Thrifty Car Rental

Thrifty’s Oakland Airport location is pretty good! They always have one of the most competitive rates, their employees have always been helpful to me, they do a good job of keeping their cars clean, and the only problems I’ve encountered were immediately corrected. I will say that they do sometimes get a bit of a line building up at the car pick-​up station, but that’s just because they have good rental rates and return customers.

I found the customer service very unorganized and time consuming.
I am a blue chip member because it is meant to make the process faster but when I had to deal with a counter person Name: Markus everything was anything but that.
Markus kept messing up on my paper work, he increased the mount of my rental cost by accident and laughs about it, as well as raising his voice not only to myself but other and adding the word sir at the end.
I asked for a manager and he stated with a raised tone SHE IS NOT AVALIABLE!
I asked again, Markus then said she would not be available for 30min.
I then looked at the camera that was close by paused then looked at him.
He then stopped what he was doing and magically the manager appeared. WOW!
I guess as long as he says sir he thinks that makes his high volume ok. NOT!
Markus needs ether retraining or to be moved to another location to work on how he handles customers and the paper work. Period.

Easy deal here. Reserved a car online, and it was there when we went to get it.
Quick pick-​up.
The gentlemen who received the car upon return had a sense of humor. You know how it gets when you are on your way back from a vacation; feeling relax and happy. He helped my smile stay on my face.

Stuck in Oakland for work on Thanksgiving day, I made a reservation with Thrifty to rent a car for five hours to find somewhere to eat a Thansgiving meal. I prepaid to ensure my vehicle would be ready when I showed up because I had a limited amount of time.
When I arrived at the rental facility I was told that no cars were available, and that I was number five on the waiting list. The man waiting in front of me said that he had already been waiting 45 mins. The Thrifty employees seemed indifferent. I finally ended up walking back to my hotel and calling my credit card company to dispute the rental charge because they never did find a car for me.
Thrifty is absolutely the worst. Hard to imagine how they stay in business. Truly a train wreck.

DONT RENT FROM THRIFTY!!! TERRIBLE! I rented a vehicle on Sunday morning. I returned it Monday morning after renting it for 24 hours and 45 minutes. I specifically told the man behind the counter that I wanted NO SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE. They charged me for two days of insurance. Two days of rental. I was overcharged over $ 75 for miscellaneous charges that I didn’t agree to in the first place and they refused to work with me. My credit card company said there was nothing they could do. F**K THRIFTY IN THEIR STUPID ASSES.

Its OST — One Star Tuesday again!!!
The rating is primarily due to Jasmin, the woman behind the counter when I arrived on Sat, ¹⁰⁄₁₀ @ 11:15 am. First of all, she was playing with her phone, and I had to say something before acknowledged me. Secondarily, she displayed the attitude she was doing me a favor by letting me rent a car: «I’m sorry I pay for your salary». Lastly, she didn’t say thank you as I left.
To top it off, the car smelled of smoke. I know car companies charge for returning a car like this. You would have thought they would have cleaned it, or put a febreeze air freshener before renting it out again.
Overall, a very unpleasant experience that I will not have in the future. There is NFW I am renting a car from Thrifty again!!!

I sent my wife my wife ahead on the bus to get the car as I was busy handling the luggage. They wouldn’t let her pick it up the since it was in my name, but she could transfer the rental to her name since she was also a Blue Chip member. Added a few minutes to the rental process, but somehow the rental cost dropped $ 15. Return process was a breeze. Pulled into the lot, a guy scanned the car and looked it over. Gave me a receipt and didn’t even ask for the proof of fill-​up.

Nothing really good to say about this rental. I rent from various different companies in different cities, not really loyal to anyone when it comes to car rental. The main issue I have with this location and thrifty in general is that they create no customer goodwill.
During our trip to Oakland /​San Francisco, two of us had different car rentals, and we each end up with a $ 15 or $ 20 administrative fee regarding tolls. My issue is that customer representative does not properly explain the fees or use of tolls. My total toll cost was $ 4 and I had a $ 15 fee assessed. Prior to rental I had asked the representative and if there were any fees assessed or how it all works. I guess if you decline the «all-​inclusive» pass at $ 12 ish you are setup for failure. In the future I will get the all inclusive pass and drive back and forth all day until I incur hundreds in charges.
I called thrifty but they could care less. They said read the 10 page signed agreement, I said train your employees better and please don’t misrepresent.

I had my doubts. I did my research and it seemed thrifty was very hit or miss, but mostly miss. I took a chance and booked them anyway. $ 44 for a two day rental? Really you can’t beat that!
I was one of the lucky ones. I had a car booked for a Sunday at noon. It was the Sunday before Labor Day, which I guess meant that no one was renting cars. The whole rental complex was pretty dead. I waited in the thrifty line behind one other person. I waited a total of 5 – 6 mins before my turn. Pretty straight forward– tried to upsell some things but weren’t pushy about it. No hidden fees! There was a $ 55 (or something) deposit/​hold on my credit card that was refunded when I returned the car. Returning the car was just as easy. I pulled into the lot, some guy scanned the car and checked it out, and then printed me a receipt.
The car itself was totally fine. It was a Chevy spark with about 17,000 miles on it. The sound system and internal features were kind of weak, but I really didn’t mind. Gas mileage was good. Car was in good shape.
I noticed that the rental complex was busier when I returned. The lines seemed long. But not just thrifty’s line, even the larger companies had big lines.

Don’t rent from Thrifty.
Came in from out of state and showed up 30 minutes after scheduled reservation and was told my mid-​sized car was given away and that I could only get a compact, yet we overheard the agent issue a mid-​sized car to the couple checking in after us. Although there were other cars on the lot that could have been rented, the company didn’t have the keys.
The compact car they finally gave me was sitting with a broken windshield wiper. When we brought it to a staff member’s attention, he accused us of breaking the car. John (unknown spelling and probably not his real name) pointed at another compact and said to take it. While we were loading our luggage he then parked another car so that it was blocking the driveway at the only exit, which prevented us from being able to leave. When he came back out to move the car, we asked him why he couldn’t have provided the car he was driving and he became agitated and stated our only option other than the compact car was to cancel our reservation.
It was after midnight. The other car rental agencies were also closed. We still had additional driving time to get to our final destination and had been provided with no other option or offer for reasonable assistance. He didn’t even wait for a response and simply walked away.
The compact car is a stripped down, basic, no frills model with manual windows and a basic radio. It is so small, we had to put luggage on the back seat.
The company is responsible for the poor business practices and the substandard behaviors and attitudes of its employees. This isn’t our first exposure to what appears to be Thrifty’s standard employee practices, but it will be the last time we give them our business.
It’s past time for companies to be held to a higher standard. We’re voting with our wallets and telling Thrifty, «You’ve lost our business!»

No, no, no… so much no.
First — I had a reservation for 7:00, showed up early, and didn’t end up driving off of the lot until a bit past 7:30 I waited for at least 7 or 8 minutes before anybody showed up behind the counter to check my rental car out to me. When the woman did, I noticed she was the same person who had been smoking a cigarette around the corner watching the line of people pile up behind me wondering WhoTF worked here, if anyone. I guess Thrifty allows their employees to take smoke breaks with nobody to cover their spot. Makes about as much sense as my entire experience there.
Next — the woman who eventually did help me go through the rental process was something close to horrid. She was so unpleasant, her attitude toward every customer was basically one of intolerance, and she kept asking me if I wanted the insurance they offered. No thanks lady, already told you twice I’ve got my own. I digress. Just a bad bad attitude and unfriendly in general. I also had to ask for the slip of paper to document scratches and dings on the car which was begrudgingly handed over to me after some consternation trying to finding it behind the desk.
Finally — apparently Thrifty doesn’t staff their parking lot. Like, at all. The same woman from the counter was running the exit booth as well. Or rather, NOT running the exit booth. I waited in line with 4 other cars for 10 minutes before she made her way over there and checked a few people through. Then some teenage kid showed up behind her and assumed his position. I guess he works there? Maybe he was taking one of those Thrifty breaks where you don’t have to get someone to cover your position and just leave everyone hanging for X amount of time. I asked him if he thought I should document a scratch above the driver’s handle, and he said, «I don’t know, if you want to.» Umm, isn’t it your FCKING JOB TO KNOW?
Never. Again. Rent from Enterprise, you’ll spend more $ but be treated so much better.

I would never rent from thrifty again! First the cars are damaged too much for them to be renting out. When we first got the rental he guy told us pick any car in that row. I said well I want something nice and he pointed to a white Dodge Charger and said we have that one its a good car. So we went out looking at it and decided it was nice. We put all of our bags in it and baby car seat everything. The guy that helped us was no where to be found. We lost another 20 minutes trying to find him. Then he said that wasn’t a rental car for thrifty and laughed!!! Why would you play such a joke on people!!! We had to then unload and move to another car. They didn’t even want to check the cars I felt like this was all so unprofessional considering I have rented many times and never experienced this. The guy at the rental counter sold us a pass so we could go to the toll booths. When it came time we were by toll booths I had no clue if the pass covered going through that booth so we had to pay. I looked in the glove box through my paperwork for a list of toll booths it was good for and nothing. I tried numerous of times to contact the location about this and couldn’t get anyone.
I don’t understand how you can not give information on where it can be used and we paid for this! Now I have paid even more bcuz I had to pay for the tolls everytime I went through!
When we returning the car they tried to charge me for a crack on the windshield that was there when we rented he vehicle. The crack kept spreading more on a daily basis. Why not fix the vehicles before renting them and it would have never spread and now I’m being blamed for it! There was a long hose hanging from vehicle and what not and they don’t care to check them or fix them properly before renting.
I would never ever rent from thrifty again especially at the Oakland airport!

Visitors from overseas had the window of their Thrifty rental broken into in SF. I was apprehensive about dealing with Thrifty at OAK after the reviews here. I called the toll free number to report the matter and arrange for an exchange. Fortunately the overseas deal covered LDW. James at Thrifty OAK was most helpful and efficient in getting my guests a new vehicle. And they are on their travels now.

Dirty cars and horrible customer service.

They had no car for me when I arrived, despite my reservation and having paid up front for insurance. So the agent sent me to rent from Enterprise instead. She promised that Thrifty would pay any difference in cost and gave me a signed authorization form for reimbursement. After nine weeks a check arrives with no explanation and it is $ 90 short. So in the end I am out nearly twice what Thrifty promised. If it’s an issue of charges that weren’t included in the price Thrifty promised when I reserved, that’s no excuse. That price included «taxes fees and surcharges.» I guess all that’s left to explain the extra $ 90 is an act of God, who it seems will not be on your side, if you reserve your car with Thrifty. I suppose I should also put a shout out to Enterprise for charging $ 300 more than Thrifty at least said they could rent me a car for.

Amateur night. They rented me car with little or no oil. Drove 70 miles when the dash warning light came on. They wanted me to drive another 50 miles to get a replacement car. Uh, no. Not my responsibility. Finally replaced the vehicle 4 hours later cutting into a busy personal schedule. I’ll be going with Hertz from now on.

–we waited in line for 30 min there was only one person at the counter and there was only one person ahead of us.
–we got the pickup ticket went outside and had to wait for another 10 min behind 3 more people and that that time there were 2 more angry customer behind us (wifey and i)
–we got the last car in the lot and as we were pulling out an angry lady pulled in and i over heard she’s yelling her tag is expired.
–we took the last beater on the lot, a late model black Chrysler 200 with stretches all over the hood, trunk sides, front bumper has a big gap that looks like it was about to fall off. over all it took us about over an hour to get our car because when we drove to the gate we were stuck behind 4 cars because they were registering and inspecting each car as they leave (very poor setup)
–we returned the car just last night 9/​28, as a regular renter we always fill up the gas. last night we filled it up pass full and this morning they’re charging up 10 dollars for fuel.
no thanks! my first and my last! F that! 10 bucks ain’t a big deal, but a shit service is!

My car had 39k miles on it. That is pretty high for a rental. It had scratches all over, and a door ding. The person who would traditionally walked us to the car simply pointed to what row and told us to pick and get on our own. That doesn’t seem to be very good on the customer service spectrum. Then, here is the kicker … when you purchase your own gas to return the vehicle with a full tank, you are instructed to provide the receipt for the fill up. Absurd. I asked the attendant why, and the response was «I don’t know … I just work here». REALLY???
This company has some serious work if they ever want to be portrayed as «pro-​customer service». Hertz — you just wasted a lot of money with the purchase 6 months ago. Right about now I bet some executive is scratching his head going … why did we buy this company? Ha Ha. Should have tried it out first.

Can this be the same place described in other Unilocal reviews?
Being an Oaklander, I was especially happy to have this experience, knowing how important first impressions are for visitors to this or any city. This rental experience from Thrifty really was as good as it gets! Quick service; very pleasant. patient, and friendly staff,; car type I booked was available (no bait and switch tactics). NO high pressure tactics to get me to buy insurance. The young lady at the front desk, named Sunnie, was super-​helpful!
There was a large number of the type cars I wanted (compact) and the man at the lot area – I think his name is Jonathon – helped me with choosing. «This is the newest one – try that!» The car is fantastic.
Thank you all, Thrifty Oakland Airport people! You made renting a car FUN and hassle-​free!

I had originally made my reservation through Priceline. I chose Fox because they were the better deal. When I got to the rental agency there was a huge line. I normally come every other weekend and this was the busiest. Once I got to the counter, the lady said that they had no cars available and referred me to Avis. She said they would honor the same price.
Once at Avis I was received by Jorge. He was able to accommodate me and give me an even better deal. Thanks Avis…