Economy Car and Truck Rental

Welcome to Toronto airport. There are big signs that say «Rental
Cars.» We follow the arrows and walk and walk and walk some more to a
faraway hall. But the rental company (address: Toronto airport) that
we booked with, Economy, is not represented there.
We are told to return to the terminal and find a train to «off-​site
rental car companies». It’s hard to find the train but eventually we
board and travel to an outdoor area where we are told to wait for a
shuttle.
Eventually 15 to 20 other people join us as we wait in the hot summer
sun for more than fifteen minutes.
Our shuttle van arrives, but it is so small (or has taken so long to
arrive) that there isn’t enough room for the people waiting. We wait
another fifteen or twenty minutes for the next shuttle. Then there is
a ten-​minute drive to the so-​called «airport» car rental company.
The line is long and the service frustratingly incompetent. When we
ask how to get to our destination, they say they have no maps
available for customers. It takes one or two more enquiries before
someone grudgingly goes off to find a page that gives directions to
various areas.
There is no page giving directions back to the rental place. It’s near
the airport, he says. When we finally get our rental car and drive
off, it is nearly 2 hours since our flight arrived.
Returning the rental car a few days later, we are greeted with the
same surly service, but this time they tell us there’s a scratch on
the car. We say we know there’s a scratch because it was there when
their own employee checked the car before we drove off. They say but
there’s nothing on your form. They find the man who checked the car
originally but he looks at the form and says it doesn’t say anything
about scratches so they will have to get an estimate for repairs. This
has all taken a very long time so we say we will have to continue the
dispute long distance. They give us the form to sign but there is
already a drivers signature at the end.
Who signed here? You did. But it’s not my signature. Oh well, just
sign next to it. Now hold on a moment, something is wrong. Why does
it have the wrong signature?
Five mins later he admits they were working on the wrong form, for a
car that looks like the one we rented. No wonder there is no record
of scratches.
The correct form is missing so they draw up a completely new one and
say we won’t have to pay for the scratches. We sign.
By now we’ve lost all confidence, so we check the total more closely.
Why is there a daily amount for insurance? Because you didn’t email us
proof from your insurance company that you have insurance.
I know I did because I remember thinking I had never been asked to go
to that trouble before. Well, we never received it.
Eventually he checks on his computer and finds our email and removes
the charge.
We are dismissed and by now there’s no more space on the departing
shuttle so we’d have to wait for the next one.
Excuse me, something is still missing. Yes? An apology. Oh. I apologize.
Well I think the least you owe me is a car ride to the airport. He
calls his driver and tells him to take us — not to the airport but to
the train station.
That’s the story of our experience with Economy car rentals, «at»
Toronto airport.

The only reason they’re getting two stars instead of one is because we drove off in a car, which was definitely a concern while we figured things out.
Economy’s business is located offsite, not at the Toronto airport. We had a shuttle pick us up and then drop us off about 10 minutes away. The entire check-​in process was harrowing – nothing had been made clear to us when we booked our rental: insurance had to be verified, or purchased. We were told we had to call our credit card company and then hand over the phone to the agent to make sure we had coverage. There was confusion about why we couldn’t use the credit card we’d booked with to pay for the insurance. The agent was rude and impatient.
The whole process took about an hour. I would definitely not recommend. They are slow, rude, and all together a badly run business.
Save your time, spend a few extra dollars, and go to a place that’s reputable and on-​site at the airport.
The good: we eventually got a car.
The bad: everything else. Blegh.

I never write reviews and never complain about companies but this company deserves a zero rating.
The car they gave us was dirty — it obviously had not been cleaned for weeks if not longer, and smelled of other people’s body odor. Ewww gross.
My husband saw that gas tank had only a ¼ tank of gas in it. When my husband brought that to their attention, they said they did not have the means to fill up the tank! They said we could return the car ¼ filled but if it was under that they would charge us, but that if it was over, they would not credit us.
While we waited 20 minutes for the car (they only had one clerk working all the different car rental agency names), I walked the short dirty hallway and looked in their rooms. The rooms were a mess with boxes strewn all over, broken computer and phone parts, etc on the dirty floors. Red flag — no pride in work, workplace or staff. The clerk said he had only been working there 2 months. Red flag –high turnover. The brick building the rental company was in had 3 to 4 different car rental agency names temporarily attached/​nailed to the building. Our rental company name «Economy Car» rentals wasn’t even attached to the front. So it’s just one business using many different names. Red flag #3.
So if you are renting a car avoid this company and this address as they may be disguised under different names. If you rent with a big name known company not in this dinky address you’ll be safer.
When my husband rented the car on the internet, it was a few dollars cheaper but they are making big bucks compared to all the other reputable car rental companies, who will give you a freshly cleaned car, a full tank of gas and have some quality and pride in customer service, appearance, trustworthiness and organization.
We were tired and desperate after air travel for 8 hours from the west coast of the US to Toronto, so we just took it since my husband had already paid for the car and we were too tired and it was too late in the day (6pm) to find another rental agency.
So our misfortune can be a lesson learned for all others. DO NOT make a reservation with this company whatever name they are using. These sleazy people should not be rewarded for their sloth and stealth. You deserve a nice trip with a clean car with a full tank and good service. You deserve your money’s worth.

I’ve never dealt with any company I’ve trusted less than these people. They foisted a car on me after I was trapped in a flood and swore it would be covered by my insurance (agreed I was a sucker for falling for it, but being trapped in 3 – 4 feet of water for 90 minutes tends to stress you out and cloud your judgement). 19 hours later when my insurance got back to me and said I was not covered I returned the car. I guess Economy (the polar oposite of what they actually are) saw dollar signs and figured they’d screw the insurance company. When they couldn’t do that, they did the next best thing and screwed me. $ 150.00 for 20 FREAKING HOURS USE OF AN ECONOMY CAR!!! FYI, anywhere else in the area, you could get a car for $ 39.99, plus 20 – 25 bucks for insurance for a full 24 hours… but not at this place.
Deal with these vultures at your own peril! People like this are the reason we pay so much for insurance. They grossly overcharge Insurance companies and their profiteering is passed on to us in the form of high rates. I’ve done my part, I reported them to my insurance company who is now starting the process of blocking them… shouldn’t hurt much, it’s just the biggest insurance company in North America. Enjoy your $ 150.00 shysters.