Cicar or Autoreisen for Your Tenerife Rental? Here’s the Real Difference

Narrow down any “best car hire in Tenerife” thread on TripAdvisor or MoneySavingExpert far enough, and it almost always comes down to the same two names — Cicar and Autoreisen, usually mentioned in the same breath as each other, occasionally with a third or fourth local firm (Cabrera Medina, Payless) thrown in as a close cousin. Both build genuine zero-excess insurance into their standard rate rather than upselling it, both include a free second driver and child seats, and both consistently outperform the big international brands on reviews. Where they actually diverge is in the details most comparison articles skip past — the deposit structure, the card rules, and exactly what’s covered when something goes wrong.

Head to Head

• Autoreisen takes no deposit at all and doesn’t ask for card details even at booking — Cicar holds €200 (standard categories) or €400 (Premium/large MPV) on a credit card until the car’s returned.
• Both include zero-excess insurance as standard, but Autoreisen sells a small optional add-on (around €2/day, capped near €30 total) specifically covering tyres, wheels, keys and the underside of the car — something Cicar’s standard cover doesn’t clearly extend to either.
• Autoreisen accepts debit cards without issue, by multiple accounts; Cicar’s written policy is credit-card-only, even if some renters report debit being accepted in practice anyway.
• Both include a free second driver, free child and booster seats (neither includes ISOFIX seats free — Autoreisen rents these as a paid option), and unlimited mileage.
• Both operate across the wider Canary Islands (Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and more for Cicar; a similar multi-island spread for Autoreisen), which matters if your trip includes an inter-island leg.

What’s the actual difference between Cicar and Autoreisen’s deposit policies?

This is the single biggest practical difference between the two, and it’s worth understanding properly rather than treating both as interchangeable “zero excess” options. Autoreisen genuinely takes no deposit and, per their own terms, doesn’t require card details even at the time of booking — payment happens at the desk when you collect the car, with no pre-authorisation hold sitting against your available credit for the duration of your trip. Cicar, by contrast, does hold a deposit — €200 for Small, Compact, SUV and Estate categories, €400 for Premium and larger MPV categories, requiring two separate credit cards for that higher tier. Neither approach is objectively better; Autoreisen suits anyone who’d rather not have money tied up on a card mid-trip, while Cicar’s structure is closer to what most renters already expect from any rental company, just at a fraction of the usual amount.

Do both really offer zero excess, or is one more “zero” than the other?

Both genuinely build zero-excess cover into their base rate rather than selling it as an upgrade, and reviews for both are consistently strong on this specific point — no hard-sell at the desk, no surprise excess charge on return. The meaningful difference is in what sits outside that zero-excess promise. Autoreisen is explicit about it: an optional add-on, commonly cited around €2 a day with a roughly €30 cap regardless of trip length, specifically covers tyres, wheels, lost keys and underside damage — items that fall outside their otherwise-comprehensive standard cover. It’s worth reading how these exact component exclusions tend to work across Tenerife rental companies generally as background, since Cicar’s own contract carries similar caveats around tyres and undercarriage without offering as clearly advertised an add-on to close that gap — worth asking directly at the Cicar desk if this matters to your specific trip, particularly if you’re planning any driving on Tenerife’s rougher tracks where a punctured tyre with no spare wheel is a genuinely common complaint.

Which one is easier if you don’t want to hand over a credit card?

Autoreisen, clearly. Multiple independent accounts describe using a debit card without any pushback, and the company’s own marketing leans into “no deposit, no card details needed at booking” as a headline feature rather than a workaround. Cicar’s written terms are more restrictive on paper — physical credit card only, in the contract holder’s name — though as covered in more detail in our Cicar deposit breakdown, plenty of renters report debit cards being accepted in practice regardless of what the small print says. If you specifically don’t have a credit card, or would rather not tie one up, Autoreisen removes that question entirely rather than leaving you hoping the desk agent is flexible.

How do they compare on what’s actually included for families?

Almost identically on paper — both include a free second driver, free standard child and booster seats, and unlimited mileage, which covers the essentials for most family trips without extra line items. Neither includes ISOFIX seats for free; Autoreisen specifically flags these as a separate optional hire rather than bundling them into the standard child-seat inclusion, and it’s reasonable to assume Cicar’s free child-seat provision follows a similar pattern of covering the basic (seatbelt-secured) seat type rather than ISOFIX specifically. If ISOFIX compatibility matters for your child’s seat, it’s worth confirming directly with whichever company you book, since this is exactly the kind of detail that varies by individual vehicle rather than being guaranteed across an entire fleet.

Is one better for tyre and wheel damage specifically?

On paper, Autoreisen has the clearer offering here, since their optional low-cost add-on explicitly names tyres, wheels, lost keys and the underside of the car as covered items — a small, defined cost that removes ambiguity if you’re planning to drive anywhere with loose gravel or rough tracks, which describes a fair amount of Tenerife’s more scenic routes. Cicar’s equivalent gap is less clearly documented in the same way, which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worse in practice, just less transparently marketed — worth a direct question at the desk if a punctured tyre or a scraped wheel rim is a genuine concern for your specific trip plans, rather than assuming either company’s standard cover extends fully to these components.

Which one has more pickup locations across Tenerife and the islands?

Both operate at both of Tenerife’s airports and extend across the wider Canary Islands group, so neither has a meaningfully broader footprint that would sway a decision on its own. Cicar’s fleet size (over 15,000 vehicles group-wide) gives it a slight edge in raw scale and vehicle-category variety, particularly at the Premium and larger-MPV end, while Autoreisen’s simpler no-deposit structure tends to appeal more to renters who’ve had a frustrating deposit experience with a different company in the past and are specifically looking to avoid that friction next time.

So which one should you actually book?

If avoiding a deposit hold entirely matters more to you than anything else — no card tied up, no chasing a release afterward — Autoreisen’s structure is the more straightforward choice, and its optional tyre/wheel add-on gives you a clear, cheap way to close the one real gap in its otherwise strong standard cover. If you’d rather work with the larger of the two fleets, don’t mind a modest, low-value deposit hold, and are comfortable using a credit card, Cicar’s pricing and inclusions are just as strong on every other metric. In practice, both consistently outperform the big international brands by a wide margin on the specific things that generate complaints elsewhere — hidden excess, upsell pressure, and fuel disputes — so the choice between them comes down to these genuinely smaller differences rather than one being a clearly better option overall.

FAQ

Does Autoreisen really take no deposit at all in Tenerife? Correct — per their own terms and consistent renter reports, no cash deposit or credit card pre-authorisation is required; payment for the rental itself happens at pickup.

Is Cicar’s €200-€400 deposit a real charge or just a hold? Just a hold (pre-authorisation) against your available credit, released once the car is returned — not an actual deduction unless there’s a genuine issue at return.

Can I use a debit card with either Cicar or Autoreisen? Autoreisen accepts debit cards without issue by most accounts. Cicar’s written policy specifies credit card only, though some renters report debit being accepted in practice regardless.

Which company covers tyre and wheel damage better, Cicar or Autoreisen? Autoreisen has a clearly advertised optional add-on (roughly €2/day, capped near €30) covering tyres, wheels, keys and the underside — Cicar’s equivalent cover is less clearly documented, worth confirming directly at pickup.

Do both companies offer free child seats in Tenerife? Yes, both include standard child and booster seats free of charge — neither appears to include ISOFIX seats as part of that free provision, so confirm directly if ISOFIX compatibility matters for your child.

Is one company cheaper than the other overall? Base prices fluctuate by season and vehicle category for both, so it’s worth comparing live quotes for your specific dates rather than assuming either is consistently cheaper — the meaningful differences are structural (deposit, card rules) rather than headline price.

Do Cicar and Autoreisen operate on other Canary Islands besides Tenerife? Yes — both operate across the wider Canary Islands group, which is useful if your trip includes a ferry leg to another island and you’d prefer consistent rental terms rather than switching providers.