Payless Car Rental Reviews

I rented from Payless from August 11-18 of 2025. I had asked for a mid-sized car. What I got was barely a compact car with a stained interior and an engine notice that made one wonder. They said the Mitsubishi Mirage I received was a mid-sized car. Maybe for really tiny people! Driving down the highways and streets of San Diego we felt every bump and hole due to poor shocks and suspension. And the price was no savings. Don't be fooled by the quoted price. The end price will be at least 50% higher. How are they still in business?

I really hope this reaches someone who can implement this for training throughout your company. I came in to Houston for a family reunion. Not wanting to inconvenience my family due to them possibly being busy, I decided it would be best to rent a car. I was able to make a reservation for a car while exiting the airport, which I found to be very convenient. When I came out the terminal, the shuttle for the car rental place was already outside and ready to take me to the location.

Rented car. Came to get car. It is a Budget/Payless combined counter. There was someone helping fastbreak customers but no one else. Line pretty long as we wait for fastbreak customers to be helped first. After 10 min a second representative came to help.

I went thru Priceline to find a car to rent from the Oakland CA airport. I found a medium size suv for $23 dollars a day. I needed it for 7 days, unlimited miles so cool, I will book this deal. So I go online, book the reservation $156 for the week, go to pay in advance and when I got to check out it had gone up another $96 for all these little bulllshit things like tax and fees and dmv and a few more unheard of fees. So now the $156 one week rental fee has gone up to $252 before even seeing the car.

I had a terrible experience with Payless Car Rental In Albuquerque and would strongly advise others to avoid them at all costs. I was returning a rental to the airport and, due to a freeway accident, was running tight on time. I pulled up and asked the check-in staff how much it would cost for them to fill the gas tank. He told me he didn’t know and said I should go inside to ask.

Be mindful at the desk when picking up the car. I do not have much experience with car rentals and feel like I was taken advantage of. I was charged an extra 100$ that I was unaware of after I returned the car. I had to call and figure out what the charge was for, which was liability insurance. The way the salesman worded it, I was unaware that it was an extra charge. He never said the price. I assumed liability was included in the original agreement. Lesson learned for me.

I rental a prepaid car at Payless at the Kansas City Airport; when I picked up the car I was told I needed to pay a $250 refundable fee; however, they did not refund the entire amount. They kept $75.65 for no reason. They don't answer their phone and I cannot find any way to contact them.

These people are thieves and liars. Go somewhere else to rent your car. They charged me $300 a week for insurance telling me that my coverage didn't cover Puerto Rico. The next day my broker confirmed that it did and pointed it out in our contract. He told me all the brokers say that he was basically lying.

I am writing this review after a deeply frustrating and disappointing experience with Payless Car Rental. What was supposed to be a simple, supportive rental during an emotional trip to visit my uncle in hospice care turned into a stressful and costly ordeal.

Worst rental car company. Waited in line 2 plus hours even though reserved vehicle ahead of time. Returned vehicle is much better shape than we got it; 2 days later notified of $450 cleaning fee. Total rip off. Someone should investigate this company's fraudulent practices.

Horrible. I was quoted 270 and then they up charged me to $900. I asked to be taken back to the airport and the customer service didn’t even call me the shuttle bus. They claimed it was mandatory car insurance which is why the price jumped. Crazy.

Got a plane ticket to Sibiu Europe from Toronto via Priceline, and also reserved a rental car via Payless. Hello, The quick process of receiving the car in parking lot and signing a blank statement on the phone is to say the least not the way a rental agreement should be followed. We have rented this car in good faith from Payless and the car provided gave us headache the entire trip with messages that we have a flat tire. This car was to be serviced during our rental period, that will concludes that this car is not serviced properly, and was not safe to rent. We realized that this car had a flat on right front, and little to say that this is not the way a rental car should be provided to a customer. This is not the first time we have rented a car, but it is the first time when a car was returned, drove away by the renting company, and after an hour we are notified that a scratch happened.

Where do I start? Got a plane ticket to SJC via Southwest, and also reserved a rental car via Payless through the Southwest Portal (they have a business partnership between Southwest and Payless). Quoted price is $370 for a standard 'full size' car. 1. Got to desk and was offered a 2 person mini convertible. Ummm... No. 2. They "found" some other car, which they said was full size (did not mention model). 3. They then told me the price was $392. I said "No, you quoted $370" and that is what I am paying. After much back and forth with the rep, the manager came along and said very irritated to the rep "Just give her the quoted price--do a manual adjustment." So I got the $370 price printed on my rental agreement.

Horrible customer service! I left important keys on the rental car key ring I returned at Ontario Airport. I’ve been trying for two days to get ahold of someone to help me. Both telephone numbers for rental desk are disconnected. No one answers lost & found number. Customer service keeps transferring me to numbers that hang up after 10-20 minutes on hold. Supervisors won’t help! No way to file a complaint!

We rented a Mid-Size SUV through Southwest for April 3rd - 6th in San Diego. Upon arrival at the Payless Counter, the attendant offered us an upgrade for only an additional $10/day. Shame on me for not reading the details, but we were charged an additional $40/day, I guess I’m too trustful. When we went to receive the vehicle, it was not an upgrade. The attendant in the lot told us this was the vehicle he had cleaned for us earlier that morning. The counter attendant also continued to say, over 4 different times, "you wanted the insurance?", and "I have you down for the full coverage", I had to insist several times that we declined the insurance. The overall experience was very, very shady. To top it off, I had temporarily misplaced the rental keys at our resort, when I asked the concierge if anyone had turned them in, he asked which rental company.

4/22/25: We recently traveled to Colorado and were in need of a SUV to accommodate 2 adults and 2 children with enough room for luggage and ski equipment. When issued the SUV, we noticed NO floor mats throughout the entire vehicle. Well in Colorado, in March, the conditions for clean floors are not ideal. We left the facility and headed to Keystone CO. Three notable safety concerns were "over-looked" from Payless. 1) The hood was NOT latched and after noticing the hood flapping around on the highway, we needed to pull over to re-latch it. Definitely could have caused an accident. 2) The tires were grossly over-inflated to 47 psi (the normal was supposed to be 36), another serious problem while driving through the mountains! 3) There was very low coolant in the vehicle, and we needed to add more from our condo's maintenance supervisor. None of these concerns were address from Payless.

This company embodies a clown show and bad business practices. My wife had a confirmed reservation at CVG airport. She had to visit her brother who just passed away. After a 5-hour flight, arriving at night, this company tells her they don't have cars available. (And 10 other people in line with confirmed reservations.) Expedia should not work with these amateurs. The Sixth representative at the CVG airport told my wife he used to work for this company and it is a normal business practice at Payless. It should be PayNone - do not use.

I waited in line at the Payless desk in Phoenix for 3 1/2 hours with a toddler. I was told I was not able to cancel my reservation without forfeiting the entire cost. Since the wait was so ridiculous, the other customers and I took turns going to other car rental counters to compare prices and the costs were not that much lower. A few customers decided to rent with someone else anyway, and left the line which was the only fast movement we saw all day.

ZERO STARS. By far the worse customer service experience of my life! Flew into Phoenix approx. 8 pm with my 10 year old son. Only 1 employee working (slowly) and handed him printout of our reservation for a full size suv that we paid for. After 90 MINUTES of waiting, we got a small car. Called management after to get adjustment for the difference. He agreed to issue refund within 3 to 5 business days. 10 day later nothing. Reached back out and Payless offered half of what we agreed on. PAYLESS IS OWNED BY AVIS! WHAT A PATHETIC JOKE! Avis (with 4 employees working) is located right next to Payless!

PLEASE don't waste your money and time on renting a car from the Payless @ Denver Airport. We rented a Full Size SUV and paid over $1,000 for the week. When we got there, it looked like a junk yard but I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. There was only 1 cust svc rep available, so it took quite awhile to get checked in. The first vehicle we were given had a flat tire, and looked like it had been sideswiped. The windshield was also cracked.

Staff seems nice. Then they put the screws to your wallet. Every fee is higher than any other rental company. If you don’t buy their insurance they hold 2000$ on your card. If you don’t make your set time they charge 30$ day reset fee. Talk a lot of Spanish so don’t know what’s going on. In the end cancelled whole reservation and filing with Priceline about shady practices. Went to Hertz with no surprises and ended up near same price and no scare tactics. Oh yeah if you get toll charge they make up their own fines on your card. Or you can pay for their over inflated toll pass. Be smart and stay away or they will ruin your vacation!!

The car was fine for the California only trips but they were very deceitful about refilling the gas tank. I clearly told the guy I wasn't using it much and would fill the tank before I returned it. He said they would charge me a lower price per gallon and would only charge me for what I used. When I got my credit card bill, it had a charge I didn't understand. When I called, She knew right away why I was calling, (probably happens all the time) and said they always charge for a complete fill. I then asked her why they charged me for over 18 gallons for a car with a gas tank that holds just under 11 gallons and she very quickly $23, still over charging me $8.00. Basically, they tried and did rip me off.

Is there a 'no star' option for this company? Cause that's what they deserve. They charged me RIDICULOUS expenses after car was returned in great condition and full gas. I have spoken to 3 customer service personnel 2 out of whom were outrightly RUDE. None gave me helpful assistance on how to give me my refund of $59. The actual cost for rental for 4 days was $212.40 at 59 per day... now take a look at the additional RIDICULOUS charges 🙄 11.11% concession recovery fee $35.74 (what were they: recovering?")

We rented a car in early January for a February 23 vacation in Phoenix. When we got to the counter there was only one person working. Stood there for approximately 20 minutes while the agent was working with a person in front of me. When I asked him how much longer he said "Really Long", so I asked for the manager. He went to the back room for 5 minutes and came out without the manager. So I sent my husband to the Avis counter. Then the manager came out and said that he is also the manager for Avis. And asked me what the problem was. So I told him and he just looked at me. So I said can we move along and get me on my way. He just looked at me and said that he didn't understand the issue. So I told him that we just need to be on our way, as we had people waiting on us. Then he said that he was going to give us a car but now he didn't know. And got very belligerent. So we walked away. Never Ever go there!

Rented a car and turned back in with full tank of gas. Was charged an additional 135.00 for fuel. Kept receipt, called for refund. After 12 days no refund. Told their system had trouble would put back through. Still waiting.

Re: Payless Car Rental Company, I am writing to express my outrage and disappointment at the unacceptable experience I had with your company during my recent car rental. Firstly, when we arrived at the pickup location, we were asked to select a car from a specific row, only to find that the car we were supposed to pick up was not even in the slot. This happened not once, but twice, wasting precious time and causing frustration. To make matters worse, when we finally got into the second vehicle, we discovered that there was no key fob in the car. This is a basic oversight that should never happen, and it's shocking that your company could be so careless.

TER-RI-BLE!!!! Zero stars!!! Buyer beware! This is the worse!!! There should be laws against these types of business conduct! So infuriating having to spend hours, days, trying to resolve overcharge fees they don't want to give back! If you're lucky, you might get some of your money back but at what cost??? You're frustrated, angry, and can't believe you've wasted so much time and energy just trying to get someone on the phone, from the right dept! Beware! They will smile while overcharging you for things you didn't agree to or don't need. And if the overcharge wasn't bad enough, the experience and lack of professionalism is mind boggling. They gave me a car that was already rented out. I mean really? I wasted another 1hr at the airport trying to get another car (they could have just given me an upgrade for the trouble, but no!). Waited some more for a infant car seat, and then some more for one that wasn't broken!...

Wife verbally declined insurance as our home / auto policy covers rental cars. The sales person at desk had her initial that we wanted insurance. When we notice the charges after we returned the vehicle they accused us of trying to scam them by trying to get free insurance after the fact. Total misrepresentation, and terrible customer service. Stay as far away from this company as possible.

I rented a car for 28 days from Paphos airport Cyprus, Within the first 24 hours of the rental after only having driven from the airport to the hotel, (20km) the electrics failed which made the car unusable. I called the assist line and was told to wait in my hotel for a technician to call. They called and came to the hotel a few hours later. They said they'd need to exchange the car, so made all the checks and switched vehicles. When I arrived home 29 days later I saw a new charge of 15.80 on my credit card, I enquired and was told it was for petrol consumed on my original car, (That I'd had only driven to the hotel - which malfunctioned and was un-drive-able.)

I rented a vehicle thru CarRentals.com. Keep in mind I have rented thru them many times and had nothing but a good experience. Now this time it was Payless. Ok I can do this, Well I rented a Tahoe. When I got to Phoenix Airport and stood in small line! It did not go fast, anyway when I got to the agent they had a Arcadia for me and I said what about the Tahoe???? "We don't have them." Ok ending up getting a Armada, Then The insurance I had purchased was no good at Payless, So I bought theirs at 65 dollars a day. The Vehicle was filthy inside the windshield was just a full of smug. Contacted customer No help. I would never rent from PAYLESS. They are terrible, pay more anywhere and you will be glad.