Thrifty Car Rental Reviews 56

The 3 companies work together. Booking with DoYouItaly, collecting the car from Hertz and returning the car to Thrifty. We booked and paid EURO 361.39 which was shown as the daily rate times 8 days. Upon collection, there was a dispute over the type gears. To our disappointment, we had to agree on a slight upgrade and we ended up renting the car for one extra day. To our shock, after returning the car full of petrol and with no scratches, we received on our credit card statement another charge for EURO 506.30!
After chasing and challenging this charge for two and a half months, we finally got an email, saying "Please note that the prepaid amount of €361.39 was applied as a voucher to your rental, covering the rental days cost only. The additional €506.30 billed by Thrifty relates to value-added services purchased during the rental period. As shown on the attached invoice, the charges have been split into two parts:
Prepaid booking charge (voucher applied)
Value-added services billed separately by Thrifty.
This means both amounts are linked to the same hire, but reflect different components of the overall cost."
Bottom line, believing we had a rented car for Approximately Australian $84 per day, we ended up paying Australian $178 per day.

Corporate fraud and proved.
Do not use
Charge for items / damage not incurred.
Disgusting firm

I rented a car with Thrifty Australia in Ayers Rock Airport, for two days. Firstly, there was a big line to pick up the car. Then, the cost of all concepts (except for the daily rent) were higher than what had been quoted in the reservation, increasing the total cost around 15% more than as per the reservation. Also, big surprise (not mentioned anywhere in the reservation), there was a 100 km limit per day. When I got in the car, the odometer read just 1 km higher than what appeared in my receipt, which seemed odd. At pickup, they said they would "take" $200 AUS" as deposit, and what they actually did was charge my credit card that amount together with the rental cost, and here is where they particularly mess around with you. When I returned the car, they asked me just to leave the keys in a box at the airport and assured me I would get my final invoice once they checked all was good with the car and they would return the deposit. because of the extra kilometers I used, I had a $162 AUS balance refund and they sent me the final invoice acknowledging this amount. This was my 4th day in my 15 day trip in Australia, so I did not keep track of the refund during the next 11 days. As an international traveller, I obviously used an international credit card (a Visa). When I returned home and reviewed all my charges, I noticed I was missing the refund from Thrifty. I emailed them three times and it was only the third email they finally responded to, saying that the refund had been rejected by my bank probably because my card was no longer valid. Of course, this was not the case so I wrote again. This time I got a response saying that my invoice was not in their files and they were looking for more details. On the next email exchange they now said that the refund would be for a different amount (less of course) because of a "difference in kilometers", which was false and I had photos of the odometer to prove it. They finally acknowledged the right refund amount but went back to say that my bank was rejecting the refund. I called my bank and spent 23 minutes on the call as my bank reviewed with detail my account and they confirmed that there was no evidence of any attempt from a third party, including Thrifty, to make a payment (the refund) to my card or of any payment attempt being refused. I told this to Thrifty and they simply stuck to their story: "It is your bank, not us, so we can't make the refund". This is outrageous. Worst rental experience I have ever had. In my 15 day trip in Australia I rented a car with three different companies (Budget in Melbourne, Thrifty in Ayers Rock, and No Birds in Sydney). Budget was fine but expensive, Thrifty was terrible, and No Birds was the best. Avoid Thrifty, they are not to trust.

We were assisted by Paul at the Thrifty hire desk Sydney Airport. Paul was extremely helpful, friendly and knowledgeable and made the process quick, efficient and enjoyable.

I had organised to rent a Toyota Prado online from Thrifty. When I arrived at Sydney Airport Thrifty Car rental desk they told me I was getting a Ford Explorer which is in the same category. I was not happy with that because I am considering buying a Toyota Prado. I went to the pick up location where I met another lovely Thrifty lady called Christine. I explained my disappointment with the car I had been given she sorted it all out with no problem. Christine is an awesome face for Thrifty and is so outgoing when it comes to customer satisfaction. Thanks Christine and I hope your company recognises the outstanding work that you do.

The queues were ridiculous.
Took me 2 hours to collect my car after a 13 hour flight.
Had to fight to get my deposit back.
Now (June 2025) I receive a letter stating my personal drivers licence and bank details were hacked and stolen in OCT 2024!!
Took them 8 months to tell me
utter disgrace.
I'll never use Thrifty or dollar again.

Awful. Pricing is very deceptive and the customer service reps at the pickup location deliberately mislead you.

Turns out they add fees as a percentage of your total bill. For instance a 33% 'location fee' for picking and dropping off the car at an airport, or an Admin Fee of 3.5%). So when they quote you the cost of an extra day, adding insurance or a second driver, the true price is actually the quoted price +36.5%.

They also apply these percentage fees to the already exorbitant refuelling fees. For about 40 litres of fuel used they charged us $225 - or $5.56 a litre. On top of this, they add the 36.5%. Meaning they charged us over $300 for 40 litres of fuel - or $7.60 a litre.

Avoid at all costs.

Customer service is not good at Melbourne airport thrifty/hertz. They are ignoring the feedback even. Car was full of strong smoke smell at pick up and feedback on drop off but no apology. Overall not good experience at all.

reserved a car in san diego. thrifty "ran out" of cars and left me stranded with 2 small children, only to get ripped off by another agency that had a car... and this was after waiting in the agency line for 90 minutes. this "pending availability" thing they do should be illegal. id love to see a class action lawsuit to this effect so people aren't stranded in a strange city without transpiration. will NEVER use hotwire or thrifty again.

Very bad. Rented a car in Alice Springs. Paid in advance at the tourist information center. When I picked up the car...surprise, surprise....I had to pay 202$ for a safety deposit which would be reimbursed ad soon as I dropped the car off. 2 days after I dropped it off ...surprise surprise... I was charged with that amount on my creditcard
Of course I had to complain at my bank and at thrifty before I got it back. When a corporation says they will do something and then they don't, they instantly loose my business for ever.

Horrible, horrible and horrible service! Never will I rent from this place again. For a flat tire and the company blamed me and refused to help me. Never again.

Arrived at check in counter and one person on desk to serve a long line of customers. No pre prepared documentation so it took over 45 minutes to get served. All other rental companies cleared very quickly an. Person was pleasant enough but limited keyboard skills and extremely slow. Wouldn't recommend if you are in a hurry

We rented a car in Miami, excellent car, and were told that everything was fine when we returned the car. Unfortunately we got a parking fine of $79,- but got a bill from Thirfty for $188,- which they deducted from my card. I contact them and ask for documentation on the bill but receive nothing, they say they can't see that they have deducted anything. After a month they make another withdrawal of $108 and still no response. Make sure they have your card details and can withdraw whatever they want without limit. They never get back when you contact them, I have now closed my card so they can no longer withdraw money.

I would write this zero stars if I could. I booked through a third-party rental, and paid in full. When I got to the counter after waiting in an extremely long line and having a flight delay, they refused to honor my reservation. The person at the counter was extremely unhelpful and unwilling to work with us. They made us take out a new reservation under Hertz. They charged us over double. Thrifty would not work with us and her will not work with us now. They owe us $963 and nobody is willing to help. I would never rent through this company or Hertz again. I will be sure to inform all my friends and family so they never have to go through an experience like this .

An excellent choice if you like to play quests for money.

Given - the car, according to the renter, without damage. I go to the car, it was already night, I take a flashlight, check it and “unexpectedly” find damages. I take photos and send them to the company.

When returning the car, they did not check it right away, since it was early in the morning. They checked it later and sent a report with “damages” for the amount of the deposit)))

I noticed 2 of the 3 damages at night, so after long negotiations, they didn’t invoice for them, but I didn’t notice one mini scratch (not paint, but just polishing), for which I received a fine of 125 euros (70 euros for a scratch, 40 euros for administrative fees (whatever that means) and + VAT). The employee's comment was that it was necessary to take out insurance. No photo? So you are to blame.

Therefore, in this company, either take the car ONLY with insurance, or inspect it with spotlights and a magnifying glass before you take it! And take pictures of EVERYTHING, even the most harmless scratches, both BEFORE your appointment and as you LEAVE the car! I am not sure that this scratch did not appear in the period of time from delivery to reception by the employee. I've taken a car at Eurocar before and never had such situations happen.

I Had a prepared reservation for 8:30 pm. At the Atlanta Airport. Waited in line for 35 min and when I got to the counter they said it would be an hour before any cars are ready. It’s been 65 min and still no car. Over 30 people are waiting. No cars and all had reservations.

CAUTION! Still going around in circles with Thrifty/Hertz over a rental from 10/3/2022, booked through EconomyBookings.com (warning NEVER use them). Special rate of $25 per day for 12 days actually charged $928,77. Have requested a breakdown of (over) charges. EconB says they don't show breakdown, only Thrifty can. Hertz keeps asking for booking numbers and claims they cannot find the rental - even charged me $25 to search. But Hertz had no trouble charging my rental claim $700 for accident that was not covered by my auto insurance. My credit card would pay deductible if Hertz would only supply a breakdown of charges.

I keep getting passed around and asked for same info given multiple times, with no real intelligent response. If they cannot provide a breakdown of charges, then can they charge ANY AMOUNT they wish with no validation of the charges? Also sending complaints to several Consumer Protection Agencies. BEWARE!!!!!

Absolutely appalled. Made a one-way trip with Thrifty. Price was good, car was clean and effective. We passed through several toll roads on the way, expecting to be invoiced for them since we had no way of paying them on a car we didn't own during the trip.

Thrifty WAITED until the tolls were overdue (we returned the car BEFORE THIS), and then charged us the fee for toll evasion! What should've been a twenty dollar expense became almost seventy, after we'd already paid them over 1.5k for the trip, cleaned/vacuumed/wiped down the car after use and returned it full of fuel!

Will NEVER be travelling with Thrifty or Hertz again.

We accidentally entered the wrong surname when booking a thrifty vehicle through booking.com. Paul Saltoon at Sydney airport spent considerable time on our behalf trying to get booking.com to send an advice with the correct surname but like me could get no where with them. Paul then found us a great car at a great price. 10 out of 10 Paul - much appreciated David Morris

I booked a car with Thrifty through Booking.com.
I PAID in full over $900, and took an Uber to pick up the car.
I got to the Moorabbin branch and a customer services rep told me 'we don't have a car for you'. I stood there in disbelief and saw a yard full of cars. They have a network across Melbourne, but wouldn't lift a finger to find one. I begged them to help me as I needed to be somewhere in an hour. Still not a glimpse of help. I asked to speak to the manager and was told they were at a family lunch. I had to spend the next hour contacting booking.com, trying to get a refund,
whilst simultaneously trying to source another car. They watched on and did nothing.This is customer service bogged down in some meaningless red tape.

I left, their premises to find a woman sitting on the curb outside. Her license had expired thus she was told she could not have her car as she couldn't find a pdf on her phone of her renewed license. Apparently she had told them to give me her car. The reps had told her, they would not because it was a different category!!!

I marched back in and demanded that considering the stress they had created, they could give me her car.
Again they repeated the 'computer says no' nonsense.
I insisted they called the manager and get approval to give me the so called 'upgrade' that cost me over $400 more.
I was so desperate to get out of there and be able to get to my obligations that I paid and left crying from the stress of dealing with Thrifty.

I reminded them this was not an upgrade as that generally implies a certain value add, which this was not.
I will be writing to their manager and customer complaints. I will let them know how much I was forced to fight to leave with a car at all.

Unbelievable that in this day and age a US global brand would allow such a terrible customer experience.
Never again.