Upon arrival I was welcomed with smiles from a pretty lady named Sam.Gene appeared behind the counter and made us all chuckle. This is a wonderfully run local family business. My rental car was lavish; it was clean and new, smelled like flowers, and had low miles, Yay! I was able to safely make my 3 hour drive in a timely fashion. Support local business in beautiful Santa Barbara! read more

Family run service. Best service! Super helpful! Went above in helpfulness. Him and his mom are adorable.

I had read several really bad, some outlandish, reviews of this place. On a whim, my husband and I decided to see for ourselves and rent from Thrifty. Just for the adventure. Right before landing at SBA, our flight was diverted to LAX due to weather. After we landed, I called Thrifty and told them our situation, still unsure when we would arrive. Jeanette was amazing! She let me know that the office was closed but to just call with updates and she would answer. Eventually we arrived to SBA 2 hours late. We picked up our bags and waited just a couple minutes for Jannette to arrive and take us to the rental office nearby. If we hadn't been dragging suitcases, it would've been an easy walk. The car we rented was clean and in great condition. It ran well. The return was easy and quick. Jannette was on top of it all and very nice. I can't say enough good things about this experience and will absolutely rent again! read more

Don't judge a book by its cover. Yes as other reviewers have said, it's not your normal rental facility. however the 94 year old lady.& her son who own & operate this location are genuine & honest. If you fly in they pick you up at the curb. When we dropped of the car they drove us back to Santa Barbara, State st. Area. Don't know of any corporate car rental outfit who would do that! Maybe if we aren't always expecting to be treated like royalty while paying half the price of the competition we can see the good in honest people trying to make a living. We rented a compact car, ran great had zero issues. Do yourself a favor & look past first impression. read more

Wish I had read the reviews! I work for UCSB so booked a round trip from SBA through our online system. I got to the airport and they told me it wasn't actually at the airport, that I had to go half a mile down the road. It was raining so I had to take a second Uber to get there. The lady was very kind, but the car was absolutely filthy - previous renter's personal information still in there, old food on the floor, ketchup stains and crumbs, sticky steering wheel, so gross. I told the woman inside and she basically said "Oh he was supposed to clean it and I guess he didn't...it's not too bad is it?" I had to leave because I was in a hurry. Then I get on 101 and realize the speaker system is totally busted and I have to ride to and from Huntington Beach in silence :(. If I can't even trust you'll clean the car and make sure the radio works, why should I trust the maintenance is up to date?? When I got back, I was instructed to leave the car with the keys locked inside since I'd be arriving late (around 11pm) and there were two men just wandering around in the dark behind the trailer. No indication they worked there, just scared the living daylights out of me as they were acting really strange and didn't even acknowledge me at first. I live in Goleta, it's a safe place but I was petrified at this point. Finally one of them asked if I was returning them car and I only thought to actually give him the keys because he could open up the "business" part. The woman was nice but I'm going to request the UC schools somehow take this location off our booking system - students and employees shouldn't have to deal with this kind of thing, not even being sure of our own safety in the car or at the location, especially when the university is liable for us as we are on university business. Totally ridiculous that these people are still allowed to run a business this way. read more

This is an interesting place to rent a car to say police you kind of have to go there in person to experience it however their prices are good and I usually go there to rent a car because of that reason nice to hear that they are delivering meals read more

Bottom line, don't rent from Thrifty. We rented from their corporate owned location at Los Angeles Airport on October 31, 2021. The vehicle had close to 50,000 miles on it, and several weeks into the rental the front left axle suddenly gave out, with the result the car couldn't turn left. When I called Thrifty Emergency Road service, and after two hours on the phone, I was given two options: 1) get someone to drive me from Santa Barbara to LAX (a two hour drive each way) and pick a replacement vehicle, or 2) pay $1,500 to have a replacement vehicle provided to me in Santa Barbara. In desperation I agreed to pay $500, but Macquelsia, the Thrifty Road Service Manager, insisted I pay the full $1,500. This for a vehicle I was paying Thrifty $5,840.14 to rent. So needless to say, I will never, ever rent from Thrifty again. read more

This could not possibly be a legitimate Thrifty location! Everything previously stated in the NEGATIVE reviews was mostly my experience. Add to that, when I attempted to ask the "old" lady a question via phone, she yelled at me and hung up. I have never had a rental car experience like this and hope never to again. I highly suggest that Thrifty looks into this operation quickly! read more

If I could give this place zero I would. All I can say is RUN. This was the worst rental experience I have had. When I called for a "shuttle" to pick me up from the airport the man who answered the phone Gene Meyer sounded intoxicated, slurring his words, mumbling and almost incoherent. After about 25 minutes a normal passenger car with a hand written sign in the window pulled up to us. When I arrived to the lot it is literally a mobile home trailer, there was trash outside of the trailer and trash on the inside. A dog was loose off leash barking that had to be locked up. There was old open food containers inside, it was dirty and it had an odor. The man Gene Meyer fell over in his chair while trying to put in the information to the computer, was slurring his words, repeated the same question several times and stated that they did not have my rental information that I had booked with priceline. He asked me several times where I was driving and staying, and asked me several times why I couldn't just take one car and share it with the other couple who were strangers. The woman who picked us up attempted to take over the computer booking to get me checked in, but she could barely work the system. They had to "find" they keys to the car they were renting to me because they didn't know about the rental. The car they gave me was disgusting and filthy. There was damage on the outside and large stains on the carpet and every seat. The odometer reading inside the car did not match my paperwork. A check engine light was on that said "I-key stems error". There was trash in the car. When I returned the car two days later the owner Gene opened my car door while I was parked in the driveway gathering my belongings. He told me to get out and tell him what the odometer reading and gas level was. I was shocked that he would open up my car door. It was extremely rude and disturbing. I filled up the tank before returning the car and gave them the odometer reading. I took pictures of everything before and after to show that the paperwork was wrong. They were so disorganized and filthy. I hope NO ONE rents from this location again. read more

If you go here look over your statements they will take your money, went as far to ask me for my pin to my debit card, stupid stupid stupid. ZERO STARS 0 read more

All I can say is wow. Someone needs to check out that business. I was able to verify most of what the other reviewers said plus some. I would have Never Ever felt comfortable by myself or with my children in or around that facility or with their drivers. Luckily it was just me and the husband. It's definitely not what you would expect from a chain rental company. read more

I reserved a vehicle for pick-up today at the Santa Barbara Airport location. The agent I spoke to (over the phone) confirmed the reservation, and guaranteed they would have a vehicle available at 5am. The reason I chose this agency was because they opened at 4:30 am and I needed to drive to a business meeting 3 hours away. When I arrived to the store, the lights were on, but the door was locked and no one was behind the counter. I called the number on my reservation, and no one answered. I thought maybe I was at the wrong location, so I went back to the airport (where the other car rental agencies are) but nothing was open, and airport staff informed me the Thrifty was off-site. I had someone drive me back to the store and still no answer (it was 5:45 at this point). Finally, a man came to the counter, raised his arms in an angry manner and shouted "GO AWAY!!" I informed him about my reservation through the glass door, but he did not care what I had to say, instead he kept shouting, "GO AWAY!" I was on the phone with customer service, who I believe he was on the phone with him at this point, and they informed me that there were no cars available at this location (there were 6-8 vehicles in the lot). I could not believe this, I was already an hour late to get to my meeting, had no vehicle to drive, and was treated with the WORST customer service I have ever had in my life! I attempted to call the office again and the man finally answered and shouted, "STOP Calling here, we don't have any cars!!" I cannot believe this is how this company conducts business, I have never been treated this poorly. He did not give one shit about what I had to say. I was still on hold with customer service, who could do nothing about this issue, I was transferred to a supervisor (15-20 mins later), who wanted to transfer me AGAIN to a complaint line, all while I still had no vehicle for my trip to work!!! I am beyond angry with this service today, I had to find a vehicle last minute then drive 200 miles in traffic, and show up EXTREMELY LATE to my meeting this morning. I am so upset and extremely disappointed in this service. Don't say you open at 0430 if you cant open at 0430. read more

If I could give a negative rating I would. The info on Expedia stated the place was on airport grounds. When the man pulled up in the minivan and did not greet us or get out, I knew something was wrong. The driver just asked a question rudely "where are you going?". Threw us back a bit, we were confused. Like why was it his business?? So we arrive at the place, which is sketchy and scary, like straight out of a horror film. It's filthy, papers everywhere! The guy says just keep your crap in the van. Aww hell no I will not! They couldn't enter basic data into the computers. Had to say my info 3 times. When the contract was printed he demanded signatures, I said give me a moment, I read things before signing. He yanked the paper out of my hand and slammed it on the counter. He said you aren't driving! Well I pay the bills and that is my husband. He held his hand on the paper. The older lady told him to stop. Then they insisted on photocopying my credit card! I informed them that, that is a crime to keep all the numbers! The entire experience was scary and I took a lot of pictures of the car. On return we had to pick up the old lady and drive ourselves back to the airport, then she took the car. Then reviewing the bill they charged us 121 bucks too much. The old lady agreed to her mistake and reversed the charges. The elderly lady was more level headed but also frustrated with that horrible man assisting her. DO NOT GO HERE!!! read more

I have been renting from them for several years . Whether its for a weekend get away or a trip to Vegas they have always been reliable and easy to deal with . They are not your corporate type but they get the job done ! Hassle free and they except debit cards . If your stuck up don't go and pay the extra money else where ,, why would a company pay extra fees to be at the airport if they didn't have too ?! They are a franchise not a corporation people ,ran by a family locally owned business relax ! #supportlocalbussiness read more

This place is actually a mobile home off a dirt road. The owner lives in the back and when we walked in took at least 5 minutes to walk to the front. The customer service was non existent and he looked poorly groomed and hungover. He went to the bathroom in the middle of helping us. He was in there for a while and did not bother to wash his hands then asked for my id and credit card. I was disgusted handing it over knowing I'd have to revieve it back unsantitary. When he did return my ID and credit card, he threw it on the counter. I asked If there was ahything I needed to know driving a hybrid and he offered a sarcastic response that "its just a car". If I was not in a bind, I would have cancelled the reservation. I'm still apalled at how this man rolled out of bed without even brushing his teeth to offer "professional" service. read more

I made this reservation thru the Thrifty app. I am a Blue Chip member and use Thrifty for the ease that blue chip status allows me. I am a single female and often travel solo. This time I was thankful to be with my boyfriend as the entire Thrifty Rental Car experience was incredibly sketchy. At the Santa Barbara location I had to call the Thrifty number for information as it was not clear where to pick up the car. A non-employee picked us up. He was very friendly, and made it clear he was helping out his buddy. He drove us down a side dirt road, near the junk yard to a small mobile home. I trusted the fact that there was Thrifty signage both in the car that picked us up as well as on the small building. Once inside a very heavily medicated man struggled to get to the counter, couldn't make sense of the computer & had me come around the back of the counter to fill in my information. This made my boyfriend very uncomfortable. After some continued odd interactions we finally left. The car had electronic issues throughout our trip & my boyfriend noticed that one of the hubcaps was not like the other three. When we returned the car this morning the owner was incredibly sick and couldn't do anything. Again his friend helped us by giving us a ride back to the airport. I was not given a receipt. I kept my contract for reference and now see the return date is (according to this sheet) not until tomorrow. I am super uncomfortable with the way this entire reservation was handled. I checked Yelp this morning and the reviews of this location are similar horrible experiences. This location needs attention and help. read more

Do not go!! I was denied service based on my ethnicity although that is illegal in 2016. Two men who were at the facility were sleeping during their posted business hours. When they woke up, they appeared drunk and smelled like it. Both men acted hostile, yelled racial slurs at me and verbally threatened at which point felt the need to leave for my safety. Thrifty has also neglected me from filing a complaint by giving me the run around with their corporate lines, saying they are going to transfer me to their Customer Service line and end up hanging up. Wrong and hateful! read more

Not the Thrifty I'm accustomed to. Even though when booking it says on airport property, it's not. It's about a 3 minute drive up the road, in a mobile home that doubles as someone's residence. When I called to pick up the car - the person who answered advised I woke him up. They don't have a formal shuttle service, they'll drive you in the rental car to the airport. Was nothing short of a creepy ride. Car was dirty with dead bugs on the dashboard and cobwebs on the mirrors. My advice - stick with Hertz or National. read more