Goldcar Rental Reviews 2,149

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.

This relates to Goldcar at Faro airport.
My initial thoughts were they were ok but I upgraded my reserved car to a bigger one….I agreed the additional cost which was ok. But on return I got charged additional costs that I subsequently took issue with.
Initially customer service were very responsive….but then just started ignoring my emails. I sent four or five with no response.
So I will never use this company again and would recommend if you want to rent a car at Faro Airport then use Avis or one of the other on site rental companies.
As for customer service you should be ashamed of yourselves. Replying to emails must be the most basic requirement for you job function

WARNING!!!! WOW!!!! WOW!!!! WOW!!!!!
YES THEY HAVE BETTER PRICES BUT... Not worth because you never knowing if it brake in the road...
I rent a car Fiat 500 and the VERY COLD service at desk was AMAZING.
First I don't want use tools no chance I have to pay 22 euros to activact something I don't use.
Second: The car is damage everywhere so many damages the person check the car with me told me you can't damage more than it is now, so imagine, the car is OLD with 120.000 Km
DON'T RENT FROM THIS GOLD CAR

When I left the car back the man in Goldcar said he saw scratches on the rear pumper (using a handheld device)which were not desernible to the naked eye.
Complete and utter scam.
Renter beware

I have rented hundreds of cars with lots of different rental companies. Goldcar are by far the worst and I strongly advise anyone to avoid them at all costs, as they find a way to charge for damages when you know you haven’t hit or struck anything, a microscopic scratch you wouldn’t notice on pick up can lead to a charge for hundreds of pounds.

Very disappointing experience with Goldcar at Doha Airport.
I collected the vehicle and within minutes it became clear something was seriously wrong with it. Every time I turned a corner the car made a very loud mechanical noise, and the vehicle also did not drive straight. It felt unsafe to drive.
Because of this, I returned the car within about one hour of collecting it. I did not use the vehicle, caused no damage, and returned it immediately for safety reasons.
Despite this, I was still charged for the rental.
When you rent a car, you expect the vehicle to be roadworthy and safe. In this case the car clearly was not. I even have video evidence showing the condition of the vehicle.
Very frustrating experience and not what you expect from an international rental company. I would strongly advise anyone renting here to inspect the vehicle carefully before leaving the airport.

Very disappointing experience at Lisbon airport.
I had booked a car from 3 March to 11 March and already purchased full coverage insurance online.

At the counter, I was asked to pay €1600 security deposit + €150 fuel + €150 toll = €1900, which I agreed to pay with my credit card (all documents were in my name).

However, there was an extra €58 charge that was not clearly explained. When I asked to pay that amount with my second card (also in my name), the staff refused.

Instead, I was repeatedly pressured to cancel my existing insurance and buy their insurance for €271, saying I would not need to leave a deposit.

I felt forced and uncomfortable as a tourist. This kind of sales pressure is unacceptable.

Due to this situation, I cancelled and had to take a taxi to my hotel, causing stress and inconvenience.

I would not recommend this location to tourists.

Extremely misleading. Price wise and category wise it was a scam. Good lesson again, “if you pay peanuts you get monkeys”. Back to Sixt.

AVOID THIS COMPANY THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF.

We've just got back home and have been charge £130 for excess cleaning, and made up damage

Can't believe how much have I been ripped off, charge me £130 for cleaning the car, don't ever use terrible staff rips off from start to finish. Avoid these are the worst car rental I want my mon ey back

Being a long term customer of Gold Car in Porto (many many years) my recent experience will definitely be my last with them. The car was sub-standard mechanically, rear seat belts did not clip in, clutch was at the end of its life and very low on power - rubbish. Well past it's due date. On return of the vehicle everything was signed off by them and around a month later they charged my card to the tune of €180 for cleaning!!! I did a charge back on my credit card. Taking absolute chances with long term customers - never again. Would rather catch a bus

I have used Goldcar at Faro airport several times in the past but never again. Similar experience to so many others, especially with unattended return. Falsely accused me of not filling up fuel tank & outrageous charge for made-up damage. I denied both and €60 fuel penalty was refunded - they just said it was charged 'in error'. The photo of the alleged damage shows what looks like a thin pencil line near the door handle - the photo I took just before returning it has NO damage!! They didn't even respond to my email about the damage and have tried to claim €319 for repairs. I believe it is a waste of time to write to a company who doesn't respond so I'm going to report them to the Portuguese Complaints book (livrodereclamçoes) and the European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ecrcs.com).

Do not book here! You will regret it. If you have already been scammed at a Portoguese Goldcar station, make sure to report it online to the authorities via the Complaint Book. The Complaint Book is also available at the counter, and by law the staff are required to provide it.

17 Feb 2026: Despite having a valid credit card, I was lied to at the counter at Madeira Airport and told that no deposit was possible because the credit card number was not embossed. They said they would only hand over the car if I took out extremely expensive additional insurance. I repeatedly stated that I neither needed nor wanted any additional coverage. Nevertheless, the car I had already paid for was only released to me if I agreed to these insurances. Otherwise, the expensive prepayment would have been forfeited. Absolutely unacceptable business practices.

19 Feb 2026: I complained to Goldcar customer support. They checked with the counter. Their response was that I had not presented any credit card. Not a word anymore about the embossed number. The next lie. The employee had the card in his own hands.

The reviews show that customers are being systematically ripped off here.

4
Gold Car SCAM.
Review of Gold Car
Reviewed today
AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS
We went on holiday to Alicante and rented a car from this company because it was cheaper, and what a huge mistake! I hire cars all over the world. I have never experienced such heavy handed selling of extra insurance. Never. I refused as I had already paid for excess cover. When we returned the car the Gold Car agent walked straight to the drivers wheel, turned on a torch (the parking area was purposely dimly lit) and showed us a mark on the alloy wheel. She claimed we had hit the wheel. We had not. She didn't bother looking at the rest of the car. This was clearly a SCAM, an attempt to DEFRAUD. We categorically denied we had damaged the car, but she didn't give us any further explanation, and since we didn't have much time, we left it at that. A month later, having had our deposit returned thinking all was well, we were emailed saying we owed €240. Despite disputing this, my card was charged. After reading the reviews, we realized they had done the same thing to other customers. That's why I'm writing this so you don't make the same mistake.
Date of experience: February 2026

Avoid this company at all costs. When collecting the car on holiday they kept adding additional costs e.g. insurances that I didn’t need. Twice I politely told them I didn’t want any extras and each time they lowered the price slightly before handing the card machine back to me with a slightly lower amount on. I asked again what the additional charges were for and the lady serving me just said “right that’s it you’re not having a car, you’re being aggressive”. They then proceeded to talk and laugh at me in Spanish and threatened to get the police. There was basically no way I was getting the car for the admittedly very cheap price I had paid online in advance, so I had to walk next door and hire one from Hertz instead. The saying “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is” definitely true here in terms of price, rip off company and will never use them again. The lower prices online are not worth ruining g your holiday for.

!!!!!!!!!!!Be carefull with GOLDCAR !!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!Send me my stolen money back!!!!!!

I returned my car on 14 April, 2025. Three days later, my deposit, which was paid to cover any damage, was returned. You inspected the car and everything was fine. Then, three weeks later, you write that there is suddenly damage. Please contact the people who rented the car after April 14. However, when I read reviews on websites, I see that you are increasingly trying to use such tricks. I firmly reject these claims.
although I rejected your unfounded claims, you stole money from my account twice. Once it was €150 and later €190. I have notified the police. Furthermore, I will have to write about this incident on online portals to warn potential customers. That's not what you do.I have had the full insurance by other company.

Swindled Customer
Dariusz Sonko
Ref: 3536213
Contract: 27055845
0048 660595107