Complaint Review: Thrifty Car Rental - Ft Myers Florida

This was the worst rental car experience I have had in memory and I travel a lot.  Starts with the Thrifty agent at Ft Myers airport. I'd made a reservation via RentalCars.com and the Thrifty agent tells us the reserved car isn’t available, puts us in another car which we assumed to be equivalent,  and proceeds to tell us that despite the fact that Thrifty accepts reservations from RentalCars “they will tell customers anything they want to hear”.  We later find that this results in a daily rental fee that is almost 100% higher than the quoted cost. Next regarding the offered Thrifty insurance, my wife and I declined and responded that our personal car insurance covers rental cars.  Nevertheless he proceeds to charge a $28/day Loss Damage Waiver.  

Next comes the car.  It had +40,000 miles on it, huge by rental car standards.  And when we were roughly 40 miles away (toward our destination at a conference in Naples), a terrible smell comes in the car, as if someone had thrown up in it, and there was an empty coke can in the back seat that had evidently exploded, as sticky fizz was on various parts of the front seats and head liner.  I called Thrifty about getting an exchange car, and they refused to either do an exchange at the nearby Naples airport (where they also have a counter) or bring a replacement car to us. Attending the conference we had no time to travel back to Ft Myers airport to exchange.  Bottom line is a quoted rental reservation of $261 ended in a Thrifty charge of $702 (car was returned with a full tank).  Contacting Thrifty in Ft Myers, they were unwilling to make any accommodation. 

This was the worst rental car experience I have had in memory and I travel a lot.  Starts with the Thrifty agent at Ft Myers airport. I'd made a reservation via RentalCars.com and the Thrifty agent tells us the reserved car isn’t available, puts us in another car which we assumed to be equivalent,  and proceeds to tell us that despite the fact that Thrifty accepts reservations from RentalCars “they will tell customers anything they want to hear”.  We later find that this results in a daily rental fee that is almost 100% higher than the quoted cost. Next regarding the offered Thrifty insurance, my wife and I declined and responded that our personal car insurance covers rental cars.  Nevertheless he proceeds to charge a $28/day Loss Damage Waiver.  

Next comes the car.  It had +40,000 miles on it, huge by rental car standards.  And when we were roughly 40 miles away (toward our destination at a conference in Naples), a terrible smell comes in the car, as if someone had thrown up in it, and there was an empty coke can in the back seat that had evidently exploded, as sticky fizz was on various parts of the front seats and head liner.  I called Thrifty about getting an exchange car, and they refused to either do an exchange at the nearby Naples airport (where they also have a counter) or bring a replacement car to us. Attending the conference we had no time to travel back to Ft Myers airport to exchange.  Bottom line is a quoted rental reservation of $261 ended in a Thrifty charge of $702 (car was returned with a full tank).  Contacting Thrifty in Ft Myers, they were unwilling to make any accommodation.