Own a Car, or Hire One?
Owning a car in Spain is a nicer life for a lot of people. You know the car. You drive as many kilometres as you want. No quote hunt. No desk queue. If you leave it at the airport, the next trip is walking back to your own space.
Hiring is often the cheaper year if you are only here part of the time. You pay for the days you use. You skip the bills that follow a car you leave in Spain. Both sides are real. Compare your days in Spain.
What you get when you own
- A car you already know
- As many kilometres as you want
- No quote hunt before each trip
- No desk queue when you land
- Your own car waiting, if you park at the airport
That convenience is not imaginary. Some people travel enough, or care enough about the same boot and the same radio, that owning is the right year even when hire is cheaper on paper.
What that costs each year
These are simple starting figures for a used small car left at the airport between visits:
- Insurance: 500 EUR
- Road tax: 70 EUR
- ITV: 30 EUR
- Service: 400 EUR
- Value drop: 1,000 EUR
- Airport parking: 450 EUR
- Yearly keep: 2,450 EUR
Skip the parking line if the car stays on a driveway. ITV is free for the first four years, then every two years, then every year after ten. Road tax is set by your town. The 2,450 EUR total is the number the calculator uses.
What hire costs
We start from a small hire car.
- You pay only the days you are in Spain
- Full cover is included
- Fuel is full-to-full
- No ITV, road tax, workshop, buying or selling
- No airport parking bill for a car that sits there while you are away
Summer days cost more than low-season days. Mixed sits in the middle. The calculator uses our current small-car price, then lifts it for summer and lowers it for low season.
If you hire with us:
We deliver at the terminal. Booking is a few steps. Online check-in is done before you fly. Full cover and full-to-full fuel are included. Nobody at collection is paid to scare you into extras. See Alicante Airport car hire or Valencia Airport car hire.
Hire does not give you the feeling of unlocking a car that is already yours. Owning does not give you a year with no workshop letter. The useful question is which year you are actually in.
Compare your year
Hiring is cheaper this year by €1,470.
Owning: €2,450
Hiring: €980
See the numbers
- Days in Spain: 28
- Small hire car per day: €35
- Hire for the year: 28 x €35 = €980
- Insurance: 500 EUR
- Road tax: 70 EUR
- ITV: 30 EUR
- Service: 400 EUR
- Value drop: 1,000 EUR
- Airport parking: 450 EUR
- Owning for the year: 2,450 EUR
- Owning starts to look cheaper after 70 hire days.
The hire rate starts from our current small car at Alicante, with full cover already in. Summer uses 20% more. Low season uses 15% less. Replace the days with your own trip.
If the calculator says hire is cheaper and you still want to own, you are paying for convenience. That can be the right purchase. If it says own is cheaper, check that you counted airport parking and the next service, not just insurance.