CICAR Reviews 10,861

Simply the best service provider in the world. I paid a €30 fuel deposit and returned the car early in the morning while the office was closed. Later that same day, they refueled the car to the exact level and refunded €18 to my account. It was truly unbelievable—no hidden costs at all. The service was not only affordable but also highly reliable. Strongly recommended!

Like other reviewers we have used CICAR for a long time, and have always found them to be very good, cheap and honestly priced. Never any issues with the product.
The last 2 trips to the Canary Islands however, were very different. On La Palma in June 2025 we had a small car. All fine until we had rain and discovered that both the windscreen wiper blades had perished. We could not see out of the windscreen. This tells me that inadequate safety checks had been carried out before the car was issued to us, so we were concerned that other things may be wrong. We had to drive out of our way to return the car, and were given a replacement. The next day, on our way down a steep hill, the brake warning light came on. Very scary. Another trip to the office, another car. The next day the tyre pressure warning light came on, and we had to find a garage to top up with air (never done this before!). There was a kit in the car for doing this and we did not replace the car, as we were already on the other side of the island. Each time we were credited for less fuel than was in the tank.
Our latest trip was to La Gomera, where we hired a small car. Initially this was for 21 days and the charge was 21 euros a day. When we had to change the booking to only 8 days, the cost was 44 euros a day. More than double. This car turned out to be a Peugeot that had an engine rattle, even when stopped. The office insisted that all these cars made the same noise. A quick google does not back this up.
I am sad to write this review, because much about this company is good. There is no attempt to change for extras when you return the car, they never say something is missing that was never supplied, or was supplied damaged, so we have been very confident using CICAR in the past. Please can they return to the good methods of the past.

Waited 2 hours to get our car ! Also very disorganised to return the vehicle. Certainly NOT what you need at the Start and end of your holiday 👎.Shame as have used this company several times in the past and have been good.Not anymore !( I think A case of a company becoming too popular/busy for it's own good ).

Brilliant experience in Tenerife. Cheap, new Peugeot delivered to my hotel in Costa Adeje then dropped off 5 days later at Tenerife South airport. Clear cheap price on booking, paid when car was dropped off and no excess, no messing around with credit card deposits or blocking amount. Very smooth process. Only problem was the the car’s own GPS tried to take me onto half built roads in the mountains in thick fog so I mirrored google maps from my phone- much better.

Llevo muchos años alquilando coches con Cicar en Fuerteventura. Siempre me he encontrado bien, pero lamentablemente tengo que constatar que desde hace un par de años el servicio ha empeorado. Por ejemplo, antes te entregaban los coches impecablemente limpios, mientras que hoy en día no siempre es así. ¡El último coche que alquilé todavía estaba sucio con arena del cliente anterior! ¡Qué asco y qué pena que Cicar ya no sea lo que era antes!

I have been renting cars from Cicar in Fuerteventura for many years. I have always been satisfied, but unfortunately I must note that over the past couple of years the service has worsened. For example, they used to deliver the cars perfectly clean, whereas nowadays this is not always the case. The last car I rented was still dirty with sand from the previous customer! Disgusting, and such a shame that Cicar is no longer what it used to be.

Cicar Lanzarote: How Car Rental Should Actually Work

After dealing with enough dodgy rent-a-car companies to develop trust issues, Cicar Lanzarote is a rare relief.

Booking is simple and transparent. No tricks, no fine-print ambushes, no “gotcha” moments at the counter. The insurance is clear and inclusive, not a scare tactic designed to bully you into paying extra. What you book is what you get. Revolutionary concept, apparently.

Picking up and returning the car is fast and painless. No inspections performed with a magnifying glass, no invented scratches, no post-holiday surprise charges. Just hand over the keys and go on with your life.

The cars are in excellent condition, clean, reliable, and exactly as promised. But the real difference is the staff. Professional, friendly, and genuinely helpful, as if customer service were still a thing.

I don’t even bother with the “usual big names” anymore. Every time I come to the Canary Islands, Cicar is the obvious choice. Honest pricing, zero stress, and a company that treats you like a customer instead of a target.

This is the real alternative to the scammy rent-a-car circus. If you’re renting a car in Lanzarote, just book Cicar and move on.

Cicar is the great..
This is first time we had rented car in Tenerife..
No big deposit.. and price was very reasonable.. there were many Cicar on the road then other rental companies..

Car showed low oil in 2nd day.. but it was usual problem in Tenerife.. because of inclined parking.. talk to help line and ask to see nearest Cicar office.. which are plenty in Tenerife.. and they check and filled small amounts of oil for our satisfaction..
Overall great experience..

Bit of advices.. if you are first time in Tenerife then please rent small car because roads are small especially in northern side..
Book online in advance.. they run out cars very quickly.. and pay online before your trip so don't need to wait in queue at airport..

The car that we rented didn’t seem to be in a good shape but we didn’t mind until our car was vandalized and unusable. We got a new car, it went quite smooth. It worked for 1 day, then it had a mechanical problem. We got a 3rd car for 1 day and had a compensation of 15 euros. We filled these cars three times. After 2 phone calls and 6 emails plus waiting for more then 1 month we got 12 euros instead of 48. I’m speechless and very disappointed. That was a really bad experience, especially compared to Cicar Gran Canaria (where everything was just fine).

I had the best hire car experience with CICAR at Tenerife South Airport. Check-in was quick and straightforward, and the agent didn’t try to upsell any extra insurance or push for an upgrade. I’d booked an automatic and was given a hybrid Peugeot, which was a clean and tidy. The desk was very easy to find in the arrivals hall.

There was no large deposit held on my card – just a €56 hold for fuel, which was released straight after returning the car (it only took a couple of days for my bank to process it). The car pick-up area is right across the road from the airport and easy to find, with clearly numbered bays.

We drove up to the cable car station on Teide and visited several places around the island, and the car only used €19 worth of petrol. I’ve hired from most of the big brands in different countries over the years, but CICAR has honestly given me the best experience so far.

I’d highly recommend this company and will definitely book with them again on my next trip to Tenerife. Thank you!

Great service.
Payments from debit card, credit card, cash.
No deposit option.
Perfect.

We booked with Cicar Av. de las Playas, Puerto del Carmen. Our experience with them was A1. The blonde lady I dealt with was extremely helpful and patient, she is a credit to the company. She dealt with the mix up in dates that I created swiftly and with zero drama after I decided to book our car for a second week and mixed up the return date
I would book online and in advance as they appear to be very busy. Excellent experience with this company branch

Terrible experience, we got a car and it had fuel problems. They checked it and said it was fine. The car stopped in the middle of the road at late night. We almost lost our lives since car could have hit us. We called Cicar assistance and they didn’t pick up the phone. We were alone at night on the road just because they told us the car was fine. We complained and they keep saying the car was fine. Police saw us and they tried to start the car and it wasn’t going. Cicar refused to take responsibilities. They don’t care that we almost died cause they are incompetent, not professional. Do not get a car if you wanna feel safe!!!

We’ve been renting with Cicar in the Canaries for over 10 years. In fairness, at the beginning they stood out as being really good which is why we continued to hire from them. However the standard of cars and service has in our experience steadily declined in recent years.

In December 2024 we were greeted with a very long queue to collect the car we had pre booked at Tenerife South. They had only two people working behind the desk and only one (for a reason known only to themselves) was serving customers. We gave up queuing after two hours. With another 30 customers still waiting in front of us we estimated we’d be there for at least another hour and a half and we'd then have been queuing for 3.5 hours, just to collect the car.

Maybe a one off bad experience? We think not - the quality and condition of the cars has also gone downhill. In recent years we’ve been allocated cars with ripped/foam exposed in the driver’s seat, another where you could not shut the tailgate because the trim was hanging off and one occasion where a tyre had a bulge in the side wall where it looked to have been kerbed by a previous user.

We’ve increasingly found the cars allocated are old and weary and/or not adequately maintained. We complained on one occasion and they gave us a much newer car, but really you should not have to be tooing and froing, getting back in the queue etc.

We hired again last week and were given a circa 5 year old, 113,000 km’s battered Peugeot 308. Most panels (including the roof) had damage. We’d booked a Ford Focus but the Peugeot they allocated was that old they do not even advertise the model on their website, despite their website stating they have a ‘modern fleet of new vehicles’. The engine on the 308 sporadically spluttered when driven a distance and the transmission/clutch was worn. As such my wife did not want to risk a trip to visit Teide for fear of the car breaking down. That defeats the object of hiring a car in our view, if you cannot use it as intended.

We had a further booking arranged with Cicar later this year and so we told them about the car's condition for this most recent hire. We were seeking reassurance that for the next hire we’d not be allocated an old worn out car again. They replied saying they would ‘try’ and ensure a car in ‘optimal condition’. Try, is that it all they can offer? We'd hoped for firm assurance that the next car allocated would definitely be good, not that they'd just try!

Not reassured, we’ve given up with Cicar and obviously cancelled the next booking and booked with another car hire company. We will have our family with us next time and the last thing we need is to be worrying about the reliability of potentially another old car, plus we’d like to visit Teide!

Cicar have not acknowledged our cancellation and so we assume they're not bothered. And so we have left this review in order to inform others who may hopefully avoid a similar experience.

Footnote – before leaving this review I thought I would check prices. Because of the 2 hour wait in the queue last December, they offered us ‘special conditions’ on our next rental which we thought was a genuine offer; perhaps a way of apologising to a regular customer who received sub standard service. They offered us a price of 1,100 euros and we booked it. But having checked on their website just now with the same dates, the price offered today would be 44 euros less!

They clearly did offer us ‘special conditions’. Special conditions that would have cost us more money.

Won't be using Cicar again.

Extremely Disappointed with CICAR – Long-Time Customer Treated with Disrespect

I’ve been a loyal CICAR customer for years, renting cars from them regularly during my visits to Tenerife. Sadly, this recent experience has completely changed my opinion of the company.

As usual, I booked a car online — and as is often the case, I didn’t receive the model I requested, but I’ve come to expect that. Everything went smoothly until the return. I dropped the car off at the airport and, due to time pressure, rushed through security to board my flight. Just 12 minutes after returning the vehicle, I realized I had left my designer hat — a personal and valuable item — on the back seat. I immediately called CICAR and explained the situation, asking them to keep it safe until my daughter, who had also booked a car with them a few days later, could pick it up.

They called me back shortly after to say nothing was found. I was very upset. I know exactly where I left it, and this wasn't just a hat — I’m a bald man, and I wear it every day. It’s a part of me.

I was already angry and disappointed, but then came the most shocking part. I received another call — not an apology or an update — but a rude and aggressive lecture from a CICAR employee, telling me they are not responsible, and if I don’t like it, I shouldn’t use their service again. The tone was completely unprofessional and disrespectful.

Well, they got their wish. I will never use CICAR again. It’s clear that as they’ve grown into one of the largest rental companies in the Canary Islands, they’ve lost sight of customer care and basic decency. Being a big company doesn’t make you immune to failure — and it starts with treating loyal clients like they don’t matter.

A once-reliable service has become careless, arrogant, and unprofessional. Avoid CICAR if you value respect and accountability.

Everything was straightforward and smooth until it was time to hand it over.
I hired a Peugeot 108 and it was great! Very reasonable price for the week.

When I gave it back a week later, in the same condition and with a full tank of petrol, it was a different story.

The Cicar assistant yelled at me and my son because we did not know our way around the airport carpark and we allegedly parked in a bay that was one further away than the one that we should have parked in ( this was my first experience of car hire, ever). I tried to explain that I did not understand where exactly she wanted me to relocate the car, but she then became irate and concerningly hostile.
Apart from the end bit, it was a success, and I can highly recommend Cicar for value for money if not for customer service.

booked a new model SUV with CICAR online and provided my flight number as requested. Due to a 3-hour flight delay, I arrived late — only to be told at the counter that my reservation had been cancelled.

Instead, I was offered a very old Peugeot 308 in shocking condition: broken features, a rear wiper hanging off, and clearly not roadworthy. Yet, they charged me the same price as the SUV I originally booked — no apology, no partial refund, not even a fair explanation.

The man at the counter was unfriendly and dismissive, and as a group of Asian travellers, we genuinely felt we were not being treated with the same respect as others.

CICAR was once a good company, but this experience has completely changed my view. No communication, terrible service, and no accountability. I won’t be using them again — and I recommend others think twice before booking.

I have been a customer of Cicar for many years and have always opted for a opel astra on the options page and have been pleasantly surprised by either getting an Astra or bigger. For example my previous booking to this was a Peugeot 3008.. However this rental I was given a Seat Ibiza the equivalent to a Opel Corsa when I complained via email I was told you should have ordered a Astra Sw meaning Station Wagon or a UK Estate.

In a nutshell Cicar has less bays for cars and it's rental pick up point has now moved from the front to the rear of the rental spaces tells me something is badly wrong. Alas another point was my rentals seats was covered in crumbs. Covid is clearly over.. Sorry Cicar it's my last rental with you.

Was given a bigger car than we had asked for and then charged a deposit for fuel. on return we left more fuel than when we collected. Had to chase for refund of deposit and then when this was done was only given a partial refund as they state that there was less fuel than we had left in it. My advice if you use them take photos of the fuel gauge on collection and return. I wish we had done that. Won’t use the company again

Long waits at Tenerife South Airport overshadow Cicar’s competitive prices

Renting from Cicar at Tenerife airport comes with the promise of low prices, but my experience revealed that the savings often come at the expense of time and vehicle quality.

Lengthy queues after arrival!
Despite having a reservation, I had to wait in line for over an hour at the Cicar desk. This isn’t an isolated incident-many travelers in the queue reported similar or even longer waits, especially during busy periods. After a long flight, standing in a crowded queue is the last thing you want. The other counters at hertz , topcar And Europecar were empty and we regret do not have booked via these other operators. On saying how long the waiting queue was, we asked for a price quotation at Hertz and the price was not that much from Cicar. We regret that we could not cancel our former reservation to try hertz.

Old vehicle condition!
We rented a van for seven people, and while I didn’t expect the exact brand reserved, the real letdown was the vehicle’s age and state. The van was quite old one and had technical problem, like a vibrating steering wheel. After such a long wait, i just accepted the car and moved on, too exhausted to complain. The staff at the pick up desk just told me: that’s all that we have as van…

the sheer volume of customers means the handover is often rushed…
Just be aware when you book via Cicar : the risk of long delays and receiving a very used car is significant at Tenerife south airport.

We hired in Fuerteventura March 2025 and the car we were given was a Vauxhall Corsa as requested but the car had done 70,000kms, what has happened to paying a decent amount of money as Cicar charge for a decent car. I will add that the car had a few dents and scrapes but still looked respectable for a holiday hire car and drove OK apart from some very questionable noises from the engine. I will not pay the extra that Cicar charge next time due to the above and instead take a small excess with my own car hire excess insurance and hire from another supplier with a better standard of cars.