Latest reviews about Thrifty

Illusion says "The worst service and car rental experience ever!" about Thrifty

Illusion — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:31:12 GMT

The worst customer service I have ever experienced. The worst and most unsafe car I have ever rented. Their website says that they have all kind of cars, but all their fleet is Toyota and nothing else.

Also, no one explains anything, none of the front desk employees even smiled, said a nice word or made me feel that I am welcome. When I asked about something on the bill, they sounded pissed! Well.. it was totally a horrible experience.

When I requested changing my car because something was wrong, they didn't even apologize, they made me feel like I am wrong to request that and they gave me a car that obviously was in a major accident before. Completely unstable on the road and terrible brakes. 45000 miles on the car.

When I left the lot with the car, I had to get out of he car and point out the scratches, rust and dints on the car to inspector myself!.
Will never ever use Thrifty again in my life.

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tnso55 says "Beware of the Scam..DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY" about Thrifty

tnso55 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:01:46 GMT

My father who is 77 had to rent a car for the week. We rented through hotwire over the internet and paid with a charge card a specific amount for the week. When he arrived to pick up the car the sales person explained that his insurance did not cover him even though we called prevoiusly and found out it did. They charged him 200$ for added unneeded expenses. I called the main office who explained we needed to speak with the office manager when we returned the car. I met with the manager who was eating an ice cream smirking the entire time. He stated that "of course we didnt want the coverage since we didnt need it". They refused to assist with the overcharge. He was rude and a con artist just like his staff. RENTERS Beware they will present insurance and options to you as if your personal insurance does not cover it. There representatives were dishonest and slimy. DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY

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equip says "Should be call Shifty Car Rental - not Thrifty!!!" about Thrifty

equip — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:21:40 GMT

Should be called Shifty Car Rental not Thrifty!!
On a recent trip to San Fransisco in October of 2009 we rented a car from Thrifty Car Rental at the SFO Airport. The man who rented us the car told us that if we prepaid for the gas that if it was not empty when we brought it back that we would be refunded the difference for what gas was left in the car. As we had done the same with other car companies and it had worked out well and was honored, we went ahead and took his advice and prepaid for the gas.

When we received the car it had a bad odor. As if it had been sprayed with something to cover up something even worse. We use the car as we had no choice and continued on with our trip.

When we returned the car the invoice was wrong so we went to the desk to ask about the refund for the gas not used - mind you there was a half a tank of gas left in the car. We were told that the man who rented us the car lied to us. I couldn't believe that they just stood there and told us that their own people...

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kylw says "Frequent traveler and will pay more to use any other company." about Thrifty

kylw — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:48:15 GMT

3/23/2008 I was given a PT Cruiser at the Thrifty Car Rental in the SLC airport instead of the car I requested and paid for. I was hurried out the door because they were understaffed and had a huge line. About 10 minutes after I left I noticed a small crack in the windshield. I immediately called Thrifty and they told me I would be ok, but needed to report it when I returned the car.

When I returned the car I was told it was my fault for not finding it when I left and that I would have to pay for it. I was very upset but since I have MasterCard and used it for my purchase I was relieved that my insurance with MC would pay for the cracked windshield. I faxed over all info and thought I was taken care of. Thrifty actually charged a different credit card than I authorized and was charged $34 in overdraft fees from Washington Mutual. To make things worse, they sent me to collections!

Now I have 2 collection agencies trying to recover more that 4 times the original cost they told me I......

etj11 says "Worst company to deal with in... Costa Rica at least." about Thrifty

etj11 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:40:10 GMT

CarRentals.com never mentioned the mandatory insurance fee Costa Rica charges, even when you have your own insurance. All it said was 'Total with Taxes & Fees". Thrifty chose to charge $20+ for this insurance bringing our reservation from $12.99/day to almost $35/day. Not very Thrifty. You can pay as little as $7.99 for this. Thrifty had no options for us & by the time you get to Thrifty from the airport, you're stuck and have no real options. Find a different rental company & do your research to avoid the bait & switch. They were horrible to deal with and I saw 3 other people while I was there upset as well... 2 left. They were unwilling to do anything to help satisfy the customer... nothing. I will never rent from Thrifty again.

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SAfeR says "Dishonest, expensive (in the end), appalling customer service." about Thrifty

SAfeR — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:36:04 GMT

I booked a compact car from Thrifty.ro. Booking confirmation said "Rate in Euro includes unlimited kilometers,insurance with excess. VAT 19% not included." immediately after the details in normal letters, then further below in the middle of the fine print "Rentals shorter than 3 days include free 100 kms/day. Additional kilometers will be charged 0,10 eur/km.". Former was wrong, obviously.

Had to pick up the car from the street (not parking lot) with 3/4 fuel tank. I returned the car with a flat tire because I didn't have the time to fix it and notified them of it.

Two weeks later I notice on my credit card invoice I got charged the whole liability coverage (450 EUR) with no explanation or notification on their part. I go to the website, write a "customer care" message, wait for 2 working days, no answer. I call, explain I want to get a date by which I would get back part of my coverage or I will cancel the credit card transaction, I get threatened with criminal law and hung up on.

The...

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dishgirl1010 says "You Get What You Don't Pay For" about Thrifty

dishgirl1010 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:58:26 GMT

If you care more about saving money and do not care about customer service this is your place. You will be able to find good deals on car rentals but if you want quick service, honest service or just service at all stay away. We came back from our family trip early and dropped off the rental car within the rental agreements time at a airport location, which is open 24 hours a day. Iwanted to pay cash for the rental so it would not stay on my charge card. Now at the drop off location the employee told me I could pay cash, then when I got to the counter and I was told they could not take cash after 9pm. This was most enconvenient.

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Paddler says "not worth the lower price" about Thrifty

Paddler — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:51:43 GMT

We rented from Thrifty out of Indianapolis. Despite a thorough survey of the outside of the vehicle before accepting the rental, I failed to notice the nail in one of the front tires. The tire held air, but had a slow leak. After filling it with air for two days, I finally had to swap it out with the spare, and then saw the nail.

I returned it to the airport, and was given an upgrade (for my troubles). Sure, I went out of my way and had to deal with filling up this stupid tire twice a day, but felt that they had made it all better now...

A month later I get a bill in the mail for loss of use of the vehicle, new tire replacement, labor, balancing, admin fees, etc. Huh? Something must be wrong, I thought. I made some phone calls, disputed the claim, and still Thrifty says that I'm responsible. Yup, per the contract, I accepted the vehicle, so I am liable for the damage. So now I am out $226.

Think about this before you rent from Thrifty -- sure, you mark every ding and scratch...

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nanthiya says "Very Friendly Staff and Great Value." about Thrifty

nanthiya — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:52:55 GMT

I happen to have a job which require travelling at least once a month.I choose Thrifty Car Rental for a couple of reason.First of all, the price is right. They do have good price in many occation ,you just have to shop around or book advance. Remember book a car in advance doesn't require a credit card number yet. So if you don't need it then or need to change you can cancel or change without worry. Second reason is they do have "wild car" and most of the time you will get a bigger car or better size car than you expected. Third, they do have "Blue Chip Member" , it cost nothing to sign up and every 16 days of renting you will get a one free day rental and can be use in 1 year. And the most important, I do get great service from almost everyone of their employee, so make you feel that you are important (for them), very friendly and definitely you want to keep renting there. Enjoy your trip and drive safely.

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Richard8989 says "If you have choice, avoid Thrifty at Buffalo or be very careful" about Thrifty

Richard8989 — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:46:35 GMT

Very bad experieces with Thrifty near Buffalo airport (BUF). They first hide their unusal (actually very wierd) rental restriction and misled me when I signed the rental agreement. When I signed the contract, I need to take care of a 3-year old who was walking around. With other people waiting behind me, I did not have enough time to go through all details.

I cut the story short. ... Even though I told them I would travel in Canada for vacation when asked where I was going, they never mention any their limitation on the areas you could drive. When I came back to ask them about the mileage allowed before I left, their emploees were all gone. By the time I returned the car, they said I travel out of the areas I was allowed, and tried to charge me $300 more, and they do not want to solve this issue at all even my mailage is about 160 miles per day for eight days. Now I am preparing to file in small business court for their bussiness fraud.

Other bad experiece is after I reserved...

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MountainMan999 says "The cars reaked of cigarettes - GROSS" about Thrifty

MountainMan999 — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:29:09 GMT

NEVER RENT FROM THRIFTY CAR RENTAL!!!!!

I had reserved a Dodge Charger. I wanted to drive one because I was thinking of buying one. I was renting it for a week, so I could really see if I liked it.

When I got to Denver airport they didn't have a Charger. Agent was going to upgrade at no charge. When I got to the car it REAKED of cigarette smoke. Yard agent found a Dodge Charger ??? but it also smelled of cigarette smoke...just no so bad I thought there entire fleet was NON-SMOKING. TERRIBLE I was wrong. My 12-year old daughter coild not stand the stench. An entire bottle of Fabreze helped a little.

Then when I returned the car there was $160 of insurance chanrged!!! I had told the agent that I wanted to decline all optional insurance. I have insurance. I don't need nor want insurance. Thrifty has a keypad that you enter your selection - yes or no - and something happened...I got charged $160 for insurance and they would not remove the charge.

It...

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rick9999 says "AVOID Thrifty at Raleigh-Durham Airport-Terrible!!!" about Thrifty

rick9999 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:24:04 GMT

I travel frequently on business, and I have never seen a more slipshod operation as I did yesterday at RDU in Raleigh, NC. Forget the long wait for only two salesmen! The elderly man ahead of me was told he would have to take a 12-passenger van or PT Cruiser. He explained that he could not stoop low enough to get into the PT, nor did he wish to pay the gas for a 12-passenger van. They told him, as they told me when I asked why I was not getting the vehicle I had confirmed online, that "we guarantee the price, not the vehicle". Their terminal could not read my credit card (it was not declined, but the strip was unreadable). I told them that this has happened only once before, at Lowes, and they punched the numbers in manually. The manager said that they could not do that, as they had no manual terminal, so I had to use the debit card from my checking account!!! I am alone on this trip, driving NOT the Dodge sedan I confirmed, but a huge minivan across North Carolina. The...

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aggie8387 says "NEVER again. Don't believe anything they tell you." about Thrifty

aggie8387 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:15:11 GMT

Thrifty Car Rental, Austin Bergstrom Airport.

Thrifty Car Rental agents cannot be trusted. DO NOT rely on them to tell you what is in the contract. READ IT carefully no matter how long it takes, and don't skip the fine print. Otherwise you risk being charged MUCH more than you thought you agreed to when you return the car. If that happens, you are SOL. The best they can offer is an apology because YOU misunderstood. WTH??? I does not matter that they mislead you or just outright lied at the time of rental. They added a "surcharge" and a "fuel fee" that I was specifically told would NOT be in the contract. It was in the fine print, and my mistake was believing what I was told. I won't make that mistake again, because I'll never do business with them again.

They were fully aware that I would never do business with them again BEFORE they offered a small voucher toward a future rental. Yeah, that'll do a lot of good. Note they never denied or acknowledged what I was...

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carenter says "Thrifty will overcharge you stay away!!!" about Thrifty

carenter — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:41:51 GMT

I rented a van from thrifty in Durham NC, at 2804 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd., for one day. I spoke with the reps. there to let them know when I would return it and what the process was for dropping off the keys. They explained that they closed early on Saturday but to drop off the keys, sign the back of the form with mileage in, and place it in the drop box. We did exactly as we were instructed. However, they charged me for Friday to Saturday and From Saturday to Sunday. When I called the office on May 13, 2009, after discovering I was billed for two days, and spoke with the office manager there, she stated that she would send it to the corporate office and it would take 10 to 15 business days for me to receive credit. Well, today is June 16, 2009 and Corporate never saw the request. I finally received a reference number today for my rental agreement. There was no one who could verify or clear up the errors of that location. I do not recommend Thrifty Car Rental if you value your credit card....

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thecomputergal says "Thrifty rental car will not help you, if you rent on a weekend." about Thrifty

thecomputergal — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:36:36 GMT

My travel agent arranged for a Thrifty rental car for my trip from Albuquerque, NM to Mescalero, NM. I picked up the car in the evening after a long day. By the time I was on the interstate into Albuquerque for the night, I realized that my car was full of cigarette smoke. Not being a smoker, and very allergic to cigarette smoke, I thought that if I opened the windows, the smell would go away. It didn't.

So, the next day, when I needed to be working on client work in preparation for a meeting in Albuquerque, I called Thrifty. The person on the phone would give me a number that said to call on Monday (it was Saturday, I would be in Mescalero on Monday.) It took me 45 minutes to realize that it didn't matter how many calls I made, I wasn't going to get any help until Monday. Lost work time: 45 minutes.

So, after the meeting that I wasn't prepared for, I drove back to the airport to talk to the local folks. They were very nice, gave me a different car and said that Thrifty doesn't have much......