Zest works with several different car rental providers around the world who offer differing collection procedures. Compare suppliers to find those with a policy that best suits your needs. If you’re arriving to collect your vehicle directly after a flight, you will be likely to collect from the airport. These procedures can be split into ‘On Airport’ and ‘Off Airport’. It’s also possible in some locations to collect directly from a town office. Certain suppliers can deliver the hire vehicle to your accommodation. Let us talk you through what’s on offer to help you choose what’s best for you.
Photo by: nito/Adobe Stock.
On Airport
Desk and vehicle at airport – Suppliers offering this collection procedure maintain a physical presence within the airport terminal. Their desk will be clearly branded with their logo. Report to them upon arrival and fill out your paperwork. In some cases, they will escort you to the airport car park where your vehicle will be located. Together you’ll check over the vehicle for any pre-existing damage to be marked on your rental agreement, and you’ll get a chance to ask any necessary questions before driving off. Should the rep not survey your vehicle with you, do still carry out the survey and ask them to make a note of pre-existing damage before you drive away. Take photos too for evidence.
Meet and greet, vehicle at airport – The supplier doesn’t maintain a physical presence at the airport and instead will have a representative waiting to meet you in the arrivals hall. They will usually be wearing a uniform, or a badge to identify them as the supplier’s representative. Some may carry an identifying board. The representative will greet you and show you to the vehicle in the airport car park. They’ll complete the paperwork and vehicle survey before you drive off.
Off Airport
Meet and greet, shuttle bus – As above, a representative of the supplier will meet you at the airport. You must then get on a shuttle bus from outside the airport terminal which will take you to the supplier’s nearby depot. You will complete the paperwork and collect the car there.
Shuttle bus – Your rental voucher will detail instructions on where to head upon arrival at the airport. You’ll have to locate the correct bus stop outside and travel to the supplier’s depot.
Office
If you’re not collecting your hire car from a flight and instead collecting from a town or city location, some suppliers have the option to collect directly from their office. All the paperwork will be completed there and the survey of the vehicle carried out at the depot.
Delivery
Some suppliers will be able to deliver your vehicle to your accommodation if it’s within a set radius of their depot. There may be an additional charge for this service with some suppliers; some may offer it free of charge.
Where there are charges for delivery, these will be displayed next to ‘Mandatory local charges’ which has an (i) icon displayed next to it that you can click on or hover over for further explanation. You can also click to expand ‘View Rental Conditions’ on the quote results page.
When looking at available vehicles on the Zest website, check for “Mandatory local charges”. Clicking the (i) icon will display information on these.
Collecting your hire car
Should you ever experience any issues when collecting your hire car, please don’t hesitate to contact Zest at the time.
Various factors will influence where you collect your hire car. You can click to view collection instructions under ‘View Rental Conditions’ when looking at available vehicles on our website. Compare these between suppliers before booking your vehicle to ensure you get the best arrangement for you. In a previous blog, we weighed up the pros and cons of collecting on airport and off airport. Which has been the best option in your experience?
Written by Jessica Juby.
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Hired a car at Faro airport. The hire office is in car park 4. When we got to the car it was parked in car park 1. On returning the car we went to car park 4 where the office is but was told we should have gone to car park 4. We had to pay 4.5 euros so the representitive could drive the car from car park 1 to 4. It was not clearly stated to us when we picked up the car that we should return it to car park 1. Apart from this the cars we hired were excellent.
Hi Steve,
Thank you for your comment and apologies for the delay in replying to you. Our Customer Relations Team will be in touch with you directly regarding this matter.
Kind regards,
Jessica
Zest Car Rental
Hi ,i have also mentioned this in the survey i have been sent , i rented a vehicle in Orlando,Florida MCO ,4th April for 12 days ,the company i was advised was EUROPCAR ,but they have no desk ,NO sign ,nothing ,i happened upon Advantage/EZ car and asked them if they knew where the EUROPCAR desk was and they advised me it was them,i was a bit suprised at first ,wondering if it was a “hire with us “scam but they had my details,all was fine ,but a sign would really help or at leat an advice from Zest that they were the agent for Europcar.
Hi Simon,
Thanks for your comment. I’ve contacted you directly regarding this but just to clarify, we had specified on your rental voucher in the collection instructions as follows; “On arrival at Orlando International Airport you must proceed to the ADVANTAGE/EUROPCAR desk in the airport arrivals hall.” We apologise that the branding on the Advantage desk wasn’t clear and as such, our Supplier Team are looking for ways to make the collection information much clearer to avoid this issue in the future.
Kind regards,
Jessica
Zest Car Rental
A list should be collated to ensure that the first people on the shuttle bus are the first customers to be served at the desk, as all too ofter the first people on the bus are the last to be served
Do I now need this DVLA code for Portugal ???
Hi Dave,
The DVLA code is not currently a requirement of any of the suppliers that we work with in Portugal.
Kind regards,
Jessica, Zest Car Rental
In my experience, (with Zest) company reps do not “escort you to the airport car park where your vehicle will be located.” (etc). They say where the car is located and how to get to the parking area and leave you to it. I make a point then of closely examining the exterior of the vehicle and taking photos back, front and sides and noting down any scratches etc.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for your comments, we have adjusted our blog slightly in light of this. The approach to the survey does vary between suppliers. We would hope at the very least the representative would note down any pre-existing damage once they’re aware of it. Should there ever be an issue with this, we can be contacted at the time for support. You do the right thing by taking photos as these would act as evidence should any damage be called into question.
Kind regards,
Jessica, Zest Car Rental
We have always collected our hire car from Faro airport but over the past few years the Airport Authorities seem to be making it more and more difficult.
This year apart from taking the long walk with your luggage to the furthest car park, the hire companies are finding that car park too expensive to park in so after you have done the paperwork, they telephone for someone to drive the car in.
All in its a very tiring experience.
If only it was that simple.
I can only think of one supplier that had a representative take you to the hire car and check it over with you, the majority give you the paperwork, tell you which bay it is in and then leave you too it. If something is wrong you have to return to the office, wait in the queue for service. At this point you may be given another vehicle, or someone comes out to check the vehicle and rectify or not your problem.
At Madrid airport last year, with Europcar (Keddy), we spent nearly 40 minutes waiting for someone to “check the vehicle” because I refused to take a car with the tyre warning light shocarwing. A replacement was provided – but guess what we had to check the vehicle over yet again, without any assistance from Europ
The majority of the time there is no problem – but when there is, it is a real pain
Hi Leslie,
Thank you for your comments, we have adjusted our blog slightly as we appreciate that not all suppliers conduct the survey with the customer. I am sorry to learn of the difficulties you experienced with Keddy last year in Spain. Please be assured that should you encounter any difficulties with a booking through Zest, we can be contacted at the time for assistance.
Jessica, Zest Car Rental
we recently stayed in portugal and i wanted to rent a car through Zest but was worried by reports , not Zest related , about being forced to buy local full cover insurance or leave a block amount on credit card . everything i have read says Zest is good for this but I would like some confirmation.
Hi Geoff,
Thanks for your comment. Suppliers may offer you a local insurance product but you are able to decline this should you wish. All bookings through Zest include Collision Damage and Theft Waiver (CDW) with zero excess liability. There are parts of the car that are excluded from this cover, for which we offer an additional top-up insurance product (subject to eligibility). With this additional product in place, you do not need the supplier’s local cover. If you were to book through Zest and a supplier tried to force you to buy this cover, you would be able to contact us at the time for assistance and we would liaise with them on your behalf to resolve the issue.
Regarding the deposit, all suppliers that we work with request a security deposit to be authorised on collection of the vehicle. This is primarily to ensure the return of the vehicle, and covers damage to un-insured parts of the vehicle, fuel charges if applicable, and in the unlikely event that a claim is made when the insurance has been invalidated.
If you have any further queries regarding this, please don’t hesitate to contact our Reservations Team on 01362 852288.
Kind regards,
Jessica, Zest Car Rental
Thank you for this guide, however it is a bit idealistic. I hired a car through you from Norwich Airport recently and was just given the keys and told it was in the car park near the car hire signs. It wasn’t and I had to wander around looking for it, fortunately I hadn’t just had a long flight and there was no language problem. Also when we have hired cars through you from Faro airport we have to meet the representative and collect the car from one of the car parks, the representaive is invariably off dealing with someone else, does not have a sign or a uniform and does not work out of the car hire station in the car park. It would be helpful if the various hire firms at least had a standing sign so we knew where to wait. We have done this so many times now that we know what to expect but its very disconcerting for a first timer. We have been very happy with Zest or economy as it was but I think the instructions for collecting the car could be more detailed, However I realise this is probably down to the actual car hire firms to give you correct information.
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for your comment. I have updated the blog slightly in reflection of this. We would at the very least expect the supplier’s representative to note down pre-existing damage when the customer makes them aware of it. We also try to highlight that we’re available for 24/7 emergency telephone support (should it be required), for example, in the event of a customer not being able to find the representative. We liaise with the suppliers when we’re aware of a problem and should the service they provide repeatedly fall below our expected standards, we would stop working with them.
Thanks again,
Jessica, Zest Car Rental
If we purchase the extra insurance is there any need to take out the suppliers insurance.
How much do suppliers charge for insurance?
Hi Jim,
Thanks for your comment. If you have purchased the top-up insurance available through ourselves, or have an alternative annual policy, you do not need to take out the supplier’s local insurance. They may offer it to you but you are able to decline. If you book with ourselves and find that the supplier is “hard selling” the insurance or is making you feel uncomfortable with the way they have approached the local product, please contact us at the time and we can liaise with them on your behalf to resolve the issue.
I’m afraid I can’t comment on the cost of the local product as it will vary between suppliers. It is often more expensive than the cover we provide.
I hope this helps!
Jessica, Zest Car Rental