The single most destructive company to the Algarve’s image, the one that has caused more misery, complaint and anger than any other in the car rental sector, has been bought by French-owned Europcar.
Goldcar, run by socoipathic Spaniards employing thick-skinned, ‘don’t care,’ commission-driven staff, has been sold to the French company which wants to “strengthen its presence in the low-cost segment.”
Europcar is paying €500 million for the privilege of owning the most reviled brand at Faro airport but Goldcar has outlets other designed to trick and scam customers across Spain and at five Portuguese locations.
The Italian Investindustrial fund, controlled by the uncaring Bonomi family, held 80% of Goldcar and the remaining 20% was in the hands of the founders of the company, Juan and Pedro Alcaraz whose business methods are the talk of Tripadvisor and rely on 'once only' rentals as customers would be foolhardy to use their dire service a second time.
The purchase is dependent on competition authority approval. A verdict will be announced during the second half of 2017.
The cost savings from merging the two companies are estimated at €30 million per year in 2020, with Goldcar generating sales of around €240 million last year.
Shares in Europcar actually went up 3.57% on the news.
"With this strategic purchase, the Europcar group will increase its exposure to three major growth engines - the Mediterranean region and the leisure and low-cost segments - and will become a major player in this fast-growing segment In Europe," read the company's cheery statement.
The origins of Goldcar can be traced back to 1985 when brothers Juan and Pedro Alcaraz opened the first outlet - then called Europe Rent-a-car - in San Juan de Alicante.
In 2007 the company adopted the name Goldcar and four years later its international expansion began in Portugal, with the opening of a branch at Faro airport which attracted a flood of complaints for the company’s uncompromising business practices focusing on self-service rather than customer service.
Portugal Goldcar currently has outlets at Faro, Lisbon, Madeira, Oporto and Ponta Delgada with 50,000 vehicles and about a thousand automaton staff.
Under Europcar’s mantle, it is hoped that the Goldcar brand will be consigned to history and that staff retraining is made a priority.
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This 2014 report from the Telegraph sums up Goldcars's customer care package: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/advice/Is-this-the-worlds-worst-car-hire-horror-story/