Thrifty Car Rentals Review - You rent a car, but the deal is a bomb!
May 24th, 2011, 04:41 PM
#1
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Thrifty Car Rentals Review - You rent a car, but the deal is a bomb!
I have posted a video on YouTube showing my experience, at:
http://youtu.be/xZplcXlghyA
But basically, what hapened is...
In february 2011, I rented a time bomb from Thrifty Car Rentals. I thought I was renting a car, that was what I booked, but Thrifty fooled me. After the first 200 kilometers the car started to fail, and my wife and I had a tough time for 15 days!
I was with my wife in Portugal and decided to rent a car with Thrifty to go to Spain. Our road trip started on a cold rainy day of winter, and the first thing to fail was the air conditioning. Have you tried to drive a car when it's cold outside without air conditioning? Well, the windshield gets dangerously foggy, and the only way to fix this is by opening the window. Thank god I was in Spain and not in Canada. It was "only" 9ºC (48º F) outside. Blood doesn't freeze at this temperature.
But that was only the begining...
The next day I noticed that one of the tires was flat, so I filled it up. But that tire was actually loosing air, permanently and gradually, so I had to do that everyday for two weeks. And the reason is because Thrifty doesn't offer assistance to their clients in Spain, even though I was only 200 kilometers away from their closest agency.They didn't offer (or accepted, after I asked) to send me a replacement car. Instead, they told me I should fix their vehicle myself!
When I finally got back to Lisbon and expressed my discontent, they didn't care much, and just offered a miserable 20% discount, as a deal to get rid of me. The amount would be refunded directly to my credit card account.
And that's when I was fooled again. I should have known they would never reimburse me. They were only trying to get rid of a complaining client before another sucker came in to burn his money away with them.
But I was still hopeful, trusting on the company and thinking that was an isolated problem when, one month Iater, I sent an e-mail through their website, at
Thrifty.com explaining what hapened. Few days later they confirmed my fear when I read their answer saying that was not their problem and I should deal straight with their agency at Lisbon. As if Thrifty Portugal, at Lisbon, was not really Thrifty.
It's really disapointing. I recomend this company to be a (bad) case of study for business schools around the world.
http://youtu.be/xZplcXlghyA
But basically, what hapened is...
In february 2011, I rented a time bomb from Thrifty Car Rentals. I thought I was renting a car, that was what I booked, but Thrifty fooled me. After the first 200 kilometers the car started to fail, and my wife and I had a tough time for 15 days!
I was with my wife in Portugal and decided to rent a car with Thrifty to go to Spain. Our road trip started on a cold rainy day of winter, and the first thing to fail was the air conditioning. Have you tried to drive a car when it's cold outside without air conditioning? Well, the windshield gets dangerously foggy, and the only way to fix this is by opening the window. Thank god I was in Spain and not in Canada. It was "only" 9ºC (48º F) outside. Blood doesn't freeze at this temperature.
But that was only the begining...
The next day I noticed that one of the tires was flat, so I filled it up. But that tire was actually loosing air, permanently and gradually, so I had to do that everyday for two weeks. And the reason is because Thrifty doesn't offer assistance to their clients in Spain, even though I was only 200 kilometers away from their closest agency.They didn't offer (or accepted, after I asked) to send me a replacement car. Instead, they told me I should fix their vehicle myself!
When I finally got back to Lisbon and expressed my discontent, they didn't care much, and just offered a miserable 20% discount, as a deal to get rid of me. The amount would be refunded directly to my credit card account.
And that's when I was fooled again. I should have known they would never reimburse me. They were only trying to get rid of a complaining client before another sucker came in to burn his money away with them.
But I was still hopeful, trusting on the company and thinking that was an isolated problem when, one month Iater, I sent an e-mail through their website, at
Thrifty.com explaining what hapened. Few days later they confirmed my fear when I read their answer saying that was not their problem and I should deal straight with their agency at Lisbon. As if Thrifty Portugal, at Lisbon, was not really Thrifty.
It's really disapointing. I recomend this company to be a (bad) case of study for business schools around the world.
May 24th, 2011, 05:22 PM
#2
Bummer, a dud rental car can ruin a trip.
I'm curious if you tried the defrost? Was it not working either? That would have taken care of the interior window fogging and kept you warm.
If it were me, I'd continue to pursue Thrifty, perhaps send them your Youtube link, that ought to light a fire under them.
I'm curious if you tried the defrost? Was it not working either? That would have taken care of the interior window fogging and kept you warm.
If it were me, I'd continue to pursue Thrifty, perhaps send them your Youtube link, that ought to light a fire under them.
May 25th, 2011, 05:46 AM
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Always wise to check a vehicle out carefully B4 renting
Most of your issues could have been prevented by you.
All the car rentals like Thrifty sub their stuff out to locals
yielding an expensive crappy experience with an older fleet
usually.
Europcar.com or Renault Eurodrive leases work out cheaper
better over there usually for me.
Most of your issues could have been prevented by you.
All the car rentals like Thrifty sub their stuff out to locals
yielding an expensive crappy experience with an older fleet
usually.
Europcar.com or Renault Eurodrive leases work out cheaper
better over there usually for me.
May 25th, 2011, 05:49 AM
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If you paid with a CC
Might file a merchant reversal/ dispute with your CC company.
That always gets their attention.
Get 100% of my money back for fraud
even if not free investigation and
adjustments are usually made by the offending franchisee
in Portugal in this case if poor quality service/rental.
Might file a merchant reversal/ dispute with your CC company.
That always gets their attention.
Get 100% of my money back for fraud
even if not free investigation and
adjustments are usually made by the offending franchisee
in Portugal in this case if poor quality service/rental.
Jul 24th, 2011, 08:10 AM
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So sad for your experience. You went through a lot considering that you wanted to do this traveling thing so bad. I just hope you were able to enjoy the places you went to, though. Did they gave you at least a little compensation for their defective car rentals?
Nov 16th, 2011, 01:12 PM
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Hi, See my Forum under " Dollar Rent a Car " in Travel tips. Thrifty is also part of Dollar Rent a car and has the same rules. They do not accept 3rd party insurance and if you are from the USA they will not accept VISA's CDW insurance.
Nov 16th, 2011, 09:41 PM
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Thank you for the heads up on this situation. I just read jkruge's post as well. My husband thinks I'm crazy when I'm paranoid about renting cars and the fear of being charged for extras or damage but I've read too many stories here on Fodor's to not be paranoid. Or a least forewarned and hopefully prepared!
Aug 6th, 2013, 06:32 AM
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Sounds like you had a bad time. I was on a road trip with a few friends in Ireland. Ireland is a beautiful place and is best traveled by road. The car we hired broke down a day after we had begun the trip. But the people at Dan Dooley car rental in Ireland saved the day for us. They sent in a repair guy within an hour of the break down. They are nationwide service providers and I liked the way they deliver their work.
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