Thrifty Car Rental Reviews 58

Thrifty Dubai charged me for a traffic fine without showing any official proof—just their own internal bill. I checked with Dubai Police myself: no fine was listed. After I returned the car and paid Salik, they charged me again the next day without notice. Everything is done through internal bills, no transparency. Search online—many people had the same issue. Not recommended.

Date of experience: July 02, 2025

I had an incredibly disappointing experience with Thrifty (part of the Hertz group) at the LAX airport. I booked and prepaid for a rental in January 2025, for 1 day. When we arrived to pick up the vehicle, we spent 1.5 hours at the counter due to vague "issues" with our reservation—something you don’t expect after paying upfront. Eventually, we were offered a Ford Escape 2021 as an "upgrade" for the inconvenience.

The agent repeatedly asked if I had coverage through my Visa—at least five times—which felt excessive and left me uneasy. Exhausted from the long wait, we skipped the vehicle walkaround (which, unfortunately, turned out to be a mistake), especially since the gated, heavily monitored parking lot gave me the impression the vehicles were secure and pre-inspected.

Due to the LA wildfires during our trip, we barely used the car; it was parked in an underground garage most of the time. The next day, before heading for a cruise, we returned the car. That's when things got worse. I was told there was damage to the front fog light area—damage that looked old and in a place that made no sense based on how I parked (front-in).

When I requested pre-rental photos or inspection reports, I was sent a damage report that showed mileage 5,000 miles lower than when I returned the car (66660 vs my actual 71590). When I asked for clarification about this huge discrepancy, I was completely ignored.

To add insult to injury, they charged me over $6,100 USD, claiming repairs for the front bumper, grill, fender, lamps, radiator, cooling system, AC/heater, diagnostics, and miscellaneous fees. The actual damage they cited was minor and clearly unrelated to things like the radiator and AC system.

Thankfully, my Visa insurance covered this, but the experience left a terrible impression. Needless to say, I won't be renting from Thrifty or Hertz again. Renters beware—do your own inspection no matter how tired or rushed you are, and be cautious of questionable damage claims.

Date of experience: January 09, 2025

In April we went to Toronto, at the airport with our car reservation, our minivan was ready no problem. But they won't accept our collision waiver, which is covered by our credit card. They have their own insurance packages which you have to accept because you'll have no choice at that point, the total of 1 wk. of rental costs about $1000. Their practice is close to scamming and is definitely deceptive, can let people know this before reservation, buyers beware.

Date of experience: April 14, 2025

Since using Thrifty Car Rental at Orlando Airport I’ve had constant charges to my credit card. Firstly although I’d prepaid for my rental they tried to charge me $590 for an “upgrade” which I disputed and they then reluctantly refunded. They have now charged me over $107 for tolls when I’d already been charged for a prepaid toll pass. They don’t reply to emails and obviously don’t care about their customers. Avoid at all costs

Date of experience: May 14, 2025

No where to park your car when you go to collect the van, so be prepared for a long walk in. They only rent if you have an in date passport. Not a great business concept as I am sure I am not the only one who has not been abroad since Covid. And don't think logically and take your last passport which was issued to you be the Government, if it's not in date they will not count it. They must be scared that you are going to pack up the van in your suitcase and fly off to Benidorm with it.

Date of experience: May 30, 2025

''I would put 0 stars for them,''
Watch out for this car rental company in Budapest airport!! If you have to drop off a car out of office hours do NOT rent from them! They will find some damage on the returned car and they will charge you without you agreeing to it. For me they said I scratched the rear bumper(!!!) and they charged me $238. I never damaged anything, so please, all of you: Be careful, they are scammers ! Always make sure that you drop off your car to an attendant otherwise you will be charged some kind of damage.

Date of experience: May 18, 2025

I am a Blue Chip member so have used Thrifty in the past. Not sure going forward. And I’m not 100% certain if the blame lies entirely on Thrifty but maybe some on Priceline who I booked it through. I paid the majority of the bill at booking with Priceline. When I tried to do the early online check-in the price was much higher. Called Priceline and they contacted Thrifty who assured us everything is good. Of course when I checked in at the Thrifty counter, price was much higher. Contacted Priceline who contacted Thrifty and said I had to pay the price to get the car and to appeal the raised price after I returned the car. I did. It was a bit of a lengthy process but I thought worth the money. Then they sent a request for more information which I provided. Then……Nothing. I sent an email last week for an update. Nothing. I’m sending another email this morning.

Date of experience: April 14, 2025

I was provided a replacement thirsty car for four days after a breakdown. It was arranged through MG assist.

From the pre delivery phone call, delivery, the car it’s self and the driving and the return everything was what’s expect from a good car hire firm. At both ends Lincoln and Brighton branch staff were super friendly and efficient.

I’d like to thank all involved in helping to make a pleasant outcome to what may have been a disaster had I not had a car.

The vehicle provided was a Volvo x40 and is amazing to drive.

I’d give six stars for service if I could.

This was a uk rental.

Date of experience: May 12, 2025

Our rental experience with Thrifty was horrible. This was our family’s first trip to Hawaii and Thrifty made it less enjoyable. It took our representative at the airport a very long time to process our booking (over an hour). We used Expedia to book the rental, however we were NOT told beforehand about the $500 hold that would be placed due to using a debit card. Very unprofessional! We were also not told about the extra fuel and insurance fee fees required on the vehicle (totaling over $300)! Even worse to follow was that our car’s battery died. It was cranking 0 V. We called roadside assistance and had to wait nearly 2 hours for help. They would not bring us a replacement vehicle instead they sent AAA to jumpstart the vehicle and we had to drive ALL the way back to the airport to exchange it. Whenever we went to exchange the vehicle, they even mixed up the exchange vehicle’s make and model and had to wait for them to sort it out. My family is VERY displeased with our experience and we would NEVER recommend Thrifty to anyone.

Date of experience: April 25, 2025

Arranged for rental via phone due to problems with current rental. I got to the airport rental in Sarasota Florida and did not take the car and was told there would be no charge. Received a 600$ plus charge and told it was a non refundable charge that I was never told or sign for. Will never use thrifty again

Date of experience: April 10, 2025

BEWARE! Thrifty Las Vegas representatives will automatically add multiple insurance charges without discussing it with you. If you do not catch it, you will be charged significantly! I stated I was not interested in insurance and so the representative removed the charge, or so I thought! (She only removed one). Remaining on my receipt was a charge for the amount I expected to pay for the car and the agreed upon prepaid fuel (therefore I didn’t question it further). Instead, it was a charge for additional insurance! It was not clear and never discussed with me, even after expressing I was not interested in insurance coverage. Thrifty encourages deceitful tactics and I suggest you take your business to one of the many other car rental businesses. If you do go through Thrifty, question every single line item and do not assume anything.

Additionally, I did not catch this until I returned from my trip and thought I was accidentally charged twice. I did reach out to Thrifty customer service (Tiana and Amanda) when I noticed this error, who notified me it was for insurance that I “agreed” to. They were not helpful and did not offer resolution after I explained this was never discussed with me.

Date of experience: April 08, 2025

Linda at the rental desk at Fort Myers Airport (RSW) in Florida was wonderful. She was kind and very helpful. The fact that the car was great was a bonus. Linda was the highlight. Thank you again Linda.

Date of experience: March 12, 2025

Thrifty collected a courtesy car without checking it or asking me to sign any handover doc/screen. They then started harassing me to pay them money for alleged damage. Extortion, pure and simple. Use another firm.

Date of experience: April 01, 2025

This was not a good experience at all. To save time we went right to the parking garage to get our vehicle through the app. We waited and waited to the tune of about an hour. I kept getting the message that our vehicle wasn't ready yet even though we were right on time for our pickup. Finally I went inside to the service desk which by now was very long. The woman told me "Oh, the app is down. It's not working". Really?? There was no people outside to inform me of this. Then when I asked if I could get a discount or upgrade due to the inconvenience she said I couldn't because when I booked I chose the option of paying in full rather than at the airport because that was the cheaper option. She offered to give me an upgrade and told me where to go and I could choose from any in that particular area. It turns out the car I originally booked was sitting right there amongst the "upgrades". Biggest bait and switch operation I've seen!! Never again, I will rent from a different company for sure.

Date of experience: October 05, 2024

Bad service, scam, not Nice people. Not wanted to think in solutions

Date of experience: February 22, 2025

Date of experience: January 05, 2025

Hired a thirfty car through booking.com in fuertuventura and we had 5 people in front and it took and hour to get to the front as they were making a determined effort to up sell. They actually put additional insurance on our agreement and tried to get me to approve until I told them I had my own. Then the scam to beat all scams they told us we had to clean and hoover the car to the same standard as when we collected it or we would be charged for cleaning

Date of experience: December 10, 2024

I had a terrible experience with Thrifty car rental. Despite being asked to check in online to save time, I ended up waiting in line for over 90 minutes. To make things worse, I tried calling for assistance but couldn’t get through. My piece of advice: save yourself the frustration and go somewhere else. Thrifty is not worth it.

Date of experience: November 23, 2024

Absolute thieves! I was charged for two days on a one day car rental on a car that was returned early with a full tank of gas. I am disputing the charge and will never rent from any compy associated with Thievery, I mean Thrifty, no I mean the first one.

Date of experience: November 12, 2024

A nightmare here. When we arrived there was a large crowd waiting for their cars. Someone said it could be two hours, but I thought they were exaggerating.

I prepaid for a car two weeks ago, then I checked in online early to "skip the line" as they advertise. It's been more than an hour and a half waiting and I still don't have a car. I complained to the management and they just said it's a busy weekend. But that's not an excuse. Why do you rent out so many cars if you can't handle it?

Don't rent here.

Date of experience: August 31, 2024