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December 2023 by Barbara Y.
I prepaid through thrifty website online. When I picked up the car, midsized suv, they told me I owed more. I said I prepaid through your company. He said it must have been another online booking company. I had the email verification. It didn't matter. I gave in because I didn't have time to dicker over the issue. Getting the car in the condition it was, I understand in a new way the word thrifty. Poorly maintained and not precleaned well. If you can avoid this company, do so at any cost!
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December 2023 by Chelena F.
I paid this rental on expedia where I booked a flight, I was under the impression I could pick up my car after the flight. Arrival was 12:30, on time. The rental said 11:45 pm, which is literally impossible on my part. They closed at 1 and the shuttle brought me and other Thrifty customers at 12:50. Not only was the building closed, the other 8 people around me were all sold "fake" rentals. We were informed that they had NO CARS, and we all clarified with each other that a purchase was made. I spent 142 USD on a car that was never there. That is the biggest scam I have ever seen at a major airport. We were all turned away because they had no cars, and held the doors locked for 10 minutes until official Thrifty closing times. Tell me how they got away with scamming 9 people out of hundreds maybe thousands. We were all stranded because it was 1 in the morning. I didn't have any money for an uber or a price match and was left alone in a big city at 1 am because a friggin car rental I Paid for did not even exist.
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December 2023 by Grace Q.
I wish I had paid more attention to the bad reviews and hidden charges. It's kinda like you get what you pay for, I got the cheapest rental and my car broke down after 2 days. I had to get it towed and get an Uber to the nearest airport (thankfully we were staying in San Diego or that would have been even more annoying. Then I got charged an extra $96 of taxes and fees for the replacement car. I was told that it would just be pending and then go away, but it didn't and the next person told me it's the taxes and fees they have to charge for each car at the place. So instead of getting some kind of discount or anything for having a car breakdown on me and my child at night, I got to pay an extra $100 for the experience. If I were you I would not go here. And no matter how cheap this option looks, it might end up costing more money in the long run.
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November 2023 by Tyler Hypnarowski
We read the reviews about the long waits at pick-up so we already accepted our potential fate before booking. It ended up being about a 60 minute wait. Was that ideal? No. But an hour of waiting was worth it to us to save $130+ on our week's reservation. Once I got to the counter, the service rep was very friendly and got me into a nice, clean car. I would book with them again next time I am in SD.
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November 2023 by Steve B.
Totally need a makeover and name change. May I suggest Trashy Car Rental? Arrived at the counter night before thanksgiving to pick up rental and the lobby is full. Like over 20 people in front of me - and they all have reservations. I would kinda think an real car rental company might schedule accordingly since of course you have to list your pick up time - but Trashy Car Rental - total of two people working the counter. AYFKM??? At this rate, it's 8:50- I'm thinking we will be late for Turkey dinner - tomorrow at 4!! Total joke. Rent from someone/ANYONE else. Oh. FML!!! One of the two just "took a break." Beyond ridiculous.
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November 2023 by Hélène SL
Good experience renting with Thrifty especially compared to competitors nearby. The staff was nice, the car was good. Note that because this is California you will HAVE to purchase a third party liability insurance on top of the rental fee and this is about $20 per day. Also note that they will accept a booking with debit card only but you will be limited in the size of the car.The main downside of this branch is the waiting time even with a booking.
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November 2023 by Taylor C.
Terrible experience - had to wait over an hour to get to the counter to get the car. No manager available to help with a reservation issue. Do not rent from here.
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November 2023 by Thomas FitzHugh
I arrived at midnight to the Thrifty Car rental counter with a reservation for a mid-size car. I was told that they had no mid-size cars available, and had only one car left, an EV (Chevy Bolt). I did not want an EV and I am tall so I don't fill in a Bolt, so I could not use that car. I was told that if I came back in the morning there would be more cars available. At that point there was no way I was going inconvenience myself like that and give this company my business. When I complained all the person said was that Dollar-Thrifty cars are available on a first-come first-served basis. So I went over to Alamo and rented a mid-size car there instead. Horrible experience, making a reservation should guarantee that an appropriate car is available!
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October 2023 by K Leget
Horrible experience! I booked these guys 90 days ahead of time. See my photo. This is their line to get a car extending out the building! I asked A guy who was about to go into the building how long he has been standing in line. He said 45 minutes. And he said it was probably another two hours to get to the counter!!!!!As we had an event to attend, I immediately got on my phone and secured another car for the weekly rental I had with Thrify. It cost me $300 more! But I got a company that cared about customer service. It is gonna be hard to get me to rent from Thrifty anywhere in the future
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October 2023 by Tristan Rein
We arrived at 11:45 for a 12:00 reservation to see the line out the door and down the sidewalk. The customers leaving ahead of me said they had waited for two hours. I cancelled my reservation and got one from a competing company in five minutes.A 12:00 reservation doesn’t mean wait around until 2pm or later. Do better.
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October 2023 by Robin Goldstone (rgoldino)
Absolute worst car rental experience ever. The woman who helped us was rude and arrogant. Quoted me one price to upgrade to a different vehicle then handed me paperwork with a different (higher) price. When I questioned it, she said she originally told me the lower price “to be nice” but the system wouldn’t actually let her give me that price. What?? And she didn’t even mention that she couldn’t honor her quoted price until I noticed it on the paperwork. The gentleman checking in next to me was having a similar bait-and-switch experience. Stay away from this place!
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October 2023 by Ken M.
I made the mistake of waiting until one week before my trip to San Diego to reserve a car, because the company that I usually use was out of vehicles. I was able to apply rewards points by prepaying for a rental--through my credit card provider--with Thrifty. Unfortunately, I still had to wait in the same line with everyone else at their counter in the rental car center. On a Friday morning, this set me back about 45 minutes. I declined the add-on coverages without hassle.When I walked to pick up my vehicle, there were no employees there to assist. Instead, you look up the lot number and license plate number assigned to you, and find the vehicle with the keys waiting inside. Employees were there to assist upon returning the vehicle, which went smoothly.
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September 2023 by Gregg Wilwert
Customer service is very unreliable. Best value on vehicle. The problem is that the company does not know how to communicate with each other. One customer service agent in the call center will tell you one thing, and another will tell you something totally different. The rental center closes at 1am., and I mean 1am. Do not believe a word they tell you over the phone. Our flight was delayed by an hour and a half. I called the call center to let them know our flight now arrives at 12:45 a.m., and by the time we get our luggage it would be just after 1am by the time we get over there. Asked if they would still be open. They stated that YES, we are aware of 2 flights that have late arrivals, so the center will remain open to accommodate. So we landed a little early. So my wife told me to just run to go get the car and she would stay and get luggage. So I got to the shuttle bus, and I asked the driver if they were still open. He radioed ahead and said yes, they are still open for the late arrivals. So I get on the bus. We take the 10-minute drive to the rental center. We arrived at 1:05. The center was completely closed. There were more than 30 of us on that bus that was told the same thing. Now we had to make accommodations with a hotel for the evening to pick up the vehicle in the morning when they open. So that added another $200 to the trip that was unexpected. I was there in the morning, thanks to a $28 Uber ride. Another added expense. Explained to the agent what had happened and got no apology, no discount, was just told that she was not sure whom I talked to, but they closed at 1 am sharp.
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September 2023 by Benjamin L.
Worst car rental experience ever. I have had some bad reviews, but this one takes the cake - I would give a negative 5 stars if that was an option. If you are looking for a budget option, I highly recommend going with Payless (or basically anything other than Thrifty or Dollar) at this location.I arrive in San Diego at around 12:40PM on a Thursday, and after a short shuttle ride arrive at the car rental center. The Thrifty/ Dollar line is way out to the curb, so it takes me 1.5 hours to get to the counter. I checked when I finally get the keys, and it is no different - Thrifty basically does not care and will continue to overbook while only having 3 people behind the counter the entire time.Not only are they understaffed, but the staff is also constantly trying to implement surplus charges. The man at the counter decides to "upgrade" me, only to tell me right before I sign my credit card that it will be an extra $15 per day. I ultimately agree to it because he tells me it may take extra 15 minutes for the staff to clean up the smaller car model I booked, and honestly I was completely out of patience at this point.When I return, there is a long line for the vehicle inspection, so I drop off the keys like for any other place, because the staff tells me it may take another 15 minutes. Of course, 15 minutes later I get the online receipt and they charge me for 2 gallons of gas at $13.90, even though I filled up a full tank before heading to the airport. (Also, do NOT agree to the prepaid gas option. I almost did, thinking it would be a slight upcharge for the difference in the tank between when I pick the car up and when I drop it off, which is a slight cost I am willing to pay for a convenience, but no - they will charge you for an entire tank of gas, as if you returned it empty.)All in all, this is a borderline fraudulent business that will try to trick you at every corner, and a complete waste of time and money. My final cost for a Chevy Malibu for 2 days (in reality, 25 hours) was $180 - you might as well book at Hertz or Avis at that price!
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September 2023 by B P
The wait time is absolutely ridiculous!! I have nothing against the company itself, but I think I waited for almost two hours to pick up my rental. If it wasn't for the fact that I had already paid for the rental through Expedia I would have just gone to any one of the other rental car companies right next door. The staff was pretty decent, but they definitely need more people working the counters.
