Aluguel de carros - Clearwater

We found out the hard way why Ace isn't at the airport!!!!

Prós: Car was clean and got good gas mileage

Contras: From the first moment I stepped into the office it was a horrible experience, so many hidden fees, fee if you need to drop it off before they open, fee if you go through tolls without having the PayTolla app or a SunPass..all of this made the car much more expensive on a daily basis than any of the others, couldn't understand the foreign guy with the accent and he was obviously training and didn't tell us quite a bit of the small details. Just overall poor experience and we will NEVER be back to Ace for car rentals. Transmission was bad, and car had no power-almost got hit several times trying to get into traffic because the car wouldn't move, oil change light came on every time we started the car, low tire pressure light came on. Called after first day of rental to tell them about the issues and they told me "welcome to the Ford Focus," like it was somehow not their problem and I had to deal with it. Never offered to switch the car out until I told them I'd be leaving this review.

Hidden Fees

Prós: Nice car

Contras: No mention that there is no shuttle from location to airport in the morning. They charged an extra $20 fee to park in short term parking.

Contras: Very confusing pick up/drop off.

Car was as expected for a rental, but the drop off is a scam

Prós: The car was pretty nice, it was a 2017 Ford Focus that had a surprising amount of tech features. The Bluetooth was great, although the rep who checked us in had no idea if it had Bluetooth or not, but much to my suspicion, it did. This made listening to music, or using my phone navigation a breeze. The car also had an aux port, in addition to 2 in-line USB ports that could also be used for music and/or navigation. The car also got great gas mileage, which is to be expected for a little 2.0l engine. No complaints with the car, but be sure to do a thorough walk around, as stains on the interior headliner were not initially seen, but were thankfully seen just prior to leaving. The rep (Emmanuel) was very nice about this and noted it down in the rental based on my word alone, as he was working with another customer.

Contras: While I was entirely aware that the rental facilities were off the airport property, and they provided a shuttle for the car pickup; the drop off was not satisfactory. I say "not satisfactory" simply due to the fact that their shuttle does not run prior to 9am, so if you have an early flight, like us, your two options are: 1) drop the car off at the rental facilities and then either Uber or walk (representatives own suggestions) to the airport at 5am or 2) for an additional $20+tax, you can leave the car unlocked in short term parking for them to collect after 9am. We opted for the second choice, but why in the hell am I paying an additional fee if you choose not to be open when your customers need you? This was not stated anywhere while making the reservation, and was only explained to us when I deliberately asked upon picking up the car. Additionally, this seems to be a huge liability for the renter, as you are asked to leave the car unlocked with the keys in the visor until they collect the car; although, when asked, they stated that I would not be liable for the car if it were stolen. Honestly, get a 24hr shuttle, or one that at least runs for early morning flights, or make this a free service. Beware, if you were to lock the keys in the car upon return, you are also charged a $50 lockout fee.

Never again

Prós: Nothing

Contras: Found out AFTER getting car we could not return it there before early flight. Was charged extra $25 to leave it at airport.

Contras: All of the extra charges after we had already arrived and the not being clear on toll road charges then just saying that you signed the agreement bad overall and will recommend against to all friends and family

Prós: ease of dropoff

Contras: A bit misleading on insurance options

car was not at ready for the time it was reserved,

Prós: nothing

Contras: car was booked for pick up at 11. when arrived car was not there. we had tight dead line to be some where. front desk agent would not expedite and ask us to wait till car gets there. we had to go to diffrent avis location and pay more to get the car.

Good price bad service

Prós: Price was good, car ended up being nice.

Contras: Tried to tell us we will have take a mini van when we booked and paid for a full size SUV. They said the last renter is late so that is what we have for you. He tried offering me a free tank of gas to take the mini van. After waiting and arguing with him at the air port for an hr with two kids he said they finally got the car we ordered but refused to give a discount for being late.

I never got to Clearwater with a Budget vehicle

Prós: Clearwater Budget was never experienced since I never got the rental I reserved in Canton, GA

Budget needs more signs at St. Pete airport

Contras: At the St, Pete airport there were no signs for the Budget drop-off. I had to ask where the Budget return area was and was told, "Beyond the green trash cans." In the rental car area, the Budget/Avis slots were full and I and others had to park behind other parked rental cars, which blocked those cars from leaving. At the desk inside the airport, the Budget personnel did not act concerned, saying instead: "Business is good."

NEED Credit card in hand to rent

Contras: Ordered car online sent employee there to pick it up, would not rent to him because he didnt have the credit card even though it was all set up online. Then after trying to set up a bill pay direct to have it charged, closed before we could get the car. Then charged the card anyway.

Contras: Never went there as Budget didn't give me a car. Wound up perfectly happy with my Avis car.

Contras: Drop off was at a desk tucked away in the side of the lobby of a holiday inn and required waiting on a shuttle to drive us the mile to the airport terminal.

Prós: Good price.

Contras: Drop off is off-site. Pick up van was a normal Chrysler Pacifica with minimal seating. Very slow to pick up at PIE Airport.

Never rent from Dollar

Prós: Dollar lists themselves as "being at the airport". They are not at the airport and there was no shuttle, no counter, no phone. When we called the LOCAL phone number to have them bring us a car or shuttle us to their location, NO ONE ANSWERED THE PHONE. We called again and again, but as you can imagine, you can only stand around the airport for so long before you give up and rent a car from one of the counters at the airport.

Contras: Terrible service and zero help from the 1800 phone number. No one answered the phone at the local office. We landed at 8:00 pm - so after business hours - but certainly not the middle of the night. There is no excuse for Dollar Rental Car leaving us high and dry. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT RENT FROM THEM! TERRIBLE BUSINESS OWNERS

Miss leading

Prós: Nothing

Contras: Miss led they were located in airport, they are not

Contras: Broken gas cap cover. Drivers seat belt broken, safety issue.

Prós: I like the van that they gave us. It was nice and clean.

Contras: So, my flight was delayed and I tried calling to let them know that but the number that they gave me in the email was disconnected. I had to call priceline to get to them. When I called to let them know I will be late they just said to call them when I get to the airport. So when I arrived at the office there was no one in the front. I waited a while until they finally came out and then when I told her who I was and what I was renting the lady said that it would be good to let them know that I was going to be late and I told her I did call to let them know. Seem like they don't have any good communication. Also we had to gas up right away because the gas tank was full.

Appreciate staying open late but no music.

Prós: Economy stayed open late when my flight was delayed. Other car rental companies didn't.

Contras: The radio was on mute. I couldn't figure out how to unmute. I called Economy and they couldn't help then. They said they would find out and call me back. They never called back.

Prós: The manager was kind and helpful when I contacted her.

Contras: They gave me a compact car when I paid for a mid-size car, and insisted that a Ford Focus was mid-size. They also charged me more than was agreed upon. Eventually I called the manager from my Hotel room and she refunded the difference, however I ended up with a car I did not have enough room in that had a distinct odor.

Worst customer service ever experienced

Contras: Unorganized in the kiosk. Gave an inaccurate receipt and never closed out the rental. Could not assist me to get the extra unnecessary charges removed. I will never rent from them again. I will also advise others to not rent from this business either.

Worst customer service ever!

Contras: I'm about to go on a long rant about Hertz Rent A Car. Hertz I booked a rental car through KAYAK for my trip to Boca Raton because I didn't want to put miles on my sports car. I specifically put my return time for 7pm on Friday the 23rd because I knew I would not be back from Bradenton to return the car until at least 6pm. Apparently my rental location closes at 5pm, which I was not aware of until I tried to return the car. That wasn't even the worst of my experience though.The rental car that they gave me was a Hyundai Accent, which was an upgrade from the economy that I originally booked. The car, however, was not in the best of shape. (Scrapes and dings, waterstains on both fron seats etc). I should have refused that car, but I didn't. It was all noted on the inspection, so I wasn't worried. When I got to Boca Raton, the tire pressure light came on. I contacted Hertz to see if they would swap out the car for me. I stated that I was going to be traveling half the state alone and didn't want a break down, being a single female. The gentleman on the phone told me that I had to treat the car as I would my own and get it checked out at a tire place. That he couldn't even swap it out because he didn't have a car he could swap it out for. So I took the car to the local Tires Plus, where the kind gentleman there checked my tires. He looked alarmed and proceeded to ask me who filled up my tires. I told him that it was a rental, so I was assuming that Hertz did. He said that my front left tire was supposed to have a PSI of 33 and it was currently at 73. That the car was dangerous to drive. He deflated the tire to the correct psi and sent me on my way. I drove back to Clearwater without incident. I tried to return the rental but the location was closed. I contacted Hertz Corporate to see what I could do. The lady on the phone said that I could return the car to an alternate location, but that I would have to pay a different location fee. She said that it it would just be cheaper to keep the car than to return it to Tampa Airport location and pay the fee and not have a ride back. Frustrated, I called the other Hertz Car Rental St Petersburg Clearwater Airport as that was actually close to me too and had extended hours. The girl that answered the phone there told me to have someone, maybe a family member drop off the car for me, since I could not get there during the 3 hour window that they were open on Saturdays. I said that I didn't want to have to pay to add on an authorized driver. She then stated, "Oh yeah. it would just be cheaper to keep the car another day." So Sunday morning, I looked up the hours of the Hertz I rented originally at and it stated 12-5. I made it there at 12;30, before any other additional days on the rental agreement and was told by the Hertz sales people that the rental counter was closed on Sundays. They then offered to take the keys, but could not give me a ride back to my house, which is 2 miles away.

The slowest pickup experience ever.

Prós: The price was reasonable.

Contras: I never give poor ratings; however, if the employees had been any slower at pickup, they would have been going in reverse. It took over 38 minutes to finally get the car with only one customer ahead of me. Upon finally getting the car, I wasn't even given a copy of the rental agreement, but was already running so late, I didn't want to ask how much longer that would take. I have always had great experiences with Hertz, but after going to this Hertz, I will make sure to never go that one again.

Prós: Certainly a good value considering that I was upgraded to the next larger size car.

Contras: Picking up and returning the car was a hassle!. On picking up, there was only one person that checked me in, then went and washed the vehicle herself before the walk-around and turnover of the car to me. Had to wait a long while before she got to me because of people ahead of me. Likewise on returning the car, many people waiting for a car meant service was extremely slow.

Shuttle pick-up location not well marked

Contras: Shuttle pick-up location was not marked well and when I called for assistance they sent me to the other end of the airport. I saw the van go past me two times.

way way off site

Prós: $

Contras: location, dirty cars

Contras: Long wait for pickup. Rental location was strange and very dark. Drop off was confusing.

Contras: They did not give the car I was expecting I signed up for luxury car and they gave me different car since they did not have it also they did not discuss the gas replacement policy and they charged me close to 74 dollars to fill 10 gallons. car was not full when I got it anyway

Wheres my truck?

Prós: It was a bright beautiful day!

Contras: Everything! Thrifty at Clearwater, St.Pete airport is near impossible to find. It's inside a Hoilday Inn several miles from the airport. It doesn't have a sign on the outside of the building. There is no indications that the business is there at all. Getting a live human on the phone was VERY, VERY time consuming! IT should have tipped me off about their reliability. Once we finally found the place, they didn't have any truck, much less the one we had reserved. We had called the day before to make sure there was a truck waiting. We were assured it was there and would be there. No truck! OOPS sorry! NEXT! Their only solution was, WE could drive to Tampa to pick up a truck. This would have taken most of that day. This screwed up our plans tremendously! Our living room if now filled with the furniture we had planned to take on our trip. I learned at least that Thrifty is eliminated from any future consideration. I will make sure everyone knows, of my experience with Thrifty. User beware !! Make sure you have alternative plans to fall back on. BACamfield

flight delayed

Prós: We were 12 minutes late on arrival. Placed closed without any assistance to get another rental at 11:15

Contras: Horrible service