Europcar Portugal Reviews 

Check the car before rent very well , I rented a car in the evening with neon lights and could not see all the damages due to the poor light. When I brought back the car I needed to pay all the things I could not see. Be carefull to rent here.

We rented a car it broke down and we got stuck

We managed to get it to a hotel and called the 24hr number

We were told a tow truck would come and bring me to Europecar in Logos Portugal

No one came so we left and drove to the location

The lady yelled at us and the manager a man as well for leaving

Very sad company and they took our money

If I could give zero stars I would. We arrived in Portugal with our booking and a small baby, met with someone who kept insisting premium insurance was included in our booking. We said we hadn’t paid for that and went through the paper work with her. She continued to insist it was included and so we carried on with it. We were then charged an additional €247 for 4 days with the car and when we queried it we were shown the paper work we signed which was not in English. We foolishly relied on this company to not screw us over and they took full advantage. Of course they have been completely unhelpful since and will not refund the money. Avoid.

Not renting again with this company at least in Portugal and I am Portuguese
Done the booking online got the airport early for pick up went to the desk and took care of all the paper stuff needed the guy that attend me was very nice and polite but I think something wasn’t done properly as he said that the deposit that I would pay would be refundable once the vehicle was given back after rental agreement, used the car rental agreement is finished and I did not receive even half of the deposit that I paid for the car and apparently they cannot do anything about it anymore

My recent experience with Europcar was the only black-mark on my trip to wonderful Portugal. The car pick up consumed 2.5 HOURS of my vacation time including giving me a car that required a software update in order to work properly. Much worse still, They have fabricated a series of false charges in order to keep the exact amount of my entire deposit of 300 Euro. Their customer service provides wishy-washy general responses. They are clearly trained to not get into any specific detail with customers. Absolutely avoid these scoundrels like the plague. They do business in English, right until they force you to sign a contract in Portuguese. This doesn't meet the legal standard of capacity for a contract to be valid. I sincerely hope they are burned by this very shortly. I am considering legal action.

⚠️ Facturation de 171,59 € pour une “Assistance” jamais reçue.

Dossier en cours de contestation Visa Premier après absence de réponse concrète d’Europcar.

🇫🇷 Avis basé sur une expérience réelle – Europcar Lisbonne Aéroport (octobre 2025)

J’ai loué un véhicule chez Europcar Lisbonne Aéroport en octobre 2025.
Pendant le trajet, un voyant de température moteur s’est allumé, alors que le fonctionnement du véhicule restait normal et que le niveau de liquide de refroidissement était correct.

Par précaution, j’ai signalé le problème afin d’éviter une éventuelle panne.
L’agence m’a alors proposé d’échanger le véhicule, ce que j’ai fait, sans qu’aucune assistance ni dépannage ne soit nécessaire.

Quelques jours plus tard, j’ai découvert sur ma facture une ligne de 171,59 € intitulée “Assistance Service Fee”, alors qu’aucune assistance n’avait été sollicitée ni reçue.
J’ai contacté à plusieurs reprises le service clients Europcar France, via le lien officiel, mais je n’ai obtenu que des réponses automatiques invitant à “donner plus de détails”, alors que toutes les informations avaient déjà été transmises.
Europcar Portugal a ensuite confirmé un refus de remboursement, sans explication claire ni justification technique.

Face à cette situation, j’ai transmis le dossier à ma banque (Visa Premier) pour une contestation officielle, estimant qu’il s’agit d’une facturation pour un service non rendu.
Après de nombreuses années de fidélité chez Europcar, je suis sincèrement déçu de ce manque de transparence et de suivi.

🔹 Mise à jour du 6 novembre 2025 :
Toujours aucune réponse concrète d’Europcar.
Le même jour, ma banque m’a transmis une demande d’informations complémentaires de la part de Visa, à laquelle j’ai répondu immédiatement.
Comme le montant contesté était inclus dans un paiement global, j’ai précisé la date du règlement du solde total.
Le dossier est désormais suivi par le service litiges Visa Premier.

🔹 Mise à jour du 8 novembre 2025 :
Europcar a publié une nouvelle fois le même message automatique, sans lien avec le contenu du dossier.
Tous les justificatifs ont pourtant été fournis, aussi bien via le formulaire officiel qu’à la banque.
J’attends désormais la conclusion de la procédure Visa, en espérant une issue équitable.

🕊️ Je mettrai à jour cet avis dès que Visa aura rendu sa décision, afin de partager l’issue complète de ce dossier.

🇬🇧 Review based on a real experience – Europcar Lisbon Airport (October 2025)

⚠️ €171.59 charged for “Assistance” that never took place.
The case is currently under Visa Premier dispute review after a lack of response from Europcar.

I rented a vehicle from Europcar Lisbon Airport in October 2025.
During the trip, a temperature warning light appeared, even though the car was running normally and the coolant level was correct.

As a precaution, I reported the issue to avoid any breakdown.
The agency suggested exchanging the vehicle, which I did — without any assistance or roadside service being required.

A few days later, I discovered a €171.59 charge labeled “Assistance Service Fee”, even though no assistance had been requested or received.
I contacted Europcar France customer service several times through the official link, but only received automated responses asking for “more details”, despite already having provided all the necessary information.
Europcar Portugal later confirmed a refusal to refund, without any valid explanation or justification.

As a result, I forwarded the case to my bank (Visa Premier) for an official dispute, considering that this is a charge for a service that was never provided.
After many years as a loyal customer, I am disappointed by the lack of transparency and follow-up.

🔹 Update – November 6, 2025:
No concrete response from Europcar so far.
On the same day, my bank forwarded a request for additional information from Visa, which I answered immediately.
Since the disputed amount was part of a total payment, I specified the exact date of the transaction.
The case is now being reviewed by the Visa Premier dispute service.

🔹 Update – November 8, 2025:
Europcar once again posted the same automated reply, unrelated to the actual situation.
All supporting documents have already been provided, both through their official form and to my bank.
I am now waiting for Visa’s decision, hoping for a fair resolution.

🕊️ I will update this review once Visa has made a final decision, so that the full outcome of this case is shared transparently.

We have resorted EUROPCAR FARO Airport "service" between the 14/10 and the 28/10. I would rate the experience 0 (if it was possible) for the two following reasons.
As we got to review the rental car agreement, i mentionned to the clerk that we did not request nor need a toll fob. He stated it was mandatory as per company policy and that if it was not to be used/activated there would be no charge. As we brought the car back, needless to say how surprised and frustrated we were when the manager we should not have requested it and they could not reimburse us directly. In some countries, it is called "misleading commercial practices". In others, it is called a scam and you can get punched in the face for doing so....
Last but not least, we got into an accident and were charged 900+ euros for the repairs. To this very day, EUROPCAR refuses to provide a quote, an estimate or a detailled invoice that would enable me to get reimbursed by my insurance. In some countries, it is called "failure to provide legally required documentation". In others, it is called a scam and...you get the gist of it. Stay far from those people!!!! SIXT is literally 40 meters away.

Very poor. Was pressured from the outset to purchase extra insurance or an upgrade.

What really hurt though was being told I needed to pay for a transponder to capture toll charges on the local motorway only to discover the government has removed the tolls completely. I wrote to the office to request removal of the extra charge and have been completely ignored. I have used most of the hire companies at Faro and expected better from Europcar!

I rented a car with Europcar from September 27th to October 1st in Faro, and when I picked up the car, I paid for the Via Verde device, which is normal. This amount should have been automatically refunded after the contract was finalised if I didn't pass through any toll booths.

Since I only used the A22, I didn't need to pay for the device, since the A22 now doesn't charge tolls. The trick is that Europcar doesn't automatically refund the money; the customer has to contact customer support to get it refunded. As soon as I contacted customer service, they refunded the money without any problems.

Imagine the amount of money Europcar doesn't make from customers who don't leave the Algarve (i.e., don't enter the A2) and then they don't refund the money.

A complaint was filed with the ASAE (National Health and Safety Agency) about this, as this behavior is, at the very least, trickery and highly questionable from a legal standpoint!

I rent a lot of cars in Portugal and so far this is the only rental car company I've found that does this kind of trick.

-----

Eu aluguei um carro com a Europcar de 27 de Setembro a 1 de Outubro em Faro e quando levantei o carro paguei pelo dispositivo da Via Verde, o que é normal. Esse montante deveria ser automaticamente devolvido após o fecho do contrato caso eu não passasse em nenhuma portagem.

Como eu só usei a A22, não tinha que pagar pelo dispositivo dado que a A22 agora não cobra portagens. A chico-espertices está que a Europcar não devolve o dinheiro automaticamente, o cliente tem que contactar o apoio ao cliente para que esse dinheiro seja devolvido. Assim que contactei o Apoio ao cliente eles devolveram o dinheiro sem problema.

Imaginem o dinheiro que a Europcar não faz à conta de clientes que não saem do Algarve (ou seja não entram na A2) e que eles não devolvem o dinheiro.

Foi feita queixa na ASAE deste facto, dado que este comportamento é no mínimo uma chico-espertice e é muito questionável do ponto de vista legal!

Alugo muitos carros em Portugal e até agora foi a única rent a car que detetei que faz esta chico-espertice.

Having read all the terrible reviews about car hire in Portugal I was dreading picking up the car. I was really surprised at the pleasant no pressure experience from Gancule on the rental desk. The car was as booked and he had no problem with me having taken full cover from a third party.
Drop off was painless too a quick check round the car and all signed off as good. I was a little concerned because pick up was in the dark and pre rental damage check done by the light of an iPhone so not easy to check everything.
All in all thanks Europcar Faro airport.

I booked a Ford Focus ST Line (group CDMR) and was given a Nissan Juke (CMMR) instead, which Europcar described as a “higher group”. An interesting interpretation of upgrade — smaller, slower, and far less comfortable.
They also charged €11.13 as a toll deposit and only processed the refund after I chased them, two weeks after returning the car.
With this level of service and such creative definitions of “superior group”, I’ll think twice before booking with Europcar again.

Scammers. AVOID EUROPECAR and any bookings for them through agencies. My partner had booked a car here through an agency online on the morning of our evening travel date. Upon arrival the woman on the desk, attempted to upsell to a BMW and mentioned they were short on small cars. My partner said no thank you, we had picked the car for our space needs. Failing that she started talking through insurance options etc to the point where I asked had she even got his booking? She said yes she had it, but then when she heard we only had a visa debit card rather than a credit she said we would pay a few hundred more for insurance. We had already chosen the premium for our booking. She also said we had paid nothing when my partner could see that the deposit had come out. Our young children were getting restless and noisier as all this was taking so long and as we tried to question this, she kept covering her ears to avoid the questions and answering. Really bad customer service and clearly a scam.
We walked away cancelling as she was so unhelpful and picked up a car nearby with a different company who we would reccomend. We wrote to the agency and were told that their information and agreement is that they do accept visa debit cards without incurring charges for extra insurance.
Their excuse is that we attempted to use maestro and now after many emails as we have no proof as she did not even try the card. We have seen now from any that this is a popular scam here.
We are in the process of taking it further, reporting them to the Airport, Portuguese Consumer Protection Association and to the European Consumers Centre.

We are Mexicans traveling in Portugal and had researched prior to our trip that Portugal does not require an International drivers license. During our trip, we decided to book a car in Lisbon rather spontaneously and used Europcar. We went through the online process (lengthy) and paid in full the night before. In the middle of the night we received an email saying they don’t rent cars to Mexicans anywhere in the country because our language is not easy to read, so we are in a category with the Chinese. We of course did not see this email until we arrived to pick up our car. We were shocked to say the least. Europcar is racist! Also, Mexican drivers licenses are in both Spanish and English now (pretty cool).. and they told us that it didn’t matter, it was company policy not to rent to Mexican drivers. So what the heck Europcar! Shame on you!!

We were issued with our hire car by a rather surly operative who took 50 minutes to serve us. The car was quite new with one piece of damage, to which we drew the attention of the operative.
On our return trip to leave the car at Porto airport, as arranged, the car failed to start after filling it up with petrol about 5 km from our destination. The garage attendant helpfully telephoned the emergency/help line given on the car's papers. No answer. He then telephoned the central office for us and the response was we should wait with the car for 60 to 90 minutes. We explained that we couldn't do that as we would miss our plane. We told them we would leave the keys with the petrol station staff and get an Uber to the airport (cost approximately €10).
We emailed on our return home and received a standard automatic response informing us we would hear within the next 5 to 10 days. We didn't and so we emailed again with the same result. Meanwhile the security deposit of €300 was retained and an extra £4.11 had been taken. No explanatory email has been received.
Since then we have telephoned Customer Sevices twice to be told that this is an issue for the Portugese office and out of their hands. This is the third time we have used Europcar this year, the only poor experience. But never again!

Rented with Europcar in Lagos for approx 7 days, returning to Lisbon. All relocation costs etc were part of the initial contract. The car was returned full of petrol, clean, without damage and fully accepted and signed off by their receiving agent.
Here we are 3 weeks later and this is the second time Europcar have helped themselves to my credit card without any explanation, latest is Euro50.
Clever, just enough for a customer not to go to the effort to recover and make a deal of, but you do it to enough customers it turns out to be a nice profit. this is theft!!! Europcar, if you're reading give me my money back!!!

I wish I could give them 0 stars. So they upgrade us because our luggage will not "fit" according to the agent. Of course they only have the next size in manual and we need automatic (what a coincidence). They then upgrade us to luxury with no windshield washer fluid. I ask the attendant if he has any to fill he tells me to go to a gas station. Not a big deal, we're tired after an overnight flight and we leave. Less than a week into our rental we receive the message of "please enter 1 liter of oil to continue driving". Upon inspecting the vehicle it was also missing coolant. I reached out to Europcar and they were all ... yeah bring it back and we'll change it. They knew we were over 2 hours away. We just added the fluids to the car. Not how I wanted to spend my vacation...I didn't trust the safety of the car after that. They are thiefs....DO NOT USE. I know we will NEVER rent from them again.

90 minutes to collect a car at faro airport is a joke. Lots of people stood around doing nothing. When returning the car they tried to charge me for pre-existing damage - luckily I had photos of my own. Very disappointing

This agency should close. It should be withdrawn from the market. A company like Europcar cannot have such a branch open.
Impolite people who act in bad faith.
We rented a car on August 26th. When he returned the car they said that we had hit the car in the area of the sill and the tire. This did not happen. We said no, and Mr. The one who answered us asked if we had taken pictures of the car.
Now, when you rent a car, it has to be delivered in good condition. And an employee has to come to the car, which also did not happen.
Clearly they were waiting for a customer to pay for that repair in the car and that customer was us.
We asked for the contract. They said they were going to send it to the email. To this day, he has not been received. They also informed us that the arrangement was going to be charged to us. The arrangement that we don't have to pay for because we weren't the ones who crashed the car.
They withdrew 1,216.00 euros from our credit card, without our consent and without sending any documents. This is theft. They have no way to prove that they sent us an email because they didn't.
To this day, we have also not been reimbursed for the 500.00 euros that they charged us as a deposit, for the car rental. At this moment we have to receive the amount of the deposit and the arrangement.
A real robbery.
How is it possible that this agency is open.
This is a police case.

Renting a car with them is an absolute nightmare. They make the process extremely stressful, try to disregard your prior agreement so they can charge whatever they want, and then unexpected charges show up on your credit card without any justification. Honestly, the whole experience is terrible.