Going to avoid renting a car at the Oakland airport Thrifty if I can. Each experience is worse than the previous. This time, we booked a car a couple hours before pickup (2 pm). Checked in at the counter, and after running my credit card, they informed me that there weren't any cars available, that it'd hopefully be 60-90 minutes ("or longer"). We were planning on driving to LA, so the delay was pretty significant for us. (ended up hittingt lots of Friday traffic and arrived in LA much later than we'd hoped). Irritating that Thrifty would accept the booking for 2 pm when it didn't have an available car. And I wasn't informed at the counter until the transaction was completed. And no attempt was made to find another car via Hertz, upgrade, etc. And the agent at check in was unintelligible, disinterested, and couldn't care less. (The other agent who gave us the keys 90 min later was much more customer service oriented, briefly apologizing for the wait). While waiting, I called customer service who supposedly booked an available car through Hertz. But at the Hertz counter, the agent shrugged and said she didn't have a car available, either. Thanks, Thrifty read more

Shut the place down !!!! Horrible experience, no sense of urgency and don't believe anything they say on their website it doesn't count.

I dropped my car off with a time stamp of 1:15pm and the car was due at two pm. I get home to lax and see that my car rental agreement was updated to reflect another day at the rate of $40.50. The workers/ customer service reps /whatever you like to call them did not scan my Ford Explorer color, silver license plate New Mexico until 2:47 PM which is outrageous. I was already on the flight and boarded to go home by this time. Luckily, I work for a neighboring rental car business and I know how these things work. I hope to hear from the support team within the 3 to 5 business days SLA provided or I'll just dispute the whole thing with my bank who knows? Lol. read more

Thrifty Car Rental - Waiting for a response from the team or company - Car Rental Near Me - OAKLAND AP, California

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This place is god awful. Was there for two hours. First they gave me the wrong car. They tried to downgrade me to a compact suv when I ordered a mid size one. I got that corrected and the second car smelled so strongly of smoke and had sticky residue all over the place. Finally got the car right but then was waiting 45 min to get out of the gate. They had only one booth working and they could only do about 7 cars in 40 min. Really really go anywhere else. Worst experience. There were even more issues but those were the major ones. Really avoid this place. read more

I've had to rent cars from Thrifty the past few times I've been in Oakland and they have kinks they have to work out of the system. Every time I've picked up a car, I have to return to the desk because the car they assigned to me wasn't assigned to me. I see that they're trying to manage things better but it still doesn't work. They had this woman who I think supervises between Dollar, Thrifty, and Hertz and she's great. She encouraged people to check in online and once you do that, you're supposed to get a car assigned to you that way and it helps you skip the line, because she took me out of the Thrifty desk, brought me to the Hertz desk, where they could help me right away. Unfortunately something was wrong with this check in system because he asked me which car the website had assigned to me and I showed him my screen where it said they couldn't assign one and you had to go to the checkout desk to be assigned one. He says no problem, assigns me a car, so I put my stuff in the car and as I try to drive off the lot, the lady says no car was assigned to me, per her iPad. I have to back up, park the car back in its slot, go to the desk, and go to that helpful lady. She says I should have been assigned a car through the app and I show her how the website says I have to get it assigned at the desk. There were now two other guys who had gone through the same process who tried to drive off with their assigned cars, only to discover they had no car. What a pain? So each of us has to go back to that Hertz desk and have them work it out. Was it all faster than being in the Thrifty line. Admittedly yes, but not by much and it was still super frustrating. I like that they're trying, but here's hoping they work out the bugs. Otherwise the car was clean, new, and returning it is a breeze. read more

Well the previous reviews don't stack up to my experience. Adonde H was the best agent. Dude deserves a raise. He wished me a happy Mother's Day and made the rental process so easy. We loved our car. Everything about this experience was top notch. Thanks Thrifty read more

We rented through thrifty to go to Napa Valley from OAK. When they rented to us they never warned us about the robbery ring on Hegenberger road when people have been targeted for years getting their luggage stolen, windows smashed and people returning their cars terrorized. Luckily a Good Samaritan angel started shouting and spooked the masked robber who was trying to open the doors of our car while I WAS IN IT. I know companies who don't allow their employees to refuel on that road. Thrifty you are complicit in terrorizing your customers. Shame on you. read more

I've been renting cars for 25+ years and have rarely had any problems, so I'm surprised by all the negative reviews! Maybe im just lucky? Busy holiday weekend for Labor Day, but I still got a good deal for $157 for a 3 day rental for a Corolla. Staff was friendly and fast on both pickup and return. The car had nearly 40,000 miles, but was still clean and ran smoothly as if new, and got 40mpg, perfect for $5+ gas! Great deal, no complaints! I used Expedia to make the reservation. read more

4 years later, still actively avoiding Thrifty Car rental because of this horrible "preying of people who don't have the time to fight bogus extra fees" business practice. read more

I had booked my rental here a month earlier before seeing all the bad reviews, so I was really worried I'd have a bad experience. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how smooth my rental experience was. Luckily, there was no line when I arrived (Saturday morning at 11:30am). The only issue I had was that they were out of what I reserved, a compact gas car, and only had EVs in stock. When I specified that I didn't want an EV, they told me I needed to pay extra for a larger gas car. However, the guy helping us was pretty reasonable when we told them we didn't know how to drive an EV, and gave us a free upgrade to the larger gas car. It ended up being a hybrid Toyota prius. The guy also wasn't pushy and didn't try to upsell us on protection or fuel plans. The car was clean, had full fuel and drove smoothly. Returns were also quick and I had no issues. Maybe I just got lucky but I'd rent here again. read more

I haven't written a Yelp review in 6 years. I'm here to warn you of the scam this place is. I had my catalytic converter stolen out of my own car so I needed to rent a car and went with Thrifty because it was the most affordable option. What a grave mistake that was. It was my 1st time renting a car on my own. They do not explain to you that they don't do a walkthrough with you to check the damages of the car. The first time I rented a car, they handed me a slip of paper and had me take note of all the damages. Because this is only my second time renting, I wasn't sure to expect. They do not explain to you how to report damages on the car. When I returned it, the person inspecting the car said a scratch on the car had to have been my fault. When I told him no one did a walkthrough with me he seemed shocked--he said "No one handed you a piece of paper to mark any damages you've seen on the car?" and I said no. So, why would their own employee be under the impression that they perform walkthroughs? Now they are trying to charge me $600 to fix a 8 inch scratch on the car that I did not do. Do not rent from here. read more

Same as everyone else. Total scam. Booked online, plane landed, price of our car was now 50% more than agreed upon price

So, this is the second time, post pandemic, I'm renting from Thrifty. The first time I thought was a fluke and I waited for a car to be available in 30 minutes. I thought ok fine and life went on. Months pass and low and behold I signed up again to rent a car via one of the travel apps. I get to the airport car rental Thrifty, and this time the wait is one hour. What the hell!?!?! Although I have to say the agent was polite but still what the.... read more

Thrifty Car Rental - Thrifty car rental - Car Rental Near Me - OAKLAND AP, California

If you want a trip to hell, rent a car from thrifty car rental at Oakland Airport. If you want the deepest hell, rent an electrical vehicle. (It will cost you a fortune and you will spend all your time looking for chargers that work or sitting at chargers.) They changed the price on me four different times: $138, $490, $148 and then charged my card $179. Spent too much time trying to get them to honor the amount they quoted. I missed my plane trying to get them to take off the mistaken over $400 charge. You cannot trust them at all. It is very difficult to get them to honor their quote and not charge any more. It's almost impossible to get a hold of customer service. STAY AWAY!' read more

I've been traveling for over 30 years for both business and pleasure, but this ranks as the worst car rental experience I've had to date. Got the car at 2:30 pm today, 8/4/2022. "No cars available so you'll have to wait" they said. I had kind of feared this, since all the time I was waiting in line, multiple other people in various states of agitation were trying to figure out the status of their cars. I tried to just cancel my reservation on the spot but they wouldn't do that since it had been done through Priceline. They tried to upsell me on an upgrade - I really had no choice, given that I had to pick my daughter up soon from summer camp and wasn't expecting any kind of delay. The car they gave me was hardly an "upgrade". It's 3 years old, has over 50000 miles on the clock, smells weird, rides very roughly at any speed over 50mph, and when I arrived at the hotel, I discovered a large dent that I hadn't seen earlier in my rush. So far, attempting to deal with Thrifty customer service has been extremely frustrating and is putting *another* large dent in my summer trip. Reading the other reviews, this seems par for the course for this outfit. Lesson learned, I guess. Avoid at all costs, they're shady. I'll be filing complaints with the head office, Priceline, the Oakland Airport, and my credit card company as well. read more

Thrifty Car Rental - Car Rental Near Me - OAKLAND AP, California

This place is a joke! I rented a car and it was supposed to be ready at 8am. I got there at 9am and they didn't have it ready. It is now 10:30am and I am still waiting for my car! What is wrong with this company!? read more

Thrifty Car Rental - Chaos - Car Rental Near Me - OAKLAND AP, California

Not sure what the rental will be like. The price is cheeeeap. This location has a hard time getting new employees so the 8 people ahead of me, in line, are still waiting after 15 minutes of standing here ... ONE got served. If you have the cash go for Hertz (more employees!). read more

Got a new car that was awesome! Great customer service from Jing ...good pricing. We also had to extend online and the customer service was good. I have no complaints. I would rent from them again. read more

Reserved a car 2 weeks ago. Waited in line for 45 minutes, then were told that we have to wait an additional hour, since they ran out of cars. Ended up waiting 2 hours. Get your act together Thrifty! What a waste of time! read more

Thrifty Car Rental - Mile long lines and no cars available even if you have a reservation. - Car Rental Near Me - OAKLAND AP, California

I made a reservation early enough so I wouldn't be stuck driving in traffic. When I arrived at the counter I was told I would have a 45 minute to an hour wait while they clean a car. They did offer to get me in a car right away if I paid for a premium up grade. I asked how many people where waiting ahead of me. The clerk replied 2 but they have been waiting an hour already. This sounds like a shortage of cars to rent. If you don't have enough cars available then don't take our reservations. Now I remember why I stopped using thrifty. read more

Buyer BEWARE! They are running a bait-and-switch program - book a car in advance, and you think you've got a good deal. Upon arrival, they don't have that car or any smaller cars, only more expensive cars. The only option you're given is to upgrade. The rep announced this without even seeming to look at what we booked. She told me, she didn't have any compact cars, which I said was fine, because I hadn't booked a compact car but a mid-size, to which she replied she didn't have 'that' either (I didn't see her look) and I'd have to upgrade or wait for someone to drop off a car later that day. I was there for just 3 days so I didn't have hours to wait for a car, which was the only timeline given. The rep wasn't concerned, it was a take-or-leave-it attitude. I paid twice the amount I agreed to. I had organized and shopped for a rental car 6 weeks in advance. That's when consumers typically can shop around and find a good deal.... in advance. Not on the day you turn up to collect a car. What a rip-off. I will NEVER rent from Thrifty again. It's not the customer's fault if Thrifty can't manage its fleet. If they don't have the right cars available that shouldn't be MY problem, that's Thrifty's problem. I had a contract that they could NOT fulfill, but I was penalized. They're running a bait-and-switch program - they are promoting competitive prices so you book, but are not fulfilling their promise. How do they NOT have a class action lawsuit against them for deceptive practices? I usually rent from FOX and when they haven't had the car I rented available, it's been a courtesy upgrade. When asked by friends how was my trip going, I said it was great apart from the car rental company ripped me off. To which the reply was, oh, was that Thrifty? Do yourself a favor; don't rent from them! This would be a NO star rating, but that option wasn't available. read more

The representative at the counter was unfriendly and unhelpful. She looked like she would rather be someone where else and acted accordingly. Mentioning where to return vehicles rentals to out of town customers may be considered above and beyond to some, but just a suggested to management/corporate. Also, reserved and paid for a "full size" vehicle, which a 2021 Jetta is not. May have to contact the FTC and BBB. The exterior of the car rented to us was pretty scuffed up (super glad they didn't try to sneak those damages on to our bill since their services didn't provide an inspection before sending us to the lot's parking space to pick the car up). Lastly, the brakes on the car they gave us was super squeaky when applied...very concerning. Shortly after picking up the car, I called two different numbers for Thrifty Rental Car (after selecting a completely unrelated extension to speak to a live representative) and waited on hold for 13 minutes before deciding to hang up. read more

I booked this rental back in June for a Labor Day weekend trip. Landed at 9am and still waiting for my car 2.5 hrs later. Was told at 1045 that it would take my car 15-20 mins to come. 45 mins later still waiting and they no longer have the minivan I reserved, supposedly getting a full size SUV instead. Will update this post at the end of my trip. read more

Thrifty Car Rental - Thrifty rental car line - Car Rental Near Me - OAKLAND AP, California

Worst rudest service ever!!! Avoid at all cost unless you need practice on patients. Rude rude!!!!' They contract to rent cars they don't have read more

Unless you have time to spare, go else where. They don't guarantee the time of your reservation. I got to the rental place 30min before than my reservation time. It took 1hr to get to the counter line and then took more than 1.5 hrs more to get the car. They basically gave my car to walk-ins or took too many reservations. There is no recourse once you get here, especially if you prepaid or can't get a refund. They also will still charge you to upgrade even when they didn't have your vehicle to begin with. The people at the counter were nice but the company policy that they have (along with Dollar and Hertz) is just wrong. Think twice before you make a car reservation with them. Consider Fox, Budget, or Enterprise. The people who made reservations with them would walk up to the counter and were out the door within 5-10 minutes. They had no long lines or issues. read more

Do not rent from Thrifty. Reserved a car for 9:30 am. After I have my credit card and signed for car Was told it could be anywhere from 3 minutes to 1 hour wait as they had no cars. After 1 hour wait was told it might be another hour and a half. Picked up a car from Alamo with no problem. Now I have to dispute the "contract" with Thrifty. read more

Not pleased with the service I received this trip. Counter staff was great. But I called the second day of my rental because I had a flat tire. Thrifty wouldn't send out roadside assistance, even though I purchased the extra insurance. I was informed I would have to pay for tire repairs then submit reimbursement. What BS! I had to call my own AAA to put the donut on. Drove around like that for 4 days. To top it off, my car was broken into on my way back to the airport while I was filling up the tank. Renters beware!!! Gas stations near the airport are not safe!!! Smash and grabs are happening left & right. Do yourself a favor and just have the rental companies fill the gas. It's not worth it. This has been a nightmare of a trip. read more

This is one of the worst car rental place I have ever visited. Even though we had reservation, we still had to wait for an hour to get our car. The person at the counter was very rude. I watched an elderly woman in front me having trouble hearing that that lady was saying as she spoke really fast and had no patience with that elderly. What a shame to bear the title of customer service agent. read more

I would give ZERO stars if I could. Horrible service. Made us wait an hour for a car that wasn't even available, with a reservation. Then said they called our name, which they did not, and gave our car away. He ended up taking an Uber and cancelled our reservation. Horrible. Then gave us attitude on top of it! read more

Then I rented another car Yesterday was CHARGED 95.00 to clean a car that was not Dirty. THRIFTY is a very GHETTO ASS Car rental Agency will NEVER GO THERE AGAIN read more

Thrifty Car Rental - Damaged front bumper on car I rented on the tenth of August not knowing bumper was falling off SO MUCH FOR POST CAR INSPECTION - Car Rental Near Me - OAKLAND AP, California

If I could give them fewer I would. They don't exist. They contract out their entire operation to hertz who has 2 people operating a counter.... Which only takes Hertz renters while everyone else waits. read more

Thrifty Car Rental - 2 hours - Car Rental Near Me - OAKLAND AP, California

This is a joke. You arrive and the counter is CLOSED. So you need to go to HERTZ They service Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty. 2 people are at the counter. 1 is on break!!!!! It took over 1 hr to get my car that was Pre ordered and pre paid!!!!! I suggest you do Hertz Gold where there is no line. read more

Worst experiences all around. Long lines, my car wasn't ready and I had to wait over over a 1 1/2 before getting a sub par car than what I rented. I got shuffled around from counter to counter. I spoke to 4 different counter people. I will never use them again. Hopefully I'll never have to return to Oakland airport for a car rental as well. read more

My plane got in to Oakland Airport at 10AM and I was at the Thrifty Rent-a-Car by 10:30. I had made an online reservation (which includes paying most of the charge when I booked it.) Thrifty knew when I'd be there - me and a dozen other people - and I had a reservation for a car. Not long after that I learned what a "Reservation" is at Thrifty. "Reservation," I'm informed by the counterperson, means I have a "place in line" when a car becomes available. Foolishly I thought that booking it on line meant that they would have a car when I arrived at the appointed time. "One to three hours, maybe more" was what my wait time was going to be. She asks me if that's ok. Of course it's not ok but what choice do I have? I'm waiting here. How long will it be before I have a car? Who knows? - I rented from Thrifty! read more

A miserable Thrifty check-in experience. Booked a Thrifty Rental care via Expedia well in advance. After 20 minutes in line at Oakland airport Thrifty, we were informed of 30 minutes "to clean the car". The actual wait was 50 minutes, for a total of 80 minutes to receive our car. My multiple attempts to check-in online prior to arrival all "failed". read more

Poor service poor management, I reserved a car and when I arrived the desk was closed. I was directed with a sign to the hertz counter. The hertz representatives refused service to a full line of over a dozen thrifty customers for over an hour. I called the thrifty number and was redirected three times and offered no assistance my schedule is ruined and I'm still standing in line read more

Thrifty Car Rental - Full line of thrifty customers spilling over into the hertz line, not being helped - Car Rental Near Me - OAKLAND AP, California

They made us wait over an hour for a reservation made very long ago. Once they were ready they told us to go outside and we walked around the parking lot looking for help and NO ONE WOULD HELP US. We had to beg someone to help us who just seemed inconvenienced. We were then given a dirty car smaller than we were asked for when the whole time we were told we were waiting because they were cleaning. Worst service probably ever. read more

Worst place to rent a vehicle. I was given a filthy car. I cannot even see out of the back window. I didn't realize it until I had driven off, and I didn't have the time to go back and contest it. When I called the 800 number the guy was really rude and told me it was my fault. I won't be renting from here again. read more

I walked in there was a desk open for business and the other desk busy, the man who helped me was very nice, but as all rental agencies, tried to get me to buy insurance and a vehicle upgrade but I respectfully declined. They immediately had the vehicle available ( I reserved a week before hand ) new vehicle with low mileage with a couple of scratches (but that's expected and they give you a paper to point it out). Very nice service and sales attempt, this place is worth the money you spend with them. read more

If I would have known they were owned by Hertz then I would have NEVER rented from them!!! 45 minute wait is what they tell me to get a car I prepaid for. Why you ask because they rented more cars then they have!!! read more