Thrifty Reviews 

Vancouver airport. Booked through booking.com. Paid for full insurance and the agent still tried to sell breakdown insurance. After showing him the paperwork that we were insured through Zurich he still argued we needed the extra insurance.The car was passed as not having any damage but within a few seconds found a dent and photographed it.
The car wasn't particularly clean and the front end so dirty it would be impossible to see scratches if there were any.

Things seemed to be going smoothly at the time of booking as well as when we picked up the vehicle. However, things became complicated after that. The charge that appeared on our account was from Hertz, not Thrifty. We had to search the internet to find out that they have a relationship with each other. Upon turning in the car and completing the rental, another charge appeared in our account for nearly the same original amount. Through phone calls to Thrifty and Expedia, we were able to obtain a refund. But due to this extra and unnecessary frustration, we’ll think twice before using either.

⚠️ WARNING TO ANYONE RENTING FROM THRIFTY IN SPAIN ⚠️I want to warn others about the highly unethical and misleading practices at Thrifty's desk at Málaga Airport (Rental Agreement: 95389097-6).When picking up our rental car, the agent explicitly told us that the amount they charged on our credit card was just a refundable deposit. We specifically said NO to any extra insurance.Now we have discovered that the agent lied, and instead of a deposit, they charged a massive amount for unnecessary extra insurance. When we confronted them and sent an official complaint, they completely refused to help or refund our money.This is fraud and an absolute scam to trick tired travelers into signing things under false pretenses. We are now escalating this official case to the European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ECRCS) and the European Consumer Centre (ECC).

I did not receive the car I paid for, my flight was delayed due to bad weather and they gave my car to someone else. I took what they had and the car keep showing oil change. When I contacted them. The customer service team are useless, unprofessional and non efficient. Wasted my time and cost me over £200 on phone call.

Booked through quidco with the promise of a £21 cashback. Because I paid a supplement to change the airport the cashback has been declined. Thrifty tried to con me into buying breakdown cover, claiming we would be responsible for getting the car towed and fixed in the case of a breakdown. We declined this after much argument with the agencys argument being" well you would have to buy it for your car"

Awaiting automated response below, with no ultimate action from thrifty

But hey I feel better for having got it off my chest

DO NOT RENT FROM HERE!!! I rented my car through a third party and when I got to the thrifty car rental in Houston, TX I had to PAY EXTRA FOR INSURANCE ( I was not told it was an OPTION)!!! i realized it was an OPTION two days into my stay in TX when I was sitting down and got to read my receipt details. Kentrill T. NEVER said I had a CHOICE! I was shocked when he told me to pick which one I wanted. He could not explain anything to me. Service was very unprofessional. I was very uncomfortable when I was getting the rental and wanted to get out as soon as possible. And on my “estimate of charges” they charged me for 7 days on the insurance that I DID NOT HAVE TO HAVE, but my rental was 5 days!! Management definitely needs to make changes with explaining what is what with their customers. Deer in headlight look is unacceptable.

BEWARE of renting a vehicle from this company!
My experience with this company was extremely concerning and, quite honestly, dangerous.
I rented a vehicle from Calgary, AB airport location that was provided to me with two rear tires suffering from slow leaks. The vehicle was apparently not properly inspected or maintained before being rented out.
While driving on a busy road, both tires lost pressure to 2 PSI, putting me in a very dangerous situation and creating a serious safety risk.
When I contacted the rental company for assistance, I was told to contact roadside assistance myself. I was then left with the towing expense, and to make matters worse, the company charged me for the replacement of the two tires.
I find this absolutely unacceptable. A rental company has a responsibility to ensure the vehicles they put on the road are properly maintained, inspected and safe for their customers.
What is even more disappointing than the initial safety issue was the extremely poor customer service and lack of accountability afterwards.
I would strongly encourage anyone considering renting from this company to think twice. Your safety should never be compromised because a rental company failed to properly maintain its fleet.
I've been disputing this charge or mths and still have not received a mechanical report for the tire conditions pre-rental nor for the cause, just threats. BBB has been notified.

Arrived CVG. Have a car reserved. Nobody at the counter. I was instructed to go down a level to where the cars are. I went down and a woman was rude and said she was trying to leave for the day and I had to go back upstairs. I came back upstairs and still no one at the desk. This is no way to want a business and I don’t appreciate the runaround. Unprofessional unhelpful and I will not use thrifty again.

Reserved a car for a wedding in Denver. Arrived to pick up the car and was told it wasn’t available, but rather than wait, would we want a Yukon Denali for $75.00 more? Said no. Then asked if we wanted a Jeep Grand Wagoneer for $100.00 more?said no again and was offered a minivan! Started calling Enterprise so the girls behind the counter went in back and told us we would get a Volvo for the same price as the Pathfinder we reserved (same class vehicle mind you)!

Second and final bad experience with thrifty, will never go back!

(For William Diodonet (my husband))

I rarely leave negative reviews, but our experience with Thrifty Puerto Rico, Best Rate Cars and Truck Rentals in San Juan, PR is the local operator associated with Hertz, which owns Thrifty, has been one of the most frustrating customer service experiences we have had. I waited this long to write this review in the hopes that this issue would’ve been resolved to my satisfaction, and because I did not want my frustration to come through this review.

We rented a vehicle from June 16 through June 30, 2026 in San Juan. We documented the vehicle at drop-off which was at Merceditas Airport, Ponce PR and were told to just leave the keys in the Dropbox, so obviously, no one came out to inspect the vehicle with us, but we did document the drop-off. We were not billed until July 28, nearly a month after returning the vehicle, and when the charge was finally processed, our bill had increased by an additional $500 for alleged tire damage.

When I contacted Thrifty, I was initially told a tire had been completely flat. However, the representatives I spoke with could not tell me which tire was allegedly damaged or provide documentation supporting the charge. I submitted a dispute and spent weeks contacting multiple people, repeatedly explaining the situation, and requesting basic information and evidence.

Thrifty eventually refunded $320.48 but continues to hold us responsible for the remaining $179.52. The photographs and invoice provided to us do not, in our opinion, establish that the alleged damage occurred while the vehicle was in our possession, and we continue to dispute the charge. Photos did not show the tires on the vehicle but rather on the floor at the repair shop. They claim one tire presented a sidewall bulge and required replacement and a second tire contained a screw and required repair. Again, no prove/documentation has been provided to me even after repeated requests. From a flat tire at drop-off to a screw and a bulge. My date, location and time stamped video shows that when I left the vehicle there was no flat tire.

Another concern is the effect experiences like this can have on the reputation of the Hertz family of brands. I understand that local locations may have their own management or business arrangements, but customers rent under the Thrifty name and reasonably associate their experience with the broader Hertz family of brands. From a customer’s perspective, the internal business arrangement should not matter. Experiences like this can damage customer confidence and make people think twice before choosing Thrifty or any Hertz family brand.

My advice: photograph and video the entire vehicle at both pickup and drop-off, keep all correspondence, and carefully monitor your credit card for charges appearing after your rental ends.

Also beware, the price quoted to you at the time of reservation will almost double when you arrive for pickup, but that’s another review.

We will continue to pursue the remaining disputed charge through the appropriate channels.

We had an excellent experience with Thrifty at Boston Airport. We rented a car for 8 days for our trip through Boston, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and everything went very smoothly.

The rental process was easy, the car was in good condition, and we had no issues throughout our trip. We also opted for the toll service, which made driving around the different areas much easier and more convenient.

I would especially like to recognize Jean Abelard for his outstanding service during the return process. Jean was extremely friendly, professional, and helpful. After we returned the car, he personally made sure to take us to the terminal where our flight was departing from. This was incredibly helpful, especially since we had luggage and were getting ready to catch our flight.

Jean went above and beyond to make sure we had a smooth and stress-free departure. His kindness, professionalism, and willingness to help really made a difference in our experience.

Thank you very much to Jean Abelard and the entire Thrifty Boston Airport team for the excellent service. We would definitely rent from Thrifty again on our next trip to the United States!

Rented a vehicle from Thrifty that already had road paint splashes all over the body from a previous user upon reception, and upon driving it, I discovered a critical, dangerous mechanical defect: the brakes were completely destroyed, producing a loud metal-on-metal grinding noise with heavily scored rotors.

When I contacted customer service from Jasper for assistance, the experience was an absolute joke. The agent refused to identify themselves, offered zero local replacement options, and had the audacity to propose towing the unsafe vehicle all the way to Edmonton—over 3.5 hours away in the complete opposite direction—while leaving me stranded in the Rockies.

Because of their total failure to provide proper roadside assistance or a safe solution, I was forced to drive the vehicle back to Calgary under extreme duress. Thrifty handed over a dangerously unroadworthy car, refused to take responsibility, and showed complete disregard for customer safety.

Avoid this company at all costs if you value your safety and your money. I am disputing the entire charge through my bank for non-performance and breach of contract.

I picked up my rental car on Monday August 31, 2026 at Hobby Airport in Houston TX and received some of the best customer service from Tamica and Ken. Ken started assisting me with my car rental, he was very friendly and polite. He was having a slight issue with seeing his screen he shared with me that his dog ate his glasses. My reservation was for a full size car but when I received the car, it was an SUV. When I came back in, Ken was assisting another customer. Tamica aka Smooth as Silk assisted me, I advised her what happened, she apologized and advised me at the moment there wasn’t any Full size cars available, but offered me to wait. As I was waiting i observed how she was assisting other customers her upselling was so smooth once she was done, I asked for the manager. I advised Mr. Steve on what an excellent job both Smooth as Silk Tamica and Ken was doing! I will definitely rent from Thrifty again as long as Tamica and Ken is employed there.

They charge extra on airport.

I made an online reservation on DoyouSpain for 425Euro for a Thrifty rental car, full/full gas, and incl top insurance for 11 days to avoid arguing about insurance on arrival.
Then i was charged 490Euro from my card. I figured it was airport tax or something.

When we arrived at the airport, the smiling helpful receptionist had me sign a pair of papers, whilst i asked questions about the prices on this contract, and she explained (in spanglish) different possible charges that i would be charged if the car lacked gas and so on. No worries i thought, because i prepaid for the car, gas and insurance, and intended to return the car full.
Note that the car was delivered as promised, clean and nice, no issues. Almost brand new too.
Upon departure i left the car with a full tank of gas, as i signed for, and returned the key.
Some days after returning home, i was charged 338Euro extra, ant it was NOT gas charge. it was for 11 days all inclusive something.
I really do not understand this, and thrifty responds to my complaint with a long and confusing reply about a broker, and they say i signed for this when i picked up the car.

So i booked online for 425Euro, and ended up paying 830Euro - That is significantly more!

Stay clear, totally confusing, and an expensive trap.
The receipt looks like it is from a 1989's fax machine, and impossible to understand what you are signing - be aware.

Never again! Alamo is way better!

Through Expedia, I made a reservation for a 19 day rental at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. When we arrived, it was VERY busy, with the buzz being that no cars were available for walk-ups. When we got to the front of the line, the agent would not accept my drivers' license as it had been renewed in the last year. He claimed I could not establish one year's driving experience. I am a 57 year old driver, with full commercial and motorcycle endorsements--something that is impossible to achieve in less than one year.
There was NOTHING that would sway him. All efforts to get further help, within Thrifty and through Expedia were USELESS.

We lost the car, which we had booked at a good rate (for us), while there were people clamoring to get cars at any price. HMMMM.... I wonder what ended up happening to the car Thrifty would not give me.... From my perspective, Thrifty decided not to give me the car because they were in the position to charge much more to customers arriving at the counter, who had not made reservations.

This ridiculous episode cost us several hours of our holiday, and made getting to our rebooked destination difficult. We only got there because Europecar did not have ANY issue with my drivers' license, and rented to me (predictably) at a higher rate than we had secured at Thrifty.

Dear Thrifty: You know how to take the reservation. You just don't know how to keep the reservation. And that's really the important part of the reservation, the keeping. Anybody can just take them....

A particular should out to the agent I dealt with. His attitude was as dismissive as can be. Terrible attitude and a very poor face of the company.

Thrifty has lost another customer. This episode is absolutely intolerable and having read some other reviews here, it seems my experience was not an "isolated incident."

Outrageous scam. The hire desk official at Malaga airport LIED when asked what a sum on my credit card was blocked out for. Turns out it was insurance supercover but she explicitly lied and said it was in case the car was returned without a full tank of fuel. I had alternative excess insurance in place so told her we didn't need Thrifty's own cover. I will be demanding a refund but would advise others to never use them in future.

DO NOT USE THESE SCAMMERS! Here is my experience from Malaga airport...
No one had made me aware of the extra insurance that has been added to my order when I collected the car. They have added it there without my permission as I had pre-paid for my booking at the time of making the reservation. No discussion had taken place about any extras and I did not give any permission to take any extra amount from my credit card other than blocking the funds for deposit. Yet, they have still taken the funds from my card for insurance that I had never taken!

The service was incredible good not only at the beginning of our journey but also at the end when we returned our car. Zaafar was very helpful and kind. Without hesitation for next time we will count on this Company again. Thanks a lot!

I had a car reserved at John Wayne airport. When I got there was told they out of vehicles and to come back 3 to 4 hrs later. I went to another vendor and rented a car. I would never recommend thrifty to anyone..