I regularly rent vehicles from Enterprise in Ames primarily for business but also for personal use -- when needed. The employees are great. They're courteous, helpful, and work hard to make my renting experience easy and quick. My only suggestion would be to try to have more cars available. Like staffing, my guess is that's controlled by some corporate strategy/policy though. read more

Don't rely on your reservation. Even when you pay ahead of time and everything is confirmed.

Quincy was amazing !!! He was very informative and super friendly. He made sure I was very well taken care of and checked the car over throughly. He noted a few things and made sure they were covered. Great, friendly and so helpful !'n read more

Tried to call, got a machine with no option to talk with a person. Machine told me they are out of cars. Wow what a waste of time

This experience with the Ames Enterprise was extremely simple and painless. We rented four vans for a youth trip and they were so helpful. Truly the easiest car rental experience I've had. I would absolutely recommend them. Their customer service was incredible. I think they have low stars because people only review when they have a bad experience. Don't trust the bad reviews- these people are awesome! read more

NEVER AGAIN! My partner has partial disability due to 3 surgeries on his lower back. He is mobile but, for long trips, he needs a luxury car seat. Several weeks before a trip between Ames and Chicago/Northwest Indiana, he called Enterprise to see what they could do. He found a couple of choices on Travelocity and wanted to confirm he could get one. The woman he talked to said that Ames would not have anything in the luxury category but she could get one sent there. He went ahead and booked it. The day he was to leave he had two doctor appointments in Iowa City, several hours from us, and then he was heading to Northwest Iowa. He had a 10:00 pm pick-up time but was anxious so I took him at 9:00. The manager on duty said they had no luxury vehicles; Darrell told him what he had been told. The manager kept insisting that he couldn't help because no one had passed that information on to him. At the same time, he had Darrell's reservation in hand AND EVEN THAT INDICATED LUXURY. There were very few cars available; he offered a Mustang. Not something with limited mobility could use. He did make an attempt to call Ankeny to get one from there; they did not have any. By this time we were pretty desperate, he had two doctor appointments he was going to miss plus booked hotel rooms. The manager then offered a massive (height, length and width) GMC truck. Darrell was going to be spending time in Chicago; this cumbersome beast would be nearly impossible to park there. He assured us that he would call ahead to the Iowa City Enterprise and have them help exchange to a better vehicle. Darrell left the Ames Enterprise at 10:00 am. This vehicle was going to consume considerably more fuel and was highly inconvenient to drive so we asked the manager what he was going to do about putting him in a vehicle nowhere near what he had reserved and with significant economical issues. He told him he could return it with an empty gas tank! Good customer service says do something significant to make up for such a ridiculous SNAFU; this hardly qualifies. He got through his two doctor appointments around 4:00. No one had called him. He tried calling the manager; something we had already learned was difficult to accomplish. He finally got ahold of the manager who told him he had no luck calling Iowa City. This information he failed to convey after telling Darrell he would do this. Darrell took it upon himself to call Iowa City Enterprise; they had not heard from anyone in Ames as far as they knew and said they could help him. He arrived several minutes after closing but they still helped him get into a much more desirable Allantra. Kudos and high marks for the Iowa City Enterprise for going above and beyond. They also told him most Enterprises never have luxury vehicles. So, this begs the question, why are they a choice on their site with no warning that it won't be available if you book it? Why does it allow a reservation go through when the pick up site never has such vehicles. Why did the customer service rep tell him she could have one there for him? There were real issues here. Two very important doctor appointments. The ability to navigate and park in Chicago. Making sure you honor a request that would help him avoid further back stress and injury. Had he not taken the truck, he would have missed his appointments, have to pay for prep-paid hotel room for a week and missed the family event he was headed there for. I travel a lot and use rental cars all of the time. Any time that these companies did not have what I reserved, they would put me in something else, likely an upgrade. There would be no situation where the inventory was so bad that there would be no comparable car to put me into. The fact that the Iowa City Enterprise did go out of their way to help him means we aren't going to put this all on Enterprise although they also should not show and book reservations for cars they know will never be at that site. But you can be sure we will never use the Ames location for rentals ever again and will likely avoid Enterprise as our first choice. read more

Am very unsatisfied with this company they charged my card twice for $50 saying I'll get my Chase then said I will see it back on card in 3 days and call back in 3 days just to be told I won't get it back I can't believe it. A no star rating read more

Not surprised to see bad reviews here. I made a reservation in advance to switch my ridiculously expensive rental I was given at the airport. The manager Tyler called the day before to remind me to bring a credit card. Then when I got there he refused to let me keep a toddler's car seat I had rented with the other car. He said they don't do car seats at that location. This left me with zero options since I literally could not drive off the lot without that carseat. Thanks for wasting my time with your condescending behavior and lack of compassion. Steer clear of surly Tyler. read more

If these reviews are ever read, then I hope this will be useful to the business. Rented a vehicle and had an optional coverage sold to me with the words "the minimum I would recommend..." in the sales pitch. I had the coverage for 2 days until my insurance told me that in fact, I did not need the coverage because my insurance covered the rental car. A representative from this Enterprise, Ames, IA location told me the charges would be refunded after keeping me on the phone for a long time while verifying company policy. Returning the car today after 11 days, I find out that I am still charged the coverage anyways and that available people are trying to justify the charges! The most annoying thing out of this ordeal is the mixed messaging by people from the same company, same location, to the same client, and same rental transaction. So, if for nothing else, please, make sure everybody understands company policy and there is no mixed messaging! Your clients deserve this; I am sure you want the same when you get services from other people's workplaces! read more

Used them twice. First time they sold the car I was using, I had to bring it in and get another. Odd, but whatever. 2nd they didn't have a car and I had to wait till the next day to pick one up. Ok, I guess they are a small shop. Then they charged me an extra day because the insurance company didn't authorise the last day... ok, fine, I can take care of that. Called insurance company, they said no problem and they'd get ahold of Enterprise to cover the last day. I then reply to the branch manager's email telling him what was up and that I wanted him to verify everything was taken care of. Nothing. I see the charge show up, I call in and they claim nothing they can do and they are sorry I "feel" they ignored me. Now I get to call the insurance company again and try to hand hold Enterprise as I KNOW they won't do anything to help finish this painful process. They can't even be bothered to reply to a response to THEIR email. read more

Tried to call directly to the Ames, Iowa office to book a car and was on hold FOREVER so finally gave up and booked a car for later that day; went outside to do chores and of course received a phone call while I am out (for 10 minutes) from an Ames Enterprise "Rep" indicating the car would not be available until the next day and to call him if I wanted to continue to book the vehicle; immediately tried to call back and once again went through the silly hold pattern for over 20 minutes (he had just called me, what the heck!) Just ridiculous - and as Ames has no other option we are beholden to the crappy Ames Enterprise Service which for years no one has tried to resolve. Shame on Enterprise, you should look at pulling this franchise read more

Whenever we pick up the car at enterprise, it's either they delayed the pick up time or there's no more car and we are forced to take the expensive car! What they do best is making us pay for any additional expenses especially insurance when most of them should know the credit card does cover the damage insurance! Their expression turn sour when we choose not to pay for the additional item. Is this the kind of service enterprise provide just because we are students!? read more

I rent from this Enterprise location any time that I need a car and they are always fantastic!! The employees are courteous and although they seem a little understaffed at busy times, they work hard and always get me on the road in good order. I will continue to turn to them anytime that I need a car. read more

What an easy experience. Booking was easy, pick up was easy-and, you guessed it, drop off was easy as well. And a university discount, what more could a PhD student ask for:) read more

I requested something more in line with my Tahoe - something like a Ford Explorer was what I was told and I got a Jeep that sat so low and I bumped my head every time I got into it and stepping up over the part to get my feet into and out of the low slung floor was also difficult for an older person. The motor sounded like it was run by a rubber band. It was so uncomfortable, I only had it 6 hours on a 1 day rental, and couldn't wait to get back in my Tahoe. I told them I would be at a place at 7:45 a.m. and they said they would be there then but they called my home phone at that time and naturally I was not home - I was at the location I told them I would be. I had also asked if they needed directions to that location and they said no. They had no clue as to where they were supposed to deliver the car. A bafoon took my billing! read more

Very unsatisfied. I reserved a full size car online and was given a compact. Despite my USAA membership the employee tried to charge me the underage fee, and then she argued with me when I pointed it out. They charged my credit car for two days when I had the car for less then 8 hours. I was never given a payment receipt. It has been almost two weeks and they still have not credited my account the money they owe me. I have called 3 times now to try and fix the issue. Poor customer service and incompetent employees. read more

Awful. I made a reservation via telephone, all of my information was accurate (I've rented from Enterprise at other locations before, so I was already in the system). When I showed up to pick up the car I reserved, I was told that there were no more cars left, and maybe I should try a taxi or something. The representative claimed that they called me to let me know this before I arrived (that was a lie). Lesson learned, I'll deal with a more competent and professional organization next time. read more

Pros: Rented a car for 8 days through their website. Process went quickly and smoothly. Upgrading to a larger model from the one originally requested was very simple. Car was in newer condition with about 30K on the odometer. Turning it back in was a breeze as well. Spoke with about three different employees, all of which were helpful in answering my questions. On top of that none of them were pushy or had sleazy sales tactics. Cons: while doing the walk around inspection before renting I noticed the trunk was very dirty. I pointed this out and they vacuumed the car before renting to me. However, after I drove away I started noticing the interior had not been vacuumed throughly either. Looked to be a good amount of dog hair which made me think maybe they didn't clean it at all before turning it over to me. Also, gas gauge was at 1/8 of a tank. Was told you just need to bring it back with as much gas in it as when you rented it. Thought it was kind of a pain to calculate how much gas we should put in to end up with 1/8 tank. read more

Terrible. Terrible. Terrible. Made reservation over the phone, 5 and a half HOURS after the meet time, I had a car. Not happy about this at all. In the future I will rent a car through a different vendor. read more

This was an all around negative experience. Only positive was the employees were nice. They were not knowledgeable or overly helpful. I did not get what I needed in a vehicle despite the reservation that I made. The car smelled badly and there was some sort of water/salt stain on both front seats. I got charged a couple extra days because I wasn't able to be back from Chicago by noon on Saturday. Not happy. I have choices who I can book my business travel needs through and it won't be Enterprise in Ames. read more

Enterprise has always been very helpful in the process of renting a car. I had rented a car for 5 days. I noticed after a couple hours that the 12 volt outlet of the car was not working and I immediately went to the Enterprise. They are ready to give all their time to make our job easier and are always composed and polite. However, they never have the gas tank completely empty or completely full. It makes the job of filling up the gas exactly upto some random point is very inconvenient and most of the time I end up giving the car back with more fuel. This should be changed and it should be mandated that the fuel tank is filled or empty while giving a car for rent. read more

The branch manager opened the branch office for me although it was closed for memorial day to exchange vehicles because I had a wheel/tire defective on the rental car I had picked up in des Moines. Very efficient and helpful. read more

I had made a reservation for Saturday March 12th at 9:00 AM. I was told to get there early because there were 46 reservations made and the store was only open 3 hours, 9-12:00. I got there at 8:30 and there was a line with a few people ahead of me. I was very surprised to find out that they only had 3 employees working the counter, who at the same time had to show people the cars. I was also surprised they did not extend their hours if this is their busiest day of the year for reservations. I waited for 20 minutes and was helped, this could have been avoided if they had 3 employees working the counter, and another set of 3 employees to show customers the car. Because they did not do this, there was only 1 employee working the counter, with the other 2 showing cars. The waiting room was not big enough and there was not an organized way for their to be a line or for people to remember who came in first. I returned the car Friday March 18th at 5:00, and had to wait till 5:50 to be helped because again, they were understaffed. The customer service I received was wonderful, they were all very polite and friendly. I hope for the future they extend the hours when necessary and double up on employees to cut down the wait time. read more

I was in a car accident where I was sitting still and another driver backed into me. While my car is in the body shop to be repaired, my insurance company arranged for me to get a free rental from Enterprise, with the understanding that I just have to pay a $50 refundable deposit. A week prior to taking my car in for repair, an appointment was set for them to pick me up at the body shop. They didn't show up on time and the body shop called them to see if they were coming. They picked me up and took me to their temporary location, which is in a garage out toward Dayton Road on East Lincoln Way. It seemed everything was going fine, but then when we went to do the walk around of the car and I declined their insurance because my insurance agent said I was fine and covered by my policy, the employee told me, "I always get worried when people say that, because if you are in an accident we'll have to charge you $500. Who is going to pay that $500? 'Cause it will be on your bill." I again declined the insurance and was signing all the paperwork when she said, "if you go by one of those red light cameras you better smile big because we'll put the ticket on your bill," and "no one else is allowed to drive this car, if someone else is driving it, it will be impounded and we don't want to have to do that to you." Her tone of voice was cheerful and it came off as is all of this was being said in a backhanded way. Now, this is my first time renting a car. I'm 25, although admitted I look about fifteen or sixteen, and have been driving since I was 16 and am only renting because my car is in for repair. I don't know if I was spoken to this way because my car was in a body shop, because of my age, or because of the way I'm casually dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Whenever I was with my mom when she rented a car she was never spoken to this way. I was very upset and wanted to take the car back and not even drive it. I'd rather ride my motorcycle in this 30 degree weather. I definitely won't be renting from them again, and I wish I could give them zero stars. read more

They pick you up 1 out of 10 times you ask for it citing they are busy you go there and you do not see them picking up anyone. Whats the point of boasting we Pick you UP when you're not going to do it ..so stop saying that. Very unsatisfied with there service you book a car they will call day in advance to confirm you get there, you wait for your car. 3 times in a row. The car I got after 1 hr need servicing & they asked me to get it done before I drive really? I am not your employee. 2nd time I asked for a van got there & they were out of it even though I confirmed twice in 3 days. 3rd time I got there as usual they refused to drop me off. Then the guy said the car will be there in 2 mins it took full 30 mins to showup. Then he decided to clean up as one of there employee was driving it, kept me waiting for 1 hr telling me if I leave they will close wtf? all the while repeating it will take 2 mins .. really you cannot calculate time? then after 1 hr they give me car with 1/2 or so full tank, telling me to bring back at the same level of gas. They have respect for other people time, they will work according to here schedule and they think they are doing you a favor although you are the one paying. AND there Answer for everything wrong is I WILL give you 10-15% off on your next rental.. who cares about next one, if you cannot get it right this one why would I want to do it with you? but sadly Company has a agreement with them so there is limited choice I might have to rent with them again or I might go to the airport next time. read more