me laisse un sentiment d'injustice et un manque de confiance dans le traitement des réclamations. J'ai vraiment l'impression qu'ils ont profité que personne n'était présent pour la reprise du véhicule pour facturer des éléments non justifiés sur notre dos.
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Estou muito dececionada com esta experiência. O veículo já apresentava vários riscos e danos visíveis no momento da recolha, situação que documentei imediatamente com fotografias e vídeos.

Apesar disso, o meu cartão de crédito foi debitado sem qualquer explicação prévia. Após várias semanas de emails e insistências, fui informada de que a cobrança se devia a um alegado dano numa jante. Enviei provas claras de que esse dano já existia quando recebi o veículo, mas a minha contestação não foi considerada e o meu último email ficou sem resposta.

Esta situação deixou-me com um forte sentimento de injustiça e uma perda de confiança na forma como esta empresa trata as reclamações dos seus clientes.

Brussels Airport June 10, 2026.
I had to walk 20 minutes including a long stretch under a driving rain to get to the car rental parking garage. At the counter I asked the clerk if by chance I had missed the signs for a shuttle bus from the terminal building. No, there is no shuttle. You have to walk. OK, not their fault.
They asked if I would use the car outside Belgium, I said yes and they gave me the contract, with the car keys and the parking spot location.
Took the elevator from 3rd to 1st floor (with all my bags, no cart available), I looked around and my car was NOT where it was supposed to be.
So, still with all my bags, I went back upstairs and told the clerk. Reaction: "They made a mistake. Did you look around?" Around where?
No: "I am sorry". No: "Let me see if I can locate it". No: "I am going to call someone to help you." Nothing like that, just "Oh, sometimes it happens."
My answer: "This should not happen" (thinking about my 20 hours flight and the tiredness in my bones and brain).
Reply: "You are not the first one. Go back down and look around."
While I am there I also asked: "I looked at the contract hoping to find a phone number to call you so I wouldn't have to schlep all my stuff back up here but I didn't see one. However, I saw that there is an extra insurance charge for some 6 or 9 euro a day. What is this for?"
"It's the insurance charge for taking the car outside of Belgium." Oh, but "This was not disclosed to me, as it should have been."
Shrug, impassible face meaning "I don't give a flying f***k, I only work here. What? You expect me to care?"
And so it went, confirming what all Northern Europeans and particularly the neighbors of Belgians think: they really are a third world cyst in the middle of a civilized region populated by truly dumb people.

607
I rented a car from Europcar in Porto (Purtugal) during my vacation and agreed on the date and time of return, everything was agreed, including the price. We returned the car at the agreed date and time, everything was fine, we were told. But a few days later an extra day and road tolls were deducted!!! approx. 300 Euro (the car rental cost approx. 750 Euro). When we complained, we were told that we had returned the car a few hours late and had to pay for an extra day and also pay for the road tolls, which was a direct lie and a swindle. Our complaint has been rejected, we feel cheated by Europcar and will never ever rent a car from them again.

Predatory €600 charge for pre-existing scratches - CONSIDER BEFORE RENTING HERE.
I rented a car for 2 weeks. At delivery the first action of the young man receving the car was to grab a specific lamp to cautiously check the entire car. He reported 3 different scratches (all of which where previously there and of which I have proof). The scratches are that sort that are insignificant so you would ignore when you receive the car*. I now got in my inbox an invoice for EUR600 for damages.

The additional awful part is that the young man that received the car was incredibly rude and unnecessarily violent in his manners. I questioned the report but his threat was of course that we would not be able to return the car and that would cause increased charges, which is ridiculous. Of course, when finishing your vacations this is quite upsetting as well.

Think through before booking at Europcar. If you do, take pictures of ALL minimal scratches and have them included in the initial report when you receive the car. Request a thorough report and include to the most minimal detail.

Hopefully this helps someone avoid a very violent and upsetting situation that may ruin your vacation in Portugal.

If you are having issues with them know thag you can raise a complaint with them and then resort to the Digital Comolaints Book and the European Car Rental Conciliation Service, both of which have a substantial negative impact on Europcar.

Hired a vehicle form Faro airport, check in took two hours. First car was covered in scratches and dents so swapped it.
Most staff were friendly and helpful, one member of staff apparently by the name of Victoria spent her time shouting at us in the car park, despite having baggage and a 3 year old…. And of course none of the circumstances being anything to do with us.
Gobsmacked by how we were spoken too.

Staff onsite were pushy about making me sign documents in Portuguese before I had a chance to read or translate them, then inflated a damage claim on check in (charging ~€260 for a <5cm scratch to the mudguard on an already scratched up car), completely ignored the email I sent to dispute the damage (despite that being the channel they said to use) and then automatically pulled money out my account BEFORE sending me the final invoice, and putting me into overdraft without warning. After all of this, I finally received an incoherent email response in broken English that didn’t address anything in my email. Everything about the process was handled badly - experience would have been improved if they had replied on time or with a sensible response addressing my concern, or at the very least if they had sent the invoice BEFORE pulling money out of my account so that I could have sorted my finances.

Very disappointing experience with Europcar.

I was charged for an upgrade that I did not request or agree to. At the counter, there was no explanation that we have been upgraded, so the information provided was not transparent.

The rental contract was presented in Portuguese, which made it impossible to fully understand the details of the extra charges before signing.

Afterwards, Europcar refused to reconsider or assist, simply referring to the signed document.

Overall, I feel the process lacked transparency and communication about optional paid services. I would not use this company again.

Booked with Europcar via a comparison site after researching reviews, and unfortunately my experience matched many of the complaints I had read. At pickup, I was told my booking didn’t include CDW so they tried to charge an extra €675 for insurance and when declined they cancelled my original booking. I then rebooked while in front of them for the same price and incl. cdw so they had to accept. Then I was unexpectedly asked for two bank cards and large security and excess holds because I declined their extra insurance.

The car already had dents and scrapes which staff initially dismissed as superficial, so I made sure to record a full video before leaving and document before signing. When returning the car, they attempted to claim existing damage was new, despite it being marked on the paperwork. Luckily the video proved otherwise.

My advice: expect pressure to buy insurance at the desk, decline it if you already have cover, and always take detailed photos/videos at pickup and drop-off.

I would give it a zero if that was an option it was a 5 before the fraud
I hired a car with existing damage and was notified when I hired the car after I returned the car I received an email saying there new damage that apparently I had caused which was all the damage recorded before I hired the car now nobody is answering my message call or emails this is fraud do not hire from this company

Avoid Europcar Portugal. At return, the manager even shook my hand and confirmed everything was fine. After I got home, they sent me a charge for a “missing” parcel shelf that was never in the car. No proof provided, only assumptions. Very unprofessional and feels like a scam.

Avoid this company at all costs!!! Tvey rip you off, they put extra insurance on your invoice even when you have declined 50 times!

AVOID AVOID AVOID