AutoRentals - Reviews and experiences

I was on my way to a weekend with family when the pickup at the Tampa desk turned into a headache. I booked through an aggregator and the confirmation email showed an estimated total of about $70, so I planned my budget. At the counter the final bill was well over $400 plus a big security hold; surprise taxes, service fees and mandatory insurance I was told I couldn't avoid unless I had written validation they approved. I explained my credit card and my personal auto policy both cover rentals, but that didn't fly. Staff were firm about rental cars not leaving the state too, which I didn't expect. The delivery and customer service felt opaque and heavy-handed. I use rentals a lot for work and errands, so this was disappointing and inconvenient.

I wouldn't trust this booking site for anything important. I first found it through Kayak and, foolishly, even tipped a colleague about the low rates — I regret that now. Booked a week in Costa Rica months ahead, paid in full for a specific car with their partner. Arrived and were told the car didn’t exist; after a long back-and-forth they shoved an old van at us, the counter agent even warned us it had issues. We were stuck there, in a foreign place, so we took it — not exactly safe, and nobody at the booking site helped. Emails went unanswered. Then another time in Reno the advertised daily rate was tiny, but at checkout the total ballooned to several times that; weird fees, surprise charges, whatever you want to call them. I tried calling, sent complaint emails, crickets. So yes, unreliable availability and opaque pricing — that’s my conclusion. I’m a bit annoyed, not dramatic, just practical: if you value straightforward customer support and predictable costs, look elsewhere. If you do use it, double-check screenshots, and maybe don’t tell coworkers about“deals” until you’ve actually received the car.

the manager came out, apologized, dug through the lot and found an actual Vivaro that worked for us, and even knocked a little off the bill because of the hassle. That’s the exact second I knew it would be okay — when they stopped shrugging and started fixing. We left later than planned but in the right vehicle, everyone relieved and joking again. Compared to other rental headaches I’ve had, this felt like a real upgrade: not perfect, little bumps, but handled. Grateful they sorted it and didn’t just leave us to pay premium or scramble. Made the trip enjoyable in the end.

I figured we'd be cruising by noon. Our flight was late and suddenly the whole plan fell apart. We landed, waited, arrived at the airport rental desk well past our slot and the agent says, "Rentalcars.com cancelled your booking about 15 minutes after your pickup time." That's the weird bit. So even if your flight was on time and you get stuck at baggage or the shuttle, tough luck. Our prepayment — $500 — supposedly stayed with them. We ended up doing the whole desk rental thing and paying full price again. Charming. Trying to reach rentalcars.com from overseas was a pain. When someone finally answered they said we should have cancelled 48 hours before. Right. Because you plan a delay two days out. They offered a day's credit only if you made another booking. That felt like a hunt for logic. To be fair, the car itself drove fine. It was clean enough and got us where we needed. Key fob felt cheap; steering wheel had travel smudges. Still ran like a champ on the highway. The pickup process, though, felt chaotic and kind of stingy. Not perfect. If you're short on time or flights are touch-and-go, prepare for a headache and maybe extra cost. Learned my lesson. Won't forget it soon.