Talk about a confusing and frustrating experience! There are too many other places to rent from. Save yourself the headache.

Centauro Lisbon Airport Booking Number: PR25059249 I am writing to formally express my dissatisfaction with the service I received from Centauro Rent a Car at Lisbon Airport during my recent rental experience.  I rented a vehicle from your location on Lisbon Airport on May 28, 2025 and returned it on the same location on June 6, 2025.  Unfortunately, my experience was far below the standard I would expect from a professional car rental company. Upon arrival at the Lisbon Airport office, the staff member who assisted us was noticeably rude and unhelpful. We had arrived just as the office opened, and it appeared that assisting us interfered with her plans to go for breakfast with her colleagues. She charged us an additional €209, which she explained consisted of a €100 fuel deposit (refundable if the vehicle was returned with a full tank) and €109 for the Via Verde toll system (also to be refunded upon return of the vehicle). When I questioned why the fuel deposit would only be refunded 10 days after the vehicle was returned, I was told it was due to the need to verify the fuel level and calculate charges. This explanation did not make sense to me, particularly because the Via Verde system is automatically tracked and settled, and should therefore be processed in a similar timeframe. To make matters worse, the representative gave us the wrong car key and left the office immediately with the rest of the staff. We were to turn in the car due to wrong key she gave us  or get assistance for nearly 30 minutes, as there was no one present in the office. This lack of professionalism and preparedness was unacceptable. When we returned the car, which had been refueled completely, the staff member who received the vehicle was extremely rude and dismissive. He refunded only €88.51 and refused to explain why the full €100 was not returned. Instead of providing clarification, he mocked me for accidentally saying "dollars" instead of "euros" and offered no meaningful assistance. I was on a tight schedule to catch my flight and had no choice but to leave without resolving the issue. Upon reviewing my account later, I realized that the €88.51 was not a refund of the fuel deposit at all -- it was the Via Verde refund, minus toll charges incurred during our trip. Additionally, I noticed a charge of €13.20 for tolls from our last day that appeared after the return. This amount should have been deducted from the €100 fuel deposit, meaning that I am owed a refund of €86.80. It has now been almost a moth since the return of the car, and I have yet to receive this refund. I have emailed the company several times and received only automated replies stating that the fuel deposit would be refunded within 10-12 days. I have also called the office multiple times and left voicemails, none of which have been returned. At this point, not only do I feel disappointed and frustrated by the poor customer service I experienced, but I am also still awaiting a refund that the company is obligated to process. I kindly request that Centauro immediately refund the outstanding amount of €86.80 and provide a written confirmation of this action. I hope you will treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves and ensure that no other customer is subjected to the same level of unprofessionalism and disregard. I hope I receive the refund they own me of €86.20 soon read more

I've been waiting over a month to get my deposit back for fuel and tools. No response to emails, and it's impossible to reach them by phone. I don't recommend them.The worst company ever. read more

DONT DRIVE FROM FARO TO LISBON UNLESS YOU WANT TO PAY 200.00 + in fees. We took a car from Faro portugal to Lisbon portugal and it was horrible. 50 for the car, 50 for the insurance, 180.00 fee for the faro/lisbon location drop off. read more

Esperei mais de uma hora no aeroporto pelo vosso transfer. Várias outras pessoas chegaram depois de nós e o motorista pediu-nos para sermos nós a sair e esperar por outro transfer, mesmo depois de termos esperado mais de uma hora. Obviamente recusei. Quango chegámos ao vosso depot, esperámos novamente mais de uma hora. Quando devolvi o carro, o vosso funcionário deu a volta ao carro 3 vezes, tentando encontrar defeitos, o que obviamente não conseguiu porque não houve problemas (mas que ele tentou, sim, tentou). Hoje é 28 de Abril e os meus €1,200 ainda não foram desbloqueados, o que já me causou problemas. Resumindo, uma muito má experiência, o que me levará a não usar a Centauro de novo por esta não ser de confiança e de prestar um mau serviço. read more

Bad service, short staff, I've been waiting for a reservation for 2 hours and they say they don't know when I'll be served. It's absurd!

Do not use Centauro Rental Car Services in Lisbon, Portugal. I reserved through Ryanair which was advertised rental car for a week $83.77, which I should have known it was fishy, since it was so cheap decided to buy insurance which was $66.89. So Ryanair charged me $150.66 for the car rental service plus insurance. After we arrived at Lisbon Airport, my family and I went to the rental car shuttle area, we waited like 30 minutes and got nervous as though that could be a scam, I decided to call Centauro and finally spoke to a lady that told me that the shuttle runs every 20 minutes (which was not true) we waited another 20 minutes and still no shuttle, so called again and after almost an hour finally the shuttle showed up and they were other passengers who had to wait for the next shuttle. When we were waiting in the shuttle van to be transferred to the office a lady gave me a ticket with a number. When we finally arrived to Centauro office near Lisbon Airport we realized that we had to wait another hour for our car. Finally when our turn came, the person who helped us was nice but I realized that the rental car cost was another €391 including €100 for toll roads and a deposit fee and we had to buy insurance again, the one with Ryanair which I realized it was a third party (RentalCover.com) was not accepted by Centauro. In summary: 1.When you buy your flight ticket with Ryanair, don't buy any extra offers - IT'S A SCAM 2. Do not recommend Centauro rental car services, may be cheaper than Avis, Hertz but not worth it for the time spent and on top of that we had to return car during office hours (don't have after hours service) so we had to make extra trips to the airport, bad, bad service experience, and the car we had was a Citroen small SUV but no rear camera - hated read more

SCAM! Avoid at all cost. I've booked (and paid online) car just for one day trip(Reservation confirmation 1277183124) at 11.30 today. I've been there on time. On arrival been told to take a ticket and wait in sittin area (ticke number N005). There was about 10 people there, everyone waiting for car. After half hour my girlfriend asked at reception how long we have to wait. They just told her to sit and wait. After almost an hour we gave up and left this place without car or money (no point to wait hours for car for just few hours trip) I understand, sometimes might be busy but there were four people in reception but only one was working. I've been renting cars many times in many different places but that's happened to me first time. I regret I didn't check reviews before booking as there are lots of people having same problems. I lost only 50-60 quid(can live with this) but I hope nobody will ever trust this scammers.That was the worst experience I ever had. read more

Had to wait 30 min for shuttle to airport after drop off, and then the shuttle was full and we were asked to wait another 30 min. Wound up taking Uber instead. Also when we went from airport to rental agency, shuttle took more than 30 min to show up. Also they wanted 60 euro for cleaning up suncreen off seats. They said it would take a long time to do it, but we did it in about 10 minutes. At least they were willing to admit we had cleaned it. THey wanted 40 euro extra for pick up after 11p; it was hidden on their website but was there had we looked carefully, but it wasn't made apparent when we reserved. Staff was clearly overworked both shifts we were there. at least 30 minutes spent waiting for service at both pick up and drop off. Staff were clearly sick of angry customers. Everyone was getting surprised with extra charges. Staff were not helpful both times we were there. For example I pointed out damage on the car when I picked up, and staff said it was in the email she had sent me. I trusted her, but when I later read the email it hadn't listed the damage I had pointed out. If you value your time, pay more and rent elsewhere. read more

I rented a five passenger Midsize Van (Citroen C4 Space Tourer or similar) for one week in April 2023 from Centauro in Lisbon, Portugal using the Hopper app. We needed a van as we had five adults and five large pieces of luggage. The description of this vehicle indicated it would fit our needs. When I arrived at Centauro, I was told I would be given a five passenger Peugeot 3008 midsize SUV and NOT a van like I had reserved. The Centauro employees tried to convince me this was a similar vehicle, but it was significantly smaller, with not enough room for luggage. It was an SUV, not a van like I had reserved. I contacted Hopper through the app and had to pay the $9.00 fee for VIP support as I needed immediate assistance. Hopper told me to ask the counter for a MidSizeVan that had a capacity of 5 passengers. I told Hopper that Hopper needed to ask them. After an hour of wasted time trying to resolve the situation, it was determined that Centauro had no midsize vans available, which left us with no alternative but to take the smaller SUV. As a result, my four passengers had to ride 3 hours each way with large heavy luggage on their laps. At the conclusion of my trip, I resumed my chat conversation with Hopper. They reached out to Centauro who indicated there could be no partial refund as I agreed to take the smaller SUV. I pointed out that there were no vans available, so I had no choice but to take the smaller SUV. Hopper refused to do anything else for me. Centauro represented that it would be a larger vehicle, but did not have one available. Hopper assisted Centauro, and did nothing for me. read more

So, just spent an amazing two weeks in Portugal, amazing that is, except for our car rental with Centauro Rent a Car. We first picked up our Nissan Juke in Lisbon & drove straight to Albufeira before discovering that in addition to the general beat-up condition of the vehicle, more serious concerns were as follows: Both front steering tires were bald (and we drove at freeway speeds through significant rain immediately following pick-up, amazed that we didn't have a blow-out, or hydroplane off the highway) Engine light was on & flashing the whole time we operated this car and was down one litre of oil The windshield washer fluid was empty and the cap was off One week later, we were finally able to exchange our car in Faro, but not happy with the fact that we were initially provided with an unsafe & generally un-roadworthy vehicle to start with. Repeated calls to "the help phone number" in Portugal were met with a message that the number was not in service?? When we returned the vehicle in Lisbon and showed the customer service agent pictures of the first vehicle, he couldn't believe that the vehicle was even in service. He provided me the email contact of the manager in Lisbon, but have yet to hear from her. And now....Centauro Customer Service has gone dark, can't get a reply from anyone :( Happy to share photos of our vehicle with anyone that's interested read more

We've rented a few cars now (3 completed and 2 in progress) from Centauro in Lisbon and it's been great! Booking directly with them has been helpful as (off-season) prices are amazing and we've been able to make changes as we need them. I wish we could extend over the phone as we've been staying an hour away, but that's fine. They've been really friendly and kind, no pressure around insurance or any unexpected charges. We got the auto-toll thing and it's great to have it automated. It's been so nice to have a few cars for our family to explore Portugal! read more