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  • #1

    Adventures with Thrifty Car Rental

    So, for the last two months, I've been renting a car from the Thrifty car rental out of John Wayne Airport so my brother can get to work and back while his finance company decides whether they want to refi for him to get his car repaired (engine went out, with two payments to go), or if he's going to end up having to get a new car entirely.

    Thrifty has a restriction where you can only rent for four consecutive weeks and then you have to take the car in and get a new rental agreement.

    So, four weeks ago, I had to go in and exchange cars. I inquired about a couple of different cars and decided that I liked the rate I already had and was just going to stick with that. I signed the papers and went on my merry way.

    I failed to actually read the papers, however. That, and the clerk's failure to ever mention the rate for the new rental leads me to the problem I had.

    The rental fees for the second 4 week period ended up being twice as much as the first 4 week period. I learn of this during the second extension (into the 3rd week) when, for the first time, the rate is actually mentioned to me. So, when I extend again, I talk to the rep about the rate and he suggests I either call the specific agency and speak with them about it, or just speak with them when I turn the car in. I take the cowardly way, and just wait till I turn in the 2nd car to sort it all out.

    So, I go in this morning to return the car. I get my receipt and then go in to the rental desk and explain politely to the nice young man at the counter that I failed to look at my rental rate and had assumed it would be the same as the previous rental rate and would like to have it adjusted. He takes my paperwork to look up the previous rental and heads into the back.

    He comes out a few minutes later and lets me know that he can do a courtesy adjustment to the same rate I had the first time, while reminding me that rates change daily and I should reserve ahead of time to make sure I have the rate I want. I let him know that I had made a reservation for my next rental already, so as to avoid this problem. He also let me know that since I was renting for an extended period, I should join their club so that I could get benefits.

    It was then a simple matter to go through with the new rental where he actually confirmed the details, and I was on my way.

    I definitely plan to continue renting with Thrifty. And not just because they seem to be the last rental agency left that will allow a deposit on a debit card.

    ^-.-^
    Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden
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  • #2
    That's pretty cool. And you will rack up some major points in their loyalty program by renting that much.

    You also may want to call the cust service number after you sign up and ask them if they can retroactively credit your loyalty ID with what you've already booked for all these weeks. I know Avis and Hertz will do that, not sure about Thrifty.

    Their customer service number is 877-283-0898.
    "So, if you wanna put places like that outta business, just stop being so rock-chewingly stupid." ~ Raudf, 9/19/13

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    • #3
      Hey Pepper, if she calls the CS number and say a Travel Agent suggested it, does she get a discount?

      Enterprise will allow a deposit on Debit. I had to rent a car from them for a couple weeks because I accidentally wrecked my bf's car. (It was an accident! No, I wasn't mad at him! I forget to yield on Green!)
      Ridiculous 2009 Predictions: Evil Queen will beat Martha Stewart to death with a muffin pan. All hail Evil Queen! (Some things don't need elaboration.....) -- Jester

      Ridiculous 2010 Predictions: Evil Queen, after escaping prison for last years prediction, goes out and waffle irons Rachel Ray to death. -- SG15Z

      Ridiculous 2011 Prediction: Evil Queen will beat Gordon Ramsay over the head with a cast-iron skillet. -- FireHeart

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      • #4
        Unfortunately, my one and only experience with Thrifty was about as bad as could be.

        Me and 3 of my friends went to Las Vegas about 6 years ago. We had reserved online a Dodge Intrepid or similar sized car at Thrifty there.

        We get to the office and the cars and go through the standard "Do you want the insurance, blah blah blah." We decline the insurance.

        Suddenly, the Dodge Intrepid becomes unavailable and the agent is trying to talk us into an SUV or minivan! But then a family came into the office after us, and somehow they had an Intrepid available for them. We ended up having to settle for the SUV and paying the higher charges. There could have been an innocent explanation for this, but at the time I thought we got upsold because we declined the insurance.

        But wait, it gets better. When we got to the vehicle we inspected it very closely and noted any scratches, dings, imperfections, and other things that looked vaguely suspicious on the sheet we were given for this purpose. All the while, one of the lot workers was impatiently telling us "Hurry up! Get in the vehicle!"

        After about the third instance of this, I was ready to tell him "Pipe down would ya? We're going to make sure every scratch and ding is recorded on this sheet here, which is our right to do!"

        The last couple of times I've been there, we've rented cars through Budget and maybe Dollar, and had vastly better experiences.
        Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

        "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

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        • #5
          Quoth Evil Queen View Post
          Enterprise will allow a deposit on Debit. I had to rent a car from them for a couple weeks because I accidentally wrecked my bf's car. (It was an accident! No, I wasn't mad at him! I forget to yield on Green!)
          I won't rent from Enterprise. Heck, without a gajillion forms of ID, Enterprise won't let me rent with them unless I'm away from home. Even though there's an Enterprise less than half a mile from where I used to live, and I had rented with them before. And all of the reps I've spoken with have had attitudes. Like I was somehow inferior because I didn't have a credit card for additional ID purposes.

          ^-.-^
          Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

          Comment

          • #6
            Quoth Andara Bledin View Post
            I won't rent from Enterprise. Heck, without a gajillion forms of ID, Enterprise won't let me rent with them unless I'm away from home. Even though there's an Enterprise less than half a mile from where I used to live, and I had rented with them before. And all of the reps I've spoken with have had attitudes. Like I was somehow inferior because I didn't have a credit card for additional ID purposes.

            ^-.-^
            I won't rent with Enterprise either. We reserved a car, and found out about 20 minutes before we were suppose to pick it up and head to Chicago, that they didn't have any cars available at the location in Iowa City, or anywhere near Iowa City. Nor would they help us find a rental anywhere. Even though their website was showing they had all types of cars available. I was told that they could get us a car that afternoon.. yeah that won't work when the Cubs game is at 1:20pm.

            Luckily, we found a car at Hertz, they gave us a good deal.. but we were an hour late to the game.

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