Rent From Locals: Car Rental in Albania & Greece Reviews 

This is a review of RentFromLocals Albania and Rental Car Klei.
Rental Klei:
Do NOT rent a car from these people. They are a small rental car business called “Rental Car Klei” which hide behind the fact that they are a business and that there’s nothing that can be done if you have any sort of dispute with them over a fine because “they didn’t apply the fine” —basically they like to hide behind a non-existent corporate entity to avoid disputes with you directly, while claiming that they themselves would be made to pay the fine by their boss, which, in fact, is them. Mind you, almost all of their fines are around €200 to €300. They are just young guys trying to make bank from tourists however they can, luring you in with a cheaper rental and then claiming bogus fines.
Also, it’s very likely that you will have a dispute with them because their contracts are very poorly written and unclear, but they will defend it tooth and nail. Even IF you find a clause that directly protects you from paying a fine!!!
We did NOT violate any of the terms of the contract that we signed. However, when we argued our case in-person, they refused to go through mediation to settle it before the fine would be paid, instead insisting that we pay on the spot.
Something else worth mentioning:
Their “office” is a small room in a small building out of sight AND not at the RentFromLocals location shown on Google maps; it’s at a secluded location and an approximately 10 minute walk from the airport.
What is also questionable is their way of communicating. Which is, to say the least, unprofessional. They repeatedly ignored important questions and kept calling my fiancé “bro”. Also, don’t even bother with trying to contact them through email written in your contract – it doesn’t exist! Your email will just bounce back and you’ll have to contact the host for a new one.
Do not make the same mistake that we did in dealing with these people. I suggest going elsewhere.
Moving on to RentFromLocals Albania:
The dispute process took around 2 business days. RFL replied very quickly, which I appreciate, but I’m very disappointed with their way of “solving” our dispute. Saying that they turned their backs on us sounds harsh, but it is somewhat true. While they did review our evidence for the dispute and communicated accordingly, their way of approaching the situation was more than a bit unfortunate. They chose a neutral stance on a case which involved a safety concern and predatory behavior of the host, which is…wild. We chose RentFromLocals as a well
regarded platform and were disappointed. But at the same time, we can’t blame them completely for not picking a side. We hope that customers in the future won't have to deal with such predatory behavior if they choose to rent through this platform.
And honestly, if it was possible to
leave a zero star review, I would. But, mind you, the zero wouldn’t be for RFL, but rather the rental we picked. Maybe our choice was just unfortunate and RFL is indeed a good platform to rent through.

This review is in two parts: My experience with the specific business we rented from (Rental car Klei), and then my experience with rent from locals customer support.

Rental car Klei:

Do NOT rent a car from these people. Firstly, this isn’t an individual. They are a small rental car “business” called “rental car Klei” which hide behind the fact that they are a business and that there’s nothing that can be done if you have any sort of dispute with them over a fine. They claim that they themselves would be made to pay the fine by their boss, but they are in fact the bosses. It is worth saying that almost all of their fines are at least €200. In our experience, they are just a bunch of guys trying to get money from tourists however they can.

Furthermore, it’s likely that you will have a dispute with them because their contracts are very poorly written and unclear. We stand by our view that we did not violate any of the terms of the contract that we signed. However, when we argued our case in-person, they refused to go through mediation to settle it before the fine would be paid, instead insisting that we pay on the spot.

A few other things:

- Their “office” is a tiny room and not at the rentfromlocals location shown on Google maps; it’s at a secluded location and a 10+ minute walk from the airport.

- The front tyres of our car were very worn and there was no windshield wiper fluid.

- They communicate unprofessionally, repeatedly ignoring important questions and calling you “bro”. They also provide incorrect contact information on their rental contracts.

Do not make the same mistake that I did in dealing with these people.

Rent from locals:

The only reason this is a 3 star review and not a 1 star review is the dedicated, polite and very responsive rent from locals support team. Although I wasn’t able to get the outcome I wanted through them, I understand how their tools are limited by not being party to the rental agreement contract.

I think we found a bad apple, but that doesn’t mean that you will if you use this platform.

The car was exactly as we expected based on the description. Everything went smoothly: the process was quick and drop-off was flexible. I highly recommend them.

I had a great experience renting a car from this company. The booking process was easy, the price was fair, and the staff were friendly and professional. Communication was excellent, and they were always quick to help whenever I had questions. Everything went smoothly, and I would definitely rent from them again. Highly recommended!

Web site is esay to use. Process is safe and clear.
About selecting car, there iscnot so many filter option, you cant define wich year of the car you want (its more like 5-10 years, or before 2020 or before year...etc)
Filters It can be improve,
And nit enough detail photo inside, you do not see if there is usb for exemple

I rent car to be delivered to the hotel in Durres and drop off to the Tirana airport. Reservation was easy and quick, provider answered quickly and delivered car at specified time. Car was better than we expected. We agreed to return car to the airport and provider informed exact location. Thank you for good service!

Clear terms and conditions regarding the rent a car. Good price. No hidden charges.

All good, nice experience 😉

friendly staff, all issues were fixed, thank you

Super easy arranged! The car worked perfect! I completely recommend it!

All the rental process was quick and clear. Thanks a lot!

Good maintained car. Only downside is there might be delay of 1 hr in getting the car with the booked time. A 10 euro charge for washing and cleaning is payable during return. If returning at Tirana Airport keep the Airport parking entry receipt you get at the barrier which is to be handed over to the Goldcabs team (else pay 20 euros). We booked medium suv for 4 days.

Everything went smooth and he was easy to find and easy to return the car as well

It was easy, cheap and the car was working well.

The experience was good. The vehicle was a new car—a top-of-the-line, automatic Opel Grandland that ran perfectly. It made the trip very pleasant, which is saying a lot for a country with such chaotic driving conditions. The seller was very approachable and attentive from the very first contact. I recommend getting comprehensive insurance.

Very good , car 👍🏼

The car correspond to the one selected, pick up and drop off quick super quick. Everything perfect