Booked a Mitsubishi Eclipse for 12 days and paid for all the extras which we highly recommend. Pick up/drop off at the airport was good with quick processing time at the offices. The car was great; ju... See more
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Experience Iceland with Lava Car Rental. We offer brand new rental cars, 4x4 and Campers for your Iceland trip. We offer a high class service and great prices.
Flugvellir 23, 230, Keflavik, Iceland
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Replied to 72% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 2 weeks
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Before booking I've looked through the requirements needed regarding the driver's license, it had some mentions about 12 months and it must not be a learner's license. It all looked promising until I've sent an email as the booking confirmation email contained a sentence regarding a "full" driver's license being required to make sure my license would be accepted.
For other people from Switzerland or other countries, this is a small warning that the license on probation (3 years in Switzerland) is not considered valid, although this is mentioned nowhere on their website. It simply mentions a learner's license is not valid, which is not the same.
I do understand I've made my booking without the refundable payment method. However, even after sending them 5 different links (that I looked at before booking, there may be more) of their very own website, including their own Rental Agreement and Terms of Service, that it doesn't mention anything about a license on probation not being valid, no (partial) refund even gets considered and the response time to emails goes from 10m-3h to multiple days. As per the description on those 5 links I've sent them, a license on probation would be valid. See by yourself with a search on Google with: "driver's license" site:lavacarrental.is
The Rental Agreement mentions a "valid" license is required; the Terms of Service mentions a "full" driver's license is required. Their own website describes "full" as being "not a learner’s permit or the equivalent". The Swiss probation driver's license is not a learner's permit or equivalent, as per local government e-mail confirmation:
> The Swiss provisional driver's license is essentially a full-fledged driver's license and differs only in that it is valid for a limited period, as indicated by the expiration date listed on it.
In my opinion this must be stated on their website, so that there is no such confusion when booking a car with such a license. And I find it unfortunate that not even a partial refund gets considered, as it's quite misleading.
As a side note, the support team is really responsive and my emails were answered pretty quickly and I appreciated that very much!
Extremely efficient delivery and return of the car. Smooth and helpful staff.
The car was brand new so that part was taken care of.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
Everything was great as expected except the colour of the car. I was given a red/maroon dacia duster, while online and on websites google pictures appear that they got white ones. I understand it is based on availability but they could of been more transparent about their fleet of cars to feel less deceived. I was slightly dissapointed by the colour of the car. The positives are certainly higher though, despite all this, i greatly appreciate the model guarantees, this gave me relief knowing what I will expect. The prices are somewhat reasonable, I like the no deposit option and pick up/drop off was very easy. Staff were friendly and helpful. Car was great. I like how staff were responsive in answering my questions when emailing them. Overall it has been a positive experience. The buses to get there was slightly confusing, even with the detailed instructions they emailed me. The bus driver from airport was rude. It would of been nice if there were more options on model guarantees at more reasonable prices with clearer transparency of their fleet. Overall, this experience has certainly been more positive than other places I hired cars.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
I am writing this review after giving this company three weeks to address my formal complaint privately. Having spent over 30 years working in customer service management, I am absolutely stunned by both the aggressive behavior of a member of their frontline staff and the company’s total lack of accountability.
While the vehicle itself was satisfactory, the return process was a deeply upsetting experience. The female staff member who handled my return was openly hostile, aggressive, and highly impolite. She spoke to me in a condescending manner designed to make me feel stupid. In my 30 years of managing customer service teams, if an employee of mine spoke to a customer this way, they would have been dismissed the next day.
To add to the poor experience, I was hit with a horrendous fine for returning the car 4 hours late. While I accept it was past the deadline, it was still well within the standard 24-hour rental window, and the fee levied felt purely punitive—almost as if this staff member took pleasure in inflicting financial pain on a customer.
I notified the company immediately three weeks ago. I have followed up three or four times since, only to be met with generic responses claiming the matter is "under investigation." It is clear to me now that their strategy is to stall, hoping that if they wait long enough, the customer will simply forget and go away.
The reverse is true. The longer I am ignored, the more disappointed I am. This company clearly does not care about customer satisfaction or basic professional decency. If you value being treated with respect, rent your car elsewhere.
Booking reference - C-143611

Reply from Lava Car Rental
I feel there’s room for improvement
There is some construction at the airport, currently. However, that being said, the signage could be improved regardless.
There are only a few car rental counters within the airport. For Lava, it would be beneficial for them to go place signs in the airport, or work with the airport to increase the visibility of the orange “other car rental” line/path out side and through the tunnels
Also, there really needs to be more than 1-2 shuttles. The amount of time it takes to complete a loop is far too long
My car was fine.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
This was a very smooth rental car experience. The car was clean and drove well. Joanna and Tammam made everything clear and were very helpful! Would recommend!

Reply from Lava Car Rental
Amazing customer service and it was a pretty straightforward process in getting the rental car, no hidden fees and by far the best rental company I’ve ever used in Iceland. Would 100% rent from them again! The location is a short shuttle ride from Keflavík airport and the buses run pretty regularly

Reply from Lava Car Rental
Rented a Tesla Model 3 with them, from 10 to 16/06/2026. The car was perfect, the staff was very friendly and the service provided was just amazing, everything was easy and they followed up how it was going during every day of my rental period, asking if there was any problem, providing some helpful tips, etc. I could not be happier with the experience I had with Lava.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
There are plenty of car hire companies at or near the airport where it's possible to hire a car, drive away, come back and go home. The real value of a car hire company is when things go wrong
We had an issue with our hire car. I phoned and was given some sound advise. I then came into the pick up point where the issue was inspected. I should add that the car was not in a dangerous state, but it was obvious that the car needed some mechanical work that would delay our holiday. Within a few minutes I was offered a replacement car. No hassle, no excuses. Just excellent service.
I have friends who are planning to visit Iceland in the near future. I will be recommending renting a car from Lava.
Thanks for great service.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
We had a wonderful stay thanks to renting a Renault Kangoo from Lava Car Rental. The key handover upon arrival and return went very smoothly. We will gladly recommend this rental company to future visitors to Iceland.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
Smooth booking process, very gold location, great service, super friendly workers.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
Emmanuel and Omar were very helpful in getting us all set up and then transporting us to our hotel. The car was good, and we were able to comfortably fit several people and luggage into the vehicle for a multi day road trip through the Circle and into Vik.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
Fast, easy. Right close to the airport.
Emmanuel and Omar were very helpful.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
The service was great and the car was in good condition.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
Exceptionally easy to book & online check in was great!
Car was exactly what we requested & spotless.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
The booking was easy. The pick up at the airport was simple. The car was clean but with some small damages. The tyres were good. During our 2 weeks trip we asked some questions to the contact center and we get quick answers.
The drop off was done early in the morning. It was quickly done also. The staff was kind.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
Just dropped off the car at their premises. Everything was perfect, we arrived in Iceland at 2 AM, and their shuttle was really quick, just one call and 5 minutes later they were picking us up. We did the check in online so when we arrived we got the car pretty quick. The car was well maintained and worked properly. The drop off was really quick as well, and while waiting they offered free coffee. Their staff was really nice and ready to answer any questions we had, both in person and couple of them via email. I'm sure I will choose them again the next time I visit this wonderful country.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
Booking process was easy. Price not great but i think it was quite fair because the car was almost new and we had no issues at all.
Rental company sent us few emails with some local tips and discount vouchers. It was useful during our trip.
Staff in rental office was more neutral than friendly. But that is ok.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
The entire process was handled smoothly, professionally, and courteously; the shuttle service to and from the airport was also pleasantly organized.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
TLDR: we almost got scammed $9k and were violently harassed for days from Lava Car Rental.
If I could give zero stars I would. This will be long, just like the saga they created, but believe me, it’ll be worth your time. If nothing goes wrong with your car, Lava Car Rentals is fine- as shown in the positive reviews. But make no mistake, as soon as anything happens to your car rental, they will stop at nothing to claim negligence & incompetence on the renter’s behalf. They have zero reason to claim any wrong doing on their part bc they don’t gain any money this way.
We rented a car for 10 days & had been driving this vehicle with no issues for a week. While driving in a remote location, a warning sign flashed on the dashboard screen & then all of the lights came on. The car immediately stopped working on the freeway. Pedals stopped working & steering was minimal. We had to push it off the road to prevent a traffic jam. When calling for help, were immediately met with yelling & claiming we put the wrong fuel in the vehicle. We had been driving this car for a week at this point & have had no issue putting in Petrol into our Petrol vehicle.
We finally get in communication with their third-party mechanic that she sent out. He says his eta is 2 hours. At the 2 hour mark I ask for an updated eta & he says he took a wrong road & he will be another hour. We had to get back to our Airbnb for an emergency issue with our host (electric fire)& that we were still a 2 hour distance from our stay & couldn’t wait another hour. This was at 8:30pm. Eventually he said he could tow the car to our airbnb once he fixed it & explicitly said he did not think this sounded like a fuel issue.
We find a way back to our place and get a call from him a few hours later. He says that his mechanic on-site has found it’s a mixed fuel issue based on him smelling the gas tank. I asked him how he could smell mixed fuel & explained that we have receipts proving we never put diesel in the car. He becomes irate & starts yelling for over an hour. He said the receipts we have don’t matter & this is negligence on our end, so the insurance will not cover the fees and now he will not tow the car to us. By this time, it is 1am and he says we can hitch hike to get the car. He said he would bring us the car if we “click this link” and pay him for his services. Immediate red flag & felt like a scam. We have in writing from this mechanic, after his worker “fixed” the car there is no damage to the car & the vehicle is safe to drive. Under Lava Car Rental’s terms & conditions, there was no negligence committed since the car is not damaged. Unrelated note, I had an unknown charge on my card that same day so my bank locked my card which was a blessing in disguise.
We called Lava Car Rental the next morning & explained that this mechanic had no proof of negligence other than a “smell test” & he told us previously this didn’t sound like a fuel issue. Unfortunately, it was the same woman as before & she started yelling at us again. She gave us the same link & demanded us to pay $2,300 to get the car back. If we didn’t pay, we didn’t get the car. She also threatened our friend’s rental car (from a different company). Right after, I got attempted charges to my card, totaling over $9,000. My partner & I received dozens of calls & threatening messages from the mechanic demanding our money & that he “wouldn’t stop until it’s paid.” He sent personal information (bdays & address) about myself & my partner & threatened us repeatedly. I have pictures of his aggressive and hostile harassment documented. Just to be clear, we paid for our rental car for all 10 days when we only had it for 7 of the days. There was no damage to the car. The mechanic fees were covered under our insurance & we were not liable for any other fees.
Lava Car Rental scams their renters & works with a third party mechanic to fulfill this scam. They escalated this scam to threats when we refused to pay based on legal standings. This was not only unprofessional but entirely illegal.

Reply from Lava Car Rental
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