Hertz Reviews

I hate Hertz.  Not a little bit, but from the bottom of my soul.  A bit harsh on my part?  Nothing of the kind.  It all started in 1995 in Chicago when I had rented a convertible Mustang with my then girlfriend from Hertz, and was headed down the Kennedy Expressway to meet some of her family.  

A semi truck pulled into our lane, turning the Mustang sideways and onto the front bumper of the speeding truck.  We were pushed down the expressway for approximately a quarter mile being bumped down the expressway sideways before the truck stopped, with me sitting sideways in the road and the semi...

A few years ago I frequently travelled back and forth from my home to the Washingon DC area, and Hertz was the car rental place for me every time I arrived there. But, in all honesty I have to admit to having known someone who worked there.  After they found a new job, I also admit to finding a new car rental service as the prices at Hertz were far more than many other car rental places anywhere that I travelled. 

Recently I had the opportunity to travel to San Diego, California and shock and surprise - Hertz car rental was actually the least expensive (and quite reasonable) car rental for our...

I travel a lot on business, and Hertz tends to be the most expensive of the various rental car brands.  However, when I have booked them though one of the discount sites, I seem to get the worst car on the lot--even when I order a higher-end car.  The last two times I requested a compact and got a Chevy Aveo that had manual windows, manual locks, and no cd player. 

I had originally given Hertz a rave review.  However after being rear ended and getting a rental from Hertz through a different insurance I was mortified, upset and down right angry at this company.  I quickly realized it wasn't Hertz who was good it was my insurance I had at the time (AAA) who took care of everything.

After I received my payoff check (from my car being totaled) my rental car was no longer covered under the old insurance.  Well I couldn't buy a new car without a car to take me to the dealership.  So I kept the rental while trying to work with the insurance to have the rental...

I was looking for a good deal on a rental car for one day while in Philadelphia, PA and Hertz offered a prepaid rate that was a good $20 or so cheaper than any other!  Not to mention it fit in my budget to pay for most of the car then and would leave only about $20 to pay on the day of the rental.  When my flight got into Philadelphia, I get to the Hertz counter, only to be told they will have to do a preauthorization for $200 OVER what the balance of the rental would be, so a total of $216.00!!  Well, I had not planned for that!  I knew they would do a hold, but Enterprise only holds $50! ...

I had rented a car and pre-purchased gas so I wouldn't have to find a gas station when I came back to the airport.  I had the car for 5 days, so I naturally had to refuel the car at some point during the time I had it.  When I took it back to Hertz, they charged me for a full tank and will not reimburse me.  It could be a cheap $25 reimbursement and everything would be fine.  Instead the guy who helped me was rude and said that I had clearlysigned for the gas.  When I had the paperwork of me asking him to please tell me where I had signed, he all the sudden changed his story and said that...

I belong to an organization that has an agreement with Hertz for an automatic 5% discount on any rental in the U.S., so I always used to book with them when I traveled for business.  Despite a few overly-pushy rental counter people (but that happens with any brand), I always had great experiences - easy access to rental sites, great service, fantastic automobiles, and reasonable rates.

That changed last fall.

On a trip to New Hampshire, my colleague and I arrived at the rental counter and were told that it would be a 1 HOUR WAIT on the car I had reserved 2 months in advance.  (Reason?  They...

I always used to use Hertz when it had to be right. I thought they were the best company, and I trusted them to get it right the first time with no fuss. Then we went to Barcelona...

We got off the overnoght train from Paris and made our way to the Hertz office to begin our new adventure. We were tired, just wanted to get the car and find our hotel. They had a car ready for us. Without paying too much attention to the car, we loaded our stuff in and started out. It was only when we tried to park that we noticed that they had given us what had to be the largest car they had in the country. This thing...

We were going on vacation and had vehicle trouble 60 mile from home. We called AAA and they towed us to Goodyear AZ and suggested Hertz for a rental car company. AAA connected me to Hertz and I explained I had 3 adults and two dogs with me and I needed a larger vehicle. Hertz reserved a Monte Carlo "or similar" vehicle. Hertz came and picked me up from the repair shop in a very dirty pickup truck, took me back to their office so I could get a vehicle and sign the paperwork. They offered me a Nissan Altima; which seemed very small. They also offered me a Nissan Pathfinder or the Ford crewcab truck...

Hertz has a real scam going on with renewal and/or late return of their vehicles. 

We reserved a vehicle over the internet with Hertz for a daily rate of $17.99.  When we went to pick up the car, however, I realized that I had only reserved the car for one day, when we needed it for one day and four hours. 

I asked the woman at the counter what the late return would cost.  She was clearly avoiding the question, as she kept saying she would check. I had to ask three times - the last time after the transaction was complete.  It was $83.44! 

I called the Hertz national hotline.  The...

Booked a midsize (Mazda 6), but was given a Corolla (compact), and when I questioned the car assigned, I was told 'That's what I have for you sir.'. I was then charged an extra $10/day to 'upgrade' to the car I originally booked. The car had a broken Sirius satellite system installed, which I did not ask for or want, and this was not noted when I booked the car. I was charged an extra $4/day when I returned the car for a broken...

I rent more than 30 cars a month for myself and my office associates. I always compare pricing.  Hertz is consistently 20-40% more than others in the same market. But I recently needed a local pick up location, rather than an airport, and the only outsource available was Hertz. When I arrived at the location for pick up of my confirmed reservation the location had changed their hours and were closed. After contacting Hertz, I was told yes they closed that location and didn't notify me, and now  my only option was to get myself to the airport. They were also out of the premium car class I...

Before you rent at Hertz, please google: www.platepass.com

Basically, I was charged 15 dollars "service" fee from platepass for using the toll roads from Denver International Airport to Broomfield Colorado. (which I paid for manually). This is an agreement I did not sign up for (or according to Platepass I did sign based on the contract) (Partly I can blame myself for not reading every fine print on the contract I sign but human decency says you let your customers know about Platepass before they sign the contract). It is not about the money but the fact that I was not aware that I signed this...