Albar אלבר Reviews 

Complete ripoff. Booked the car and paid total upfront. There was no mention of any other additional charges when I booked but when I return the car they charged me a $90 airport surcharge!!!! Thieves.

I had a terrible experience with Europcar the Ben Gurion airport, Tel-Aviv from pick-up to drop-off. I would strongly advise future customers to seek alternatives.

Vehicle Substitution & Customer Service Failure

I pre-booked a compact SUV (Mitsubishi ASX-like model) via DiscoverCars.com specifically for its practical utility, higher seating position, and flexible storage. Instead, I was given a Renault Mégane Hatchback and told by the company representative (Daniella?) this was an "upgrade." This substitution was a downgrade that did not meet my fundamental needs for an SUV. When I questioned the change, the staff member was rude and dismissive, offering no apology and simply stating, "that's the only car we have," before threatening to cancel the booking late at night.

Hidden/Difficult Pick-up Process

The late-night pick-up was falsely advertised as being at the airport. It was, in fact, at the remote drop-off location.

Unannounced Change: This vital information was not provided in advance.

No Counter Staff: The counter was unstaffed, requiring us to call to get instructions.

Unclear Directions: The instructions for the shuttle bus provided over the phone were confusing and inadequate, adding significant stress and delay to an already late arrival.

Unsafe Vehicle Condition & Maintenance Failures

The vehicle provided was in poor condition, compromising safety and usability:

Safety Hazard (Windscreen): The windscreen wash was empty, and the bonnet release appeared broken, preventing us from refilling it. This, combined with the windscreen being filthy both inside and out, created an immediate safety hazard, making driving difficult and dangerous, especially in direct sunlight.

Key Card Issue: The key card displayed a low battery warning. Since we had no guidance on how to replace the battery or what to do if the card failed, this caused significant anxiety about being stranded.

Technology Malfunction: The USB charging ports were extremely loose, making it impossible to establish a stable connection for Android Auto or charging.

Cosmetic Damage: The car was covered in countless scratches, indicating a complete lack of pre-rental inspection or proper maintenance.

Chaotic Drop-off Experience

The drop-off process was disorganized and poorly managed, suggesting the company is heavily overbooked:

Lack of Organization: There were no clear instructions on where to park and no organized queue for processing returns.

Insufficient Shuttle Service: The shuttle buses were not frequent enough, and their capacity was insufficient to handle the volume of clients, leading to long, confusing waiting times.

Overall, this was an extremely unprofessional service, compounded by the staff's unhelpful and threatening attitude. The quality and maintenance of the car were unacceptable.

worse company ever
they have chineese cars
i could not start my car for the first 3 days
very bad experience
i had to stay home for replacement

If there is zero star I would choose to grade elbar service. Please read the contract carefully including small print before you commit to do business with them. Poor communication or even no communication regarding charges. Like swimming with a shark

We rented a car with them through a third party (Economy Car Rental). They charged us part of the amount online. The rest we had to pay at the rental desk with Albar - Europcar.
But in the end they also charged us the full amount and now we payed way too much. We've sent multiple emails to customer service but they don't even go into the issue and just keep telling us they charged us what they charged and we should speak with the other party. When we call on the phone, they simply hang up each time.
Extremely disappointing and very unprofessional.

Bought a car in JLM. After buying the car they sent me to Rishon, Bilu, Glilot, to fix minor things they said they will take care of. In Glilot however, they could not help me. Extremely unfriendly and happy to waste your time at any opportunity.

Even 1 star is much too much for Albar, where i got a car from. We reserved the car from Europcar, which turned out, that Europcar itsself has no direct business in Israel, but has a partner, which is Albar. All in all everything went o.k, until we came back home after a few weeks i was charged 64 New Israeli Shekel (NIS), which is around 15€. At the Albar desk they told us, that using road no. 6 will cost us around 10€ = 40 NIS. Even it was 50% more than expected, i didn't complain, But then a second time (after 3 months !!!) 97 NIS = 24€ were deducted from my creditcard, as well without mentioning what the fees that were. So i called Europcar, where i made the reservation a few times and wrote 2 times an e-mail to them. Until today (after 2 month after writing to them) i don't have a reply, which is very bad from Europcar as well as from Albar, as they didn't explain the fees, which they took from my creditcard. So i will not use anymore Albar !!!

I rented a car on Herzl street in Rehovot. The people (Yuval and Shirley) were extremely nice and very helpful. They gave me a Mazda 3. I was in and out in no time.
They took pictures of the car before I left (I always take my own pictures in any case).

I put over 300 miles on the car and did not have any problem with it.

If you are Sabbath observant, be sure to ask for a discount for Saturday.
If you are a tourist be sure that they do not charge VAT

Awful service in Jerusalem Branch.. they made me walk to pick up the car to a 15 minutes walk.. Car banged up with scratches, smelly, missing car logo.. Thank God I had full coverage if not BE CAREFUL they WILL charges you for every scratch even if you didn't do it. When returning the car at the Airport I complain about the Jerusalem branch services, and the state of the car, the guy laugh and said "Well nothing I can do, this is the service we provide and too bad and good by" with a smirk face.... AWFUL EXPERIENCE!!!!

Be aware to take a picture every scratch from the car if not they will they will put it on your fault never had such a bad experience
I had used different car rentals before didn't have no problems by returning it this is not Europe car rental it's a Israeli bad company under Europe name ( I had took the car less than 48 hours and there's no way so many scratches should get in 48 hours)

It was very easy to book a car on the internet, from DK-Denmark, booking number: 755351232. And we did look forward for our travel.
Unfortunately we did arrive later from the Ben Gurion Airport (approxemately 50 minutes late) at the office at King David Street, Jerusalem due to difficulties finding our way by the train.
We did not manege to call the office in Jerusalem that we were late. We had no connetion by the phone.
When we got to the office in Jerusalem we were told that we were late and there was no car for us. after looking he found a minivan for 8 people as the onluy option! We could not believe it - we never tried that anywere else in the world.
We were very dissapointed and stressed after a long travel and had needed some more kindness in the contact with the office!
Fortunately another costumer came in to deliever his Mazda 6 and as we understand we got that car. They did not have the time to clean it, but we prefered that car from a minivan, of cource! Thanx for that solution - it was much better than a van! So the man at the desk solved it- thank you.
We would love to be assure of the flexibility, obliging and receptive way of meeting us, also when a bit delay. That is what we need as travellers, we know.
We enjoyed the Mazda the two days we had it though, but was dissapointed about the start.
Kind regards Daniel and Pia Stilhoff, DK-Denmark

ALBAR - EUROPCAR
My wife and I rented a car via the Europcar website. They are advertising that the price is guaranteed. It’s not TRUE. They charged us a much more higher price. More than this, after our complaint, they acknowledge that we were charged a much more higher price and promised to reimburse us but never did it. They even failed to provide the correct invoice. The representative in the Ben-Gurion Airport acknowledge that they have multiply errors in the invoice and promised correct them and send a correct invoice. They never did it.
The Europcar website advertises that the price includes VAT (Israel Tax). Again, it’s not true, even after I showed them the email confirming that my price already includes VAT they are charged VAT on the top VAT that I already paid.
About the car, it was the car that had multiply mechanical issues and every attempt to communicate to the Europcar (Israel) was just a waste of time and money. Please be aware if you will try to use not local cellphone you will never reach an operator.
In conclusion, the worst rental company and service in the world. If you want to enjoy your time in Israel please stay away from Europcar and their partner ALBAR.

First car they gave me was junk, literally had several accidents and broken in the inside- I couldn’t even see the dashboard. Junk car and they told me that is what they have. After a few days that the car drove so bad I returned it to them, they made my drive back all the way from the north where I was staying to the airport and they gave me a car like I expected for the first time BUT with a leak. Worst cars! And I payed $66 a day for a month and a half of rental. Junk cars.
At least for the most part the staff was nice.

We picked up in Haifa and dropped off in Tiberias. We paid a reasonable extra $10 a day for full insurance. The pick up was great, very helpful guy with good English, answered all our questions. Not the car we wanted, a Citroen C3 not a Hyundai i20 but still great. Large boot for luggage, clean, easy to use etc. One headlight didn’t work but as we weren’t travelling at night it was ok, if we needed it we would have called assistance straight away. Drop off was equally good.

Turns out Europe Car in Israel is not Europe Car, so I was told by staff. It is another company that pays to use the Europe Car name and logo but does not meet the standards. The loyalty program was not reconised, the car was just OK but took over an hour to return with no one person dealing with me.

VERY GOOD IF YOU BOOK WITH A AGENT AND KNOW HOW TO DEAL WIHT THEM