Alamo Rent A Car - Estación de Tren de Málaga

We booked a standard SUV through Expedia 2.5 weeks in advance, specifically to fit two full-size suitcases, which was essential as we were road-tripping across Spain.

On the morning of pickup, I attempted to amend the drop-off time. When this wasn’t possible, I cancelled and immediately rebooked the exact same car, same pickup time and location, with only the drop-off time changed. The gap between cancellation and rebooking was literally one minute.

When my husband arrived at the Alamo Málaga desk, he was told the booking “shouldn’t have gone through” and that they did not have the standard SUV available. The only option offered was a mid-size SUV (Nissan Qashqai), which is cheaper and significantly smaller than what we booked and paid for. As we urgently needed the car to continue our trip, he had no choice but to accept it.

The car was also dirty and appeared not to have been properly cleaned.

Because of the reduced size, the vehicle could not accommodate our luggage, which caused major disruption throughout our trip. At one point, I was forced to travel separately by train from Granada to Madrid with suitcases, while the rest of the family drove — an unacceptable situation on a family holiday.

We contacted Alamo Málaga multiple times by email. Responses were rare, and eventually we were told we would receive a 10% refund at drop-off, which does not come close to compensating for:
• Being downgraded to the wrong vehicle category
• Significant inconvenience and stress
• Extra travel logistics and costs

Drop-off was out of hours, so we were unable to speak to an agent in person. Despite repeated emails, the issue remains unresolved.

This experience reflects poor inventory management, lack of accountability, and inadequate customer service. I would strongly advise others to be cautious when booking through this location if vehicle size is important.

I was given a car which had a slow puncture. When I required roadside assistance due to the slow puncture I was not advised that there would be a fee for something that was an issue caused by being provided with a car with an issue. An issue I made clear was not my fault when I called for assistance. I was then informed of the fee when I dropped the car. No consideration was given to waiving the fee, despite the root cause of the issue being Alamo. The flat from the slow puncture also occurred in 37° temperatures causing inconvenience and distress to my family due to something which was no fault of our own.

In addition I was advised when I first arrived that the car I had booked was unavailable. I was up sold a more expensive vehicle due to an apparent discount. The figure given was the daily rate and not the total for the rental. I paid the additional, but this felt underhand and the kind of up selling tactic I thought was a thing of the past - especially from what I believed was a reputable company.

I used Alamo on a recent trip to Canada and thought they were excellent, but after my experience in Spain I will not be using them again.

Very smooth pick up and drop off at Malaga train station. Large SUV was a tricky drive on narrow Spanish roads. Taking all insurance costly, (3x rental cost) but peace of mind.

Much like everyone else is saying on here. We booked a car and arrived 30min early for our reservation time. We checked the Alamo website to make sure that cars were available (they had 10 different listed). We were told that the website was wrong and they had no cars for the next 3 days. Don’t waste your time.

My friend and I rented a car from Alicante to drive to Malaga and Thomas warmly received us to check out the car. He was quick and efficient in assisting us with the check out procedure so that we could head off to continue our travel literary without delay. Lovely service from Thomas.