Lava Car Rental Reviews

Good quality car, seemed very new, handled well, very appropriate for driving in iceland for a few weeks; no problems with pick-up and drop-off; friendly staff

Iceland is a breathtaking country, filled with magnificent waterfalls, stunning landscapes, and the warmest people. We knew the weather could change at any moment, so we decided that camping would give us the flexibility to adapt our plans as needed. We rented a Renault Kangoo 2024 Campervan from Lava Cars from August 30 to September 8, drawn by its new model and competitive pricing. Our Journey Odometer at pickup: 24,190 KM Odometer at return: 26,247 KM Fuel economy: ~7 L/100 KM The campervan was well-designed, allowing us to sleep comfortably without the need for hotels. Although it lacked a battery-powered heater, we managed by reaching campsites early for electricity. Our Experience: We took great care of the campervan, keeping it spotless and driving cautiously. We even purchased additional insurance with full protection and zero liability, knowing it didn’t cover wind damage. Despite our precautions, a couple of gravel hits resulted in a tiny chip on the passenger door, barely visible from five feet away. The Unfair Charge: To our shock, upon returning the campervan, Lava Cars claimed this minor chip was wind damage and charged us 400,000 ISK (approximately $4,000 CAD). Their mechanic initially confirmed it couldn’t be wind damage, but the staff convinced him otherwise. We are certain it wasn’t wind damage, yet they insisted and charged us this exorbitant fee. The Injustice: If it were truly wind damage, there would be more significant damage on the door. We saw other vehicles with extensive wind damage, and ours didn’t compare. Despite our protests, they refused to listen. The manager was on sick leave, and the only contact was an email address monitored by the same staff member who dismissed our concerns. Our Plea: We had no choice but to pay the $4,000 CAD, feeling utterly helpless and betrayed. We never imagined being treated this way after taking such good care of their vehicle. The photos clearly show the minimal damage, mostly just dust from rain after we washed the campervan. Conclusion: This experience has been traumatic. No one deserves to go through this. No matter how well you maintain their vehicle, they can arbitrarily relate any minor issue to wind damage or negligence and charge you 400,000 ISK (equivalent to $4,000 CAD / $3,000 USD / 2,700 EUR). I write this review with complete honesty. While I see good reviews for Lava Cars, I still wonder, why us? Was it racism? I don’t know. But I hope sharing our story prevents others from experiencing the same injustice.

The staff was friendly and the process was fast. The pick up from the airport was quick...we didn't have to wait too long after arrived. Driver was friendly and gave us recommendations for things to see. Departure was early in the am and I was sure how quickly we could drop off car and get to the airport, but it turned out to be just as fast as getting the car. I would definitely use them again.

Rented a Dacia duster for a 2 week road trip for 3 adults. Car was reliable and sufficient for 3 with luggage. Office staff were polite and efficient at both ends of the trip. As we were flying out early (4.30 am in airport) we left the car back the evening before departure but didn’t get a reduction on the earlier drop off time as the 24 hour advance notice only applies before we took the car, not before returning it and we incurred 2 taxi trips as a result (1 from rental place to accommodation and another to the airport, they phoned for the first taxi). Otherwise the company and car all worked as planned so would happily use them again. Thanks

Everything went nearly well. But all tires have had no profile anymore (what we have not seen as inside profile) what caused a flat and some lost of time. At least no crash. But perfect support from Lava to get the things done. Pick-up and return - very friendly and easy handling. So nearly perfect and if the car would have had good tires - perfect.

Apesar de chegarmos fora do horário de expediente foi fácil chegarmos ao carro e levantar o mesmo. Tivemos um furo e o valor foi totalmente reembolsado. O atendimento foi bom.

Auto come da richiesta e pulita. Assistenza clienti molto reattiva e gentile. Nulla da eccepire

We had a great experience with Lava. The shuttle at the airport was quick. We had gotten a free upgrade which we were so thankful for. Everyone was so nice and accommodating. We are returning back to iceland in 2025 and will definitely use them again!!

Właściwie to 4,75, ale po kolei. Rezerwowałem przez Northbound i na dzień przed wyjazdem zapytałem o możliwość zmiany na nowszy model (mini-camper Renault). Dostałem odpowiedź, że oczywiście. Na miejscu okazało się, że info nie dotarło do Lavy, ale po chwili zamieszania honorowano oświadczenie pośrednika i dostałem co chciałem. Samochód się sprawdził prawie perfekcyjnie - do pełni szczęścia zabrakło tylko jakiegoś czajnika w wyposażeniu kuchennym (a już czajnik elektryczny, nawet bardzo mały, byłby super...) i dłuższego kabla do elektryczności kampingowej. Nie na każdym kampingu skrzynka była wystarczająco blisko - dodatkowe 5m na kablu lub nawet dodatkowy kabel (x2) bardzo by pomogły.

Great car and excellent service. The only fault was that there wasn’t a charging cable in the car

Had a great experience renting a Dacia Duster from Lava Car Rental! Thanks for the great service!

Après un bug au niveau de l'annulation (voyage déplacé ultérieurement), LAVA CAR RENTAL a répondu à sa (bonne) réputation et nous a remboursé. Nous louerons chez eux lorsque nous irons en Islande. ------ After a bug with the cancellation (trip moved to a later date), LAVA CAR RENTAL lived up to their (good) reputation and refunded us. We will rent from them when we go to Iceland.

Pick-up process at the airport was not smooth as nobody answered the phone (except a recorded message) and it took us a while to figure out where to go and wait for the shuttle, so I am giving one star less. Car rented was very reliable and information given by the staff was helpful. No problem with car return, the shuttle to the airport left as soon as we were ready to go.

I can only warn renting a car from Lava Car. The LAVA CAR RENTAL website makes a very professional impression, and the contact in advance was also very good. Shortly before the trip I submitted the necessary documents (driving licenses) online, you then receive 9 pages of small print about what you are not allowed to do. You also get information about your car: as we also wanted to drive F-Roads, I had decided on a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 4x4. The first information I received (one day before departure) stated that the car was black and had over 80,000 km on the clock. First important tip: It is essential to clarify in advance how old the vehicle is, because the roads in Iceland are very often really bad, even the normal roads, not just the F-roads. And very often you drive through the mountains on these bad roads with stones and lots of potholes. However, I don't believe that a rental company will agree to a fixed year of construction. One exception is the Duster, where you can choose between the new and the old model. But all rental companies will certainly have “or comparable model” in their terms and conditions. When we went to pick up the car, we were told that we would get a different car because there was something wrong with the license plate on the car we were supposed to pick up. We ended up (as it turned out over time) with a totally worn out Eclipse (with 76,479 Km), with, get this, a missing front license plate. In response to my objection here that we couldn't drive without front license plates, I was simply told that it wasn't unusual. And indeed: 1 out of every 1,000 vehicles we encountered had no front license plate. In any case, this cannot be taken as proof that the vehicle has been well maintained by LAVA CAR RENTAL. Next fault: The dashboard vibrated almost constantly and extremely annoyingly throughout the entire time. LAVA CAR RENTAL must also have been aware of this. During the journey (we drove a total of almost 2,900 km), the vehicle gave a very unsafe impression, especially on the bad roads, and these were not F-roads: The front tires were totally worn, the legally required remaining tread depth of 1.6 mm was probably just barely reached (the gold rim of the 1 euro coin was already clearly visible in places). The roads in Iceland are very often gravel roads with lots of stones, including smaller ones, and I was constantly worried that we would get a flat tire at the front, and that in the middle of nowhere, which I had absolutely no desire to do. There was enough tread on the rear tires. The track was also misaligned and the vehicle rocked back and forth. You had to be extremely careful, especially in strong winds and on uneven ground. Of course, we had always selected the correct driving mode. As I said, anyone who knows Icelandic roads knows what I mean. I generally don't think the Eclipse is suitable for F-Roads, as its ground clearance of 191 mm is lower than that of the Duster at 217 mm. Due to the poor condition of the vehicle and the low ground clearance, we only tested an F-Road once. I had spoken to LAVA CAR RENTAL about F-Roads in advance and was assured that the Eclipse was suitable for F-Roads and that I could definitely use them. However, this also requires the appropriate tires. I preferred not to check whether the car had enough brake pads, oil or brake fluid. However, I always expected that the car would break down with a corresponding error message. And LAVA CAR RENTAL managers: Please no “sorry, etc” blah, blah! You have a responsibility to ensure that your customers' vehicles are fully serviced and safe, and that you do this for every customer. And in our case, you failed to do so. Perhaps to the question of why we had taken over the car in the first place: We had a fixed schedule for our trip and a longer wait for another car or even a contract termination would have destroyed that schedule.

We rented a Dacia Jogger as we were 5 adults with luggage. We were given a car with a roof luggage box, with no key and were told that if we wanted to use it we had to pay an additional $350. We decided to not pay for it, but should have asked to be given a car without the box, as it made the car awkward to drive along the coast with high winds and a noticeable increased fuel consumption. Pick up at the airport was not very clear and took us close to one hour to eventually make it to the rental desk. The employees were nice and the return of the car went smoothly.

Everything we needed was available in our Renault Kangoo campervan! Everything was clean and very new. The car drove super well. Only minor point is that we were not able to sit up straight in the aft of the van. However, we are not really small people (1.95m and 1.85m). Although we had great fun squeezing in and lounging in the car. With sleeping we were able to lay out full. The service was very nice. Although it was not according to the expected service, they made time to bring us to our hotel in the other direction then the airport (10minute drive the other way). Only small note is that they were hard to understand when calling them due to the acoustics in their office.

Process was smooth and easy and the pricing was very competitive.

Our experience was great. Great service. I will rent a car again with them on my next trip in Iceland.

Magyarországról jöttünk onnan foglaltunk autót. Nagyon könnyű volt a foglalás minden a megbeszéltek szerint történt semmi gond nem volt velük ha legközelebb foglalnék akkor is csak itt foglalnék autót. Eggyel jobb kategóriás autót adtak mint amit foglaltam. Köszönöm még egyszer hogy hozzájárultak az utazásom hoz.

Fast and uncomplicated handover of the car