Thrifty Rent A Car

I absolutely love Thrifty Rental Cars! Don’t let the name fool you. We requested a mid size car for the weekend and got a Kia Soul. I wasn’t thrilled with it at first, it looked too compact. The trunk can only fit a couple of wheely carryons or 1 standard size suitcase and maybe a carryon. This is a weekend getaway car for 2, not a weekly one. Had 2 kids in tow. Apart from that, my husband quite enjoyed driving in it. Mid-​size cars would not be his choice, full size or SUV’s are his thing. Customer service was excellent. Pleasant conversations were exchanged which was a good start to get the rental going. We even got complimentary navigation thrown in which was a bonus, not what I expected. The only real negative thing I can say is that this car is not made for highway driving. It cannot accelerate at high speeds, it’s just made for driving around the suburbs etc. We’re not complaining, we had fun driving this car! Thank-​you Thrifty for your excellent and friendly customer service. Drop off was easy. The rental price was great!

Very easy to rent and return. Very quick phone service compared to competitors.

Car was good. First car I had, had a headlight out and no wiper fluid so they gave me the same car an free Nav! Who doesn’t love Free?!

Do not rent from here. It is the only off-​airport pickup at John Wayne. Also, return is a major hassle. You have to go into the office and wait in line with the people picking up cars. They have a real oddball system that takes a lot of time. Leave yourself an hour to return the car. Also, there are no signs from the airport marking the way to the drop off spot, and the google maps address does not take you there. Most confusing car rental experience I have ever had.

Rented a car today and received great customer service from Leslie. She was very helpful and polite. Got us in and out of the dealer quick /​easy. We’ll definitely be using thrifty again

I was apprehensive after reading the reviews here and now I wonder if the people who had more positive experiences aren’t reviewing, which is too bad for the business because I feel like it’s being misrepresented because I had a VERY good experience. I think people are flying by the seat of their pants when renting and having bad experiences instead of planning ahead, finding deals, and actively coordinating with the company when something comes up. Plan ahead people! Your lowered cortisol levels will thank you for it!
Anywho, I had an awesome deal through a third party vendor for a car rental. I was driving one way to San Francisco. I was late picking up the car and was afraid I was going to be penalized so I called ahead. The guy I talked to was super friendly and told me I would be fine as long as I arrived within an hour of my pick up time. Woot!
Total time it took to pick up the rental from the time I got there was about 10 minutes. It would have been 5 minutes but I forgot my drivers license in my sister’s car lol The only time I was slightly miffed with the CSR was when he tried to pressure me into buying Thrifty’s insurance, which was unnecessary because I was already covered through the third party rental. He wasn’t too persistent and was a pretty pleasant guy, but I felt slightly belittled when I declined so that’s why I’m taking away a star.
All in all, great experience! I’d rent again!!! Just things to keep in mind:
This is a tiny location with limited staff so it’s understandable that they can get backed up easily if there’s a lot of people wanting to rent.
Someone mentioned in their review that the airport shuttle was a van. I didn’t use the shuttle but while I was picking up I saw the shuttle. It’s a bus/​shuttle/​thing. Just wanted to throw that one out there.
This is something to do with the Thirfty company policy and not the staff working at location: I ended up wanting to keep the car an extra day so I called to ask for an extension. The automated service said I didn’t need to arrange an extension, so long as the extension was for less than 24 hours. It said it would switch to the hourly rate instead of charging for another day. What they DON’T tell you on the recording is that you can only get the hourly rate for 3 hours passed the scheduled drop off time and then it charges you for another day. Not cool Thirfty company! Thankfully I had my awesome deal so being charged an extra day wasn’t too big of a deal for me.
Anywho, just plan ahead, look for deals, stick to your guns, understand that this is one of the cheapest rental companies for a reason, and be positive. You’ll probably have a much more pleasant experience!

Do not rent from this location is you are looking for a quick and easy car rental. Thrifty is no longer in the airport and has moved 2 miles down the road. The rental center is run down with unhelpful employees and the shuttle bus only runs every 20 minutes so plan accordingly.

Made reservations for a full size SUV. Show up ready to pick it up and head out on our vacation and they don’t have one!!! :/​Spent hours trying to get one from another rental company. Wasted hours when we could’ve already been on our way. Never using them again. You get what you pay for I guess.

Only agency that is off site and blue chip means nothing here, you wait in line with everyone else. So it took longer than normal to get a car and my reserved car wasn’t even ready so they gave me a free upgrade to SUV. No one there in the lot when I brought the car back and had to go in office. Very small office. It all worked out ok but would have preferred picking up car at the airport itself. We drove back from Disneyland on Friday night at 4 pm and there was no traffic. As we had allotted extra time for drive we had plenty of time. Staff was very friendly and seem to have heard all the complaints about blue chip before. Next to a small convenient store so easy to pick up water/​snacks. And easy return from freeway.

We are the only people here and our car is 7^th in line to even get washed before we can get it. This place is the worst!

This place doesn’t even deserve 1 star. Don’t rent from here!
I booked a rental truck for Las Vegas on Friday night (July 31, 2015). When I went to pick up the truck, they informed me that they haven’t had one all day. They didn’t bother to call me or look for another truck. Being upset, the customer service agent «Jim» said I could speak with his manager who was at the SNA location, but that was a lie because there is NO Thrifty at the SNA location. I know because I was there prior to arriving at the 3500 Irvine location. DO NOT RENT FROM THIS LOCATION!!! THEY HAVE INCOMPETENT WORKERS LIKE JIM!
By the way, you’ll also be waiting in line for many minutes just to try returning your vehicle. I saw a couple walk away because the wait was so long.

They were quick– shuttle was waiting at the airport. Staff was friendly and accommodating. They didn’t have a mini-​van that I requested so they borrowed one just so that our family didn’t have to squeeze into an SUV.

I rarely post a review, but I agree with the other posts here. There seemed to be no sense of urgency. Waited 30 minutes for shuttle on pick up. 30 minutes for car. And then 30 minutes for shuttle on drop
electronic transmission of receipt on drop off. Had to go inside and wait in line for receipt. Would take convenience over cost.

Terrible. To frustrated to go into details right now!
Let’s just say cheap is not always best! Ryan at the desk is rude!!! & phone cust service can only speak from a script!!! They have made me late for my hair appt!
I would rate it –1 but the system won’t let me

Seems everyone wants a Cadillac for the price of a Yaris, you’re getting a $ 20,000 to $ 30,000 car for $ 15 to $.30.00 per day and you’re complaining about scratches and dings? Get over it.

Strongly recommend against Thrifty out of Santa Ana. Service is ok, Cost is fine. But the location is offsite. Between shuttle drive time and waiting it added at least 45 minutes on each side of the trip.

DO NOT RENT FROM HERE!!! The location is impossible to find! It took me 45 minutes only after having to go the the airport and follow a shuttle bus to the location which is offsite. The attendant (an older fellow) was RUDE!!! I was suppose to get a Ford Focus or something compatible. The give me a mini, mini, mini, mini (get my message) car. I asked for another vehicle and they said it would cost me TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS MORE!!! Of course don’t we pickup the rental when were ready to go? I declined the offer and asked to talk to the manager… and HE/​SHE was no where to be found! I asked for a call from the manager and have NOT receive a call. Again, DO NOT RENT from Thrifty RENTAL. Sure the deal you sign up for is sweet, BUT they do not come through. I wouldn’t even give them ½ star but this system requires a minimum of 1 star.

Really wonderful!!! This place saved my night, matched my price for another place that was closed. Everyone from the shuttle driver to the manger Dwight to Michael who checked me in to the sweet and smart ladies who gave me directions, I am so pleased with this place! Thank you!

Where is the zero stars on Unilocal!This place ran into my parked car. Need i say more? The attitude and service is bull and at a glacial pace.

Horrible service. It took 20 minutes for the shuttle to pick us up, then a half hour line to get to the counter, then over a half hour wait for our car. Avoid this place!