CAEL Rent-a-Car in Maia

Brilliant cars, brilliant staff (esp. Barbara/Porto), flex rates and very swiftly handled.

Easy pick up process in Lisbon and equally easy drop off process in Porto. No hidden fees. Everything was as expected.

didn't end up having issues, but they are quite sneaky and not particularly friendly. make sure you check everything and take videos of everything before taking the car

Great cars and reasonably priced with friendly multilingual staff, 2 minutes walk from airport. Recommended.

Beware of Unfair Damage Charges** I recently rented a car from Cael Car Rental and had a deeply frustrating experience that I feel compelled to share. Upon picking up the car, I was told it was in perfect condition, with no damages noted on the inspection sheet. Trusting this assessment was my first mistake. When I opened the trunk, I immediately noticed some damage that was clearly there before I took possession of the vehicle. I brought this to the attention of the staff, and they added it to the check-out paperwork. But had I not been vigilant, this damage would have gone unrecorded, and I would have been on the hook for it. This made me realize how important it is to thoroughly inspect the vehicle and take detailed photos yourself before driving away. Despite this incident, I foolishly trusted their inspection after that point and did not recheck the car. Big mistake. Upon returning the vehicle, the staff inspected it as if they were using a magnifying glass and somehow found additional "damage." I was then hit with a EUR250 charge for something that was clearly there before or was so minor that it should have been noted in the initial inspection. When I challenged the charge, their response was that it's our responsibility to inspect the car thoroughly, not theirs to note any previous damage. This response was infuriating, as it essentially places the burden entirely on the customer, allowing them to conveniently overlook damage during their initial inspection, only to catch it later and pass the cost onto you. It's become clear to me that this is how companies like Cael make their money--by price-gouging customers with damage claims. If they know about existing damage, why not start the inspection with that damage already noted? Instead, they begin with a clean sheet, hoping you'll overlook something they can charge you for later. I strongly advise anyone renting from Cael to be extremely thorough when inspecting the vehicle. Take detailed photos and videos of every inch, inside and out, before driving off the lot. Don't trust their inspection process--verify it yourself. If I had done that, I might have avoided this unfair charge. In summary, while the rental process was otherwise smooth, the way Cael handles damage inspections feels like a deliberate trap to extract more money from customers. Renters, be vigilant, and protect yourself from these practices. ***Since I'm unable to directly reply to Cael's response, I had to edit my review again. It's suspicious that all your responses seem to deny customers' stories, implying that they never tell the 'full story.' Additionally, I never received the detailed email you claimed I would get over a week ago.

This company has wronged us in many different ways and even tried to rob us by the end, it makes me assume that most reviews here are fake aswell, since many 1 star reviews are very bad and show exactly what we have been through as customers. Let me elaborate: 1- They gave us a different car from what was agreed upon on the contract. 2- They forced us to pay some extra insurance which they explained we had to because it was law? Well then, why wasn't it included in the contract fee? 3- The car was handed to us with the gas almost empty, and when we gave it back almost full, they didnt offer to pay for what we had filled in. 4- These previous 3 points were red flags from the beggining and it was a mistake to go through with it. Now for the worst of all and the reason I went out of my way to write this review. The insurance required a credit deposit to be blocked and we were told it would be unblocked at the day the car would be handed back. They told us this both when we got the car and when we handed it back. It was a blatant lie. They even invented that it was the bank's fault, and when that didn't work, that it was normal, it will be handed back at the end of the month like all credit cards?. Complete lies. The card's use was even completely blocked, and when I saw the bad reviews and how they scam people by the end by inventing damages and items missing from the car, we decided to be more bold. The only way for us to get the card unblocked by them was to ask for the bank's legal team to call them and threaten them with legal action. The card was immediately unblocked, proving that they were in the wrong all along and fishing for oportunity to scam. I hope you dont do the same mistake we did.

Excellent experience and really good staff. The process to collect and drop off of the vehicle was very easy. Vehicles come with the toll/tax tag and the fees are paid when dropping the car off. Would certainly use again.

Positive rental experience. Friendly staff. The car had 60k km but was completely fine. I rented without additional insurance and had my full deposit refunded without any quibbles.