Centauro Rent a Car Madeira Airport

I was not sure whether I should give 4 or 5 stars but because of our final experience I decided to go for 5.
We booked a car for 14 days through discover cars and it was the first time I was using their platform. I also got the full insurance through discover cars. We were picked up from the airport with the shuttle van and were taken to their office which was 10 minutes away from the airport. The only not so positive experience was that they were a bit pushy to convince me to get a full insurance from them but I already had one and didn't need any additional one on top of that. Then they blocked 1600 euro on my credit card and charged 126 Euros for gasoline which would be reimbursed if the car is brought back with a full tank.
Apart from this, the rest of the experience was positive, the cars were in really good conditions. They even had a built in GPS and different features. We even had a problem with our first car that one of the tires was losing air (maybe had a small hole) that when I contacted their customer support they provided another easily (I had to go to their office to pick it up though). The delivery of the car also went fast and although I was worried they would be a bit difficult checking the car (since I had not gotten the full insurance from them) it went very fast and smooth and I got the 126 Euros and 1600 Euros back.
All in all, a positive experience and I would rent a car from them again in the future.

A great experience overall. I booked the car through the Centauro app, and caught a discount early in the year(carnival days). Ended up getting an upgrade to a ford focus, from a seat ibiza or similar.
Price: 198 eur with full insurance from centauro + a gas deposit of 110 eur (refundable)

car: was rather new, with 23.000 km on the dash, ran smoothly and was quite a good match for madeira’s tight roads and steep roads

Pickup: a welcome surprise as there was someone waiting at the airport, and we got directed to their shuttle. Location of the car rental is near the airport, which helps with the car drop off

Car return: no worries, went smoothly and i am now expecting the gas deposit to come through.

For Centauro: fix some issues / areas of improvement for the app: i get logged out every few days, which is annoying; revise your document upload flow, it crashes some times and you have to start all over again

A great experience overall and as you’ll know, car rentals are not always efficient or simple. We booked online, took a short 5 minute shuttle to the store where our car was awaiting. The service was very good and helpful, upon return we just had to top up with fuel and drive it into the returns area where another shuttle quickly arrived to return to the airport. They checked over the car and it was all fine so refunded the deposit and it was very quick and painless.

Overall a rather good experience. Everything went very smoothly and quickly. The insurance was offered but not aggressively pushed on me. The transfers to and from the airport were quick and easy as well. The car was also rather new and clean. It had some scratches and dents, but those were documented already. There were two downsides to the whole experience: First, a minor issue, the car was given to me with only half a fuel tank. This isn't a big deal, although it can be difficult to refill to exactly the same amount (It was a quick calculation, but still). The second, more major issue, was the car that I got, which was a Ford focus estate (not a small A class vehicle as I had booked). It wasn't a huge issue for me, but in some spots a smaller car would have been nicer. It was also a 1.0L 3-cylinder, not making a whole lot of power, but it got the job done just fine. By the end I almost liked it. I am still rating the rental agency with five stars, because the price we paid was crazy low and everything else was good. Also, driving on Madeira wasn't nearly as crazy as some people make it out to be. Yes, there are some steep hills, but nothing all that insane. The roads were all in very good condition and if you daily drive a manual in any european city, you should be totally fine even with a larger car.

Hired a car for a week in February. A shuttle bus was waiting for us at the airport for a 5-10 minute drive to the office. The pickup and drop off was a quick and efficient experience. The staff were friendly and everything was as described when we booked. We also got automatically upgraded to a larger car than booked which was very nice, in great condition and useful for the steep roads.

Like with all car hire companies, they strongly advise you to take extra insurance when you arrive to cover the excess & roadside assistance (>25 EUR / day). It's much cheaper to look for 3rd party excess and breakdown cover before you travel, if you can afford to be out of pocket while you claim. The staff at Centauro were happy to accept this reason for not taking their cover providing we acknowledged we'd need to pay initially before claiming.

Overall good experience!

Super happy with the service! We got the brand new Ford Focus, which we used to explore the whole island for 2 weeks without any problems (more than 700km). The car was perfect, Centauro gave us a good price and the service was fast and very productive. The free shuttle from and to the airport is also cool. Very satisfied with the choice - would use Centauro for sure again. Keep up the good work!

Great car rental place. Professional and helpful staff, nice and young car, no surprises, deposit unlocked immediately. Great value for money. The minor drawback was a necessity to go there by shuttle instead of renting in a terminal but I value good service quality much more. Plus, in other kiosks there were queues anyway so you'd still need to wait. Highly recommend!

everything went quickly, the staff was kind and funny. I received an upgrade to the category reserved online, the Ford Focus coped brilliantly with the slopes on the island

Everything went good, they are friendly, I waited at the airport max 2 minutes :) I received a car that matches the description. Returning was also fast and perfect. If you go to Madeira, I really recommend you to rent a car.

You guys were great and helpful also on the phone multiple times! Thank you! Also the branch office is clean, has cheap coffee and friendly staff. I received a Ford Focus estate/station wagon even though I had wanted a small car but that was more than fine with me.

We rented a car from Centauro using their website. The price was very good and the rental process was easy.
When we arrived in the airport we found them very easily and the process to get the car was very smooth.
The car they provided and the services were great.
It was a really nice experience.

Great service, good car, very friendly people and good communication. We were very happy with everything and would definitely recommend Centauro Rent a Car. I would recommend every driver to take the full insurance like we did, because driving on Madeira was a bit more challenging than we expected (mountains). We damaged the car, but everything was taken care of.

I'm a bit surprised that the office only gets a 3.9 rating. My experience is close to 5. Pickup from the airport was quick, the paperwork at the office efficient, the car in good condition (only 19,000 km on the clock and probably due to unavailability of the category I booked, one category up).

I booked through an agency, so no experience in direct bookings. Prices naturally differ depending on season, but I was surprised at how low the cost for my 5-day rental was.

People keep complaining about the excess deposit. In my case, it would have been €1,200, but could be waived by paying €130. Not bad, in my opinion, as it means you don't have to worry about damage. Driving in Madeira, it is not difficult to get the vehicle scratched or drive over a stone on the mountain roads.

When returning the vehicle, there is a Repsol petrol station just 1.5 km from the office, so don't worry about filling up to get back the fuel deposit.

Overall, a very good car rental experience.

I had a great experience with Centauro on Madeira. When I arrived the company van was waiting for me already. A quick drive to the office - and I was the only customer there as well. So everything went really fast. I was given an almost new Ford Focus with a mileage of only 13000 km. It was scratched all over the body, but I had full insurance, so we didn't inspect the car or mark any damages.
On drop-off everything went just as smooth. Nobody inspected the damages or asked anything. I've waited for the van for 10 minutes and it took me to the airport quickly. I've got my fuel deposit back next morning already.

The only downside is they give out cars with not a full tank. I've got 75%. And when you fill up before drop-off it is very difficult to make the same amount of fuel as when you received it. I ended up returning the car with 95% fuel because the gauge was not updating in real time when refueling. Full-full would have been more fair and convenient.

I was a bit nervous based on numerous 1-star reviews, but my experience couldn't have been better which is why I feel the need to write this review. Both picking up and returning the car was very fast and easy. The shuttle was timely and convenient. All staff were very friendly and helpful. The car was in excellent condition and was a couple of classes higher than I had reserved (I really appreciated the extra power driving up Maderia rds!)
When picking up, they were a bit pushy to try and sell their "full coverage" insurance which was a bit pricey, but I declined and had no issues when returning the car as I didn't add any scratches (I do recommend having third party insurance such as that offered by certain credit cards if declining). Fuel deposit was quickly refunded after returning. I definitely recommend using Centauro!

I recommend rent a car with Centauro.
Cars with very good quality, clean and modern
Easy and clear transfer from airport with responsible driver.
Thank you!

Nice fresh cars, service is good (I wish it was in airport, but those which in airport much more expensive), you will have to prepare a deposit (in our case we were asked to provide debit card for hold 1600+94 petrol. On the car return all was paid back within 15 minutes, which is awesome quick!) A bit hard to contact English-line through phone, we just wait for 15 minutes and nobody replied, but that's small things we advice to improve, otherwise very positive experience! Thanks guys!

supportive and nice staff in the office, quick service, free bus from the airport. the car has some scratches and damages but is was well documented by the company. (you will see that it is easy to add more damages driving Madera) I had additional insurance. diesel engine. rent for one week. Deposit for car and gas quickly returned. I can strongly recommend this place. Customer service line and person in the office were top level and pro

We received a good car, a new one, it had 5000km. The car was a Ford focus combi. The staff was friendly and they gave us the car fast.
They picked us from the airport and drove us to the centauro office where the car was. Also when we brought the car back they took us to the airport

I would like to share the experience of me and my husband. Seeing quite some megative reviews almost made me to cancel the reservation. However, I can't tell anything negative myself. Clear instructions how to find the shuttle, quite fast artangements in the office, friendly staff, new fleet of cars (we have got class B Ford Focus). The return lasted like 3 minutes, and their shuttle took (only) us to the airport immediately. Let's see how fast the fuel refund will arrive, otherwise thanks for the smooth experience!