Rental Cars - Reviews and experiences

Plane lands, I'm tired and my card only shows initials, so I half-expected a fight. At pickup three others had the same hiccup, but the desk actually fixed it fast, waived most fees and even bumped me into a nicer car. I remember thinking — okay, this actually saved the start of our vacation.

I remember the call when they actually explained the fine print — that's when I relaxed. I'd been burned before by hidden fees, so I was cautiously happy. Service was friendly, clear and made booking painless, in the end, really.

I had an emergency on Saturday and told them I'd swing by later. I roll up and the place is dark — locked up, not a soul. They only open Monday mornings, fair enough, but then they insist I had 24 hours to pick up a car I already paid seven days for. That twist just felt wrong. Went back Monday, still no car, and now they're refusing a refund. Customer service was unhelpful and kind of cold, which didn't help. Kinda ridiculous, made me sigh more than shout. My tip: double-check hours and get any refund promises in writing.

Budget said they couldn’t refund because it was dealt with outside them, and Rentalcars/Booking told me my cancellation was too late and kept the payment. So I lost time, had to rebook, and chased refunds for weeks. I told the friend to steer clear, but I can’t fault the actual cars.

Not impressed — I wouldn’t recommend them. I say that up front because the rest is just why. A coworker tipped me about this place and I booked thinking it’d be fine; the car itself was okay and the app looked slick, but the refund saga ruined it. I followed their steps, provided everything they asked for, and still they kept refusing the refund — over and over, really, no real explanation. Support felt dismissive, and at one point an AI agent pretended to help but didn’t actually resolve anything. I’m filing a complaint with consumer services, and I’ve warned a few friends not to bother. There’s a bit of potential here if they actually trained staff to own mistakes, but until then I’d go elsewhere. Annoying, sad, could be better.

passport and driver's licence. So I took a long taxi out to their office in Fernao Ferro, ready to get the keys. Then they refused the car because I didn't have the physical payment card on me. That was the kicker — no one had told me about the card and the staff were rigid about it. I checked later and there's no refund. Drive on Holidays told me to contact the broker; rentalcars.com said it was my fault. I felt small and stuck. One thing stuck with me: refusing service over a missing card could've been fixed with a quick call or a manager looking into it. Not a great experience, won't risk them again.

don't expect a car or your money back. Booked via rentalcars.com (through Booking.com) for Sofia Airport. On arrival Enterprise refused to hand over the keys because I didn't have an International Driving Permit — insisted I buy some dubious online "IDP" right there. According to Bulgarian rules I, as a Bulgarian citizen with a valid foreign licence, was allowed to drive for a year without an IDP, and I told them that. No dice. Enterprise refused service and said the payment was with rentalcars. I spent two weeks calling and emailing rentalcars, sent legal citations, and they kept saying an IDP was required and refused a refund. Oddly the agent at the desk was polite — surprised me — but it didn't help. Advice: call the local office first, get written confirmation, or forget the middleman.

Halfway through the claim I realised I’d been pushed into a system that cares more about closing tickets than actually helping people. I’d booked a hire car through an airline site that routes bookings to an aggregator and added the extra protection they promoted — paid a bit more to feel secure about the uneven, unpaved access to the cottage. Pre-purchase everything looked tidy and straightforward. After the incident, the entire “delivery” of the service — meaning how they handled my claim, how they communicated, and the actual promises they sold — unravelled fast.

I won't be using Rentalcars.com again. We booked months ahead for Cagliari, Sardinia and thought we were covered. At booking time most companies asked for a credit card — I don't have one, my wife does. So we put the reservation in her name, she was listed as the main driver and I was an extra. First impression at the desk was confusion. We arrived tired, with our twin one-year-olds, and Goldstar refused to hand over the keys. They said my wife needed an Italian ID card even though she had passport and licence. That felt off, and honestly a bit discriminatory since if I’d been the main driver they said the same rule wouldn’t apply. I called Rentalcars.com right away. Their customer service was slow and not helpful. They didn’t seem to have the full story and couldn't offer alternatives. To make matters worse they charged us a cancellation fee — over £100 — for something we didn’t cancel; the supplier simply wouldn't release the car. We ended up renting on the spot with Locauto at the airport. That went smoothly: they took my licence and a debit card and the whole thing was clearer and, in our case, cheaper. So yeah, it worked out in the end but only after stress, extra cost and wasted time. Not a great experience overall.

I had a really bad time with a car rental company not long ago. I went online to book a car, but when I got to the counter, they wouldn't let me take it because of some problem with my driver's license. I tried reaching out to customer service, but they didn't help at all. It seemed like the company and their partner were trying to deceive me.

I had a pretty rough time with a car rental company I've been using for over 7 years. I reserved a car for a 15-day trip in April 2024, just like I've done many times before. But when I got to the rental place, they wouldn't give me a car because I was using a debit card for the deposit. This was a total surprise and left me and my girlfriend stranded, messing up our holiday plans. When I tried to get a refund, they wouldn't give it to me and instead blamed me, their loyal customer. I ended up having to pay for 3 days of rental from the company that turned me away, feeling pretty let down and frustrated. I think car rental companies should only be listed on platforms if they accept all major card payment methods, which this company clearly didn't follow. After this bad experience, I've decided to close my account with them and go with a different service for my rentals in the future.

I had a horrible experience with this company. I booked a car with them, but when I showed up at the rental spot, they didn't have the car because of "personal issues". Even though I didn't get the service I paid for, Rentalcars wouldn't give me my money back. It's not cool to keep the payment for something I didn't get. I'm never using their services again.

I rented a car in Scotland with this company and had an accident on the first day. They blamed me for the accident and didn't give me another car or refund for the rest of the days. I reached out to them and after some back and forth, they did reimburse me for the days we missed with the car. Overall, they ended up providing great service!

So, like, I was trying to get this full protection cover insurance thing from Rental Cars, you know? And then I went to pick up my rental from Surprice at Heathrow UK, and they were all like "Nope, we don't take that insurance." I mean, seriously? I had to fork out for a whole new policy that ended up costing me a fortune before they handed over the car. Not cool at all, man! And when I tried to make a complaint, nobody gave a darn. Such a letdown, dude!

We rented a car in Japan and it was super easy! It made getting around a breeze, especially since we didn't speak the language. The whole process was quick and straightforward. We'd definitely recommend it to anyone traveling to a foreign country!

We rented a car but our credit card wouldn't go through. The guy was nice and let us cancel. Went to another rental place at Nis Airport and card worked fine. Showed them we put a 1200 Euro deposit on the same card elsewhere, they said we'd get our money back. But when we talked to customer service, they were no help at all. Definitely won't be going back there again!

I messed up my booking dates, but the customer service team was so awesome and understanding in helping me fix it. I really appreciate how fast and effective they were. It's clear they value making customers happy and will do whatever it takes to solve problems.

I used my debit card to buy a car but got scammed because they only accept physical credit cards, not virtual ones like Apple wallet. Now I'm broke and without a car.

I had a good experience booking a rental car with this service. The website was easy to use and helped me find the best deal. But when I had issues with the rental car company, it felt like the service didn't take responsibility. They were helpful with booking, but I wished they offered more help when things went wrong. Next time, I might book directly with the car company to avoid similar problems.

I've rented cars from this company a few times now, and I have to say I've been impressed each time. I love that I can easily book and cancel cars with no issues. The fact that I can show up at the rental counter with all the necessary documentation from the company (in English and the local language) just makes the whole process so smooth. Sure, sometimes you might have to pay a larger deposit, but I've always got it back in full, so it's not a big deal. Plus, when the rental company messed up (Mexico, Solar Eclipse, anyone?), RentalCars came through with a full refund after checking with the agency. They've definitely won my loyalty with their excellent service.