Dollar or Thrifty rent a car? Any experience?

[wendyt_ca]

Currently we have reservations at Thifty but I am finding rentals for $50 less through dollar rent a car from HNL airport. Has anyone dealt with either of these companies? I am seeing mixed reviews making me a bit nervous so I was wondering if anyone has used them?

 

[im4pacers1]

I had to re-write my post because I sounded super whiney.

Okay, we rented from Thrift and I have to say, I will never rent from them again. We rented a full sized car. The counter people were slow and not friendly at all. People coming in after us kept getting their cars and driving off while we are still sitting there. They have no inside waiting area. It is all outside and it was HOT. We were dressed in our travel clothes so we weren't dressed for the island quite yet. Anyhow, they FINALLY bring our car around and it is a bright red Chevy boat. I think it was an Impala or something. It was so bright and hideous. It had dents and scratches. When I brought it up to the worker he said well that's all we have in full size. Now mind you, there were tons of people driving off in nice looking vehicles so it may have just been our bad luck. They told me that they buy their cars from Hertz, I believe it was. So if they get too many miles, or get wrecked, dinged, etc, they sell them to Thrifty. We are not car snobs. At the time, I drove a 1999 Nissan Pathfinder, so I'm not one to complain about cars or have to have the latest and greatest. They offered to switch us to another car. So after another probably 30 minutes, they come around with this tiny SUV. It had zero trunk space. Our luggage would not fit. By this time, DH was so frustrated and ready to go, we jumped in our "Clifford car" (what I called it, and left. They did offer us a coupon for our next rental, but we won't be back, so that was useless. Like I said, a lot of people came and went while we were waiting so I'm not sure if my experience is indicative of how they usually operate.

 

[buffettgirl]

I had a long rental from Dollar when I first moved here. My car was a bit older and sort of beat up, much more than I've ever experienced with a rental, but it ran well, and since nearly every parking spot here is tiny, I didn't really mind that it was already dinged up. Nissan Altima. Process was easy, people were friendly. I ended up returning it a week earlier than originally anticipated and expected that I'd have to pay the whole thing, but they gave me back money without ever asking. I booked it using a monthly code/rate. The only process was the return. It was all outside, so I had to sit in the car and wait for them to get to me, and the day I was there they were having trouble with their handheld machines. I just wanted to get it done with. So it was a much longer process than I would have hoped for, but all was good.

I'd use them again if I had a need, and found the best rate.

 

[BigAlsGal]

Attempted to rent from thrifty/dollar. Got a good deal online. Our plane landed and we got in line. It was moving so slowly and people kept returning to complain about problematic cars they received. We abandoned our "deal" and ran to the first car rental place without a line. It was budget. Budget told me Thrifty/dollar works on commission so they try to upsell and hound customers which is why it takes so long. I won't ever try them again.

 

[wendyt_ca]

Thanks everyone! I cancelled my reservation with them and booked with budget after reading your responses! It was only $30 more but I think it will be worth the extra.

 

[alohamom]

Yikes-ok, so now I am a little concerned. I got a very good price on an SUV through Discount Car Rentals Hawaii at Thrifty. When my hubby was a teenager, he used to work for a car rental agency and is sooo picky about who we rent from, for many of the above reasons and more-he knows all the dirty little secrets of the industry. I have talked him into Thrifty but now I am rethinking this-LOL, guess I have some internet surfing to do (do people even say that anymore?!?!) I can get an intermediate car thru Costco at Alamo so I may do this. Thanks for starting this thread...

 

[cleophus12]

We rented from Thrifty on our last trip to HNL and have used them throughout the islands when we have taken the cruise in the past. I would strongly recommend joining their Blue Chip loyalty program. Our paperwork was almost always ready for us when we walked up and we often received upgrades. I am not renting from them on this upcoming trip, however, because I got a better price from Alamo.

 

[wendyt_ca]

We switched to Budget before left and I am glad we did! When we picked up our car they upgraded us from a standard rental to a Mustang for free!!!

 

[xlxo]

At SFO and Vancouver..... Thrifty is my preferred car rental for minivan's. The minivans come with a backup camera, making driving much easier than the competition.

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

I had to re-write my post because I sounded super whiney.

Okay, we rented from Thrift and I have to say, I will never rent from them again. We rented a full sized car. The counter people were slow and not friendly at all. People coming in after us kept getting their cars and driving off while we are still sitting there. They have no inside waiting area. It is all outside and it was HOT. We were dressed in our travel clothes so we weren't dressed for the island quite yet. Anyhow, they FINALLY bring our car around and it is a bright red Chevy boat. I think it was an Impala or something. It was so bright and hideous. It had dents and scratches. When I brought it up to the worker he said well that's all we have in full size. Now mind you, there were tons of people driving off in nice looking vehicles so it may have just been our bad luck. They told me that they buy their cars from Hertz, I believe it was. So if they get too many miles, or get wrecked, dinged, etc, they sell them to Thrifty. We are not car snobs. At the time, I drove a 1999 Nissan Pathfinder, so I'm not one to complain about cars or have to have the latest and greatest. They offered to switch us to another car. So after another probably 30 minutes, they come around with this tiny SUV. It had zero trunk space. Our luggage would not fit. By this time, DH was so frustrated and ready to go, we jumped in our "Clifford car" (what I called it, and left. They did offer us a coupon for our next rental, but we won't be back, so that was useless. Like I said, a lot of people came and went while we were waiting so I'm not sure if my experience is indicative of how they usually operate.

I feel you. We rented from Thrifty in February and our car was a piece of trash. Scratches and dings all around the car, which was delivered to us dirty, BTW, and it looked like someone took a knife to the cushion on the drivers seat. Took forever to get through the line in that hot lobby, so decided it wasn't worth it to go back through to get a different car.

I understand with Alamo now they keep their keys in the cars and you just go pick what you want from the class of vehicle you reserved. If this is the case, I think I'll pay a little more next time for this option.