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Thrifty Car Rental Reviews
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I have never had such a ridiculous experience in my life. I rented a car through Thrifty for less than 48 hours in December of 2022. The total charge was $331. In February of 2023, I was charged $9003.61, as they were claiming I had the car for 51 extra days. I spent 20 hours in total on the phone with them. I had to file a claim through my credit card company to get the charge removed. They were incredibly unhelpful with every interaction, and if I had any advice it would be to never ever rent through them.
We hired from Thrifty LAX in August 2022 till Sept 2022 for 6 weeks, from the start it was a nightmare, only a smaller car available, after queuing forever. We had a staff member who refused to let us rent a car with her extra insurance US$600!!! Even thou we already had top insurance. It was all a lie, she told us it was LA Law! We had to queue for another hour to get the car we hired, even thou Kimberley said that the car was not available. The car had many things wrong with it and did not answer their phone or their emails. I felt we wasted a lot of our time on trying to contact Thrifty and Googling to see what we could do about the problems we had with Thrifty.
One day the car broke down, the day we were going to Disneyland and Thrifty did nothing to help us, I have been arguing with them since I have been home and they do not care and will not refund any of our money. I have never been with such an unprofessional company and never will again. The staff a rogues and obviously paid on commission to demand insurance that is not "LA Law" after all. They went a long way to ruining our holiday, I am extremely upset with them and hope that everyone reads this review and takes notice of it. Extremely unfair.
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I had a very unpleasant experience with Thrifty car rental at Las Vegas airport. I had an advance prepaid reservation for 3 days (confirmation number: **) but thrifty did not honor this reservation saying they did not received payment from Priceline. Priceline confirmed it was a prepaid reservation. After making me wait for 2 hours, thrifty said they can't help and I have to make a new reservation and that too on the current price. I had no option as it was 1am in the night and my 2 year kid was tired and cranky. They billed me $414 for new reservation whereas my prepaid was for $291. This was unfair. Instead of helping, thrifty made $100+ more by pushing me to go for new reservation. New Rental Agreement - ** (Amount $414.72). Prepaid Booking Confirmation # : ** (Amount $291.28).
Had the worst car rental experience of my life earlier this month. Surly rental agent, long long delay (close to an hour) before I could pick up my car and exit the lot (they weren't at all busy), and to top it off - got hit with a bogus "detail charge" when I returned the car because they claimed it was "super dirty" (it wasn't). I had to go through multiple e-mails to initially dismissive Thrifty/Hertz corporate HQ to get the charge refunded. No apology was made.
It's unclear whether this bogus "detail" charge is a scam favored by the particular Thrifty location, or is encouraged on a nationwide basis by the company to help boost profits in the wake of the pandemic. If you're hit with this or other phony charges, don't hesitate to challenge them. If the company stonewalls you, know that watchdog agencies like the FTC and consumer protection division of your state attorney general's office may be interested in pursuing action.
Attention, rip-off. After a long journey, we (2 people) went to pick up our rental car. The two ladies at the station were friendly - but only because they wanted to sell us useless services in addition. As tourists we did not know our way around California, we described our trip, LA - Las Vegas - San Diego - LA and were sold FastTrack road pricing to "not have the eternal traffic jams in front of the toll booths". $ 14.99 excl. tax per day. On our whole trip, we passed only one tollbooth, cost $ 0.80 without any traffic jam. And since we were two in the car - it was completely free! Since Thrifty certainly knew this, I asked for this fee back during the trip - no reaction, no answer. I am very surprised that a Hertz company has to fleece customers.
Terrible Terrible Terrible, so far waiting 3 hours at the Orlando Airport for a car rental reservation. Probably 1 more hour to wait. Over 100 people at any given time with only 3 clerks. Attendant said it's like this all the time. Not acceptable, no lines in the other car rental company's windows. I looked to see if I could cancel my reservation but you have to cancel 6 hours in advance through a 3rd party reservation, If I could of canceled I would have been at my destination hours ago. I 1000% do not recommend this company at the Orlando Airport.
I booked a car rental and arrived at the airport. Waited in line for over 20 min and had the most unpleasant person Ebony. She told me that I could not be rented to DNR. I was livid and then my fiancee said, "Rent to me" and she said, "No you are associated with her." I was humiliated and embarrassed. She ran my driver's license's number and because it was close to another person from the past she said sorry. We are stranded now. I demanded to speak with a manager. The manager is on the phone and said, "Oh no you are fine this is why, your number is close to someone else but you have a return flight so go ahead."
I reserved a compact car, Ebony puts me in a huge dodge truck that I can not drive or park. This thing could haul a horse trailer. The gas I spent was ridiculous. Also the tire light kept coming on and at one point the tire was almost flat. The oil light kept coming on. I called customer service and everytime was told something different. They promised me a 100 dollar credit and never got it. I have called for three weeks and Pam the manager will not return my calls and corporated states they are privately owned and can not help me. BEWARE!!! They are horrible. Neve got an apology from Ebony. Just got more attitude whenever her manager said to rent to me. This is all unacceptable.
My worst experience ever. I was very disappointed with the service I had. Very unprofessional staff include the manager and very rude. After I booked a van with them and went to pick it up, they told me, they are fully booked and can't offer me any van, which was for my business. Never again.
Only until I searched online for my recent rental car receipt, I was shocked to learn that they completely changed the terms of the originally agreed to contract and overcharged me an additional $141.72. When I called customer service to inquire, I was told I need to take it up with the rental desk where I rented the car. Apparently, if you return the car earlier than the estimated return time, they can change the deal terms?! Very shady business dealings with no real merit or true policy.
My wife and I took a cruise. We returned a day early, and had planned to rent a car and drive to Orlando from Fort Lauderdale. We made a reservation one week before we arrived. When we had retrieved our luggage and I went to the rental counter there were approximately 200 people standing in line to rent a car. Apparently there was a boat show in town. I stood in that line for 1 1/2 hours. They only had at best three or four clerks working on that crowd which is unacceptable. When I finally got to the front of the line 1 1/2 hours later I was told sorry we have no more cars there will be a 5 to 7 hour wait for you to get a vehicle.
My wife and I ultimately canceled and came back one day early on the airline. This is poor management. They have a computer system that tells them how many cars they will need. They also should have called all extra staff to make sure that the counter was fully manned so that 3 to 400 people would not stand in line waiting for cars for no reason. They knew this crowd was coming. It is amazing that they could possibly stay in business with this business model. A five-year-old could have done better planning!
Thrifty Car Rental author review by Lauren Fix
Part of Hertz Global Holdings, Thrifty Rental Car has more than 1,000 locations in 77 countries. It focuses on serving cost-conscious consumers and business travelers.
Best-rate guarantee: Renters may book on one travel site, only to find the same terms on another site at a lower price. When booking on the Thrifty website, the absolute lowest price on all rentals is guaranteed.
Airline loyalty program: Thrifty Rental Car partners with airline rewards programs to offer miles or points for every rental.
First-time rental guide: The first-time rental guide on the Thrifty Car Rental website walks customers through how to make a reservation and what to expect.
Contact: Call or email Thrifty Rental Car during normal business hours for fast service, or use its urgent contact line in the event of an emergency.
Loyalty program: Blue Chip Rewards loyalty program comes with benefits like shorter lines, faster reservations, faster drop-off services and members-only discount offers.
Get more for less: Pay for a compact car rental and get something larger with the Wild Card rental. Any reservation with a Wild Card is guaranteed at least a compact car, but it may be upgraded at no additional charge.

Lauren Fix, also called The Car Coach, is an automotive and auto finance expert. Her understanding of vehicles has made her the “go to” person on TV, radio, print media and the Internet. She has authored multiple books and writes a column for several outlets, including Parade Magazine, NewsMax and Car Coach Reports. She is a regular guest on major news and morning shows, discussing the latest updates on cars and car financing that will help drivers make smart decisions when buying, maintaining and financing cars.
Thrifty Car Rental Company Information
- Company Name:
- Thrifty Car Rental
- City:
- Estero
- State/Province:
- FL
- Country:
- United States
- Website:
- www.thrifty.com
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