Advantage Rent A Car

Check Unilocal FIRST, people! I’m cracking up because I came to Unilocal today to rip Advantage a new one, and I have never seen so many one star reviews! Apparently, lousy service is part of the business plan here (and at their sister agency, EZ Rentals) Anyway, here is my RANT as I wrote it on the plane back from Ft Lauderdale: (The Reader’s Digest version is: I strongly advise you to NOT RENT A CAR FROM ADVANTAGE /​EZ RENTAL!
I hesitated reserving a car from Advantage. I even read over the all that pesky fine print, which was redundant, indeed ADAMANT on one particular point: I could not change, alter, cancel, delete, revoke, abandon, withdraw, vacate, nullify or ask for any partial or complete refund at any time for any reason whatsoever. But I was going to sunny Florida, and all I wanted was to drive to the beach with my wife and daughter, and Advantage had a convertible «available», so in spite of my (reservations?) we made a pre-​paid, non-​refundable, non-​changeable reservation – SEVEN WEEKS ahead of time.
We arrived at Ft Lauderdale Airport at 2AM due to an ice storm in the Midwest. The Advantage counter was closed. We called the 1 – 800 customer service number, but could only leave a desperate message. That message remains unreturned. (Brainstorm for the folks at Advantage: A simple SIGN on the front of your dark, closed counter would go a long way towards directing your customers to the proper after hours rental counter. Just my two cents there, pals.) A reservation operator directed us to the EZ Rental counter. (This name would provide much ironic hilarity in the very near future.) After a very long wait in a very short line, I presented my reservation information to the agent, printed in color, complete in every way, exquisitely prepared, and brought with me, as I am prone to do. He stated simply: «I don’t have your reservation», trying to hand the crisp page back to me. «You have my reservation,» I chirped. «It’s right there in your hand». I made no motion towards accepting my document he was trying to hand back to me. This anti-​tug-​of-​war lasted through the next few minutes of arguing, with him uncomfortably dangling the limp sheet out towards me, and me ignoring his offering. I was eventually told that because I was three hours late for the chosen pickup time, the «system» automatically dumped the reservation. (E-​Z, right?) I asked rhetorically: «So…I can’t cancel the reservation, but YOU guys can, is that it?» It was 2:30 AM, and my wife and daughter were sitting on the concrete floor, as the janitor piloting the floor polisher whizzed by, because there are ABSOLUTELY NO BENCHES in the Rental Car area. (I suppose because no one ever waits for very long at a rental car counter, so… big shout out to the Ft Lauderdale Airport architect team!) Eventually the agent relented, and retrieved my virtual reservation from the electronic garbage can it was in, and we were offered the only car still available – a minivan. I actually balked a little, which was stupid given the circumstances, but still – a minivan?
First off, thanks for reading my rant. Now folks, I know these are «first-​world» problems. We DID in the end get a car, and drove to our destination. But every bit of this was avoidable. FIRST, just because you can buy something on the internet, does not mean it is actually available! You have ordered a photograph and a promise, and that promise is only as good as the company making it. Be suspicious! SECOND, Hey Advantage… how about a sign on the closed counter? Ignoring such a tiny thing that would be so helpful feels like complete CONTEMPT for your customer. THIRD: For all car rental companies… Why does it take SO LONG to process a customer at every car rental counter? You have my name, address, phone, credit card number, the time to check to see if if I am who I say I am, and the ability to install a tracking device in your car! Hand me the keys, and let me be on my way already! FOURTH: How can a business so closely connected to the air travel industry have virtually NO PLAN on how to deal with flight delays? Your agent is your sole representative of your business, and was totally unprepared for what is surely a common occurrence. FINALLY: To Advantage… What exactly is your meaning of the word RESERVATION? I let you know seven weeks in advance of the day I would be there to drive a certain vehicle. I was even willing to PREPAY as an example of my commitment. if an Ice storm envelops half the country, expect that some folks may be late. Not so difficult!
–love, your former customers

I rent a car from this company at the airport! I only ask for EZ pass add on. But she add me something about car damage insure for $ 24.99 per day, which I never ask for! Very tricky and upset me at the end of my vacation! Bad bad bad!!!

The worst experience I have ever had renting a car.
We approached the Advantage desk to a man who bluntly asked for license and credit card with a terrible attitude. We were then spoken to so rudely and the man tried to sell us every extra fee under the sun. After politely declining, this being the umpteenth time we’ve rented a car, he continued to force added fees on us until it was just too much.
He spoke to us in a fast paced, barely understandable voice with a sour attitude and incredibly poor customer service.
This wasn’t even the worst part. We booked our reservation in advanced and booked it with a finalized price, all fees and taxes included. Upon paying, we were told there would be an additional drop-​off fee because we were not dropping off at the pick-​up location. We explained, and showed, our reservation that had already been booked and he made no effort to figure out where it went wrong or how to remedy the apparent miscommunication.
Advantage is the most poorly run car rental service I have ever delt with. The staff at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport made no effort in providing any semblance of customer service and are grossly over priced. They make every effort to take advantage of their customers, living up their name perfectly.

The prices seem to be lower than other competing rental companies so I booked and paid in advance. Once I arrived, it took half an hour to be seen because the staff was in a dispute with a customer ahead of me. That was not a great first impression. Second, once I was seen, the staff tried to slick talk his way into almost getting me unnecessary insurance coverage by phrasing the offer in a way that doesn’t give an option to decline. I shudder to think what could happen to people who aren’t savvy to tricks. Once beyond that stressful stage, all was well and the drop off was super easy, as it should be.

Wish I had read the reviews for renting from this place. Left my GPS in the car tried called immediately and I could not get anybody at this location to answer until one week later and of course they could not find it. As with many of the reviews written here the service is very poor they are not friendly and very rude when asking them questions. Will never rent from advantage ever again no matter what location. You get what you pay for and while the rental was cheap it cost me in the end to buy a new GPS. Many other locations like Hertz and Enterprise and Dollar take care of the customers way more than advantage.

I’m not even sure they deserve one star.
We checked in and were asked if they could upgrade us for free to a SUV and we of course said yes. Little did they tell us that the SUV was an older Jeep that floor boards were falling down, the tire didn’t hold air and in general it ran like a run down automobile. Either way, we didn’t complain as we just wanted to enjoy our vacation.
Here’s the Main ISSUE… We asked if they had children’s booster seats and we were told yes, just ask for one when we picked up the car. Not once were we told there was a price for this. We actually thought it was awesome that they offered this for free and were bragging to people on our trip about it.
Funny thing is, when we got home and receive our bill, the charges were way way higher than we had expected. The child booster seat was $ 13 a day! Seriously?!? A booster seat brand new cost $ 12 at Walmart or target. No way would I agree to pay that daily. When we complained it took almost 2 weeks to get a response and the response was that we signed for it. Honestly they should have pointed it out and told us of the charge when it was requested. So instead of them taking the charge off and eating the $ 60, they are willing to lose business by getting slammed on social media. The car was only $ 30 a day, why would I pay 50% more a day for a booster I could stop a few blocks away and buy a new clean one for less than a daily charge. What a Rip off and POOR SERVICE!

Unethical employees, poor business practices, if I could give them negative stars I would. I rented a car online before arriving to the airport. When I arrived, the guy at the desk was extremely shady. I walked up at the exact same time as another lady whom was helped by another individual. Not only did it take me 15 minutes longer to check out than it took her, the guy helping me kept picking up the phone, making phone calls, handing out my credit card number to whomever was on the other end of the line. 30 minutes later he said, your card is declined. I logged into my bank account on the spot and viewed my balance which was over $ 6,000. I asked him why he needed to place so many phone calls and why it took so long to tell me my card would not work, he could not answer me. I felt like he was selling my credit card information right in front of me. He told me he had run my card so many times that he could not try again for 24 hours. None of this made sense to me. I was furious with the situation and will never reserve a car with advantage again. I was left in a bad situation in the middle of night in a new town. I’m disgusted with the company, the employee and their business practices. Do not do business with these people.

Totally Ripped Off
Just returned a jeep Cherokee we rented at advantage car rental at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood airport and were told by the staff that 2 lights are missing towards the bottom of the front bumper and we told the staff it wasn’t there when we picked up the car but it wasn’t reported since when we picked up the car it already doesn’t exist.
Beware of this car rental since this company’s staff steals parts from inconspicuous areas of the car and charges their customers for it. They know which part and area in the car to steal from where customers would least likely check. There are a lot of other reliable rental car companies in the airport.

I rented a car from Advantage at the Fort Lauderdale airport. After a short wait in line Marcus helped me and was great informing me of all the options which I declined all but in hindsight i should have taken the the gas fill up since it was cheaper than the gas stations. Fifteen minutes later i was on my way to getting the 2015 Mazda 6 with only 4500 miles on it. A/​C was ice cold and my iphone paired with the bluetooth flawlessly. Returning the car was simple and only 5 minutes i was on my way to the ticket counter of my airline. No hassles or upcharges just professional courteous service from Advantage employees and a nice new car. I will be back Advantage!

This car rental is less than one star!
Terrible customer service ever! Texting while he is talking to me!
Jacks up the price because??? I made the reservation and my husband was going to be the driver. I didnt even know thst was even a policy. so we were going to switch the names on the reservation and he doubles the price!
He DIDNT care if we had a car or not. my suggestion to you is to be prepared at the airport. Walk next door to Hertz its plus cheaper and friendly.

This place was great and super cheap… No issues at all. I am very satisfied… Don’t always believe what you read as I have had a great experience with advantage. I am glad that I booked before reading all of the crap.

Please do even think of renting a car from advantage. We rented a car from Fort Lauderdale airport and will never do that again.
Service was bad, not enough staff at the counter and it took them forever to process and on top of that, the agent was liar and end up giving us wrong car and charged more money. They really need to improve.

Embarrassing customer service. Over a month after the rental I was charged for tolls, even though I did not use the SunPass in the car. I have now talked to three people in customer service, none of whom have been able to help. I am waiting to hear from «corporate,» but mysteriously they have no phone number. They also apparently have trouble telling time, as I was told to expect resolution in 48 hours and it has now been 5 days.
Bottom line: the low prices are not worth the headache and hassle.

Simply vile.
This is regarding the Advantage rent-​a-​car in the terminal parking lot (rent-​a-​center) of the FLL airport.
Unbelievably rude, even hostile agent. They work so very, very slowly you arrive at the counter having waited for much too long (something close to an hour). Then they continue their slow work, pushing their insurance and other products telling you that no other insurance will cover you — this is basically a lie which was also fed to the customers next to me by a different agent.
As a generally polite person, the only way I could get done with this agent was to become rude myself and fight him down off his insurance soap-​box with insistent language and tone.
Once past the unfortunate experience at the front desk, I was then presented with a car with a flat tire. This delayed the delivery of the vehicle by some additional 30 minutes (now approaching 1 ½ hours). Ultimately they swapped the car. The car they offered me first was not the only vehicle with a tire issue; another was returned for the same reason (coincidentally by the same couple who got fed the insurance scam by the agent next to me).
It should be said the people who work at the RETURN counter are quite a bit nicer, and far more professional than the truly rude gents at the front desk.
Do yourself a favour and spend a few dollars extra — rent somewhere else. There’s a reason they’re cheap. You get what you pay for. If you like to be abused and fed misinformation then, by all means, rent from these people. Otherwise, spend another $ 10 and save yourself the trouble. Even an extra $ 100 is worth avoiding these liars.
Never in my life have I had such an experience. These are unscrupulous charlatans. I will *NEVER* use this company again.

The real address is :
Advantage Rent-​A-​Car
600 Terminal Dr #303, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33 315
(954) 359‑4022
It is in in 3^rd level in the TERMINAL!
We booked the car from
mid size vehicle only to find out that the vehicle was not available upon arrival. Manager Rommel was extremely rude and wanted to upgrade us for an extra charge of $ 40. His excuse was we booked via a third-​party and we didn’t give them enough time since the reservation was done the same day.
They used bait and switch tactics, impolite and rude manager. Not a customer service I intended to expect. Very disappointed because I really liked Lou, the first guy that helped us out with the reservation.

Unbelievable
8 folks in front of me. Been here 30 minutes and 2 people have completed their transaction. They drag it out trying their best yo upscale everything. It is a scam and no one should ever have to put up with this kind of crap.

You come here for the price. Yes, they were less than half the cost of any other vendor, but that came at the expense of a long argument over the fact that I didn’t need to buy any additional coverage. They did all but strong arm me into the prospect. When I was finally able to finish that argument. I had to initial and sign about six times on this very antiquated screen that took forever to load. Once that was done, I had to wait again because the printer was jamming and I had to wait for it to clear. All and all for the short duration of my trip, I could have spent the extra $ 30, to save my time and crazy amount of frustration. That aside, I was surprised to find my car had satellite radio.

My first impression with the company was horrible. I ended up renting from them when I was in town for the weekend and saw their low prices on
. I didn’t read the reviews til after I had made my reservation. They push the insurance really hard, which ends up doubling your daily rental cost. I declined it multiple ways, until the representative finally gave in by putting a $ 200 deposit hold on my credit card. He had no customer service skills or people skills for that matter.
I was a little worried about the car and the check out process given the ordeal we went through to get the car. The car was fine, and we were able to return it with no problems. The girl who was working when we brought back the rental was great. We were able to quickly return it and be on our way.
If you rent with them, be prepared to argue about the additional insurance which is in their fine print.

Do not rent from this company, I read the review and I know it was bad, but still I thought that since other big car company took over them and may be with a the new management it will be better. NO NO NO.
The stuff that work there are very bad bad bad. They just try to up sell you for all the stuff that you don’t need and as a busy person I don’t have time for this. I just want to get a car and go home. After they know that they can not sell me anything. Now they are getting nasty and they want a paper prove Of the car insurance. I said no body in the world have the document of the car insurance with them. (this is America not some third world country) So I just can take the BS anymore walk out get online on my phone and rent from budget with in 5 minute. I walk out of the rental building in FLL.
Advantage price is cheaper but now I know, there is a good reason for it. Because I rather pay $ 20 more and don’t get hassle from the stuff who act like bad use car sell man. If you are a management team read this try to pretend you are a customer and go rent a car from your own then you will know what I am talking about .
Even though they move to the same building with other car rental company, don’t rent from them if you want to safe time and hassle.

Having done psychology research on behavior, I naturally come up with theory on past experiences.
From my car rental experiences, I theorized the more the employees look like they can get another job or if this is a transition job because they’re a student or something, the less horrible my experience.
I came up to the Advantage counter and thought «Oh, freaking #$%&» when I say guy employee.
Then I say female employee #1 and thought «I’m so #$%&-ed.» There’s two of them to synergize their negative energy.
I still kept positive. It’s just a theory after all.
Female employee #1 seemed nice enough at first (in an obvious fake way). Being half-​full, I thought «how nice, at least she’s faking.»
I asked if I could get my car about one hour earlier than my reservation. She said sure and checked her computer. Then she told me there wasn’t enough economy car and asked if I wanted a mid-​size.
I asked if I had to pay for the upgrade.
She said «Yes» so I said «No, I’ll wait, I still have to plan my day and can come back.»
Walking away, I thought it weird she only said there «wasn’t enough» and not that there wasn’t any economy. Also, how many car did she think was going to come in between 7am and 8am to not release me one now when there’s hardly anyone checking in. But I didn’t care if she was just trying to upsell me because I was going to use the free WiFi of the Airport’s Rent-​A-​Car center to plan my day and did so for about 1.25 hours.
A little after 8am, I came back. Saw guy employee, female employee #1, and then joining them, female employee #2. I thought «M#$^$%F&*#!! M#$^$%F&*#!!! M#$^$%F&*#!! I’m 100% #$@%#&! How does one car company find three such „competent“ individual?»
I knew next she was either going to sell me the SunPass or the insurance. It was the insurance.
I pulled out my insurance to say I was already fully covered. She said, «No, you’re not» for what I thought was the most absurd reason. I can’t even explain it because it doesn’t even make sense to me and I feel I would just be typing nonsense.
Anyways, she tried to seem to be the authority on this. If you saw any of these three and thought any of them was an authority on anything, I’d think you’re an idiot.
Took about an hour more after calling my insurance to speak to them that I was fully cover, did I get the insurance waive and charged what I was expecting.
I probably took 40+ pics of the car and videotaped the car by walking around it with my camera before I drove off and when I got out in the sunlight. it was a 30,000+ mile car and if I’m charge for any damages I didn’t do, I definitely plan on suing them.