I’ve rented a lot of different cars through the years. I travel a lot for business and yet, have not had many problems. Until this past trip to Los Angeles when I rented a Dollar Car from LAX. This is why I would never recommend Dollar or Thrifty Rental Cars…
My son and I landed in LAX at midnight. It was actually 3 am EST for us. We stood for a long time waiting for the Thrifty bus to pick us up and take us to the terminal to pick up our car. The Thrifty bus never showed. We waited nearly 30 minutes.
When the Dollar bus came around, I asked the driver if Thrifty and Dollar were the same company. He said they were. He told us to come on board.
We got on a very long line at the Dollar terminal. We finally got up to the counter and the man told me that I should become a “fast track member” because I rent a lot of Dollar and Thrifty cars. I said I would do it. After that, he charged me for insurance that I told him I did not want. I was angry but tired so I didn’t argue with him.
We went outside and had our pick of the litter. There were a dozen white cars in all different makes. We rented a compact car. My son picked one car but because it had lots of scratches I told him let’s go with a different car.
We put our stuff in the car and headed a mile away to the hotel. We self parked the car. (I didn’t want to pay an extra $10 for the valet.) We took the luggage out of the car. It was dark, very dark. I couldn’t see where I was going. I followed my son. He held up a gate and told me to duck under it and as I did so, I went flying over a divider in the road. I landed on my knee and my hand. I was totally bruised up and we had a busy day the next day going to two schools.
We checked in and went up to the room. We both passed out and woke up early to go on our two colleges in one town tour.
We went down to the car but it wouldn’t start. The speedometer was going back and forth as if it was possessed. I called the emergency number on my contract. A woman answered the phone. I told her that I needed to be at a school at 11 am. It was 9 am when I called. She told me a tow truck would be there in less than 45 minutes. I asked her if I could swap out the car by taking a taxi to Dollar or if Dollar would be able to accommodate me by driving a new vehicle over to my location. I was only a mile away.
“That’s not possible Ms. Topper,” the woman said.
“Can I talk with the manager?” I asked.
“No, I’m sorry but the manager can’t talk with you,” she said.
I started to get furious. Really?
“Just wait patiently, a truck will be there to give you a jump,” she said.
15 minutes went by. 30 minutes went by. 45 minutes went by. I called the emergency number again. “A tow is coming,” the folks explained.
I ended up calling a total of six times in the nearly two hours that I waited for a tow truck, feeling frustrated that I could practically walk to the rental car company and pick up another vehicle.
“We’re sorry Ms. Topper but if you do that, you will be charged for both vehicles. It is your responsibility to stay with the vehicle,” another customer service rep said.
“I demand to talk with the manager of Dollar, PLEASE PUT HIM ON THE LINE?????” I begged. I was feeling so frustrated knowing that we would definitely miss our USC tour.
They refused to put him on the line. “Kenny is very busy,” they told me. “If you want to talk with him go to our offices when you get a jump.”
It was getting ridiculous. I started to cry. I felt so frustrated.
I got a call from the tow company. “We’re here but we can’t find you,” the man on the phone said. Turns out Dollar gave them the wrong address and they ended up at a different Marriott. I felt like I was going to scream! It was now 11 am. We missed our appointment and I didn’t know if we would make it to the school.
The tow finally came about a half hour later. He jumped the car and told me that we needed to get a different vehicle because there was something very wrong with the vehicle.
I drove back after getting jumped. There was a huge line. I told the woman that we were in a hurry. She helped us before others.
We had to stand on a bunch more lines before we were able to get the car. I was totally on edge.
We ended up making both schools with traffic and all but the whole experience was so unpleasant it spoiled the day.
When I returned the car four hours later, the woman said, “Do you have a receipt for the gas?”
I didn’t. “I would typically charge you $10 but I’m going to wave that,” she said.
Meanwhile, the tank was still on full when I dropped it off!
The customer service was terrible. The folks at LAX Dollar were not accommodating and I also learned that three other people experienced the same thing that I did. That’s why I will never rent from Dollar or Thrifty again!
