New kid on the Azores Car Rental block, recommended!
On my second trip to the Azores, after mixed-emotions experiences during the first, I wanted to avoid the two or three monopoly players you usually end up with wherever you rented a car. Through a booking.com booking of a hotel in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, I ended up at 2rent Rent-a-Car, whose official company name is Replacefuture – 2rent, looking at the T&C on their website. I was extremely pleasantly surprised, which is why I decided to be the first to review them on Trustpilot. The price, even though probably a commercial offer through another tourism player you wouldn't be offered if you came alone, was unbeatable. When I passed the long queues at the monopoly players' counters that morning, I was the first of two customers heading for the Hertz desk where a 2rent slip of paper was added by tape, which I had even overlooked upon arrival, then searching for them in the entire airport hall. So the first impression was kind of unprofessional, and I don't know if there is an affiliation with Hertz. But the unprofessional feeling changed immediately when the agent at the counter took over. With "campaign pricing", you usually expect the rental agency to try to trick you into hidden charges. Not so here; the whole conversation was driven on her part by wanting the customer to return rather than be off with one campaign price and a high-adrenaline rental that makes them unlikely to rent again. When I returned from the car to tell her that it would be easier to indicate the no-scratch, no-dent areas of the car on the check-out report than those with a damage, that even the plastic cover of one of the indicators was broken, she was cool about it and managed to convey the feeling that the company knew and would not try to make money out of this. And so it happened. Somewhat to my surprise, there was no discussion whatsoever, neither when returning the car nor later. The car was dented and scratched all over with loose floor matting at the driver's seat that once got in the way of my breaking, but was technically sound, quite new, and fun to drive. The state of the car is the reason I am not giving them the five-star full house, along with the fact that my deposit remained pre-authed on my credit card for a full month... but that's usual practice in the Azores with the monopoly players as well. So all in all, next time 'round I will look at 2rent again rather than the two or three with the long queues at the counter when you arrive.