Thrifty South Africa Reviews 64

TrustScore 2.5 out of 5

2.4

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I had a very frustrating experience with Thrifty Car Rental. I rented a car for just one day on the 14th of March, and weeks later I still had not received my deposit back. An amount of R15,000 w... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Hi, I went to collect a car at Thrifty Hartfield on 18th July. I was assisted by Ayanda, helpful, energetic give advice where necessary. I had such awesome experience with her customer service. Keep... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

DON'T USE THRIFTY CAR RENTAL!!! Thrifty manipulate their agreements and contract clauses to suit themselves, clauses that are in direct conflict are used to justify debiting your account after yo... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Thrifty stole about R4000 from me. They could not find my booking on their system and charged me a new much higher rate in the day. More disconcerting is that rather than admitting their mistake, the... See more

Company details

  1. Car rental company
  2. Van rental agency

Information provided by various external sources

Thrifty car hire offers affordable vehicle rental rates in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and other locations throughout South Africa and Namibia.


Contact info

2.4

Poor

TrustScore 2.5 out of 5

64 reviews

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Hasn’t replied to negative reviews

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I had a very frustrating experience…

I had a very frustrating experience with Thrifty Car Rental. I rented a car for just one day on the 14th of March, and weeks later I still had not received my deposit back. An amount of R15,000 was taken from my account, which is a significant sum to be left unresolved for so long.

What made the situation worse was the lack of proactive communication. I had to make several follow-up calls myself before any action was finally taken on their side. Only after persistent effort did they begin addressing the issue.

Overall, the service was disappointing and stressful. I would expect a much smoother and more transparent process, especially when it comes to handling customer funds.

27 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Thrifty or is it Hertz

I booked a car on the Thrifty website about two months ago with full collision waiver. When I got to CT airport I found Thrifty to be operating from the Hertz office. They had my reservation number but no details of insurance and tried to sell me additional insurance for "only a small fee"- R1700! I booked with Thrifty not Hertz and would expect their system to be able to retrieve my details. How to lose a customer!

27 December 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Thieves and locations wrong.

Thieves.

Charged me for picking a car up early when I was literally still on a plane getting there.
Was inside a Herts for some bizarre reason and had no signposting anywhere.
All the Google locations were wrong.

24 December 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Rebranding won't fix the problem

Rebranding won't fix the problem, Sani or Thrifty. You left us in the lurch last January when your agent put my driver’s license out of view on the counter when he was typing the information in, and did not return it. Later we got a call that I left my license behind when it was the action of your agent that created the problem. So we asked them to send the driver’s license via courier from East London to where I was staying, Port Alfred, before we left for the Western Cape.

We understood there was action being taken, but hours later we found out that we were simply being ignored. So we had to hire our own agent to collect the license, at our own cost, to have it brought to Port Alfred in time. This was on a Saturday, and had we not acted, there would have been no courier service available. Our travel would have been disrupted, as I could not drive without a license, and risk having to explain the situation to the police.

We asked for reimbursement for the cost of the courier. You turned us down. Almost USD100.

I’ve been back to East London two times since, and will be back 2-3 times in 2024, and have certainly avoided Thrifty and will continue to do so.

So good luck with the rebranding, but for us, it doesn’t matter. And with SafAir now linked to First Car Rental, this is even easier.

David

6 January 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I wanted to extend my sincere gratitude…

I wanted to extend my sincere gratitude for the fantastic service and experience I had with SANI rentals. The car was in pristine condition and drove beautifully. Your friendly staff Zoleka, Rowen, Selvia, Collen and Patricia made the entire process a pleasure. I'll definitely recommend you to others based on this top-notch experience. Thank you for your exceptional service.

2 December 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I was Robbed on FUEL

I Booked a car from 5th to 10th, i even paid for an upgrade as i wanted automatic car. I was given a Car that was not full on Fuel. I took a picture. However i unaware filled the tank on return. Upon realizing
I raised this with the Staff at the East London office but they were telling me it was impossible. I showed them proof but they still dismissed me. The manager said they would investigate and give feedback but I still have Not received the call.

I even reported this to customer service and they said they will log a ticket with the East London branch manager (Ayanda) but she has not contacted me. I tried to call but she was busy with other important things than my concerns. again i was promised a call back and still has not received.

10 October 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Good Day

Good Day
Thrifty OR Tambo Airport.
I will like to Say please keep up the good work in so happy to say this every time when i go the to rent the car the service that i get is so over homing. They make me feel more welcome from the moment i enter. Staff that must of the time are helping me are Paul, Akashnie, Celest, Bongi, Demi and Zoe. Even this morning when i get the they was lot of smile all oven keep up the good work. is not only today must of the time.

12 September 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent service

This was my second time hiring from thrifty. I must say, I only have good experience. To the Cape Town international airport and George branch thanks guys for the excellent service. Keep up the good work and I'll surely continue to use your services on all my business trips.

12 August 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Best customer service

Hi, I went to collect a car at Thrifty Hartfield on 18th July. I was assisted by Ayanda, helpful, energetic give advice where necessary. I had such awesome experience with her customer service. Keep it up Ayanda, we need more people like you in South Africa.

Johannes

18 July 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Professsional

Professsional: excellent. Effective: high Quality. Friendly and kind to an old man: amazing. Tx!Ayanda and Shirley from Hatfield

26 July 2023
Unprompted review

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