Thrifty Car Rental - Sacramento International Airport - Sacramento, California

Loren Nightengale

Update: left my review and as you can see, they responded to my review, but they don’t offer to make it right or take responsibility for their mistakes.

Worst customer experience ever, and this was even with a manager who was less
professional than the other employees. The express pick-up does not work- they even admitted it. The manager wouldn't believe anything I said, and then he would later see that we were telling the truth every time. He threatened to deny our rental due to us being confused and upset that he was going to re-open our rental confirmation and make us go through the whole process again. We were told that we only had to pay a small amount in order to just pick up our car, skipping the line, so we did everything online before our trip. Including uploading my driver's license. We got a notice that our car wasn't "ready" so we had to go up to the counter and were then told it was because we were late, despite them getting our flight information for late arrivals, so they knew when to expect us.

They also made us pay a $500!!!! deposit and a SOFT CREDIT CHECK, despite the fact that we had already paid and were promised an express pick-up. They had a paper that said a $200 deposit was required for a credit card and a $500 deposit for a debit card. I told the manager that we were not informed of that when we booked online through their very own website. He said he knew that it was there and said "You need to look on the website and see that it says that". Which we did, and he even had my phone and HE couldn't even find where it says we have to pay $500 for a deposit. Their very own manager couldn't find and see where it says a deposit is required when booking or getting the car.
To make matters worse, once we got in the car, there were hard water stains all over the windshield, making it so hard to see through at night. The seats had white water marks all over them from not being shampooed properly. The Apple car play never worked. The gas gauge didn't even change for the first day.
Thrifty is a literal scam, and the employees here don't care, They'll tell you to contact their IT department for website issues.

Michelle Fraser

Thrifty Car Rental was amazing. I have never rented / picked up a car so fast before. The staff was friendly and a it was an easy return as well. And. According to the previous reviews. It says ignore as they use bots. I assure you this is not a bot. I went through my credit card company to book the same day and I could t have asked for better service

Jessica Russell

Update: If I could give this another one star rating, I would. I followed the link listed in the response below, and I submitted my claim online to see if someone would get back to me. I also called the 800 number which goes through a series of options that ultimately told me to go online and that there’s no way to speak to someone on the phone. No one has gotten back to me (yes I checked spam) 3 to 5 business days my ass. I’m honestly irate. I’ve never been scammed by a car rental company and I’ve never thought to prepare or protect myself from them because I didn’t think this would happen. Literally a week before Christmas, having to pay an extra 400 something dollars in a cleaning fee for smoking and I don’t even smoke. For anyone researching car rental companies and looking up reviews, DO NOT GO WITH THRIFTY!! Pay an extra $50 or $80 for another company because it will save you in the end.

Original post: This place is awful. I checked in online and when I went to my car which was “ready” it was locked. There was no one to assist me in sight. I ended up standing in line for 40 minutes just so that I could have someone by the counter walk me to someone else who wasn’t where she was supposed to be to help me get a key for the car. As soon as I got in, I could tell that it smelled dirty, but I didn’t say anything because at that point I just needed to go. I was in town helping my dying father in the hospital. I turned the car in when I went to my return flight and they just hit me with a $400 smoking fee. I don’t even smoke and I had no one else in the car! Unbelievable.

Jenny Koontz

*You will not pay $200, they charges us $900, $400+ once the deposit is gone*
Ignore the good reviews, they're definitely paid for/bots.
Leaving a review during my wait for them to finally give us our car.

Absolutely ridiculous to make us pay a $500 deposit AND do a soft credit check just to use debit.

Everyone in this line is equally pissed because of how long it's taking to get cars we reserved. I fully plan on taking pictures of every inch of this car.
Absolute scam.

Updated from what I can hear, while I continue to wait at the counter:
Lady next to me didn't have her car ready for 20 minutes, despite her reservation.
Another man waited 30 minutes.
New man was told he was getting a smaller car than what he reserved.
The list goes on

Rob Watson

First and last time renting from Thrifty. Had reserved a great rate on their website. I was told I couldn’t add a second driver until I got to the counter. Fine. When we picked up the car, I showed them my Thrifty Blue Chip Rewards Card (which allows for a free additional driver) and asked for my wife to be added. Everything seemed to go smoothly until we turned in the car at the end of the trip and found out they changed our rate SIGNIFICANTLY! Practically double my quoted rate! I didn’t have time to talk to the counter so I tried to contact customer service, which is practically non-existent. I ended up having to send a email using their portal and got a response which basically said, ‘tough luck’. They have no one to speak to, so it’s impossible to argue your case! They can effectively change your rate and there is nothing you can do about it! Don’t rent from them!

Ebony Thomas

On October 16, 2024 I made a reservation with Thrifty for a car rental for October 23-29, 2024 with a pick up time of 8:30pm. When I arrived around 8:40pm, the thrifty representative told me the reservation was cancelled. I stated I never made the cancellation and never received an email confirming the reservation was cancelled. I asked if there were any other cars available because he didn’t offer a solution for the inconvenience immediately after. The Thrifty representative stated the rate I originally reserved the car for would be at a higher rate and suggested I asked the other car rental companies. I proceeded to rent with Thirty anyway due to my exhaustion from traveling and stress felt being given these news. There has to be an explanation as to who canceled my reservation without my knowledge, and where the error occurred. This experience has been stressful, frustrating and inconveniencing and the worst experience I’ve ever had. I had to pay several hundred dollars over my initial reservation due to Thrifty’s mishandling. A compensation must be given for this unprofessional service, lack of proper management and training. In addition, making customers pay several hundred dollars for an action made on Thrifty’s behalf is totally unacceptable.

Frances Chase-Dunn

LOOK AT RESPONSE FROM THRIFTY BELOW - they sent a link and do not fix the fraudulent charge. Buyer be ware of Thrifty and Hertz who owns Thrifty - serious scam.

Thrifty sent me a notice in the mail billing me $139.20 fraudulently. I returned the car with full gas, after we rented the car at the Sacramento airport. The gas station is right at the airport and entrance to the car rental area and we have a copy of the credit charge proving it was filled up. I’m guessing their workers may be filling their cars up and then marking renters as returning cars without gas. Thrifty is asking for me to submit receipts of the gas purchase… which is unacceptable since they fraudulently charged me. I've put proof of the fill up below and they responded with a link - no human communication because they are stealing money which you can see if you do an internet search on this gas scam and Thrifty. The notice for the charge came in the mail weeks later after we rented the car (attached) - super sketchy and I see lots of people online saying they had the same experience. DO NOT rent from Thrifty or Hertz - especially at Sacramento airport - there workers can’t be trusted and you may get fraudulently scammed for hundreds of dollars. Steer clear.

I've also attached proof of our credit card showing we paid to fill up the tank at the Sacramento airport gas station right when we returned the car. See image ... gas is under $5 so no way could 11 gallons be empty. Workers are scamming. Buyer be ware... The reasons their prices are so low is likely because they are scamming people with this so you end up paying more than you would with other rental car agencies. Thrifty is owned by Hertz so steer clear of both. DO NOT BOOK - you will get charged extra money on your card by at least double the price they initially give you.

USA

AMARIA WAS AMAZING YOUNG LADY!! I came in late and was very tired. She worked hard to get me a car that fit my size and was easy to drive. Almost exactly the same car i drive at home. I was so appreciative of this. I have never had anything it amazing experience at the Sacramento Thrifty. AMARIA deserves promotion and a raise. She is the kind of employee you want to represent your company.