Advantage Rent-A-Car

Well it started out with the rudest guy in the inspection building. Now I am fighting them for the $ 200.00 upsell. I am so angry. I will never rent form Advantage Rent A Car.
Be VERY careful when they say oh we will give you a better car… and you say this is fine as long as I’m not charged because this was the agent that suggested this. Guess what folks I am being charged for the upsell! Because they suck!!! NEVER AGAIN

Overall a-​ok, three stars. For my most recent experience.
What started out as a one star experience at pickup, due to the sullen attitude of the woman at the counter and her trying repeated to suggest upgrades and insurance coverages that I don’t need or want.
The car was ok, not really clean (inside or outside) and when the windows were rolled up and the sun warmed up the inside (which happens frequently in New Mexico) the car’s interior had a musty smell like a old wet swimsuit (which is really odd for being in the desert) obviously not cool, but we got around this by rolling with the windows down for a week.
Thankfully the car worked great for the whole trip, which is most important, after foregoing the expensive roadside assistance upcharges.
The lady at the return kiosk was pleasant (nice surprise) and efficient which helped push the whole experience to a solid three stars.
I have used them before three times based solely on the price and the reliability of the cars I have received, they are usually one of the better priced rental firms.

I have rented from Advantage many times, and @ ABQ 3+ times in 2016… and I have never felt the need to write a review.
But on this occasion, an exception will be made. Amber, a CS rep at the counter that has helped me the last few times, was a very professional agent who was respectful and thorough.
Top notch service, even though she was the only one working. She addressed us in line — said she was working as fast as possible, and was respectful throughout the process.
IMHO, manager-​type material. Calm and cool under pressure — focused on the task, and respectful.
Thnx :)

Recently rented a car from Advantage in Albuquerque and want to give them a shout out for their professionism and be courteous to deal with. After experiencing a difficult situation with another agency which left me high and dry without a car, Advantage came through and helped us and in addition gave a great car. The employee that assisted us was extremenely helpful and polite. Thanks Advantage for helping us to have a great vist to New Mexico.

Red head girl at the front desk is a complete B. Extremely rude and had an attitude the entire time. Paid waaaaay more than I was quoted online. They insisted that I needed an additional insurance than what I bought online. Was quoted $ 145 and ended up paying $ 288. The car was super dirty when we got it as well. And did I mention the red headed girl was extremely rude? Just saying.

I got quoted $ 46.19 for my weekend rental. Come Monday, I received a total bill for $ 341.41. EXCUSE ME?!? When I called to discuss my bill, the people were all extremely unhelpful and claimed that I agreed to all kinds of insurance and other add-​ons. The lady then proceeded to explain insurance to me… Thanks, lady. I understand how insurance works. Needless to say, I will NEVER use this company again and do not recommend it to anyone.

Why make a reservation for a car when you have to sit and wait for one anyway? Or is this just Advantage’s strategy to get me to upgrade to that $ 82 car that was ready and waiting? Either way, this is the last time I will be renting from them. Oh yes, and don’t forget, it’s $ 8 a gallon if you forget to fill up the tank!

Horrendous experience. My family and I arrived at the counter before midnight and there was no one there. The person closed up and went home, essentially stranding us even though we had a reservation. They made no effort to contact me. Luckily we were able to find a car from another company, or it would’ve been a long night sleeping in the airport. On my return trip I stopped at the counter and told the woman what had happened, expecting a profuse apology. Instead I was greeted with a blank stare and total silence. Suffice it to say I will never be using them again.

Short for «take advantage of you.» The weather was terrible when I landed and the assistant tried to convince me to upgrade. I turned down the upgrade and rental insurance because of company policy. She went in the back and said she’d do a free upgrade because of the weather. Turns out she slipped in the rental insurance instead, even though I have company coverage. I didn’t notice until the rental return… when I questioned her, she remembered and said she didn’t do «full» just vehicle. I had declined all and will not do business with them again during my many trips here.

Where do I begin? It took 45 minutes to get my reserved car when there were only about five people in line. The clerks were too busy trying to up-​sell each person on everything and trying to corner/​guilt them into purchasing upgrades. Nothing is asked but always phrased as «I recommend that you…» for whatever thing they want to upgrade.
Then nobody was outside to check the car upon leaving. They had a paper sign at the booth (that looked like it had been there awhile) saying to «go to the next booth» which is actually the exit with no «booth» or anyone to sign the car out and verify what damage has already occurred prior to me renting.
Lastly, I got a damaged car that had serious transmission problems in that it slipped out of transmission four times leaving me with no power steering and it being out of gear. Once it happened on the freeway while I was traveling 70mph and nearly caused me to wreck.

Sham. Internet says they rent out at $ 20/​day. I get full insurance coverage since I live in NYC and we don’t have cars, which usually doubles the price per day.
They hand me the amount for TWO days: $ 184. Um, what? Blood wants to boil…
I ask the very sweet agent (their counter agents are super nice) to break it down. Here’s the unethical approach Advantage takes: they added 3 – 4 items on their own, w/​o asking, which are useless add-​ons. So if you don’t scrutinize their ticket, you’ll pay another roughly $ 40/​day (on a quoted $ 20/​day rental remember).
Full auto coverage was $ 15-​$ 25 MORE PER DAY than Budget or Enterprise. Scam, scam, scam… Liability was the same per day.
I’ve been all over the world, never have I see this kind of below ethical approach at the onset of a contract. And in sweet Albuquerque!
Avoid Advantage and go with the bigger name brands we can trust. They may quote a slightly higher day price online, but it’s accurate. These guys cheat.

Yes, I realize many people out there are like me and buy the lowest cost one. Today, this was the lowest cost. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do that, I will keep doing it but I want to make everyone aware of two things. First, their pricing may be different when you show up than what your reservation says. Check it! It was only a few bucks different but clearly a dishonest practice. The girl at the counter told me it was a tax difference, just dishonest, I can look at the receipt and see the price is just different. That’s either a straight up lie, or she just didn’t care enough to even look, guess they go with… assume the customer is an idiot instead of always right. Second, the hard sell tactics and check the car for damage before you leave is really nasty. I recommend to take photos of all your bumpers before leaving the lot, ya never know if you will need them. The «your trip will be ruined if you don’t upgrade for 5x the 5x the price» tactic is also really bad. Just say no to everything at this place as they will try to talk you into extras. Oh, the «only an idiot wouldn’t upgrade» expression on her face, offensive. I’ll add, we were driving to Santa Fe, she pitched that the car was underpowered to make it up the «mountain». What a joke, it was totally fine. In fact it was so easy, I would have to clarify that one as dishonest too.
One positive note, they were half the price of all the others, you really do get what you pay for though, so come to the counter ready to be conned and possibly cheated.

Riley was a huge help in getting detailed, helpful information about local roads, detours, and which car was best for where we’re going. She also helped in getting the best deal for the coverage and car I wanted. Thanks!

A friend and I got rentals at the same time. He went to Hertz and I went to Advantage. He got his car first, it was almost a hundred dollars cheaper for the week, he had gotten a Corolla vs my Hyundai (that was scary to drive on the interstate) and he had gotten free coupons to local restaurants. Service was fine, car was a bit beat up.
The shuttles do run ²⁴⁄₇ from the airport to the rental building.

I have to say not only am I a self proclaimed Donut Queen I am also a car rental guru.
Advantage has been a hassle free event for me each time I’ve rented from them and they always have excellent deals through
.
The employees are always helpful and courteous. While you might have a little extra paperwork your first go-​around… I’m giving them two thimbs up of approval.

My mother has recently been traveling back and forth between Salt Lake City, UT and Farmington, NM as the executor of her aunt’s will. Her aunt, who is now in her nineties, has been experiencing declining health, which has lately required more travel for my mother. It’s easiest – and least expensive – to fly into Albuquerque, NM and drive three hours northeast to Farmington. In anticipation for an upcoming trip to move her aunt from her home into an assisted living community, I booked my mother a rental car this past Friday April 17, 2015 through Advantage in Albuquerque for May 8, 2015-​May 10, 2015 using the pre-​pay option that offers a discount. Using the pre-​pay option offers a very teeny, tiny discount for paying in full at the time of booking. However, the catch is that you are penalized $ 50 for canceling up to 24 hours prior to your reservation.
Unfortunately, a family emergency has arisen and my mother had to travel to Albuquerque on short notice this past Sunday April 19, 2015. We booked her last-​minute flight and rental car, which totaled nearly $ 600. Having dealt with other companies that are very understanding, empathetic, and far more than willing to do anything in their power to make these situations easier, I assumed that Advantage might be willing to make an exception to the $ 50 penalty. When I contacted their customer service department on Sunday April 19, 2015, I was told that, «There is no way to avoid the $ 50 penalty due to the terms and conditions accepted at the time of booking.» This was not news to me, but I was asking for an exception to the policy. I was informed that only «corporate» is allowed to make such exceptions and I was given a case number, but I have yet to hear back.
Dissatisfied with having to wait, and hoping for a more personable approach to dealing with this situation, I called yesterday morning, Monday April 20, 2015, and asked to speak with a supervisor. I was read the same script again, telling me that only corporate has the ability to make exceptions to this policy. I insisted that I would like to speak with a supervisor, but after waiting on hold for about 15 minutes I was told that the gentleman’s supervisor was busy and unable to take my call. I asked for the representative to have his supervisor contact me as soon as possible, and was told that his supervisor would be giving me a call later that same day.
I was not contacted by a supervisor at any point throughout the day. In a last-​ditch effort to get an answer, I attempted to contact the branch through which I would be renting the vehicle. After explaining the situation to the branch representative, she very kindly informed me that they don’t have the power to do anything – no exceptions, no waivers, no fee reductions, nothing. I thanked her for her time, she wished me luck, and that was the end of our correspondence.
As mentioned earlier, I have never dealt with a company whose employees are so limited in their ability to resolve customer complaints, especially in times of emergencies and circumstances beyond their control. I have never been told so unapologetically that there was nothing that could be done, and that it is unlikely that anyone will make an exception to refund our purchase.
I researched Advantage through the BBB and noticed that they had an F rating due to their untimely responses (if they respond at all) to customer complaints. I have also made attempts to contact Advantage through Twitter with no response. All of these things are a testament of a truly awful, pitiful, worthless, company that absolutely, 100% does not care about its customers.
Do yourself a favor and never, ever book a rental car with Advantage. Pay the higher prices for other companies and take comfort in knowing that you are getting the best value for your money. Learn from my mistake, because you will not regret it. Advantage does not care.

We made a reservation for a local rental from the albuquerque airport. When we arrived to pick up the car, they informed us that we needed to have the physical insurance card with us… we, like everybody else in the world, keep our insurance card in our car… which we didn’t have with us. (we were dropped off at the rental place.) And, no, despite what the virtually unintelligible customer service person said when I called, this info was NOT in the rental agreement. I’ve had trouble with advantage before and should have known better. Don’t waste your time with these rinky dink companies-​the small amount extra he REAL companies charge is worth not having these kinds of headaches! And btw, customer service was VERY rude and condescending… in addition to barely speaking English.

There’s nothing I love more than a hassle-​free car rental experience. You ask for a non-​smoking car; you get a non-​smoking car. You ask for a compact; you get a compact. You point out that neither of these things happened, and you don’t get lip from the jerks at the counter.
Apparently, it’s REALLY expensive renting a car here – more than double what I’ve paid for a week at other places. So thankfully Advantage was much lower than the exorbitant quotes from the agencies you’ve heard of, and thankfully, we weren’t scared off my all the terrible Unilocal reviews.
We had no wait, no hassle, and a nice, clean car. When they didn’t have the exact car we reserved, our agent patiently explained the differences between the two cars we could have instead, and that helped us make a better decision. She also made some recs for us as tourists for things we might like to do.
Returns were no hassle. I would definitely use this company again, at least here in ABQ.

This pathetic car rental agency closes 1 hour before all other agencies in the airport. Lights out & no one’s home regardless of whether you prepaid for your rental car. All the other car rental agencies shut down after all the flights came in. But not Advantage! They saved $ 8.00 per hour on that extra hour they closed early! When everyone in line called we all got the broken record support person at their central number. «We can not help you»… «Call back at 7am». «We know nothing»… No solutions. No compassion. Rent from someone else and come back and talk to them.
There is NO advantage to renting from Advantage!

Absolutely flawless rental experience! After seeing Robert’s review I was leery. I had made my reservation through Orbitz so called Advantage directly to make sure my car would be available. They confirmed over the phone and e-​mailed me a receipt.
When I arrived in ABQ I walked right up to the counter (no wait!) and was helped by a friendly man. He chatted cordially and offered the usual upgrades but was not pushy. I politely declined and he was perfectly fine with that. I was given my keys to my full size car and told which spot it would be in. I made the quick walk outside and there was my car waiting for me as promised. I had absolutely zero problem with my car throughout my trip. Next time I may opt for the prepay gas option though. You have to bring the car back full and let me tell you it is hard to find an open gas station near the airport late at night! The pre-​pay price per gallon was on par with what I paid when I finally found a gas station.
My flight home was so early in the morning that there was no Advantage employee present to check me out. I was told when I picked up that I should just drop my keys in the drop box on the counter, which I did. It was so easy! Too easy maybe, I thought. The next day I got my final receipt with no hidden charges or shenanigans of any kind.
And did I tell you I only paid $ 15/​day!!! Excellent experience. Thanks Advantage!

Low cost on the surface of it, but don’t trust these guys, and if you are desperate enough to use them make sure you keep your invoice. Theae guys are manipulative to the max and their view of customer seevice is explaining why they screwed you. Beware

This is on behalf of my Mom in Law. She forgot her iPhone in the car, and went back after an hour or so to get it back. It took some time to get it, but someone was in the process of wiping it clean from the purpose of stealing it. The GPS and tracking was turned off, all her apps were deleted. When she tried to get in touch with the manager to let him know. The manager called“JOE” instead of acknowledging the problem and looking into it, decided to blame her for a damage to the car, and when she said she has pictures of the car with no damage, he dropped that accusation and decided to blame her for turning the gps off and deleting her own apps… Guess we should have checked the review. This location seems to be run by crooks and thieves. BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE RUN BY A BUNCH OF THIEVES! If you forget something in the car, kiss it good bye.

On behalf of my mom: Wish I could give a negative review. I forgot my phone in the car I rented after returning it. When I went back to get my phone I later realized that an employee was attempting to steal it as the gps and been turned off and numerous aps had been deleted. When I called the manager to inform him what had happened he was UNBELIEVABLY rude. Told me that I was probably the one that did it and that no that that worked for him would do such a thing. All I was looking for was a simple «I’m so sorry this happened, I will look into it» but instead a call to the corporate office is how this is going to have to be resolved.

Great price but didn’t have a car we were expecting and had no alternatives to offer but go somewhere else. Not positive if I would use again but it was a very good price.

They didn’t have a car to fulfill my reservation… you know what they did? The agent there, though a little shy, walked me over to the next car rental place and helped me rent a vehicle. I was then handed a car to send in my receipt to have them reimburse me for that rental. They may not have had the right inventory, but they still fulfilled their obligation even at their own expense, GOOD JOB!!!

When you make a reservation to get a car and spend an hour trying to pick up said car, but leave without a car because of a faulty system, I believe that deserves 1 star. I was able to walk several desks down and rent a car from Enterprise for more money, so it wasn’t a credit card thing. It was that Advantage Rent-​A-​Car is, in my mind, a failure at what they do. You choose the cheapest rate, you get what you pay for (or in this case, don’t get what you agreed to pay for). They are a scam. They now have my personal information in their system, and have done nothing but waste my time; which is the last thing I want when I’m travelling.

If you live in ABQ, you are required to have about a zillion forms of identification, bank statements, utilities bills, and here is the kicker: personal automobile insurance before you can rent a car from Advantage.
I will be renting from Avis from now on.
Perhaps some of the citizens of Albuquerque are renting Ford Fusions and making one way trips to Mexico?

Convenient! The Albuquerque Sunport Airport was a very nice place. It is not too big, yet, the layout seemed organized and efficient.
The shuttle ran very often and we did not have to wait even after just missing a pickup.
The Advantage Rent-​A-​Car was chosen by Orbitz price comparison. When we got to the receptionist, she was not busy. She helped us choose a route to go from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, along the Turquoise Trail that was a fun choice. We even drove up to the top of the Sandia Mountain because of this route. Really fantastic weather that day, so it turned out to be the most beautiful experience. Thanks Advantage!
We rented a Mazda 3 and the mileage was great, the car drove well, and we have no complaints!
Return of the rental went very smoothly too at 6:30 am.
Unilocal 365 Challenge: ⁴⁶⁄₃₆₅