I needed a 15 passenger van to pick up some family members from JFK. I needed to rent this for 1 day. Went online and booked it. I called and was told that I will receive a phone call confirmation within a few days. 2 days passed and still no phone confirmation. I calles and spoke to someone and they confirmed my reservation and explained to me the process of the $200 security deposit and $100 deposit for Ezpass. On the day and time that I was given to pick up the van, I was told "there is no van, there is no reservation" not sure why this guy was in bad mood but I informed him that I had called several times and got 2 return phone call confirmations. I also pointed out that the van was sitting there in plain sight. Overall, the van was clean and in great condition. I do agree with other yelpers the process of having to double check your credit card to make sure you received both refundable security deposits is annoying and may feel like a 2nd job hence the 4 stars. read more

Empire Rent A Car - Car Rental Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Absolutely stellar service by Beverly and the inspector. The car was clean and they were very clear about the rental contract so that my boyfriend and I were not hit by any surprise charges. We (my boyfriend and I)rented a Toyota Corolla for a trip to Connecticut and everything went even better than I'd hoped. In case readers are unfamiliar with the car rental policies in NYC, it is basically next to impossible to rent a car if you do not have a valid credit card (which I did but my boyfriend didn't, and the name on the license must match the card). I had given up hope until I stumbled upon Empire on Google and decided to give them a call. From the first contact to the return of the rental, Beverly was professional and organized, and although we drove more than the 200 miles we paid for, the price for the extra 80 miles was just $24. I'll definitely be returning to Empire for any car rental needs in the future, once again thank you Beverly and Empire Car Rental! read more

Beverly provided exceptional customer service. The sprinter was clean and drove smoothly. I highly recommend Empire for your rental needs.

The people who work there are very rude and disrespectful especially Ian. He says he the manager/owner. Idk who raised him but it must have been animals because thats just how he acts. Please don't rent from this car rental place. They will tell u one thing about the deposit and do something totally different with in. I've been waiting more than 30 days for my money and still haven't gotten it back. They told me it was for a hold to secure that we got the van and I will receive it back. Here it is pass the 30 days and nothing but the run around and b.s. from them. read more

After getting into a bad car accident and finding that I didn't have retail insurance on my car I had to find a rental company which was difficult being that it is during Covid time and I don't have any credit cards my sister recommended empire car rental and must I say they was extremely professional and reasonable prices they took my debit card with no problems and Beverly was wonderful to deal with even working from home as well as the gentleman at the counter the car was very clean and drove well I loved empire service and will definitely use this as my go to as well as recommend them to friends. Great service from beginning to end! read more

I am very angry at the service they give her Nov 18 they took 200$ deposits Nov 23 I go pick up the vehicle and after being charged an additional 185 the lady runs outside to tell me they have to issue me a refund because I've only had my license for five month and the refund will take 3to7 days to appear on my card. The day before thanksgiving!!!! Only in Brooklyn especially east New York Brooklyn can ppl be so careless, unprofessional and inconsiderate!!! Now my whole holiday plans have been derailed,family let down and I'm short money for services I didn't receive!!! Never again...I will stick with enterprise read more

Excellent company with probably the best prices and availability out there. Easy checkout, excellent customer service (Beverley). Def will return! *Rented two 15 passenger vehicles. read more

Me and my girlfriend planned to make a weekend getaway and decided to go with empire because it was conveniently off the L train and had cheap rates. When we arrived Saturday morning the car wasn't even at the agency. The rental representative didn't even know we had made and guarantee'd the reservation three days earlier. When she finally did find our reservation she had to call an empire in queens to have a car sent over. We were supposed to pickup at 8:30am but didn't leave empire's parking lot until 10am. I'm astounded they didn't even offer a discount for the trouble. The car came and we were given a decent car except for the fact the seats were stained and dirty... Then we came to drop the car off before opening on Monday morning and they hadn't left the gate open for us to securely put the car in like had been originally promised to us. I'll never ever rent a car from here again and I hope you don't either. read more

If I could give a 0 star rating, I would. Through all my years of bad experiences, this company takes the crown. My boyfriend and I rented a 15 person van, initially on the internet at first, which we then received a confirmation including: the dates of rental, the van type, as well as the pick up/ drop off time. Everything seemed like it was going great and everyone was excited to embark on our mini weekend trip. Fast forward, my boyfriend and I arrived at Empire on the day of our pick up and we had to reconfirm all our details, which by the way became BRAND NEW DETAILS. The pricing changed, the car changed (but this is a separate story to soon come) and we had to wait a little over an hour for a car to arrive into the lot. Now, onto the car: 1) It was a car with about 100k miles logged onto it but heck, we thought it was still in good enough shape to be ridden 2) The doors on the car didn't lock. The door on the right side passenger seat didn't even fully close 3) The car was clearly breaking down, which became known to us after our trip started 4) The interior of the car was extremely dirty with unknown stains everywhere 5) The windshield wipers were so dirty that even when it started raining/ snowing, utilizing the wipers was even more dangerous 6) The wheels were so worn out so there was basically no traction on the tires 7) On the second day, not even 24 hours later, my boyfriend and I both get a call from empire stating that we were late with our rental return 8) They could've easily copied over the same information from the confirmation that we initially received but instead, everything was inconsistent with our original reservation I am in disbelief- we were in the Poconos, which they already knew about and giving us a car so incompatible to the terrain that we would have to deal with in the Poconos was beyond us. It was an extremely dangerous ride for us and we were extremely scared especially when the car couldn't handle itself in the weather. It's not worth your life renting a car from here. Pay a few extra bucks to rent a car with acceptable standards. read more

I first would like to thank Empire Rent A Car for hiring such pleasent and helpful company representatives. Linda and Beverly are very patient, friendly, and sincerely work to make you feel comfortable, get the best service, and are quickly processed with your rental. They are true professionals!!! I love the quality and wide selection of the rental vehicles, they are clean, well maintained, and easy-to-use. The first time I received a call through the car, I felt that car became part of me. The prices are very affordable and the variety of payment options are remarkable. How do they do it? I do not know, but I am glad that "They" do! Lastly, the inspector is on point! He quickly and thoroughly inspects the vehicle and points out all areas of concern. The Empire Team as a whole are a delight to encounter and represents the company in the best light and provides excellent customer service as a standard. Outstanding job!!! read more

We rented a cargo van last weekend to move some furniture up to Connecticut. They couldn't have been nicer, particularly Beverley. Despite the line when we picked up, she was so pleasant and helpful. The van itself was new and easy to drive, and they were very diligent in going over every little ding and scratch at pickup, and drop-off was quick and easy. Prices were very competitive. I'd definitely recommend them!! read more

I hate to write negative reviews and hope the company will instead use this as constructive feedback. We decided to go with Empire rent-car because of the competitive rates listed on their website that stated unlimited miles and no additional fee for out of state license. When we arrived at to pick up the car we encountered an hour wait time and a unnecessarily rude employee behind the counter. Even more unpleasant was finding out they charged an added $200 deposit for out of state licenses and required additional paperwork to prove I lived in New York, which would've been easy if they had informed me beforehand. After finally finishing the paperwork to get the car when it got brought out it had a huge dent and no side mirrors. After another 30 minutes of waiting they brought out a different car. Overall, lack of communication between employees and customers and amongst themselves. After, speaking with the owner we were able to clarify work out the discrepancies. I really do believe in small businesses and the power of customer service. All in all, the car was clean and I would come back. read more

Rented a vehicle from Brooklyn Empire Car Rental this weekend. Just want to say thank you Beverly for your Professionalism, you made things go so smoothly. Great personality. I will be coming back again real soon for rentals. Again, thank you for your help read more

Great service; everyone helpful; had a trailer Memorial Day weekend when no one else did; better choice than U-Haul.

This place was amazing. I can't say enough good things about it. It's much cheaper than renting from a large commercial business like uhaul and much quicker without any hidden additional fees. I booked my van online late at night and picked it up early the next morning. The process was easy and quick. Beverly behind the counter was a pleasure to work with and answered all my questions. I will definitely be back here! Highly recommend! read more

Beverly at the Brooklyn location was great! Very helpful and professional. The Mercedes Van worked perfectly for my rental needs. I would definitely recommend Empire. read more

- as promise they will contact me .... which never happened. Which therefore I have to double think on my vehicle of choice and company for my future road trips read more

My brother and I we looking for a place to rent a van for our family reunion and we took us 2 weeks to locate one closer to our homes. So we decided to stretch our search to Brooklyn and found Empire car rental. We went to empire car rental in Brooklyn to rent a sprinter for my family reunion. And I must say the staff at this location we great. They made the experience wonderful. I my family enjoyed the ride. We will be using them in the future reunions! Thanks again! read more

I rented a cargo van for a small move and I was very pleased with Empire. Jorge, at the reception, was very professional. He explained the rental process and took the time to give practical advice. Everything went very well from reservation to completion of rental. Highly recommended! read more

Stellar customer service. This ended up being a very positive experience. When I first showed up at 8 am to pick up my Penske truck reservation, there were no available trucks and I went home very frustrated and anxious about my move. However, the owner Ian personally reached out to me not much later (10 am) and promised to rectify the situation. At 11 am, they provided us with a local truck to make up for the lack of Penske availability. We received a genuine apology, they helped us figure out this very stressful situation, and Beverly was even so kind as to throw in a discount for our hassle. They went above and beyond to fix what we realize now was a screw-up on Penske's part, which they also promised to address with them directly. Thank you Ian and Beverly for being so attentive and personally reaching out to us! You turned a highly stressful situation into an ultimately positive one, which we are very grateful for. Please continue to treat your customers with this amount of attention, understanding and respect, because it's a rare find in this industry. read more

My car was fine but it took about 45 minutes to check in and 30 minutes to return my car due to their faulty computer system and only one person at the desk. The staff member operated with a lot of grace and patience in this difficult situation, juggling multiple customer requests at once, but the faulty computer system prevented the customers from getting their cars on time. They even thought I did not have a reservation (due to the system not being updated) but eventually found it. If you choose to rent here make sure you have plenty of time and patience. read more

First thing: The car was absolutely filthy and in need of a serious car wash both exterior and interior, I didn't even want to sit in the car. The car needed some serious repairs. The heat wasn't working and the defroster wasn't working either so the windows kept fogging. My boyfriend had to drive the car with the windows cracked in 20 degree weather. When he would signal, the lights inside the car would turn on each time. The lady in the office prompted us to return the car 9:30 am the next day because a snow storm was coming. We came to return the car once they opened (8am) and no one showed up. we waited for about 2 hours and still no one (they had 3 contact numbers for us and no one even had the common courtesy to call and say they were not coming). I decided to call the main office and they themselves didn't know what was going on they told us they should be there. We ended up parking the car and dropping the keys in the drop box. The rental place didn't open until 2 days later. I was told i would only be charged for a day which was true but they charged a recovery fee for 3days when we returned the car ON TIME. I will commend them for trying to make things right after our bad experience. The head manager called me to refund my money and also gave me a credit for 1 day free car rental. She also made it a point to tell me that their customers are priority to them. While the Brooklyn location disappointed me I cannot speak for the other Empire rent a car locations. read more

dont waste your time going to this place, you pay online for the truck size you need you get there they dont have it available , and they say its on its way then you call the boss its not available the lady is very rude and lies read more

I rented a 12 passenger Sprinter van to go to Florida for Thanksgiving. I booked it approximately a month before my trip and comparison shopped with several rental agencies in the city before deciding to go with Empire. My reasons for choosing them was they had a good cancellation policy, low deposit fee and we needed a larger vehicle with a television to accomodate our group. Picking up the vehicle went well enough. We did the walk through and they explained that the vehicle needed DEF fluid and an indicator would come on to let us know. As we left on our trip, I realized that the van had no TV which was one of the things that I asked about when I booked it. The vent in the vehicle leaked the entire trip; water was literally pouring into the van every time it rained and while we were driving down to Florida. Only the back light in the passenger are worked and there were three. So no one was able to read or see anything during the night. On the way back the check engine light came on and we had to pull over several times to check it and make sure that it was ok. When we returned the vehicle, I explained all of this to the manager on duty and she said that the vehicle was brand new and that there wasnt a guarantee that I would get a television in my vehicle. I explained to her that that was one of the things I asked about when I called and the website didnt say anything about a specific request, in fact all the vehicles pictured on the website had images that included a 24inch in all of the vans listed. So needless to that is false advertisement to show something that you arent going to provide or isnt guaranteed. The manager gave me a 50 credit, on a 1800 rental which is NOTHING. Imagine a 18 hour drive with rain coming in through the roof, check engine light and no televison with children in tow. Needless to say I was VERY disappointed with the experience and felt like the could have done more besides offering me a nicer vehicle the next time around, based on this experience that might never happen. read more