How to Rent a Car in Spain from 1 month to 3 years!
Maybe you’re an expat who recently moved to Spain, a digital nomad on a long stay in Valencia, or an adventurous spirit planning a road trip around Andalusia; whoever you are, chances are you could use a car during your time in the sun. The process for renting (or leasing) a car for anytime longer than a month can be a challenge for expats in Spain. In this article, I share the solution I found to this problem, how it all works, and a special discount in case you want to give it a try.
Originally, my wife and I didn’t plan to get a car long term in Spain. We thought we would live in a cool apartment in Barcelona or Valencia. Oh but those seaside villages just win you over! Our American asses found it much too difficult to live a car-free lifestyle. Of course I can walk to the corner market for simple things, but I just love going to Mercadona once a week for all the essentials. This happens to be a 15 minute drive from my little village by the sea. Not to mention how much fun it is to drive up into the hills to visit other towns and wineries. Public transit is great in Spain but we love the freedom a car provides.
Soon we found ourselves running to the car rental shop every 28 days to swap out one Fiat 500 for another. As you can imagine, this gets old (and expensive!). Thankfully, after hours of searching, we discovered Free2Move, a long term car rental service that makes the process of renting a car in Spain much easier and more affordable!
The Problem with long term car rental in Spain
Most car rental companies in Spain will not rent to you for more than 28 days. If they do offer the service, it is insanely expensive! I was once quoted €15,000 for a 6 month rental! This means you’re stuck looking for a new rental contract every 28 days AND driving back to the rental office to swap vehicles. Plus, you’re at the mercy of price swings. A car that costs €300 a month in February will almost certainly be over €600 in July.
You can, of course, lease a car from a dealership in Spain. However, that comes with its own set of challenges such as registration, insurance, and the need to have a Spanish drivers license. This likely isn’t what you had in mind when dreaming of a life in Spain, right?
The Solution: Free2Move, a long term car rental service in Spain
After hours of frantic Googling to find a solution to my problem, I discovered Car On Demand by Free2Move, an all-inclusive long term car rental program. This is more like a car subscription than a lease or rental. You pay one monthly price for the car, insurance, maintenance, and roadside assistance. Booking was so easy. Using their website, I scheduled a time for Free2Move to contact me by phone. I was a little nervous since my Spanish isn’t great but, as it turns out, they speak English! Laura was amazing and has become my go to car concierge in Spain. I told her what I needed and she made it all happen.
Here’s how the rental process with Free2Move works:
Choose your vehicle: They have everything from a little Fiat to large vans and SUVs. We needed 4 doors so opted for something in the middle.
Choose your rental term: The price changes depending on how long you commit to. Choose from commitment free (no time frame) all the way up to 3 years. This flexibility is great especially if you only plan to spend 90 days in Spain.
Select mileage (would that be kilometer-age? I’m still learning): 1000km is standard and increases from there. Free2Move makes it super easy to add more miles as you go, so no need to overthink it.
Set pick up location: Pick up for free in Madrid or they’ll deliver the car to you anywhere in Spain for a fee. This was super useful for us as we’re all the way down in the south.
Enjoy the car! Our 4 door Peugeot 2008 arrived in excellent condition and was a joy to drive around. We took this thing all over Spain; up to Barcelona, exploring wineries, beach hopping on the Costa Tropical, literally everywhere.
Plus, you don’t need a Spanish driver's license with Free2Move. They accepted my US license and International Driver’s Permit (IDP).
My experience was so great with Free2Move, I had to share it with you all. I wish I had known about this company sooner as it would have saved me so much time and money earlier on in our journey.
If you’d like to give them a try, use this link to contact their team and start your booking. Tell them Cheap Property Spain sent you and you’ll get your first month free on a 12 month contract or €50 off a 6 month contract.
Note: the website is in Spanish but just use the Google translate browser extension to automatically translate everything to English.