Experience: Renting a Car in Türkiye

Renting a car in a new country can be stressful. You don’t know the local rules, and there’s always the worry of being overcharged. In the end, our experience was positive, but I have to admit it did cause some unnecessary stress.

This was my second time using the website EconomyCarRentals to book a rental car. The first time was in Las Vegas, and everything went smoothly – a great car at an affordable price with full protection. I like their transparent booking system, where you see the total cost upfront with no hidden fees. So, we decided to use the same platform for Türkiye. We chose a car from the company EssenceCar Rental, and as always, I opted for full insurance and zero deductible for peace of mind. For a week in March 2025, we paid 148€ – about 21€ per day, which is a really good deal. Let me walk you through the rental process step by step in case you’re considering renting a car in Türkiye or want to compare experiences.

By using EconomyCarRentals.com I booked the car we wanted. You fill out all the information and pay a small deposit to reserve the car. You will pay the rest of the amount when you arrive. That’s pretty much the standard with most car rentals.

We landed at Antalya International Airport, expecting a rental desk or someone waiting for us, as stated in our documents. We were a bit early, so we waited, but no one was there with our name sign. After a while, I called the number provided, and they said someone would be there in 10 minutes. That was a bit of a red flag, but I reminded myself that things might be done differently there.

The guy arrived, was friendly, spoke enough English, and made the process easy. Since it was already getting dark, I assumed we’d go to their office. Instead, he pulled out the rental agreement right there in the airport parking lot. Surprisingly, it wasn’t with EssenceCar Rental but with another company – Farmer Car Rental.

We inspected the car, signed the documents, and paid a 500€ deposit. He suggested paying in cash for an instant refund upon return, but I didn’t have that much cash on me. Paying by credit card was also possible, but he warned it could take up to 30 days for the deposit to be refunded. Since there was no other option, I agreed to pay by card. Then, he handed us the keys and disappeared into the night on foot. We stood there for a moment, stunned by how fast and informal everything was. But we had the car, so it should be fine, right? I reassured myself.

As we adjusted and got into the car, we immediately noticed something unusual – the fuel tank was almost empty. Before even leaving the airport parking lot (which cost 2€), we had to find a gas station. In all our past rentals across different countries, we had never encountered an empty-to-empty fuel policy. Usually, it’s full-to-full or same-to-same. This was noted in the rental agreement as “fair fuel policy,” but it added unexpected stress to an already long travel day. Looking back, it was manageable, but I wish we had known in advance.

The car itself was great. It was exactly the Fiat we had booked, and we had no issues the entire week. Still, something about the rental process left me uneasy. The company’s communication wasn’t always reliable, and I wasn’t sure if someone would actually be there when we returned the car early in the morning. The day before our flight, I texted the rental company, but my messages weren’t being delivered on WhatsApp. That made me nervous. I found another contact number on the rental documents and tried again. This time, they responded, saying someone from Farmer Car Rental would get in touch. Three hours passed with no follow-up.

I tend to be cautious and like to prevent problems before they happen. I worried about waiting for the rental guy in the morning and possibly missing our flight. So, I texted the other number again and finally got a response – everything was fine, and we could return the car at 8 PM instead of 7 AM, since their office was always open. At that point, I started questioning myself. Was I being too anxious? Maybe.

We drove to their office the evening before our flight, and returning the car was easy. The agent assured us that the deposit would be refunded within 30 days and even gave us a ride to our hotel. Every interaction with them was professional (when we could actually reach them). So, I was left wondering – was this just the normal way things work in Türkiye?

Back home, to my surprise, the deposit was refunded in just five days. Everything had gone well. So, did I overreact? Maybe. The cultural differences and a few minor red flags made me uneasy at times. But now that I’ve had this positive experience, I’ll be much more relaxed next time. In the end, it was a good rental experience, and we would use this company again.

Also, driving in Antalya was surprisingly relaxed. Traffic was not chaotic, and roads were in good condition. It seemed like drivers were considerate of each other and even if there was a complicated intersection, we managed pretty well.

Did you enjoy reading about this kind of experience with renting a car in Türkiye? Let us know in the comments!