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Frequently Asked Questions - Girassol.Rent Car Hire Madeira
Support Center
FAQ
What you need to know before renting a car?
The minimum age of a driver for renting a car in our company Girassol.rent is 19 years old, while the driving experience must be at least 2 years.
For drivers over 70 years of age, we recommend booking your car “with full insurance”.
You must present a valid driver’s license upon pickup.
If your driver’s license is not in Latin, such as Chinese, Japanese or Cyrillic, the document must be accompanied by an International Driving Permit.
In order to book a car on our website, when filling out information about the driver, there is a special window for entering the driver’s license number, but it is not mandatory (if suddenly you do not have your driver’s license at hand, you can leave the window empty).
BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO PROVIDE A VALID DRIVING LICENSE TO COLLECT YOUR RENTAL VEHICLE ON POINT.
Citizens of non-EU countries must present an international driving license upon collection of the vehicle.
For countries included in the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, who are allowed to use a national driver’s license
in Portugal, can contact our reservations department to get the relevant information by phone +351 961 778 886 or mail book@girassol.rent
The minimum car rental period at Girassol.rent in Madeira is from 2 days (48 hours).
The time of issue and return of the rented car is always selected during the booking process.
You can book and rent a car at the link.
Yes, in our company Girassol.rent there is an option – Collection / return of a car at Funchal Airport.
You can pick up your rented car at any of 17 locations to choose from – link to the list of locations.
You can also agree on an individual solution with the place of issue or return of the car with the manager by phone +351 961 778 886 or mail book@girassol.rent
You can always contact our customer support or one of our offices. You can find the contact info under the Contacts Section.
To be certain that the desired equipment will be available during pick up, we advise you to reserve it during the vehicle reservation process. However, according to availability, you can also request it in our offices.
With additional insurance packages, you can decrease your personal responsibility in case of vehicle damages. It can be either reduced or completely removed. Insurance excess depends on the vehicle category, chosen package, and the number of days the vehicle is rented for. You can check the price of additional packages during the reservation process.
Vehicle booking:
When picking up the car, you must have a valid credit or debit card, an ID card or passport and a valid driver’s license, in addition, a driver’s license not in Latin, such as Chinese, Japanese or Cyrillic, must be accompanied by an international driving licence.
If you have informed our customer service that you are late, your car will be available before your arrival, otherwise the car may be available up to 3 hours.
The place of issue and return, as well as the model of the car, can be changed no later than 48 hours before pickup. Pickup times are subject to change up to 12 hours prior to pickup and delivery services can be requested up to 48 hours prior to pickup.
With additional insurance packages, you can reduce your personal liability in case of car damage. It can either be reduced or completely removed.
You can select insurance options during the booking process.
1. Partial insurance – 10 euros per day
Please select one of the car insurance options. Partial insurance – 10 euros per day. Insurance covers everything except wheels and windows.
2.Full insurance. 15 euros per day
The most popular option when renting a car in Madeira is – Full insurance costing 15 euros per day.
3. Refundable deposit of 500 euros
The third option is “Insurance with a refundable deposit of 500 euros”. Popular with experienced drivers with a careful driving style.
Vehicle pickup:
Of course, the additional driver can be any person of legal age with a valid driver’s license. You do however pay an additional driver fee per our current price list.
Yes, at pick up it should be full, and it should be dropped off full as well. If the vehicle is not returned full, the difference shall be charged to the client per the current price listing, along with a special fuel recharge fee.
If the vehicle picked up does not have a full tank, only the difference from the picked-up fuel level, and dropped off fuel level will be charged, without the added recharge fuel fee. At vehicle pick up, be certain to check the fuel level.
We do offer such a service; however, it needs to be agreed upon 48 hours before vehicle pick up, and it is charged per our additional services price list.
The advantage of Girassol.rent is that we have NO LIMITS ON THE MILEAGE OF RENTED CARS.
All our clients have the freedom to move around Madeira when they rent a car. However, special written permission from Girassol.rent is required. In this case, a commission will be charged.
We accept all credit cards:
Visa,
MasterCard
Union Pay
American Express
Dinners Club International.
During rental:
If you already have a rental car with Girassol.rent and decide to add additional insurance, contact the Beepit office (Rua Dom Francisco Santana,
Edificio Ventur, Bloco 2, Loja N, 9125-031 Caniço, Madeira, Portugal) to change the conditions car rental and inspection.
If you decide to add an additional driver to the contract, you can come to the Girassor.rent office with a valid driver’s license for the driver you want to add. The fee for the additional driver is charged from the date the additional driver is added.
In our selection of additional equipment, you can choose GPS (satellite) and child seats/boosters. If the equipment is available you can rent it, and the charges are made according to the rental period.
You can either prolong your rental period in written form or personally in our office 24 hours before your rental period ends. The price of the prolongation will be calculated by our current price list.
You can return the vehicle before the time stated in the contract but you will not have the ability to refund for unused time.
Yes, GIRASSOL.RENT offers such a service. You can pick up the car at one location and return it to another location. You can check the list of locations, as well as choose the pickup and return location of the car, during the booking process.
The cost of this service, depending on the selected location, will be calculated automatically and added to the rental price when booking.
For this we do everything so our clients would be fully satisfied with the quality of the provided service. We are animal friendly, and while you are driving around with our vehicles, we want your animals to be with you. Since high quality is of extreme importance to us, we ask that if you are transporting pets in the rented vehicle, you protect the vehicles insides, especially the seats, as to avoid dirtying the vehicle inside. If the pet does soil or extensive dog hair to the car we will be forced to charge you for dry cleaning services
ADVICE: For your safety, and the safety of your pets, we advise you to transport them in boxes fastened with seatbelts that exist especially for such a purpose. In this way both you and your pets will arrive to your destination safely, and you will be driving in accordance to legal regulations.
You can contact our support via phone or email, stated on the car document file. You can also check the contacts for support team under the Contacts section.
For your convenience, the contact details are listed below:
Phone +351 961 778 886
E-mail book@girassol.rent
Our vehicles are completely cleaned on the inside and outside after each rental. Regardless, smoking inside our vehicles is not allowed, and we kindly ask you to obey this rule, so our vehicles would remain impeccably clean, and the inside smell pleasant. In case of you disobeying this rule we will have to charge you for dry cleaning – because we put in maximum effort in keeping the car clean and pleasant smelling.
Every child seat/and or booster has an instruction schematic on its back. So your youngest passengers would have a safe and pleasant journey, please follow these instructions.
ADVICE 1: We advise you to always keep your children in child seats or boosters that conform to their age and to always put a safety belt on them.
ADVICE 2: We advise you to place the child seat and or booster behind the passenger’s seat. Try to adjust the passenger’s seat to its highest level, while pushing it fully back in an upright positon. This is the safest positon for children. If you need to place more than one child seat/ booster, please always do so on back seats.
ADVICE 3: If you decide to put the child seat/booster in the front passenger’s seat, make certain to always turn of the passenger’s side air bag (the switch is located in the glove compartment or on the side of the dashboard). Also, make certain that this type of child transportation is allowed in your country.
ADVICE 4: Never put children younger than 12 in the front passenger’s seat.
Vehicle return:
If you return the car outside office hours, a Girassol.rent employee will be waiting for your arrival at the appointed time at the specified location. For collection and return of the car outside working hours from 20:00 to 08:00 in the morning, a fee of 20 euros will be charged.
There is also an alternative possibility of returning the car which is discussed with our staff, for example, it is possible to arrange to leave the car keys at the hotel reception or in our “key box” outside our office. In this case, the tenant must take a picture of the car from all sides,
note the exact mileage and fuel level. Full documentation can be requested by email.
If additional damage is discovered after an inspection by a Girassol.rent employee, we will inform you of the costs incurred by e-mail, as well as back them up with photographs and the necessary documentation.
If you have the necessary insurance for the damage caused to the vehicle, and the necessary documentation you will not need to pay for the damages.
In case the damage you caused to the vehicle is not covered by the chosen insurance, it will be charged to you in accordance to already defined tariffs and vehicle categories, from the deposit funds that were reserved on your credit card during vehicle pick up, and to the maximum of the insurance excess. In addition to this, and administration fee for vehicle damages is also charged per our current price list. This is charged during vehicle drop off. The client needs to present all the documentation that was given to him by the police or by any other person (police report, Alco test report, filled euro damage report) and fill out an accident statement in the vehicle drop off office.
Girassol.rent reserves the right to recover the full value of the damage caused if the Client has not acted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Portuguese Road Traffic Code or if the Client has not followed the procedure for reporting an accident.
Help us get better. You can write us your review on the company’s Google page – by clicking on this link.
Technical Info:
During the pick-up procedure Girassol.rent employee will inform you about the fuel type your rental uses. In case of a car using Diesel fuel the outside part of the fuel tank has a sticker with the needed fuel type ‘’diesel’’.
ADVICE 1: It is always necessary to put more than 10 liter of fuel so the vehicle can register the new fuel level.
ADVICE 2: Always make sure the engine is turned off when charging fuel.
If the vehicle is refueled with the wrong fuel type, please do not try and start the engine to protect the vehicle from any further damage. Please contact our support team which will organize the beast and cheapest solution for you so you can continue with your trip without any further complications.
ADVICE: Before refueling always make certain the fuel is compatible with our vehicle, according to the labels on the vehicle.
If the rented vehicle runs out of fuel during your drive, try and stop the vehicle in the safest possible conditions, turn on all 4 signal lights, shut down the engine, activate the hand brake and put the signal triangle on the proper distance from the vehicle. At the closest gas station buy a plastic canister and pour in at least 5 liters of the proper fuel (according to the label on the fuel tank cap). If after a couple tries the vehicle engine still does not start, please avoid further attempts to reduce the possibility of damaging the engine, and contact our support team.
ADVICE: Never drive with a low fuel level. As soon as the reserve lamp turns on or the fuel level is at ¼ please stop at the nearest gas station and pour in the proper fuel.
In case of oil level, engine lamp or overheat lamp turns on stop the car immediately and contact the support team. In case of an (!) tire pressure indication which means a tire has lost air pressure please check if the tire is flat or not.
ADVICE 1: In case of a flat tire you must use the spear tire and go to the nearest tire shop or gas station in order to repair or change the damages one.
ADVICE 2: If the flat tire indicator is on but all tires look good visit the next gas station in order to refill some air and deactivate the tire pressure indicator.
In case of a faulty electric connection please check that your equipment is working properly. Use only European connectors for additional equipment as to avoid any car malfunctions. If the connector still does not work, contact our technical support which will advise you on further problem solutions.
ADVICE: Our colleagues will happily assist you in setting up your additional equipment in a proper way.
In such a case, try and stop the vehicle in the safest possible conditions, turn on all 4 signal lights, shut down the engine, activate the hand brake. After stopping the vehicle, be careful in leaving the vehicle. In case of a vehicle malfunction during poor visibility conditions leave the lights on. Before contacting the support team, prepare the following information, registration number of the vehicle, exact location of the brake down (address, highway kilometers, or GPS coordinates) and information on the nature of malfunction, If the repair of the vehicle cannot be completed in 24 hours we will provide you with a replacement vehicle or an alternative way of continuing your trip.
NOTE: The client must wait for the agreed upon road assistance, and will be informed of their arrival and any other necessary information in the shortest possible time by the Girassol.rent support team.
In case of a traffic accident and or vehicle damage, immediately call 112 and fill in the euro report. If the rented vehicle is not in a drivable condition, please contact our support team. At vehicle drop off you are required to submit the traffic police report.
In case of theft, attempted theft, or brake in, immediately contact 112 and contact our support team.
In case of vandalism or a parked vehicle being damaged by an unknown perpetrator, you are also obliged to call the police who will than file a report that you are required to submit at vehicle drop off.
NOTE: In special situations, if it’s a case of a smaller vehicle damage (small scratch or dent, or smaller accident without any other participant), with consent from the support and photos of the accident, you may only fill in the incident report without contacting the police.
In case you lost your car keys, please contact our support team, with whom you will arrange the delivery of the spare key to your location, and who will inform you of the costs that will be added.
Depending on the type of the vehicle, you can do this in the following manner:
MECHANICAL PROTECTION: Check the inside frame of the back door, on it, if your vehicle has mechanical protection, you will find a sticker with the zone for inserting the mechanical key and activating the child protection. The deactivation procedure is the same except you turn the key to a different direction.
ELECTRONIC PROTECTION: Search for a switch with the symbol for this on the driver’s side of the vehicle. The aforementioned switch is mostly located near the electronic window lifting system switches, the left side of the dashboard, or central console. Pressing this switch will activate the protection. If the vehicle has an electronic window lifting system, and a mechanical door locking system this switch will only lock the windows. If the vehicle has a manual window lifting system you cannot activate the vehicle lock protection
ADVICE 1: Always activate this protection system if you are transporting children in the car.
ADVICE 2: Always make certain when closing the windows that none of the passengers are blocking them.
