SIXT rent a car: tailor-made services for car hire

From a city car to a sports car or a luxury saloon. Sixt not only offers the option of hiring a car, it also stands out for a whole range of services for the user.

There are many reasons why it can be worth hiring a car at a given moment: a holiday trip, a temporary replacement if your car breaks down, for a specific journey… Moreover, provided the budget allows, the best way to thoroughly test a car yourself and with your family before buying it is also usually to hire it.

There are many car hire companies, and they differ in their prices and in the service they offer their customers. One of the ones that has grown most in recent years in Spain, and which is already positioned as the second car hire company in Europe, is Sixt rent a car. With its management team we spent a day enjoying some of the cars in its hire fleet, and they gave us some insight into the company, its services, as well as the keys to its growth.

In 2017, the revenues of the Sixt group, which has a presence in 110 countries, amounted to 2,603 million euros, with an EBT of 287 million euros. The company has a fleet of more than 233,000 owned vehicles, 2,173 offices and employs 6,685 people.

In Spain, where Sixt began operating 11 years ago with the opening of its first office in Mallorca, the company now totals 66 rental points, and is now facing its second phase of expansion. Its fleet consists of 16,000 cars from more than 20 different brands, always with a maximum age of 6 months, with less than 24,000 km and, generally, with complete equipment. It includes premium brands such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Maserati, Porsche or Jaguar, and also allows hybrid and electric cars to be hired. Recently, van hire has also been added.

Sixt rent a car services in Spain

One of the fundamental pillars of Sixt’s growth in Spain is the corporate customer, such as travel agencies. Thus, Sixt has signed agreements with the most important agencies, which manage 90 per cent of the car hire business volume in Spain. And for these corporate customers, Sixt has created special services that also benefit the end customer.

In addition to special rates and conditions or 24-hour assistance, Sixt offers Sixt Unlimited, a flat-rate tariff for frequent travellers that allows cars to be hired for a fixed monthly price. Another service is myDriver by Sixt, through which you can enjoy a chauffeur service billed by the hour. Through Sixt Limousine Service, you can access a transfer service with a driver, professional chauffeurs and premium models.

Loyalty cards

Customers who frequently use car hire services can benefit from the advantages offered by the Sixt loyalty cards. The first, Sixt Express, is obtained simply by registering on the Sixt website after making a hire, and provides advantages in terms of convenience on the next hire, as the customer’s details are already recorded, avoiding waiting when collecting the vehicle or making payment.

To access the second level, the Sixt Gold card, can be obtained after 5 hires per year. With this card, users obtain discounts of up to 10 per cent on their hires, and 20 per cent on the limousine service. Sixt Platinum is the third level, for which it is necessary to reach 10 annual hires. Here, the discount when hiring a car with Sixt reaches up to 15 per cent.

How much does it cost to hire a car with Sixt?

Well, at first glance, I’ll tell you that hiring a car with Sixt is no more expensive than doing so with any of the car hire companies we might consider among the most renowned, such as Avis or Hertz. They position themselves above other hire companies that opt for low prices and follow a more “low-cost” policy. But you also get other services, as we have already explained.

In addition, there is a section on the “Last-minute offers” page of the website, which should always be taken into account. By way of example, you can hire a premium saloon of medium size such as a BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé or an Audi A4 Sportback from less than 70 euros a day (hiring for a minimum of three days), or a luxury saloon such as a BMW 5 Series from 90 euros. Then, logically, other “extras” come into play, depending on the type of insurance taken out, whether or not you want it to have an excess, and so on.

And hiring a sports car? Well, here things become “serious”. But it is always an option to consider for driving, even for a day, a car that is normally not within the reach of the vast majority. For example, enjoying a BMW i8 hire for a weekend can cost from 560 euros a day. Doing so with a Porsche 911 Cabrio or an Audi R8 Cabrio, from 690 euros a day. And getting around in an Audi RS 6 Avant, about 470 euros a day.