Rental Car Center at San Diego International Airport

They have made travel to San Diego un bearable! This is THE worst rental car center in the country. I will take a taxi for my travels to and from the airport on my future visits. At any given time there is a bus load of passengers waiting to go to and from the airport! Right now behind me there at 75 people waiting at 5am. RIDICULOUS! Thank you San Diego for ruining your airport rental facilities! I have travelled over a million miles in the last 10 years this is not my first rodeo!

Once I finally got my bag from the baggage claim, I kept looking for a sign that would guide me to the Rental Car Center shuttle. I didn’t see any sign. I decided to guess before I went to search for an airport employee. I followed the signs for «Ground Transportation.» Then I happened to look outside and there was the shuttle! I guess, «Ground Transportation» is self explanatory, but it is a broad term. A sign for «Rental Car Center» would be much more specific.
I unfortunately got in line when the shuttle was too full. However, another one came 5 – 10 minutes later so not bad. The driver was so friendly and helped load my bags. Once at the Rental Car Center, it was pretty easy to navigate and Enterprise was great.
The parking garage and return of the car was pretty easy. Though when I returned I accidentally missed the correct turn and end up having to drive out of the building and turning around to re-​enter as there was no other way to go to the second level once you missed the turn.
Returning to the airport was just a good and the shuttle driver not as friendly as the one coming, but still good and helpful.

This is the way every car rental center should be! It felt like the future of car rental service. Complimentary shuttle service is a piece of cake from the airport terminal to the center, and vice versa. Follow the signs to the company you are renting from, check in at the counters or a touchscreen kiosk, print your receipt, then walk over the the escalator up to pick up your car.
Once up at the Alamo car pick up area, an employee showed us which aisle to pick from. We walked over, picked a car in the category we reserved (i.e. Economy/​Compact/​etc.), got in, drove to the exit, turned in our receipt, and boom… we were on our way! Such an efficient, easy, and streamlined process!
Returning our rental was just as quick and easy. It’s such a massive, modern and cool structure that it kind of felt like we were returning our little spaceship to the mothership (haha)!
Well done modernizing the car rental process San Diego Airport!

This is a rental car return system designed and established by people that haven’t a clue. They should be flushed down a toilet.
All rental cars, regardless of brand, are returned to a central location located somewhere East of Tecate, no where near the actual airport. If you need gas, you will need to drive somewhere West of Belgrade to find a gas station.
I’m a gold Hertz member & there was no one to return the car to. Since the wait would mean we would miss our flight, we rushed to a shuttle bus line, differentiated by your terminal of choice. Ours was terminal 2, and there were too many folks in line, so we had to wait for the next bus. The bus arrived, & without any explanation or announcement, we handed our bags to the silent driver who chucked our bags into the depths of the bus. Taking seats, the doors closed once the bus was full, and without a word, the bus took off at a snail’s pace.
We arrived at the Baggage Claim area of the Terminal about 45 minutes after we arrived at the Rental Car Return. There were no curbside check-​ins available since we were at the Baggage Claim area. After waiting for our bags to be retrieved by the silent driver, we entered the Terminal, looking for where to check in our bags. We found check in upstairs, and waited in line to check our bags.
It took about an extra hour to return the rental car and check our bags. That’s before waiting in line at TSA security!!! Because of the car rental return system disaster at San Diego’s airport, give yourself a least an extra hour, making a total of 3 hours to get to the airport. It’s shameful and makes travel to San Diego an unbelievable hassle. We will think twice about returning.

For us this was probably the most efficient shuttle/​car rental one stop shop I’ve ever been to! We had no wait time to get on the shuttle. Our bags were secured and stowed underneath so the bus was very comfortable with only a purse and laptop bag to worry about. The 2 employees were super friendly and fast. Even took the time to pull up the handles on our bags :-) I was a little nervous waiting to get off the bus seeing that our bags were out there and we couldn’t do anything if someone tried to take them. But overall a beautiful facility. Well done San Diego!

Let’s start this off by saying it’s raining get in San Diego not kool but now we (30 people) are standing out in it waiting for terminal 1 shuttle. We watch as 3 buses depart for terminal 2!!! I politely ask Faisal? Why there are so many buses for them and none for the? He stated «you can make a complaint if you want!» I said really that’s how your going to play this. Then I over hear another customer ask virtually the same question, as we were finally boarding a greyhound like bus, his response was «you can go over there and wait for the bus» what a piece of work this guy is
I travel to SD quite a bit and I think next time I will take a cab… sorry Avis

We just returned our car rental today to the San Diego Airport Budget at 3355 Admiral. We were happy with the car and the cost was fair, no problems with our pick-​up. However when returning the vehicle I was blown away by the lack of customer service from the manager on duty, Michael. He was extremely abrasive and harsh in speaking with us from the moment he opened his mouth. There were two marks on the car which were 100% on the car before driving off the lot but we did not make note of them unfortunately. This wasn’t a problem for us as we purchased the car insurance, but Michael treated us like criminals. His voice was raised the entire time we had to deal with him (felt like he was yelling), he walked quickly ahead of us expecting us to follow and talk to the back of his head, he threw paperwork in front of us without explaining what anything meant. I’ve worked in customer service, hospitality, for 10 years and these are all signs that the man is bitter and hates his job. His attitude does not seem to reflect on his employees yet, however it needs to be addressed ASAP so it is understood you do not treat your paying customer this way. I am sure this is not typical of budget service as no company would stand by management of this kind, however his attitude reflects terrible on the Budget Brand. He needs a wake up call from higher up management before his attitude trickles down to his team. I hope this message reaches him before he ruins more Budget experiences.

The shuttle service drivers have been so far (after 10 trips) impolite and ofter slams the door front of your nose. They rarely try to help anyone.
The new car rental center is pretty okay and easy to deal w your business. I love San Diego but this ruins the first and last day of your trip.

Fail. If you’re renting a nice car within town or taking someone to rent a car who is staying with you, there are very, very, very, very, few spots to park and wait. Or to park and unload your family closer to the shuttles. The small parking area is quickly congested. Sure the inside of pretty. Yes, there’s a coffee shop. But if you can’t park to accompany your friend inside, you end up endlessly circling. Worse yet, try to figure out where to unload your family safely. Your kid is liable to get hit by a car. Were you looking to get sued San Diego airport? I predict one soon. Not by me, but kids were milliseconds away from getting hit?
But this doesn’t have to be the case. There is a whole lot there with few if any cars. Just block off part of it for whoever needs to park on that area and open up some spots. Seriously, what is wrong with you guys?

How are people rating the consolidated Rental Car Center at San Diego International Airport facility 5 stars? There are HUNDREDS of people (not an exaggeration) zigzagging in lines and no buses in sight. They need to run a more efficient bus routing if you want hundreds of people shuttling to a consolidated location! In the past, if you rented from one of the major car rental companies, you could just walk to the counter and hop on your affiliated bus, typically with no wait. Now everyone is waiting no matter what. After finally getting on a bus, there are STILL hundreds of people in line! It just doesn’t end!

Very cool new building and slick design for the new retail car structure at the San Diego International Airport. Must have cost a fortune to build. However the line to get from the retail car structure back to the airport was very long. And the driver of the shuttle was very rude and un-​empathetic when people were asking him questions. The shuttle system and driver are lame. However, I rented a car through Avis and the agent was super cool. At least the rental car companies know what they are doing!

Rented a car this past weekend at the San Diego airport’s new consolidated retail car facility. The place is beautiful! Once I got to the facility the retail car company was very professional and it was easy. The problem was the shuttle to and from the airport. It took forever to wait for a shuttle and there was a huge line of people waiting to board it. Then once the shuttle did arrive the shuttle drive was a total jerk! Talk about someone who does not know or care what customer service is. The airport needs to do a better job at training their shuttle drivers at the retail car facility. This experience left me totally unimpressed with the San Diego airport and its new retail car procedure.

Love it — love it — love it
Soooo much easier to pick up and drop off a rental car. Only one bus to wait for and they leave and arrive frequently. No more waiting at the curb for a particular bus to arrive.
The new center adds much appreciated convenience to travel

I am in love with this place! Finally! San Diego has accepted that they are a tourist destination with a large airport and that car rental shuttle roulette was not a good system! If you’ve flown through San Diego airport and needed a rental car prior to January 2016, you’ll understand rental shuttle roulette. It never mattered who you booked with, it always seemed that they would be the one company with only one shuttle running and it would be 30 minutes before you were picked up.
Now, they have these brand new buses that pick you up in the same location as before and take you to one building where all of the car rental companies are housed. All of the companies have check in locations on the first floor so just find your car rental provider to get your contract and you’re all set. Some of the companies have their cars on the first floor, some are on the second and mine was on the third for this particular trip. They have escalators and elevators to take you up to the floor you need. Once there, an attendant directs you to the stall you’re looking for and you load up. Then, on the way out, you stop and do your once over for dents and dings and away you go.
Returning the car was just as easy — there was a ton of signage to point me in the right direction and after driving up to the third floor, I handed over my keys and went back to the first floor to grab my shuttle. On your return trip to the airport, the shuttles are broken up by either Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. There is signage everywhere to let you know which airline leaves out of which terminal, but the driver will double check with you as well before loading your luggage. If your flight doesn’t leave for awhile they have a seating area out front of the building and vending machines too.
Overall, I’m so excited to see San Diego step it up and add this wonderful addition to their airport. I don’t mind paying the airport fees when they go to improvements such as this!

I’m so glad to see San Diego finally have a consolidated rental car facility like Las Vegas. It definitely simplifies the process to have one bus as shuttle to all rental car companies and one spot to return for all rental car companies.
First, let me compliment the person that was in charge of the signage to direct you to the rental car facility. This is a new facility so it won’t be on many maps or in GPS. Heck, I couldn’t even check in here on Unilocal when I was there the last weekend of January. Despite the lack of map or GPS direction I had zero issues finding the facility on my return date. There are many signs on the freeways and streets to lead you to the facility. You’d have to be oblivious to miss this place. The shuttle bus driver also noted on drop off to the facility that we should exit Sassafras when returning. There is also proper signage inside the center to help you find your particular rental company.
I loved the feel of the new, clean, shiny facility. Everything felt open and clean. The garage felt clean a showroom instead of a garage. The lanes were nice and wide. I also loved the GPS loading pull off spot as you exit. Genius!
This facility all around is very well done. Every employee I encountered was helpful and friendly. «You stay classy San Diego.»

As Courtney K reported in detail (good writer :)) San Diego has a shiny new rental car facility which is a great improvement over the old system of little agencies all around with their own rental car shuttles. Just one big bus to serve all the rental car companies — nice! I ALWAYS use Enterprise and in the old system I would sometimes be nervous, especially if my plane was a little delayed, or close to 10.30pm arrival time in case the Enterprise on Hancock was shut. Indeed once I took an Avis reservation (24 hour service) just for that fear. Those stresses are now a thing of the past.
Based on one visit and one drop off all seems to run well and the building is pristine.
One tiny tip — when you return vehicles it would be considerate of the facility to mark more clearly where you turn right to enter, and which lane. I was not the only one confused. In a good mood today so give y’all 5 stars any way — great improvement over the SAN of yesteryear :)
Thank you!
Review #22 2016

Bottom Line: A beautiful, bright, huge new rental car complex but there are some kinks to be worked out.
Effective January 20, 2016 the San Diego Airport now has a brand new, huge, sparkling Rental Car Center where all car rental agencies are located including Advantage, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, EZ, Fox, Hertz, M Car, National, Payless, SixT, Thrifty and Zipcar.
Like many airports that have central rental car plazas, when arriving at San Diego International Airport you get on a bus that takes you offsite for car rentals. At SAN specifically, from the terminal you have to go over the sky bridge and back down to the curb where courtesy shuttles pick up customers. Then a brand new, white sparkling bus will drive you around to the other side of the airport where the Rental Car Center is located. Just when you think you have been on the bus long enough to be in Tijuana the bus drops customers off at the curb and the rental car offices are located nearby. But, to get to the actual cars, housed in a ginormous parking garage, it can be quite the trek. Some car rental agencies are on the ground floor but most are on the second floor (Advantage, Alamo, Enterprise, EZ, Fox and National) or third floor (Avis, Budget, MCar, Payless, SixT, Zipcar). Note that there are separate escalators for the second and third floors. In other words, you can take an escalator from the first to second floor or from the first to third floor, but there is not an escalator connecting the second to third floor. Of course there are stairs and elevators too.
As noted above, the Rental Car Center is beautiful and bright but its also huge. Yes, there might be more variety of cars but be prepared to walk through the large parking garage. Even if you have status at a car rental agency put on your sneakers because it could be quite a hike to get to your vehicle which I learned the hard way as I meandered through the garage looking for Avis Preferred spot H40. Phew, are we there yet?!?
As a brand new facility there are some kinks to be worked out, in my opinion. First, I noticed that the bus drivers are completely overwhelmed with the large number of passengers squeezing on their busses and they can’t quite handle the volume of people or their luggage (and sometimes their baggage). Wink. Additionally, signage inside the garage could be improved. Some signs pointing towards the exit would be great and I think larger and additional yield signs might be needed on the ramps. Also, I didn’t see any speed limit signs posted so feel free to put the pedal to the metal on that Ford Fiesta and feel what four cylinders and 120HP feels like!
Long time San Diegans know that the San Diego airport is way too small for San Diego and the city has been struggling on how to make the airport bigger. Although this change doesn’t make the actual footprint of the airport bigger, I do applaud them for really trying to ease airport travel congestion. Now, if only the city could pull together to build a new stadium for the Carson Char. .. , I mean San Diego Chargers, that would be great!