America Car Rental

Like others below me, we’ve also had trouble getting back our $ 400 deposit. We got our credit card company involved early and they said they would take care of it, but as of 4 weeks later, they still have not released that money. Avoid them.

EZ Rental stiffed me in San Diego
Went to America and they were terrific
Got me a car without any hassle
Would recommend without reservation

I rented a car from them last Friday– for 24 hours. My rate was only $ 15.11. I refused the $ 9 or something insurance. They told me I would have to put in a $ 600 deposit. Seems like a lot, but no problem… Until the transaction went through. Now they owe me $ 600 and I have called Every. Single. Day. I keep getting the run around. I’ve decided after reading these reviews and my own experience to dispute the charges and report them to the BBB. Total sham!

First, cannot put less that one star. What you read it about the $ 600 deposit is true. Good luck with disputing it and keep calling them. This is a rip off and not a mistake. They do this to everyone. Don’t go there.

When I first arrived, I had to wait about 25 minutes (in 87 degree heat) and noticing a shuttle hasn’t come while other vendor busses have passed multiple times. I finally called and they had someone come in about 5 minutes.
I get there with less than 5 cars as options.(Not a big deal for me cause I was looking at price point, not mobile luxury). I get my car and returned it, no issues and car worked perfectly fine.
My biggest issue was with the $ 600 I never received back. After 6 business days of returning my car, I called ACR for my deposit status. ACR said they inputted 4 digits for ZIP so they had to do it again. Fast forward to 8 business days later, I called back the San Diego office said they did their part and is now up to Corporate. I called the corporate number and get someone in «finance’s» voicemail, yet is full, so hangs up on me. Luckily I put this on my cc and was able to dispute and get a credit. (I would hate to imagine if I used a debit card, yikes!)
Overall I thought the workers were nice and friendly. But, being over charged $ 600 for a deposit that I never get back after 3 weeks, unacceptable.
(Words of advice: If you come here, make sure to your credit card, in the event you need to dispute a charge)

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY!!!
I had the same problems as all the other reviewers… over an hour wait at the airport, unprofessional service, etc. However, the worst part of my experience was fighting to get my $ 600 deposit back. I called repeatedly and each time was assured that it would be processed within 5 business days, but of course it wasn’t. I had to dispute it with my credit card and over a month and a half later am still waiting to get it fixed. Based on the other reviews this is a habitual problem that frankly doesn’t seem to be an innocent mistake.

We would give zero stars if possible– our experience started with calling the rental company to pick us up after landing. My family (which included my wife and I, and our 4 and 1 ½ year old) watched every other rental car company shuttle pass by the waiting area at least 50x. We kept calling the company, and were told several times «they are on the way.» Of course none of the parking police at the airport had even heard of this company, but they actually called them for us, too (at that point we were thinking is this a scam??) 45 – 55 minutes after that, the van finally arrived. The driver was courteous and nice, but not very apologetic («we were busy and I got a car wash»). The location is off-​site, and as it was nearing dusk, it was not an area I wanted to be in with my small children. The actual office was tiny (which is ok) but just in such an odd, sketchy area. The paperwork, checking out the car, etc easily took over an hour (my kids were going nuts by this point), and I was forced to choose either selecting their own insurance or paying a ridiculously huge $ 600 deposit. Since we carry rental insurance through our car insurance anyways, I didn’t want to double pay so I unhappily chose the deposit, with the promise it would go be credited back to our credit card as soon as the card was returned.
We hadn’t read any reviews prior to our arrival (rented through
) — and were wary of the company after our first encounter with this business. We made sure to take extra good care of their car, followed their strict rules, and returned the car early (just in case it took hours to return, as it did to pick up, as we didn’t want to miss our flight).
Drop off was easy; the same driver helped us with our luggage, was polite and nice. He checked the car over, said it looked great, and we should expect to get our return deposit within 3 – 5 business days. We were relieved — but that actually was NOT true, and we fought with them for an entire MONTH to get our deposit back. We called (many promises or excuses given yet no money seen back in our account), we emailed (and received promises it would be refunded, although it still wasn’t) and finally we filed a dispute through our credit card company. We JUST received our deposit back yesterday– over a month later. Under normal circumstances our family is happy to support newer, smaller businesses (as this one is), but in this case, this type of business practice is completely unprofessional and totally ridiculous. We have rented MANY rental cars over the years and have NEVER, EVER had such terrible service before. Sadly, after our experience we saw other negative reviews written online and sure wish we would have read those prior to booking! I gladly would’ve paid more money to have a normal, hassle-​free car rental experience than deal with America Car Rental.
In short, this turned into a very disappointing and stressful MONTH-​LONG experience. I would NEVER recommend this company to anyone!

My parents came into town to visit me and they made the mistake of reserving a car with this shady outfit. The price looked appealing to them and since they don’t travel often and don’t know the area, they didn’t think there would be an issue. I picked up my parents at the airport and we headed to the car rental location. First thing that was odd was just how far away from the airport the place was.
Then once we got to the location, there was no sign on the door. We went in and it did not look like a business at all. It was more like an abandoned garage with a desk in the front. There was a guy on the phone having a verbal altercation with a lady that had apparently been hit by someone in one of their rental cars. The guy kept telling her that it’s not his problem and that she needed to call the police.
Then a guy with a tattoo on his face appeared and asked if he could help us. By this time my mom was getting uncomfortable and said she would prefer to rent from a different company. The guy heard this and said to my mom, «Well you could do that but we ain’t gonna give you your money back.» Then another guy in a shirt and tie showed up and acted like the manager (said his name was Jonathan). He echoed what the other guy said but was even ruder.
We walked out and headed to a more reputable company that is a national brand. We knew that if we rented from America and something went wrong while we had the car that it would be a nightmare to deal with them. Funny thing is that the price at the national company ended up being less than this fly by night, janky business, America Car Rental.
Fast forward a week later, I called America Car Rental in San Diego and spoke with the manager requesting a refund and he refused. I let him know that I would go out to social media, to the BBB and email every consumer advocate in Southern California about my terrible experience with his company and about how they charged my card without ever renting us a vehicle. The guy then told me that would equate to blackmail and that I would be breaking the law. I found that to be laughable.
I then called their «corporate HQ» in Newport Beach and left three different voicemails but never got a call back. This is what and who you would you be dealing with so buyer beware … go to Dollar, Alamo or Budget if you want to save some money but avoid these guys no matter what.

Actually, the one star above is the sum of two half-​stars. Unfortunately, there’s no minus star category.
FIRST HALF-​STAR AWARD: After arriving from the Bay Area on September 17 this year, we sat in the hot, mid-​day San Diego airport sun watching every car rental shuttle bus pass us by multiple times except ours. After half an hour of being way too patient we called «economy car rental» (AKA America Car Rental) to be told we were supposed to have called THEM upon arrival; WTF? A quarter hour or so later their van arrived.
SECOND HALF-​STAR AWARD: We were charged a $ 600 «deposit» that would take «five or six days» to be credited back to our account after we returned their car. Being the (too) trusting type it was ten days later that it dawned on me that ACR still had my dinero. I called their office and was told that somehow the paperwork had not been done and our deposit would be processed that day.
Another week goes by and no $ 600 credit appears on our account. I call again but this time I do my Marine Corps DI impersonation. Minutes later I get an email with a photo copy attachment showing the putative transaction. OK, all is solved.!?
Nope; because another week goes by and no magical $ 600 increase in OUR bottom line. I call my bank and initiate a dispute but find out ACR has ONE MONTH to answer the claim (and to use my money).
Finally, yesterday, October 22, I got an email from our bank declaring that the dispute had been «settled»!
So, almost one month of waiting, numerous phone calls and a chance to use my strum und drang routine, we’re where we should have been almost one month ago.
Would we use American Car Rental again? Tell me, would you men reading this want to give your wife a break and give birth to your second baby? No, I didn’t think so.

Got an email the night before, THREE MINUTES before they closed for the evening, telling me the 8am rental I had reserved would not be ready until after 11 am. I replied that that was not going to work, as we had a wedding to attend and would they please arrange to have SOME vehicle available at the agreed upon time. More important to get to the wedding on time than to arrive in style in a convertible.
The next morning we arrived at the airport and called at eight, when they open. No one answered until after 8:30. And no they didn’t have a car, but they would shuttle us to our hotel and then pick us up when the car was ready. Uh huh. Even if we did have the morning free and were willing what hotel allows 8:30 check-​ins?
What a charlie foxtrot…
Called Enterprise and got a car right away.
Made it to the wedding on time. No thanks to ACR.

Avoid this place at all costs.
I found this outfit via
(another business with questionable ethnics and customer service). Booked a convertible on a Saturday for a Thursday morning pickup. The confirmation clearly said there is no need to confirm with the rental company, so I didn’t.
Their cancellation policy is pretty strict: if you cancel within 48 hours of picking up your car, you forfeit all prepaid money/​are liable for the full rental amount. No exceptions. Well, this wasn’t my issue, but it shows how shady this place can be.
My girlfriend and I were heading out to go on a road trip up the 1 to Northern California. We had to get started early, as the PCH can be slow at times. I arrived at their office at the time on my rental reservation: 8am. We knew as soon as we pulled in that this was no normal rental outfit. I wish I took a picture (check it out on Google maps, perhaps). The small lot was empty, except for what I assume to be their airport shuttle vans. Someone pulled in, walked up to the office, and unlocked the door. I followed him in, and was immediately warned I was going to be disappointed: they had no cars.
I started to question how this could be possible, but before he could say anything, the «manager» walked in. This guy, Jonathan, reeked like cigarettes and a night of partying. I began to question him as to how its possible there would be no cars and I wouldn’t be notified. Clearly he wasn’t yet awake, as he had nothing to say. I asked him how someone could close up the night before knowing there were no cars and not let the reservations for the morning know about it. He had no answers. All he could do was giggle at times, try to come up with a canned response before admitting that there was no excuse. He said they should be able to get some cars in within a few hours, but no convertible like I reserved. I finally gave up arguing with him as it clearly wasn’t going anywhere, asked him to write on my reservation that I would not be charged for the reservation, and took my leave.
This place flat sucks. I actually wonder if its a scam.