Thrifty Car Rental - San Diego International Airport (SAN) in San Diego
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San Diego, San Diego County, California, US
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All car rentals in San Diego Airport must be transported by a bus. The bus ride and wait time is ...
in: 2:00 PM - 10:00 PM
out: 12:00 PM
No pets
No parties
Smoking allowed
Additional rules
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COVID-19-related guidelines apply
Fire alarm
Carbon monoxide alarm
Security cameras
Safety rules
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Cancellation is free up to 5 days before
After 5 days, cancellation costs a 5% Fee
You can't cancel an ongoing event
Additional terms
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We got you covered
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Security cameras
Security patrols
Security alarms
Daily cleaning
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Daily cleaning personel
Cleaning tools
We take care of you
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24/24 concierge lodge
Direct phone liaison
Fire detection
Private entry
Swimming pool
Baby carriage
King size bed
Bathtub
Wi-Fi
Workspace
Television
Minibar
Air conditionning
Room service
Additional details
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Update: DO NOT RENT HERE. We refused insurance and they still charged it to our card. $25/day =$150.Tl;dr: (1) Bring two forms of ID. (2) The driver will have to present their own credit card. (3) Dont buy Thriftys insurance or gas refueling service.(IMPORTANT: Upon picking up the car, they ask the assigned driver for TWO forms of identification. Thank god my boyfriend also had his passport with him.)The other bad reviews make me hesitate to give a good review, but we had a smooth experience with the car. Maybe we were just lucky.We have just returned the car, which was quick and easy, and Ill update my review if anything untoward happens with their assessment of the cars condition or return of our $500 deposit.I highly caution against paying them to refuel the car. It costs way more than the fuel at local gas stations. Its just not worth it.By the way, if you already have personal car insurance, most car insurance usually covers rental cars and you dont need their insurance! DONT LET THEM UPSELL YOU. Its not worth it.Also, if you plan to pay with debit card, expect them to assess a $500 deposit on it. They refuse to take the credit card of anyone who is not the assigned driver to the rental car, which I hate. **You dont get warning of this when reserving the car.** I tried using my credit card but the attendant said she would have to add me on as a driver which would be $13 per day. So silly!
The car was clean and reliable and everything worked out but it almost did not because of an obscure credit card policy which we only learned upon arrival. Additionally, though the car was new enough to expect only new car smell, and the policy states it is not allowed, it was clearly smoked in and I smelled it anytime the windows were up, and in my clothes after being in it.
We waited for almost 2 hours in line to pick up our car which we had a reservation for. Our flight was 56 minutes... The line was ridiculous. They had 4 employees and they were doing their best but dang was it busy. There was a 10 year old boy that had a full blown meltdown while waiting in line. It may be better to pay more to not have to wait in line so long. It was a Saturday at noon
Standing in line at Thrifty Car Rental pick-up, 30 people in line with 1 person behind counter. Now a 2nd person assisting. All other rental car places have zero wait time! Ridiculous!!! San Diego airport!Now 40 plus people waiting and only 2 people behind counter! If you have that many reservations it seems to me that corporate would be pro-active to ensure staffing present to check this many people in!
Waited over an hour in line and barely moved at all. Wouldve ended up being a 3+ hour wait in line. We were hearing from others that even after making it through the line it was a couple hour wait to actually get a car. If we waited that long we would’ve missed a wedding and so we had to forfeit our reservation and go with another rental place (all of the other rental companies had 0 line).They only had 2 people working. If you have that many reservations you need to staff more. If you don’t have enough staff then you shouldn’t be accepting that volume of reservations. Extremely unprofessional, would give 0 stars if I could.
I’m so dissatisfied with their customer service! I currently have a rental and have been unable to reach someone to speak to about the prepaid fuel that I initially agreed to because the rep informed me it’s less expensive if I selected that option due to how much higher the gas would be if I filled it up myself. However, once I left the airport I found that I was misled because I saw several stations where the gas was cheaper than what she quoted me with the prepaid option. I called 2 different toll free numbers and wasn’t able to reach a rep. I even sent them a DM on Instagram. Ryan responded and asked me to call them, which I had already explained to him that I had already called them with NO luck! They are unprofessional. Why can’t customers reach you when they need assistance??? I will never rent with Thrifty again!!!!
I booked the car on Economy bookingroup for reservation and paid for them already . But when I came to pick up the car, they didnt give the car to me because I used Debit card. They also didnt give me refund when they didnt give the car to me. Their service is too poor and like scam my money. I will never use their service and Economy booking group again. The Economy booking group is also a sophisticated group of scammers. You should not pay them any money upfront if you dont want to lose the money.
Never write reviews but the horrible experience warrants one. Booked through Expedia and all was ok until we left the desk and noticed that the chatty teller had charged us for the extra insurance even though we had explicitly refused. Turned right around and disputed it with them. The teller apologized and said that she couldn’t reverse the charge until we returned the car and the final charges could be amended then, ok…?? That should’ve been a red flag. I then asked her to make a record of it in the system and print me out a corrected receipt. The car itself was fine and when we went to return the car, they again tried to charge us and after showing them the corrected receipt and waiting for the manager to correct, everything should have been resolved but a few days later I noticed that the previously pending incorrect charge still went through. I called Thirfty and they said they couldn’t do anything about it. Currently disputing through my credit card but beware of their shady practices!
Never will rent from thrifty again.Flew to San Diego with wife and 4 chidlren (7,5,3,1yo). After assisting in a medical emergency on a flight I showed up to the thrifty window right at closing. Lights were still on and working was still at the desk. Every other call rental there (they are all side by side) opened up for their customers, however, the thrifty worker looked at me, said no, walked out of the building and turned off the lights. The bus driver tried to help as well as he was just astonished, to no avail. I then had to uber across town in the middle of the night, then ubered back in the morning. The staff were apologetic, but more concerned of who the individual was so they could get him in trouble, rather than making things right. They couldnt refund me for the day I paid for since I prepaid (you would think they would value prepaying- but obviously not) and only they could do was upgrade me...but it turns out they didnt have any other options on the lot that could fit the 6 of us with car seats/booster seats + luggage...so was an upgrade out of necessity.I wrote to corporate about my experience. No response 30 days later.The worst. When every other car rental met their customers needs, thrifty yelled no and turned off the lights. never again.
Horrible service! Rental was already paid for prior to pickup but my wife accidentally had my debit card and not hers. They would not accept my card because I was not there for the security deposit. Instead of trying to figure out how they could help my wife and daughter. Thrifty told them to get an Uber. Luckily Alamo was next door and figured a way to help my wife and daughter.
Worst Car Rental Company!! DO NOT GET THE PRE PAID GAS!! ITS A SCAM!!!! unless you bring car back empty! i used HALF OF A QUARTER OF A TANK and they refused to give me my money back. They did not disclose to me that it would be for the full tank of gas! When i called the woman was very rude and refused to help whatsoever! I will never rent from them again!!! Absolute TRASH OF A COMPANY!!! DO NOT USE THEM UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET FED OVER WITH FEES AND NOT BE TOLD EXACTLY WHAT YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR!!
There were over 100 people in line waiting to pick up a vehicle and only 3 people at the counter. It took more than 40 minutes just to get to the counter. Terrible experience. I will never use this company again. Very poor scheduling and management processes. Dont believe the positive reviews, there were 2 ones left just minutes after I posted mine and that is BS. There are over a hundred people complaining in line
Stay away from them. A rude trainee was at the counter with no intention to learn and awful attitude. Guys, I know it is hard to find employees with minimum pay, but u still need to hire someone with a minimum problem solving skills who can actually do the job without scaring the customer.
Marissah was awsomeFlew out to san diego for cancer treatments and could not fly back home to Nashville so we had to rent a car and drive home. 5 stars to marissah for helping us get home with a prepay option. Although wife has now passed away thrifty was good to deal with.
Wait line is pain!! 2hrs.Wait line is pain!! 2hrs.Wait line is pain!! 2hrs.Wait line is pain!! 2hrs.They have blue chip member program just for the name sake, it claims it will save the line but no use.8 counters are there but they have only 2 agents working. I am going to avoid this store.
I booked through Expedia, got to the airport followed the directions to where the shuttle was going to pick us up.Called Thrifty 30 minutes in they said it would be there shortly. After 40 minutes waiting at night in the chilly weather I kept calling (five times total) told me to call this other number, same automated answering as the first number I called (told this a couple of times). On one of the phone calls they told me they didn’t know when the shuttle would be there, I’d just have to wait until it got there. Canceled my reservation and waiting my refund. Would not recommend, no one was helpful and wanted to pass me on to someone else who wouldn’t help me either.
Found this for an advanced great deal on the largest SUV for a trade show. Had it for 8 Days the price was actually less than I expected somehow and the overall price less than half of the next best I could find! Great vehicle served us perfectly really nice people at the rental counter, entire Rental process took less than 15 minutes including line, drop off was a breeze. What more can you ask for?!
I rented a car for a trip where I was flying to San Diego and driving to Las Vegas to turn in the car. I paid a significant amount for deposit and insurance (which I received a receipt for from Expedia), yet after I landed and went to pick up said car they told me I needed an ADDITIONAL $500 deposit and I still had to pay for insurance. An employee then showed me (on her personal phone) some email I NEVER received that said in small print there could be additional fees. After telling them I wanted to cancel it and get a refund they told me they couldnt do that and I would have to go through Expedia. When I went through Expedia for the refund they told me that although they had advocated on my behalf the company declined it. Do not use this company, they obviously had no problem ripping off travellers during the Xmas season.
I rented a car in Oct from them and let me say the car was TERRIBLE. Cigarette burns in the seat, old run car that shook on the freeway, and a faint musty odor. I took pictures & video and sent it to the manager but zero response, apology, or reconigtion of my terrible experience. I dont recommend because it feels like they dont care about customer satisfaction. Im still upset about the horrible experience
We rented a car and had transmission issues. When we called they said that we either had to drive the unsafe vehicle all the way back to the airport or have it towed. To have it towed they want to pick up the vehicle and then after its gone, then send a lift to get us... at some random gas station... in a city we have never been in... while its raining and after dark... great customer service (I hope you see the sarcasm)Update... they sent us a liyft and gave him the wrong address
They somehow conveniently add almost 100 dollars to you contract for ins. Even when you tell them you DON’T want it. Then to future complication matters they refuse to refund it and conveniently do not have supervisors available to talk to you….I will never use this company again.
The car we had broke down on the third day of our vacation. Had to push it off the road. Twice It took 4 hours to get a tow truck to take the car and to get us to the rental car agency. Once there the guy helping us was a complete jerk. He had a bad attitude with me because I was tired and not speaking loud enough for him. On top of that they tried to upsell me to a convertible after their car had broken down. I wasnt offered any kind of a discount or help in any way with the financial aspects of renting a car. Would not suggest.
Generally ok with them, but had a bad experience this last time that has made me want to leave this review. The counter agent added Liability Insurance to my contract without asking me first. After getting in late (after 9pm), waiting in line for more than 20 minutes, having my agent fielding questions from others while trying to help me, he hands me a print out of my charges and tells me hes gone ahead and added liability insurance to my bill (without asking me first). I had to either accept it, or spend another few minutes for him to go through and remove it. No wonder it takes so long!Second, he asked me if I wanted to pay for fuel, which I said no. Its never a problem for me to return the car with a full tank... which I did, filling up within 5 miles of the rental garage. However, I see my final bill has charges for fuel. When I called they said the car was not returned with a full tank. It was, and I had my gas receipt to show that I paid for gas on that day. Thankfully they agreed to remove the charge pretty easily.Last, the office here is always busy (under staffed), and the fact that it takes 7 to 10 minutes per customer means Ive waited in line for upwards of 20 minutes, even when there are only a few people in front of me. It makes the higher cots of Hertz worth it to be able to just walk up to a car and go. And they are the same cars.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS RENTAL AGENCY AT ALL COSTS. I booked a car and was quoted $73. I signed the form and authorized payment for $73. They ended up charging me $50 extra for returning the car one hour late. When I booked the reservation I was initially told that if I was going to be late it would be an extra $6 for one hour but they lied. Now I have to dispute the charge with my bank. Just warning everyone else about this. $128 charge on my credit card instead of $73. Will be posting to all social sites about this because I truly believe they look to scam people.
Rented a car online using Priceline, they sent me an invitation to upgrade the car that I accepted.When I arrived at San Diego Airport to pick up the car, they told me it would cost 3 times what I paid to upgrade the car. He pushed me 4 times to upgrade in the same conversation. Also trying to sell me more insurance than I had already bought. It was really not a good experience.After some back and forth, they did offer a nicer car, I had problems with not having my Passport, that they needed as I have an International license. When returning with my Passport, the same sales rep, gave us a car that was our original class rather than what he had agreed to.Having a night drive to LAX with the car I was further disappointed to have water droplets on the side mirrors, causing a somewhat more dangerous drive than it needed to be.LAX is a nightmare for returning rental cars so give yourself a full hour to do this.Probably will never rent from Thrifty again
I read many of the reviews and was geared up for an argument over insurance etc. Boy was I surprised. Except for the 30min wait to get to the counter (which I was prepared for) the overall rental experience was AMAZING. And this is off the back off the worst ever experience with hertz in Mexico.The female staff member was super friendly and patient, she didnt push any insurance after I said we have comprehensive coverage. She offered gas and we said no. Also got a choice from 2 cars. We wanted a seven seater and it was perfect for 2 families. 3 kids and 4 adults.It was fantastic to pay the exact amount my quote was for. Can was also super easy to find and exit with.One big downside is we had an unwanted mouse living in the car. Which Im shocked by since poop would have been hard to miss. We got our own trap to get rid of it. (Im giving them the benefit of the doubt here)If not for the mouse, I would give 5 stars. Excellent experience and service was fantastic.
Overall I had a decent experience.. Was hit with the typical insurance upcharge, but Ive come to expect that.. I was more than satisfied with full size suv that I was provided.. a late model, clean, vehicle with all the features.. I opted to return the tank full, just be aware you need to refill with in 10 mi/min of the drop-off as well as some have been asked to provide a receipt.
Thrifty left us (grandparents) stranded, at11:45 PM, at the San Diego airport location, with 5 young grandchildren. We had an online reservation. Upon arriving at rental office to pick up car, we discovered, they were closed. Tried calling customer service, no answer. We were not contacted about the closure. No signs indicating why closed and what we should do with our reservation. Luckily another car rental was open. We had no choice but to rent from them. Unfortunately, they considered us a walk in. So their fee was much higher and the vehicle they had available, didn’t accommodate room for 7 people and their luggage. Grandma and 5 kids sat until 12:44 AM, until Grandpa finally arrived with a vehicle. Shame on Thrifty and Avis. The only reason it gets a 1 star is because you must choose a star rating to post a review.
Absolute worst rental agency I have ever used. I reserved a vehicle for a week and returned it with a full tank of gas and was changed an additional 100$ for fuel. After spending 45 min on hold waiting to talk to someone, they were rude and told me that I had to prove to them that that the vehicle was full when I dropped it off. They are a SCAM of a company . I will never rent from them or anyone associated to them again.
We declined insurance, but the agent added CDW without our knowledge. She was chatty and personable. We didn’t check the policy and ended up signing for the insurance. She didn’t go over each thing we initialed and we should have been suspicious about that but we were charmed by her friendliness. She never once mentioned Collision Damage Waiver. We called to complain but Thrifty refused to refund the fee. Beware. Ask the agent to spell out each thing you are initialing or signing. I hate to say it but if the agent is extra friendly it may not be a good sign.Update: After speaking to a “supervisor” I managed to get a refund of the CDW charge. To avoid this kind of hassle, ask the agent to walk you through what you’re signing or initialing. Beware of language like “no additional insurance“ and “just the basics.” Ask what the agent means by “basics” or specifically decline collision damage waiver by name if the agent doesn’t mention it (assuming, of course, that your credit card covers it as many do). This shouldn’t be necessary, but unfortunately agents are incentivized to sell you insurance through bonuses and points toward promotion.
What an absolute disaster planning a rental car through thrifty car rental. They provide there service through third partying and total wash there hands of you with any problem. Sorry ,thats a third party.After traveling for the past 8 hours , Its the last thing you wanna hear. Fox car rental came to the rescue I would highly recommended small shop but exceptional personnel.
My sister and I both made rental reservations before hand. I booked with Thrifty, and she with Enterprise. I walked into the Thrifty office the same time my sister walked into the Enterprise office, the difference was 30+ minutes. My sister got her car drove 15 minutes to a restaurant I was supposed to meet her sat and waited for about 25 minutes before I got there. Thrifty was the cheapest price I saw online, but the time it cost was worth more than the money I saved. I will not be booking with Thrifty again.
They will definitely ask you about getting the extra insurance so know ahead of time if your car insurance or credit card cover you. Also if you have a debit card please be very careful of making sure you have enough money in your account . Otherwise very friendly and courteous and they seem to be working with Hertz.
Wish I could give this zero stars. When we checked in we received our SUVs spot number. Went out to the number and no SUV or car in that number or the entire row. Went back to the counter, waited again! Spoke with the same person. Then stood there for 20-30 minutes for the staff to figure out what was going on. They then gave us another SUV. Told us to walk out to where the cars are and wait 5 minutes while they clean the SUV. They stated that we could return the car on empty for the trouble. Went out to wait for the SUV, another 20 mins went by no car. Finally a SUV came around. Upon return of the SUV we double checked about the return on empty and the staff member stated it was not in the notes. So we had to wait again and speak to someone to get it put into the notes so that we would not be charged $9.99 per gallon. Waited again another 30 mins. only good thing was that we had some time to catch our flight. Staff member said that they needed our paperwork for proof of the compd empty tank. We took a picture so that we have a copy. Guess we will see how much they charge us for gas. Will NEVER use HERTZ or THRIFTY again. I usually use Enterprise and will definitely be going back to them. This was so frustrating and absolutely unprofessional.
Update: Take a look at the generic responses they send to everyone. They care nothing about their customers. I am still waiting to get my money back from being double charged. Now Im going to dispute with my card issuer because you can never speak to anyone at Thrifty that speaks or understands English therefore you receive zero customer service.I wish I had seen the reviews before renting from this car company. I rented from several different agencies over the years and this is by far the worst experience ever. Believe the reviews go elsewhere. Especially if youre at San Diego airport. Its convenient that all of the rental agencies are in one location. Also check price line before renting. You can often find lower rates and better deals there. Even if they tell you cant.
DetailStrengthHorrible experience. Felt like i got scammed. I was told by the staff on the day of the car pickup that if i prepay for gas then i will receive a full tank of gas and they would calculate how much gas i used based of the mileage on the rental car and ONLY charge me for the amount of gas i end up using. This did not happen.Instead, what really happened is that when i came to return the rental vehicle the staff told me that i will be charged for the full tank of gas even though i only used 25% of the tank. Now, why would i prepay for the whole tank if i was properly explained that i will be charged for the whole tank regardless of how much gas i use? I wouldve rather just not prepay at all and filled the gas tank to full before returning the car.I even begged the staff member to open the key drop off box so i could go to a nearby gas station to fill up the 25% gas tank i used but she refused. Instead i ended up paying for the full tank of gas. All because the staff member at pickup did not explain exactly how prepay works despite me asking her multiple questions to ensure i only pay for what i used. Thrifty Car rental is an utter rip off. Never giving business to these scammers again.
I rented a car on 9/19, which I booked and prepaid through my credit cards travel rewards program. When I picked up the car, I told the woman at the counter that I was declining rental insurance coverage because my credit card provided insurance. The clerk ignored that, and charged $17/day for 9 days for loss dmg wvr. So despite explicitly stating that I didnt need insurance coverage, I was charged $153+ taxes for insurance coverage that I didnt ask for. I signed the forms thinking the receipt was just reiterating the charges I agreed to when I booked the reservation and I took the car. Ive been unable to reach thrifty customer service by phone and 3 days later have no response to my online customer service inquiry. Instead of costing me $269.81 in total, I was charged an additional $171.32. When me credit card company contacted them about the dispute, the response was basically Too bad, its too late, she signed for it. Will never rent from Shifty Thrifty again...
Not enough service personnel, waited an hour to get a vehicle. Vehicle was not parked where they told us. Vehicle did not have a full tank of fuel. Filled tank according to their policy section 8, subparagraph 1 & 2, and was dinged with a fuel charge. CS will not refund fuel charge. Stay away from Thrifty, they will screw you over!!!!
The rental experience was fine until we returned the car. We filled up the gas tank at the airport gas station. However upon returning the car we were charged $26 for the tank not being completely full. The dial was only partially touching the full tank indicator even though we filled the tank up until the pump stopped. I feel like this was just a way for Thrifty to compensate for a perceived value rental. I will not rent from Thrifty again, just because of their backhanded business ethics.
The San Diego location is licenced (Independently Owned) and they dont follow the corporate sales and customer service policies. The first thing they tell you when you have a reservation from a partner ( hotwire, expedia, etc) is that the price and vehicles are not the same as their location, also they tell you that you need to pay $19 dollar daily insurance because your insurance is not going to cover the vehicle even if it does. The vehicle was dirty, smelled and animal hair all over; waisted half a day, and After complaining with corporate I was told that there was nothing they can do in their end and to deal with the independent location. So If you want to waist money for dirty cars and services you dont need otherwise use a different rental company.
Great rate. Beat three other quotes.Day of pick up agent asked if Id like to update. I declined.Went to lot then they offered me a free upgrade because there was only one economy car left.m in the lot. Returned my car 4 days later. Pulled up. Signed paper done 1 1/2 minutes.Thanks Thrifty! Will definitely rent from you again and again!(P.S. I liked that I didnt have to show a gas receipt within 1 mile like some of the other car rental places!!!)
Should have read the reviews first before booking our reservation. Looks like they do this a lot. Prepaid for the rental online. When we went to pickup the car the customer service representative recommended an upgrade and we were told there would be no additional fees since they recommended the upgrade. Got our credit card statement and we were charged for the upgrade. Called customer support and we were told there was nothing they could do since we agreed on the upgrade. Will never use them again.
Very pushy staff at the San Diego airport location. The staff member I spoke with when picking up my rental just rushed through the whole insurance process without explaining anything. Five minutes later once I had already been charged $410 for insurance I went back to the desk to have it all removed. I spoke with the same agent again and she was not happy. I explained to her that I have full coverage insurance and I don’t need their insurance. She tried explaining why I needed to keep what she sold me and would not reverse the charges. She even took to informing me that California is a border state and have a lot of illegal immigrants who are uninsured and purposely hit other driver’s cars. I would not expect anyone to say something so derogatory especially not another Hispanic person.Eventually after she went on her rant about illegal immigrants and why I should buy the full coverage insurance she reversed the charges and I was billed $55 for gas. When I finally chose a car and drove off the lot I noticed that the LCD of the info screen on the dash was broken but still functioning. Two days later the screen stopped turning on all together. I have always been a loyal Budget customer, this experience and others like it are the reason why.
Needed it for 4 days. And the prices were cheaper than other companies. Read many reviews and some were really bad. So was very very hesitant. Having a bad rental experience when you are on vacation is never good.Once I got to the counter the person was straight forward and checkout very fast. Almost too fast where I thought I missed something that they will bill me on later (which was a huge complaint in other reviews)And when getting the vehicle you just choose your own. I got a mid sized SUV and none were there and there was no one to ask questions. We didn’t want to get charged extra. A person we finally found said just choose anyone. Sounded shady.All that to say, eventually we found one.Been a week since and no extra charges.Everything was great.
Thrifty is located in a building with all of the other major rental companies just a short shuttle ride from the arrivals terminal at San Diego Airport. We had reserved a compact car but they had none left so they upgraded us to a standard size for no additional charge. The return was smooth and quick. We returned the car, the attendant checked it for gas, mileage and damage and we were on our way within minutes of returning the car. A very pleasant experience.
I left my denim jacket in the backseat of the car at the San Diego Airport location. The jacket had a German shepherd pin on it, that was dear to me. Called immediately, was a unable to speak to anyone, no one answers the phone, but left messages. I finally had someone pick up the phone the following morning and was put on hold for 10 minutes and was then disconnected or they simply hung up. I went down that day to speak to someone face-to-face and was told they did not have it. So upsetting and so dishonest. In addition the price you are quoted on Expedia or on other travel sites is not what you will be charged. Stick with Hertz or any other big name brand, if you can, it will be so much cheaper and you will get a much nicer vehicle. The Jetta I rented was stained and had burn holes on the seats, it was disgusting. I was embarrassed to have people ride with me. Never again.
Counter didnt seem to like their jobs... tried to charge me $20 over what I confirmed with online booking. Settled for $3 over as it was taking to much time. When I got to the garage I coudnt find the car and decided to cancel. Jon,a manager hustled over, and was such a nice and upfront rep we decided to keep the reservation. We fly down every 4 to 6 weeks. Probably will go with one if the bigger rentals next time.
I arrived from Chicago wait about 1.5hr and there is only 1 person ahead of me and one with the Thrifty agent their is only one agent and were still waiting. Unbelievable cant even go anywhere else because we already pre paid for the car rental. If I could give less the 1 star I would.
This company is such a rip-off! I will never use them again. When I booked my car on-line it stated that my premium car was only $42.00 a day. When I picked up my car at the San Diego airport, there were $103 in extra misalliance charges; wow! Also we were ask if we wanted to prepay for the tank of gas ($69) and when I ask the attendant what is we dont use the full tank she claimed it would be adjusted accordingly. And she also stated that the fuel at their facility was less expense than in city (which turned out not to be true). So when we returned the car with 3/4 of a tank of gas, we were in fact charged for the full amount. When I called to have that amount credited, I was told that it was in the contract and couldnt be adjusted...really?? Who reads the full contract when you are traveling? Seems they need to train their staff a bit better (or maybe she is being paid a commission to sale the prepaid gas). My final bill with the prepaid gas was $408.71...wow! $81.74 a day for 5 days! This does not include the insurance by the way. I always decline that since my insurance covers rentals. What happened to the $42 a day?? I totally get the taxes, and the customer facility charge (cars are always more expensive at at the airport). But this is quite ridiculous and very, very misleading. I choose not to do business with underhanded, crooked tactics such as this. There are too many reputable car rental companies to settled for such a fraudulent practice as Thriftys.
Car broke down in the middle of nowhere. Called for road side assistance. After being on hold for over an hour the call fell. I called the main number to patch me through to someone for help and all they could do was transfer me back to be put on hold for road side assistance. Two hours later, still no answer. I am still waiting and it is now getting dark.Update: after more than two hours on hold, No one picking up, calls dropped, etc., I was able to flag down another driver who was jump started the car. I was never able to get through to Thifty road side assistance. They’re absolutely unreliable, no service at all.
Had prepaid for my rental through Hotwire for 179. When I picked up my car everything seemed fine. I have full coverage insurance that covered me in a rental car which I provided and the agent “waived the coverage and then gave me paperwork saying I waived it and that my card was not going to be charged. But that a hold for 224 would be placed and then released upon return. Now a month later I get a charge on my credit card for 224.00 for coverage fees. I called customer service and was told there is nothing they could do because I agreed to it. I guess I missed the fine print!! Will never use them again
We had a wonderful experience with Thrifty when we were in San Diego last month. We got in late and I had forgotten to tell my bank that we were leaving the state, so I had trouble with my credit card. Geraldo was so kind and helpful and even gave us a ride to our hotel so we had time to get it sorted out with the bank. He really went above and beyond and we were so grateful. The next day, we came to pick up the car and had a few customers ahead of us in line who were really rude to the staff. Despite this, they were all so kind to us and got us in our car and on our way quickly. Well definitely use Thrifty again next time were in San Diego. Thank you!
The legend of the shady car rental place is true. Ive used other car rental companies in the past, but decided to use Thrifty this time because other family members who we are travelling with had already reserved the rental through them. They gave me the spiel about getting extra insurance on the car and I told them, no, no, no. I have coverage. I dont need coverage. (My personal auto policy and credit card policy more than cover me) they say, Well, California is a secondary coverage state, so you have to get something or youre not covered. Ill sign you up for the minimum so that you have some coverage. Turns out thats a complete lie. And youd think something with the name minimum would be the least you should legally have. Turns out I was right, and I basically spent $17/ day for nothing whatsoever. And just stop to think about that rate, $17 per day? For MINIMUM coverage? I feel sorry for the folks who are being taken for more. The rental itself cost less than that. Sorry Thrifty, you lost this customer for life.
Woman at the counter was trying to milk every dollar out of me. Kept asking me if I wanted things without explaining, then when she was about to charge me I realize there were a bunch of extra costs that I had to consciously say I didnt want. Didnt realize there was a basic insurance like one of the other reviewers and pretty much got thrown into $100 insurance.
I am only giving this Thrifty Car Rental one star because zero was not an option.Upon returning our car with a FULL tank of gas, we were then charged for gas. They told us that we needed to furnish a receipt and that gas can only be put in within 10 miles of the return. This was never disclosed to us and, furthermore, is an absolute ridiculous policy if it actually is how they operate. We explained exactly where we put gas in--the exit and the name of the gas station--and the man had no clue where we were speaking about even though it was a mere 20 minutes north.Furthermore, when we took the car the garage was empty except for 3 people standing around a counter talking. My stepmom had to physically get out of the car and walk to the booth to not only tell them we were leaving with the car, but also to ask if there was anything else we needed to do. We were told no---no one walked around the car with us to inspect it for damages, no one mentioned any of these odd gas policies, and frankly no one seemed the least bit interested that we were leaving with a car from their inventory. When we returned the car less than 12 hours later we were accused of putting a chip in the windshield and had to fill out an incident report ---most likely resulting in a fee. My dad explained what had happened when we picked up the car only to be rudely interrupted by the Thrifty representative who said, Well I wasnt here when you got the car, was I?Absolutely horrendous car rental. Avoid it like the plague so you arent charged for hidden fees and treated extremely rude.
Needed a car for a week and this was the most economical price available from all the agencies at the rental center. Desk staff was helpful as was the garage staff, both at pick up and drop off. This was my first time at this rental center at the San Diego Airport and was very pleasantly surprised at the ease of getting to center from the airport (using the fast and friendly shuttle) and back to the airport after dropping off the rental. As this was my first time at the rental center I was a little confused in that there was no specific vehicle assigned but that I could choose from within the type that I rented - no big deal. The other thing that I had a question on (and was answered by the garage staff) was fueling the vehicle within 10 miles. When I asked the garage staff they said that they ask for proof of refueling when it was obvious by the gas gauge that there might be a discrepancy.As for the vehicle it was clean, reliable and felt comfortable. It met and exceeded my expectations.
Easy of check-in at San Diego Airport was great BUT DO NOT purchase the gas option!!! We were told that we wouldnt be charged for the gas option IF we brought the car back full and that even if we brought the car back with a 1/2 tank we would only be charged for the 1/2 tank to fill it. THIS WAS NOT TRUE!!! We brought the car back full and was STILL charged $50 and Thrifty told me that this was a set price whether we brought the car back full or not. FALSE ADVERTISEMENT! Not to mention the car was FILTHY absolutely FILTHY with chicken nuggets and cookies on the floor in the back.
Their card readers are from 1977 and won’t accept chip and when we tried to pay for our rental it wouldn’t read the bar of the card. We tried to use another card from someone else in our party who was present with their ID and they wouldn’t take it cause they weren’t listed as a driver. Instead of helping us figure something out. They said to try the company next door (who sends customers willingly to a competitor?) anyways the company they sent us to was double the price and overall just a scam. Wish they could have just helped us instead of turning down our business because their card readers weren’t working.
The car rental experience it self was good. The only issue that I would have is the company policy of refueling the car within 10 miles of the rental car return. If you dont know the area you would pay the higher gas prices at the Shell gas station rather than going around the corner to Chevron or Mobil and paying up to .70¢ less.
Check in was smooth and informative. I was given a choice to select a car from the assigned category. The car was brand new, in excellent shape and super clean. Drop off was easy breezy. Price was a great deal. I was encouraged to pre purchase a gas tank. The car was extremely fuel efficient, it barely consumed half I of the tank. I ended up paying almost 50$ for gas. Yet, It was worth the convenience.
There’s a shuttle bus to from the airport to the car rental place and check in. Make sure you read over your rental agreement for hidden fees, and be vocal about rental insurance. Being proactive will help avoid any extra fees that you don’t want. Then you walk into a lot and pick a car and drive off. Overall a pretty easy process, though a little confusing because you’re free to wander around the lot looking for the correct size vehicle. Drop off was also easy, just make sure to have the receipt from your gas fill up or they will charge you. I had a smooth and easy experience with great customer service.
I have had problems with the check in process at other sites, but that was not a problem in San Diego. The problem in San Diego was the return process. I returned the car full of gas. When I filled the car up. The gas pump did not print a receipt and the store clerk also told me he could not print a receipt. Thrifty wanted to charge me $14.00 because I did not have a receipt6. I gave the thrifty clerk the info where the car had been filled up (less than a mile from the airport), but he still wanted to charge me $14.00! I only went 70 miles for the whole trip and the car gets 25 mile/gallon, so they would have made more money on the transaction if they hadnt finally relented on their demand and taken off the charge. The hassle took me about 30 minutes to resolve though, not worth it. Bring your receipt...or be prepared for a fight.
Its only a stress free process if you are a Blue Chip member (their fancy program for people who rent cars a lot). Without the Blue Chip membership, you have to stand in line for a long sales pitch on upgrades you dont want, insurance you dont need, and a gas service that costs $10 per gallon - which you definitely dont want. Before I became a Blue Chip member, I hated this company. I still kind of do... just for their lousy treatment of the common customer, but once you sign up for Blue Chip, renting a car is literally just walking up to one and driving away. Its a good deal, and they are good cars, so I stick with Thrifty.
I had no issues. They do bus you to a rental agency building that ALL car rental companies share. They do tell you to just go take a car, which was easy enough. I did not have the gas receipt experience that other people describe. The only thing preventing 5 stars, is that the agents left me standing in line for about 30-60 seconds while they finished their conversation, then he stopped again to talk to another agent that was leaving for lunch.They did of course suggest insurance, but were not pushy about it.
Everything went smoothly; there was a short line, about 3-5 min wait, got to choose the car I wanted within the class I reserved. The car was new (3800 miles), comfortable, smooth, agile. The return process was quick and easy. As an aside, I refilled the tank before returning the car and had my receipt ready but I wasnt asked for it. It didnt occur to me to offer it because Ive never been asked by any car rental company, including Thrifty at other locations, to provide one in the 30+ years Ive been renting cars at airports. I gave them 5 stars because my experience was great -but that bring-your-receipt policy in SD is silly at best; either the gas gauge says full or it doesnt. Theres no info on the receipt that adds to what the gas gauge says.
THE.WORST.PHONE.SERVICE! Your CSRs are barely understandable, very snippy on the phone. The rep also LIED when I called in about changes to my car reservation, said I could make the change for no charge when I returned the car, well I got hit with $60 of additional charges for a two day rental.Now your online reservation service has been down for 24 hrs, saying to call in for reservations. I will gladly pay double with another rental company rather than having to deal with your phone agents. Yes, I am blue chip & I love your Wild Card deals, but get it together!
The car was clean and in good condition. The shuttle to and from the airline terminal was expedient.My complaints are with the rental return:1. We had to hunt for someone to check us out after waiting 10 minutes at the drop-off point.2. We were advised to have Thrifty refill the tank upon our return because it would be cheaper. Not true. We were charged $30 to refill a tank that was over half full.
Cheapest at the airport, the free shuttle from the airport takes you to the car rental depot where all the airport car rentals are. Check-in was fast and easy, although the gal tried really hard to up-sell us we stuck with our first choice which wasnt too cramped for my husband (average man-height!). Car (Class B, Compact, Ford Focus) had nice features but smelt funny (air freshener or cleaning fluid or something, it wore off). We prepaid fuel so returned it almost empty. Checking the car in again was fast and hassle free - they do a quick check of everything then print a receipt right (price didnt change from the original quote when we checked it out) there then its a short walk back to the shuttle. All staff were helpful, even the random floor people when we couldnt figure out how to open the trunk. Would definitely recommend and would use them again for the price and ease of procedure.
Here is the backstory as to why I will NEVER rent from Thrifty again:I was visiting California to see my boyfriend who is in the Marines for the first time in 6 months. We had so many things planned but he only had a few days off during the time I was there so we had to fit in as much as possible. One of the days we were driving around, our buddies who were driving behind us said neither our brake lights nor our turn signals were working. The following morning we were about to head to the San Diego Zoo and called thrifty to see if we could come and exchange the car for another car since we would be right by the thrifty in San Diego. The woman we spoke to said we could not drive the car and that it would need to be towed. This was understandable BUT she said she didnt know how long it would be for the tow truck to get there nor did she guarantee that she would get us a shuttle; in short she was okay with leaving us stranded without a car. She then processed to say she would call us back AND NEVER DID. We called back and waited on hold for over an hour and finally got ahold of someone new. This time we asked to speak to a manger and she proceed to tell us that none were available and then said she would call us back and again NEVER DID. My mother who is across the country took this matter into her own hands and waited on hold for ANOTHER hour and finally got through to someone named Shamia who was the ONLY person helpful enough to set up a new car for us at a nearby Hertz, get us a tow truck, and buy us a Lyft all in about 20 minuets. If it werent for her, we would have been stranded. This took THREE HOURS and is completely unacceptable. I would rather walk to my destination than rent from thrifty ever again. They have terrible customer service and besides the one kind person who was able to help, the rest dont give a s*** about you. Please heed my advice and never rent from here because we certainly wont again. The only reason I am giving one star is because Google will not allow me to give zero.
Do not rent from! I was planning to rent from them but found a better price with avis. So about 2 weeks before the rental I canceled since I had chose the pay at counter option. On the day I flew in, I recieved an email showing my receipt for the pick up and had a $350 hold on my card even though I had canceled 2 weeks in advance and had not picked up a vehicle from them. I called customer service and they were unaware of why this location had charged me even though their records showed I had canceled. Still waiting on them to take the hold off my card which was $350 I wasnt able to use on my trip.
Shuttle service was free and faster.Car rental point is 8mins by shuttle bus.Do not rent from payless, they had very limited option.I had a reservation for mid-size and they were offering very old model Nissan car with every thing manual, no power steering or power window, no cam.Had to put more money to get upgrade.
Was given the hard sell to take the gas option when picking up the rental which I was told meant they would top up the tank and charge me for whatever the cost was. Not True. There was a gas station right beside the hotel 1.6 miles from the rental return so I topped up myself however was still charged $25 for gas top up. They said the tank was at 7/8 (which isnt true … the gauge showed full and I made sure the gar would not take another drop when I filled) but even if it was 7/8 full … $25 for 1/8 tank of gas???? Well they got $25 from me but will never get another dollar of my business.
Front desk agent refused to honor active duty promotional clearly listed and described on the website as standard for all military personnel on orders. I dont expect freebies but dont BS me then look me in the eye and lie. To add insult to injury the lady was exceedingly condescending and talk to me like a child. Then when I get out to the garage over half the cars parked in the compact spots are not even compact cars. Again the employees were rude and unhelpful when I tried to ask.Dont go here, there are better places and better people.
The person who checked us in was a little intense. I understand she was trying to upsell (get us to agree to an upgrade etc) but it was a little much. She wouldnt take no for an answer about the insurance even though I have my own rental car coverage which I had to explain 5 times. The car itself was fine, but I wouldnt rent through you guys again for fear of being harassed by your staff.ThanksAlyse
We had an excellent experience with Thrifty this time around. We were able to rent a mini-van in San Diego and drop off in Sacramento without a drop-off fee! We returned the mini-van within normal operating hours at Sacramento Airport without any surprise fuel charges or other fees.No issues, no surpises and great service. Well done Thrifty!
Do not rent from here. They are crooks. When we tried to pick up the car they tried to charge us almost double what we locked in online saying “their prices went up”. Who tries to raise prices on already booked and confirmed rates!? And when we went to drop it off they said we put a rock chip in the windshield. We had it 4 days and not once were we hit by anything. Would not take our word for it and wanted to charge us the price of a new windshield. Will NEVER rent from here again and will definitely not recommend renting here for anyone else.
CHECK YOUR CONTRACT BEFORE SIGNING!!!! I specifically told the agent I did not need insurance. She added anyway and I signed for it. It wasn’t until I received my final bill that I compared it to my quote and realized it was $400 higher than it should have been. They will not give me give me a refund.
Pick up took awhile, but that was only because they were busy. Very easy to work with, no surprises or hidden fees, and the car was all right. Just remember to refill the tank 10 miles around the pick up and save the receipt. Its all common sense: keep the car clean, dont forget anything, and refill the tank. Very happy with the service :D
Unfortunately when I went to rent a car in SD, I went to the Kiosk and NOT to the desk. (Because the line was very long) I opted to purchase fuel from Thrifty, because the gal said that I would be reimbursed for the fuel, as they charged me $79.53 and I only drove the car 120 miles. Also, I was charged $200 for a deposit and was told it would be back to me by midnight. Thrifty lied to me and probably lies to everyone to make more money. I will never rent from Thrifty again.
I told the counter girl that I didnt want the collision insurance I signed off that I refused the insurance And guess what? I got charged for the insurance! My bad for not double checking my receipt. I DID CALL THEM 2X SENT 2 EMAILS AND REPLIED TO THEIR SURVEY. No reply. No reply. So check your receipt afterwards. I guess just renting cars doesnt bring in enough $$ the pay up front for gas and you really need to rent the toll transponder must bring in big $$ next time Ill Uber
Would never rent from this company ever again! They tacked on all these fees to my bill. The original reservation was supposed to be about $75 but ended up being over $300. Then the car we chose had to be driven back in because it needed an oil change, tell me why it was in the lot in the first place..... Then to top it off we were charged a $300 smoking fee and NO ONE smoked in this vehicle!
BEWARE: They tricked us to think they were giving us a larger car by asking if it was ok for us today. We said we didnt want to pay any extra than what was already pre-paid, but if thats what they had in their invesntory that was fine. The rep made us think we were signing a copy of a receipt for what was already paid. It was an upgrade fee on the contract that doubled the cost of our rental. When we asked questions about what was happening, the rep was slippery and answered in a way where looking back now, she never directly said yes or no. When I called Thrifty customer service to dispute the charges, they were rude and of no help...telling me it was my fault for signing for the upgrade. They refunded 1/2 the amount on good will, but goodness gracious, what a shady & gross way of doing business. They have lost me as a customer.
This place scammed me so bad, i booked A package deal with spirit airline flight + car in the amount of $543.87 contacted spirit and they told me that was the price for everything, i flew In and got into San Diego they asked me for a card to hold in case of any damages occur. After returning the car and looking at my bank statement they charged me $321 called thrifty and spoke with a representative named Kathleen she told me I should’ve read the whole agreement. As i explained To her when you are at a airport people at the counter just want to push as many people out as they can they don’t go over everything with you. Was only asked for a card to be file and couple of signatures and told me to pick out the car from the garage. This is not right and definitely not the right way to do business to people who are frequently flying in and out of towns. She did try to offer a $20 discount like I’m some type of bum. I was Treated horribly by this company.
The rental agent at the San Diego Airport told us we could upgrade ABSOLUTELY FREE because of our Southwest Rapid Rewards. He was very specific that it would be at no extra cost to us. After we returned the vehicle we had a charge of $225 on our credit card for the upgrade. We called to let Thrifty know what happened and they said it was our word against the agents word. We will never, ever fall for this trick again. Think twice before using Thrift in San Diego.
My first experience with the rep was amazing. I wont lie, I was skeptical when I read the reviews. The process went smoothly and painlessly. I highly suggest the rep explains how you pick up your vehicle. It was like nothing I experienced. They give you a map to pick up your car of choice. Then you just drive off. I was so perplexed. Lol. Ill definitely use their service again.
Rented through hotwire..paying a rate of a compact with manager special for free upgrade. When I got to counter I was told by the lady at the desk that there was no upgrade available as it was at the managers discretion and the manager is not upgrading. But I could upgrade for another 10 dollars a night . also left something important in the car ...of course they have no direct number and from Mexico have not been able to get through the the 1 877 number and no other option for a number to call. Very disappointed with thrifty. Honestly if they are not going to honor the deals advertised with hotwire then they should not be associating with any of these companies that offer these deals .
Everything seemed smooth until I looked at my detailed bill. I was quoted, and made reservations for one price and was charged double that with no extra add ons. I was basically told this is what I signed up for and there was nothing they could do.I will never rent a vehicle from this company again regardless of price. For me its better to spend a few extra dollars and go with one of the BIG rental companies for piece of mind.
I got overcharged, with lies and deceit. I should have read these comments before I rented, it looks like this is a common practice with Thrifty, or is it THEFTyI paid a total of $484.16 of a ford focus for less than 24 hours of use. Why is it so difficult to understand that this is a rip off, when they advertise cars at this location for $20 per day. I have called and mailed many letters and they insist that I have paid what I contracted and used. I will not stop till I prove that they are robbing me. I first paid $371.28 prepaid on a voucher thru CARTRAWLER for 20 days of rent on a car. When I got there with all the family and luggage, they told me that I had to pay an excess charge of close to $2000. They insisted these extra charges were state taxes and mandatory legal insurance. I was confused, but took the car so that I could take the family to the hotel after a long flight.But at the hotel, talking to other car rentals, I realized that was lies and right out theft. I decided to take the car back and cancel the service in less than 24 hours. And that´s when I was charged AN ADDITIONAL $112.88. I had prepaid $371, and now as they said these are “additional charges accessed on your rental are for things that were not included in your prepaid voucher”So, imagine the bill that I would have to pay after the 20 days of use. Even though, I was ripped off, I am glad I returned the car in less than 24 hours. That was NOT what I contracted, and even if it stated in the fine print of my voucher that other charges could apply, it is not reasonable to charge up to 5 times more than what I originally contracted.Imagine that, those additional charges for one day, times 20, would have been the ADDITIONAL charges that I was never informed about when renting the vehicle online. And then, the clerk told me that they were mandatory charges because of state law. When I found out that was bull, that´s when I decided to return the car. The manager at that time, far from trying to solve the issue, only insisted to charge me the additional $112.88 that he said I had consumed over my voucher during that one day.All I am asking for, is to return the money that was not used from the voucher.Reading the comments, I see this is a common practice, I post this to see if I can help people not to contract with THEFTY, and if you do, make sure that they do not charge you for excess local charges that are NOT MANDATORY.
First time renting a car ever, so I dont have much to compare it to, but this was surprisingly easy! Very fast, the guy that helped me out offered insurance, but wasnt pushy or anything. Everyone was very helpful and the process went smoothly. Returns were equally easy, and took way less time than I anticipated. Highly recommend!
Worst company to rent from, if you love giving away free money to company this is the place. They lie to you the tried to make us pay $50 for window chip that wasn’t even caused by my husband. we paid an extra 130 dollars to cover whatever expenses plus they told us it will cover the toll roads my husband got a bill of $28 to pay the tolls they lie through their teeth just to get money from you. They have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to toll roads considering they live in california. Do yourself a favor don’t rent from this company.
Flew in from Albuquerque NM to San Diego - rented a car. Robotic customer service representative - anyway got the car. Accidentally got on a toll road and the fee is $2.50. I got a credit card bill of $117.50! Almost as much as the car rental itself! I will not use Thrifty as their late response to the charges from the South Bay Expressway resulted in late fees that they passed on to me.
Waited almost 2 hours for a car booked through Hotwire, was asked to upgrade, I asked the counter staff what the difference in price was, and was told it would be a $40 difference. So I said ok. Ended up being $160 difference. Car had trash in it. Smelled like weed, scratches and dents. Wrote down on paper and they still tried to charge me for it.
Had the WORST experience with this rental agency.. i was given a vehicle while attemtping to exit the rental agency location we was informed the vehicle we were in cannot leave the facility.. they made me return the vehicle and get another.. after having to take my kids and our luggage out of the vehicle and switch car i was accused of taking the keys to the other vehicle.. please why do i need the keys to a vehicle that i cant drive. Worst experience ive had with a rental car agency. Stay away, save your time and money, go elsewhere..
Worest car rental experience Ive had so far. They tried talking me into another car, trying to add another $20, then the one I agreed to on my reservation claiming it did not have a trunk when it did. Then charged me an extra $25 for returning my car early, and gave me a hard time when I tried getting back my gloves I forgot in the car after just dropping the car off a few minutes before. I just got fed up and left. Seriously lost my business for my future trips to San Diego.
I paid for my rental via my point rewards with my bank. Online thrifty listed they had a compact car at $28 daily. Cool. So I paid a total of $168 for six days total. I get to thrifty and they dont have the car, they said they dont know why it is listed because they hadnt had that car in two years. The only car similar to the Nissan Sentra they had listed was a Chevy Spark. Not the car I was expecting or would feel comfortable driving. They upgraded and charged me $18 more daily for a Hyundai Elantra. Ok. I was told my deposit would be $194.xx and that once I returned the car whatever I owed would be charged. I believe it was another $168.xx. Anyway, I left there totally confused and upset that I had an extra expense because of their lack of communication with third party vendors. I check my cc statement later yesterday evening and saw that I was charged/am being held for $434! Ive been on hold with them now for 30mins and have not spoken to a manager or supervisor as of yet. Im being bounced around from department to department. Ive literally called to speak with someone directly at the SD rental location! I will not rent from this company again. This is such a hassle. Sixt was so quick and convenient the last time I used them.
Good and competitive rate flying into LAX. We had a short delay waiting in line at LAX Customer Service, but their team did an overall good job checking customers in and processing. We returned our rental at San Diego and returning our rental was a breeze with Fred attending to us in very kind and professional manner. Good job! We will use again soon!
Renting a car with Thrifty could not have been easier. I picked up in San Diego. No line, person at the counter was very helpful. And returning it in the San Francisco airport was just as easy, if not easier. It only took like two minutes from the moment I pulled up to when I was walking away. Everybody was very friendly and the car was in great shape. Would definitely use them again.
Dont bother, find another company. I had to wait in line for an hour for a car Id already paid for, and when I got to the counter they basically just told me to find a car in the lot. Thats weird. Then, even though I had gassed up the car before I returned it, no one said anything about making sure I had kept my receipt, which I didnt think of. Even though the tank was full, I was charged an additional $45 for the that. Thats what I paid to rent the dang car. Unacceptable
Bunch of thiefs not a car rental. Do not rent car from this people I did all that was instructed by the front desk and they still charge me for fuel even tho I filled up. Called costomer service dude said I had to fill up with in 1/5 mile.wow what a joke avoid this place . then they have all this BS charges like reconvene charge what H-is that?
Be carefull what you are signing at the counter, when you pickup your car ! They tried to charge me in addition to the rental fee ~270 USD on top for some products ( additional insurance, toll pass), that we did not bespoke before, and which I do not want ( as I have an additional insurance package already through my rental agency). Also they tried to build some pressure on buying the toll pass ( ~10USD / day), as I would need it in the San Francisco area, which seem to be also not correct !
The worst nightmare in my life ...i was very well handled by the persons at the rental beginning, but after that .... the car went out of gasoline because I drove and drove looking for the rental return station, that was located somewhere else .... without any signalization. I missed my flight ... and had to leave the car parked on the street near the San Diego Airport.Recieved after this a charge of over 800 dollars, instead of the around 300 dollars that was agreed on the rental contract.I will never rent again !! A company full of tricks, and bad surprises.Zero for you !!!!
Fairly smooth. It was a little challenging to find the appropriate car. My biggest issue was having to wait so long to get out of the parking/rental area. Signage for the appropriate company isnt that great and no one from thrifty was at the gate. Even though I had landed at 5:20am and checked in with thrifty they had just opened up with only one staff member on a Sunday. This is a new system for San Diego airport so I imagine things will improve.
Hanna and Keith made our day! Our reservations at another car rental in the airport didn’t work out. After going to every single rental car agency in the airport (which is a lot), I was all but in tears about the situation and how expensive it would be anywhere else with a last minute booking. As soon as they saw me, they offered a hug and instantly went back in the back to see what they could do for us. They ended up going above and beyond and literally made our whole trip. They ended up saving us hundreds of dollars, and many tears and worries! They were a blessing for sure! Highly recommend.
Amazing service by Thrift.. the attendant at the airport was super friendly and explained us properly what all is included in the insurances if anyban wanted to add. The car selection was good and he also offered nice upgrades but at a price definitely.There have been many bad reviews foe the company upon reading which i became a little skeptical first . But since it was the cheapest one amongst the otgot biggies like National and Enterprise.. decided to pursue this. IvlI l to add that the experience was seemless on pickup and on return u just need to produce the fuel reciere postvpost you are free to go.Thanks Thrifty for making the San Diego experience a wonderful one.
The people were super nice from the time I signed in at the office and when I picked up the car. There was some mechanical stuff wrong with my car and I had to take the car to exchange . The gentleman that helped me and my daughter was Miguel but I dont know his last name , he was super nice and friendly. There was a new lady in training who was also very nice and helpful. I likevrent cars from Thrifty , you guys are great people.
I wont use thrifty again for their deceptive pricing practices. We got a suppliers choice which was called a specialty car or similar in the online add. Well when we got there they only offered an economy car at that rate or upgrade at an extra $50. I could have gotten an economy car for less if I had selected that during the reservation. Very dissatisfied. Total rip off.
I got my car through Hotwire. Price was great. The lady at the front desk was extremely nice. When I returned my car, I forgot to put gas in the car and asked if I could run out really fast. I only needed a quarter tank. I didnt like the nickel and diming on the gas but I saw the sign.
Picking up was great as the guys were very upbeat! Little confusing when going to get the car as the size upgrade seemed much the same as the other cars we were looking at. So not sure about paying for the upgrade. Return was a breeze! Mahalo to the guys working the counter! Well happily use Thrifty again for your service.
The best car rental setup I have ever seen. Not specific to Thrifty in that airport: all rental agencies are located in one giant building+parking, one single shuttle for all rental agencies (no need to wave-down a specific bus that chooses to ignore you).Thrifty staff was friendly, not pushy about rental add-ons.
We wanted to upgrade to a Suburban so we could test drive one. Marissah was funny, pleasant and very helpful. When we went to pick up the vehicle, they didnt have any available. I went. back into the office and Marissah had already noticed that they didnt have one and was already on the phone locating one for us. They expidited the cleaning of the vehicle and in about 30 minutes we had our desired vehicle. Thank you Marissah for all of your help.
Hoooorrrrrriiiible.... bad experience all around. The motor in my truck needed to be replaced so I needed a truck for a week or so for work. I went on line to find a place that had one. Thrifty did, I reserved the truck using a pre paid Visa debit card. I called their 800 number to verify their forms of payment and they told me I could use my debit card. I get on the bus and head down there at 545am. After an hour on the bus the guy at the counter tells me that I need a credit card to reserve the truck and he CANT HELP ME. Now what?!? Huh, no vehicle so back on the bus to Uhaul. THE FREAKING WORST......
Very easy. Short trip from the airport and a clean bus. All the car rental companies are in one place and the staff is really making an effort to make it easy for customers. Car was waiting for me when I arrived. Quick check in, equally quick checkout at the end of the trip. Very user friendly!!
Didnt have a great experience here. We paid a fee at Expedia, assuming that this would cover most of the rental expense. We were shocked when we arrived at the rental location as they unsold us on insurance (which should have been added to the Expedia initial amount) and charged us an arm and a leg for being under 25. The costs need to be clearer up front as we had no other choice but to use Thriftys services at that point.
The staff at the parking are great and effective. No more up-selling from the front desk.Unfortunately this was not a good time for me to have this happen, so I will have to log a formal complaint and warn other potential customers.Normally I am loyal to other companies but i gave this one 2 tries. The first one was good, but one bitten twice shy.
Lots of options to chose car. Very low price compared to enterprise and the others. Never had any problems with the car or the employees. They try to convince you to take accident or collision coverage. Do not get brainwashed if you dont want to take it.Overall good experience
We rented here to save some $$ on a month-long rental. Tough location to access, but fine by taxi. On-site parking is city-tight. Front-desk staff seem super-busy, garage staff competent and helpful as needed. Our reservation wasnt ready at the appointed time, but they soon came up with something.
Absolutely garbage people and company. Pedro the “manager” who would not give me his last name is so unhelpful and unfriendly. They quoted me for $190 reservation and then stuck me with a $275 bill. They are scammers and easily the worst rental car agency. Do not use.
Took 2 hours to rent a car and I was the only person in line and I had a reservation. 2 of the cars had problems, and they had to borrow a car from Hertz. Front desk assistant was rude and arguing with the check out assistant. Sent an email to costumer service and did a survey, still have not gotten a response, and it has been over 2 weeks!
I wish the web site worked well. Renting the cars = just fine, and very economical. Website is like painfull, example... Try to input a missing rental for blue chip points, sorry thats impossible due to the broken web page. If you prepay for your rental, your blue chip account gets no points. So thats worthless.
Terrible service and racist staff. They belittled me, took my money and didnt give me my rental. Dont waste your time with these guys. Customer service number is just as useless. They will pretend to be helping tgen to just hang up on you several times. Had to file a fraud on them through my bank just to get my money back. But treating my wife and I like criminals because we are an interracial couple... no excuse. Pay anyone that isnt in airport and pay thrifty never.
The supervisor here was awesome! He saw my wife, child, and I waiting in a huge line to check in and told us to come with him. He grabbed some of our luggage and had one of his employees check us in right where you get the car and it saved a ton of time we would have sat in a line.
Expect long lines and a lot of push to get their rental insurance. Do not use them for anything. Watch out for administrative fees. If you run a toll expecting to pay for a toll is an added to the administration fees. If I had known this I would tried to pay the toll myself instead I paid over 40 dollars for 3 dollars in tolls.
OUr rental included an interaction with a counter clerk who did not speak clearly and acted impatient with me for wanting to understand what I was agreeing to. It turned out that what he thinks he explained was that we should get a one-size upgrade that added more cost than the entire base rental.Following that we met another impatient helper in the garage who aparently wanted us to read her mind because she didnt want to explain anything about the car.Will not use Thrifty again. Not here, Not anywhere.
Melody Ybona Gawliu: I recall a few years ago, i had to take a shuttle that took like 30 minutes to get to the thrifty desk. It took really long and the rental storefront was sad looking. This time, I was pleasantly surprised as the shuttles came often and it took me to a RENTAL CENTER where all the rental companies were in one place. The thrifty agent was nice and easy going and thats how my rental went too...nice and easy going. I would definitely recommend it for the ease and for the price :)
Liars and Scam Artists - I had a car booked, they offered an upgrade, we agreed on a price per day, told me they would rebate the original booking, and then they charge me the original booking plus the upgrade fee. I paid over 300% from what my original booking was. Do not use Thrifty or Dollar if you can avoid them.
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(199 comments)
Review №1
2022-07-14I found a great price for a rental online. All was good until I got to the rental office. The line was out the door, and only 2 people were working inside. I counted over 20 people in front of me. It took about 45 mins to make it to the front. Unfortunately, about half way thru, 1 of the employees left, leaving 1 person for the line that remained out the door. The person who helped me was very polite and efficient. The car selection was very nice, and the return was very easy. On the way to pick up the car I passed the car agency I used the time before. There were only 2 people in line. They were equally polite & efficient. May impact my choice next time. Step up Thrifty, get some help...
Review №2
2022-02-23If I could provide negative stars I would. Day 1 of our rental and it would not start. Called Thrifty, they said the tow truck would be here in 90 minutes. Two hours later a very unprofessional two truck driver called me to tellme it would be another 3.5 hours before he can get to me, putting his arrival at 12:30am. When I reminded him that the car is in a parking garage he said never mind my truck cannot fit in there. He said he would have his guy try to start the car for me. I said no, Thrifty already did a troubleshooting session with me and determined it needed to be towed. I was not going to keep a car that is not reliable. He didn’t like that answer and hung up.I called Thrifty to let them know my tow truck driver was not coming. Spoke to Chricann ID #4664, quite possibly the worst customer service rep ever. Chricann would not assist because I didn’t know the height of the garage, she would not transfer me to a supervisor citing there was not one on duty and would not transfer me to another representative. Here I am at 9:30p at night in the cold of winter with my teenage daughter in the hospital and she wants me to leave my daughter to go into the parking garage at night. As a female, I found this to be not only dangerous, but she was asking me to leave my minor alone in the hospital. I am shocked that this is how Thirfty treats their customers. Chricann would not call a tow company for me. I finally Googled a picture of the garage clearance to get her to help me.She said she required the height of the garage before she could call a tow truck service for me, despite the last two operators not asking for this information.Will never rent from Thrifty EVER again. Thrifty, you and your cars suck.
Review №3
2022-07-13This place deserved a great review. I signed up for Thrifty Blue Chip ahead of time and our Encore was ready to go when we arrived. Alas, it barely fit us and our luggage—so I went to the counter to see if something could be arranged. Jay was really patient and friendly with me and explained how I could get whatever I needed from Hertz Gold area (since there was availability). Drop off was equally as smooth and the associate there was also really friendly. I was almost put off by the poor reviews, but my experience was the opposite.Tip: Hertz Dollar and Thrifty seem to all be one entity here, so take the best price you can get from any of them.
Review №4
2022-05-31The first thing youll probably notice is that Thrifty/Dollar is the only place with a massive line at the rental car center. I waited about 30-40 minutes to finally get to the counter.When I got to the counter, the representative tried to confuse and aggressively sell me on any possible extra charge. They spend a good few minutes doing this is which is probably why the line is so long.The worst part was the representative trying to confuse me into thinking that I had to buy their liability coverage which is not required at all. We went over this several times before I showed her an electronic copy of my coverage and she finally gave up on selling me the optional insurance.I travel for work and have rented dozens of cars over the years but this place gets the distinction of being the first place to ever try to force me to buy their insurance which again is not required to rent a car.They also tried to sell me on the pre-pay fuel option which if you dont know, is pre-paying for one entire tank of gas. I declined this even though she was trying to make me think this was cheaper than filling up the gas tank on your own which is not unless you literally return the car with gas light on.Overall, the customer experience was awful and the representative became extremely rude and condescending when it became clear that I knew what I was doing and she couldnt sell me any extra services that I didnt need.Dont rent from here. Just pay the extra to use the more reputable companies so you can save your time and sanity.
Review №5
2021-08-24I booked through Expedia and was concerned over the low ratings they got here. I had a great experience with Thrifty. The only downfall was the line to get the car but other employees came over to help. You get to pick your car out of the lot from San Diego airport so no worries if you see “Nissan Rogue or similar” and want something else, you get to choose. Staff was super friendly and we were in and out when we dropped it off.
Review №6
2022-05-21I was a bit skeptical after reading reviews to use Thrifty but for the price i thought Id give it a shot. I arrived around 9am and the line was small but they had three workers so it went fast was out with in 10 minutes. One really cool part was they let you pick your car just go to your car size section and jump in the one you like. The condition of the car was okay but you cant expect a brand new rental car especially for the price. Return went smooth I was worried about being charged for fuel after filling it up after viewing other reviews so I filled up at a gas station within a mile from car rental and saved my receipt and took a picture of the milage and fuel gauge just in case. Dont cut corners and try to save a few dollars filling up to far from the airport by the time you get to car rental you burned to much gas to be considered full.I had an extra $200 deposit charge that was lifted with in two days so now all I was charged was my rental car fee so overall it went smooth.
Review №7
2022-02-21Rental price was good, however the up front fuel charge was not explained correctly. I was told I would be charged what was needed to fill the tank, based on level at the time of return. The final bill was charged more then what a full tank would cost, after filling the vehicle myself prior to return. Attempted to contact customer service and the automated system stated no refund would be issued and to file a claim with receipts for a claim to be reviewed. Overall unhappy with the fee explanation and will not be using Thifty going forward.
Review №8
2022-01-31I booked car on-line, didn’t get any information about ridiculous policy they have regarding documents and when I arrived I couldn’t get a car because I have European driving licence and wanted pay by my American Credit Card !Never had such an issue like that.If they have this kind of policy, they should at least inform customers about it and no waste their time by solving the problem on the spot.
Review №9
2022-04-16Our flight arrived at 7:15am so when we got to the Thrifty car rental counter, the line was not long. I just want to personally thank Eric who was kind and patient with me. When we returned the car, it was a simple process. Thanks again!
Review №10
2022-06-27They simply have to improve the speed at which they get people out the door. If you have a car booked in advance there is no excuse for making customers wait up to an hour to just get directions to their vehicle. I would never use them again for rental car service.