Sixt rent a car

Bad experience.
1. I paid for the car in January to rent in May. Sometime in April, I tried to call to change my rental start time from 4:00 to 2:00 in order to beat traffic. It is literally impossible to reach a person when calling, just a series of options and recordings, but after hitting enough options on the call I did hear a recording saying «same day changes is no problem, just show up when you woud like».
2. I got there at 1:00, followed the instructions into the basement of the parking garage. and no one was at the desk. The hotel garage attendant did not want to help me find them (not their fault of course that Sixt can’t staff correctly). There was also a very pregnant woman waiting. Finally someone showed up after 45 minutes of waiting and I got a car.
3. They told me that I was getting a «free upgrade» because of the wait. I complained that I was supposed to be getting a small car, a big reason I rented was because I was driving to Monterey so renting a smaller car saves on gas. They said no smaller cars were ready. To their credit they did refund me 10% because of this, so I got $ 12 back on my card.
4. In fairness the car was ok. It had a couple of trash pieces in the back but it was adequate. It did have a list of 9 places where there were scratches and such, but I drove it and returned it without event… or so I thought.
5. Two weeks later I got an email that there was 2 new places of damage for the car I returned. One apparently was on the passenger side mirror and one was on the drivers side wheel. I couldn’t submit the online form without at least including a zip code of where the «accident» occurred, and it asked me twice for the number of the police report. At least this time it came with a customer service phone number. I called and the third person I spoke with finally agreed to not hold me financially liable for «my» damage. I can’t imagine what would have happened had they not agreed to do this, I guess I would have had to call my credit card and tell them «I have no idea what happened but I am liable».
The forgiveness of «my» damage earned them 2 stars instead of 1, but I certainly will not be back there again.

This location took very good care of me and met all of my rental needs. After reading the nightmare reviews from the airport location, I decided to make my reservation at this location. Yes, in order to avoid the almost certain disappointment of renting from the airport location, I booked a car service to take me from the airport to this location so I could enjoy a nice and peaceful rental experience. I could not have been happier with my decision to do this, and will do it each time from now on.
I called them the night before my reservation, about an hour before they closed. I was very specific in that I only wanted to rent a BMW x5 from them. I was assured that night that they were going to hold on to the x5 they currently had since my reservation was early in the morning. As soon as I landed, I gave them another call while I waited at baggage claim, and they told me again that they are holding on to my x5 and just waiting for me to get there. Keep in mind, this was a different person than who I spoke with the night before. I then traveled there and they knew exactly who I was when I arrived. I was offered an upgrade to a brand new Range Rover for $ 100 more per day, then after I declined that they came back with an offer of $ 70 more per day. My rental was for 6 days so I wasn’t really that interested in the upgrade, but I did appreciate them offering it to me and giving me the choice. I then asked them about returning the vehicle to the airport since it would be way more convenient to drop off there and then just take their shuttle to my flight terminal. They then said «absolutely» and made the change to my reservation free of charge.
If I could give this location a higher rating than 5 starts, I would. Words can’t express how happy I am with my rental experience here. After returning the vehicle to the airport and seeing what a circus that location is, I will do all of my renting with this location… Despite having to book a car service to take me there from the airport.

On Saturday the 28^th of May, 2016 I came in to this location to pick up my rental car for the weekend. When I got to rental location (which is in the basement of a hotel), I was told that I could not rent the car because I was under 25. Kind of a let down given I was able to make the reservation without a hitch online and was paying the extra ~16 dollar underage fee.
I was struck immediately by the rudeness of the lady working the counter. She acted like I was dumb for not knowing I couldn’t rent the car. I tried to explain that I had literally typed in my age online and was just asked to pay extra (also it’s not like I’m 17, I’ll be turning 25 in a couple months…)
Seeing that I was speaking with a brick wall I decided to just go with the car she said was within my age bracket. Funny thing: they didn’t have any more of those cars until later in the afternoon. Another funny thing: I can’t just get a cheaper car and receive a refund for the difference. I needed to be on the hook for two cars since I already prepaid.
I was told I would receive a refund for the previous car in 5 – 10 business days but I haven’t even received an email to confirm. The lady at the desk said her manager okay’d the cancellation but how can I really trust a verbal confirmation.
Overall, a pretty terrible situation. I typically don’t write reviews but I am writing this one to get down all the details of this situation if I end up not receiving my money back or getting some random charges.

Crooks!
I came here looking to rent a car for a trip going up north because we wanted to save on gas. Horrible location by the way. It’s in a dungeon basement of a hotel, kind of like Batman’s cave.
So we wanted to book a car and paid. As soon as we saw the car we immediately no longer wanted it. The purpose of the booking was to save on gas. The car that drove up was a huge Chevy Traverse SUV. They didn’t disclose this information. We own a big engine so driving another car with a big engine would kind of work against our purpose of renting (to save gas).
I asked for a refund and they put me in the biggest loop saying we WILL credit your account. The other girl said you have to call this number. Called the number and the lady from customer service said it’ll reflect in 15 days.
This was booked last year in 2015.
Today was quite a surprise after receiving a debt collector’s e-​mail that reads: «Claim# 151 826» and saying we owe them $ 209.
Not only did they rip me off but they also sent me to collections! Ridiculous!
Please don’t rent here!

I’m a regular Sixt customer (usually Frankfurt Airport), and the Santa Monica Sixt is pretty good. The only real complaint is the cars aren’t as clean as they are in Germany but that could be because rental cars in Germany are generally cleaner anyway. The staff is super friendly and accommodating even when things go wrong.

Rented a car from these guys they gave me a up grade on the car staff is friendly check in and check out was easy will definitely be a repeat customer

Worst experience ever with a rental company. I rented a car and pre-​paid from them three months prior to arriving to pick it up. I called weeks in advance to confirm what would be needed when I arrived to the location, I was told at that point that a prepaid debit card that I used to pay for the rental was not acceptable and that I had to bring A form of payment with my name on it. I called one week before to the corporate office to confirm what forms of payment were appropriate and was told any major credit card or a debit card with my name on it from my bank. The day before I went to get the car, I called the location to find out how much the deposit was going to be and the young lady could not tell me at the location and had to transfer me to corporate who again confirmed that I would have to bring a form of payment with my name on it and that debit card was accepted as long as it had my name on it. I transferred money to another account to make sure that there was enough to cover all costs. I arrived the next day to pick up the car and handed the lady my drivers license and form of payment which she looked at and then handed back to me and said we do not except debit cards. I went back-​and-​forth with her very politely for a few minutes and then left the location and went to another location (Venice) from the same car company (sixt) and rented a car from them using my cousin’s major credit card as a deposit but ended up having to pay twice as much for a lesser model car. At the end of the transaction, before we left with the car, I explained what happened at the last location to the lady who worked there and that’s when she explained to me that the company (sixt) did not used to accept debit cards from a bank but the policy changed a few months ago and she would’ve had no issue accepting my debit card as a form of deposit. This basically means that I paid twice as much for a car that I prepaid with you guys but you refused to rent me the car because you would not even run my debit card from my bank which had more than enough to cover whatever deposit you requested. I have filed a complaint with your corporate office and sent various emails to your location with no response until recently when a branch manager named Teresa who didn’t even read the email responded to me within incorrect response about a prepaid debit card and she still hasn’t responded to me when I corrected her that you did not accept my bank card which is a MasterCard with my name on it. I will never use your company again
Update: here is a copy of your response last week and my reference number is included below. Your corporation has responded to me kindly and my issues are with this branch alone.
Dear Mr. Loring,
Thank you for your e-​mail.
Please accept our apology for the delay in response.
We do apologize about the inconvenience caused to you in this instance.
We have gone ahead and filed a complaint based on the information you provided.
This information will be forwarded to our management team and will be referred to accordingly.
Your reference number is 848 974.
Best regards
update #2. Corporate never reached out to me as promised below, the branch manager reached out to me and made promises that she didn’t keep… I still overpaid major on this rental and they said they sent a $ 50 gift voucher to rent from them again even though I am having nothing but issues with them. Next stop for me is Better Business Bureau to file complaints.

I rent car many times from sixt and everytime i was so pleased, quality of the cars and location of this company are awesome, the only disadvantage is that if you are under 25, according to the company policy they don’t provide luxury car for you, but workers who are Faby, Jackie, Jahnia, they all are so smiling people and they are doing great job. The first thing i put five stars because of these great employees.

I have been a Hertz Gold member since the earth cooled but all the mainstream agencies were closed on a Friday night when my car failed.
My first attempt with Sixth was by phone — total failure with endless wait.
Online — fast easy AND incredibly good rates.
With the minutes to closing time ticking down I arrived at the Hotel via Über… Apparently the booth in the main lobby’s sole function is to display the sign directing you to the garage.
Once in the garage the staff was awesome, quick and the rate confirmed, did not have the car so they gave me an instant upgrade. No upselling.
A warning to bring the car back with the tank full
At the end of a week I traded the SUV for something more suited to LA and freeway driving .
They do have one strange policy — you have to check in with one of their offices every week and there are not a lot of offices between Santa Monica and San Francisco… Apparently one of the the things they found was that if the car is gone for more than a week bad things happen like the car is gone or it has been crashed and is being repaired in a neighbor’s backyard.
If you want a luxury set of wheels to do LA this is the place… Incredibly low prices. I did not subscribe to the «you are what you drive» philosophy and took something less likely to attract the CHP but to each his own.
Finally — what really distinguishes this operation is the people. They are intelligent, helpful, efficient and nice… a rare combination.
If you follow the rules you’ll have a 5* experience
Make your reservation on the internet (don’t waste time on the phone)
Go directly to the garage via the elevator at the back of the lobby
Know that you have to check in each week
Hours of operation are longer than most in Santa Monica but not ²⁴⁄₇
I understand that they also have an LAX location where cars can be dropped.

Rented a car from this Sixt location (after a complete debacle at their Venice Beach location). I am so pleased to give this one 5-​stars which reaffirms my faith in the Sixt franchise.
The counter is below, inside the subterranean parking garage of the Shore Hotel. They have their rental desk there with a small waiting lounge. There was no waiting to speak of as they have plenty of friendly agents/​associates on hand. Gave them my name and they easily pulled up my reservation. I think between that, giving them our licenses, and credit card information, the whole process took only a few minutes… while at the same time someone pulled around the car we ordered.
Pretty seamless. The management at Sixt Santa Monica have obviously got their act together. I will be booking from their location in the future.
Recommended.

Best prices hands down, cars are on point w/​o that used dingy cigarette smell & ride sweet. Didn’t know what to expect but from now on I’ll only use SIXT! Thank you Anthony @ Santa Monica

My parents rented a car for two weeks from the Venice location… I was there for the pick up, drop off, and also drove the car legally during those two weeks… Price was awesome, service was awesome, and the car was awesome… I wish there were is a location closer to where I lived on the east side… and I would rent for occasional weekends that require a little glitz and glam.
Only reason not five stars… Car had a long vandalism type scratch on the hood and very minor cosmetic damage.

Great service, easy website, great prices and friendly staff.
Sixt was really nice and easy to book online, fresh and cool feeling website with a no hassle cancellation policy too.
Staff were helpful when I picked up and gave me a nice free upgrade which was much appreciated too. I’m not really fussy about cars and as long as it’s safe and clean I’m happy, but it’s always fun to have some nice wheels to get about in.
I like the fact that they’re a European company and a little different from other renters, Sixt had a much more friendly feel than the hundreds of other rentals I’ve had over the years.
That’s about it, nice car, great price and friendly service. I’ll certainly be back, thanks guys!

My plans changed and I cancelled my car reservation one week in advance. The cancellation fee was $ 153.00 or about 50% of what the cost of rental would have been. Read the fine print — this company is a ripoff versus their competitors. I typically use Enterprise in Santa Monica. I decided to try Sixt because their price and car were comparable and thought it would make sense to try an alternative in the event Enterprise was ever not competitive because of rental demand. Lastly, cancelling the Sixt reservation on line was a journey in itself. It is a very difficult process requiring unnecessary navigation of their website.
This is a bad company.

The girl who helped us is very nice. I had a 4 day reservation and had to add another additional day for another car due to change in plans. She was able to offer me an upgrade and give me the same car for the whole duration I was in LA. Thanks to her we didn’t had to come back and forth to change cars in crazy Santa Monica downtown traffic.
Also they let me drop off the car at LAX for no extra fee. Saved me another $ 30 cab ride.
Car I got was a Cadillac SRX. Nice car but the whole point of booking through Sixt was to get an European car. We are tired of renting crappy American cars. When we got there I realized they only have a few European cars and they only give them to customers who paid the most. If you got some discounted rate you will most likely end up with an American car.
All in all car was not bad, it had a horrible 8 speed gear box that shook everyone in the car when shifting and a faulty crash sensor. Other than that I had a blast driving the SRX on the winding roads in sequoia park.
I highly recommend sixt rental for people who love to drive not just any car but a good car.

Fantastic car rental, we rented four cars over a week period from Sixt, cars and service was excellent, best prices I could find in town, I would definitely use Sixt again.

Place is actually below the Shore hotel don’t bother waiting at the booth they are underground at the first parking level. Shore hotel staff wasn’t able to tell me that, had to wait on hold while I called Sixt. FEEEEEEEEEEL THE MOTION! Can’t get the terrible hold song out of my head.
Staff was not very good — checking her phone for texts while she was working with me. ⁰⁄₁₀ hustle. Seemed like I was treated more like a burden then a customer.
Car is a little Chevy Spark for $ 20 a day. Not bad. Car is dirty though. See pics attached.

This is by far the best rental car experience I’ve ever had.
The rental counter is in the lobby of the Shore Hotel. There was no waiting to speak to a customer service agent. All of the agents were extremely professional and friendly. The rental car and price was as it was quoted on-​line and I was out the door in less than 15 minutes. The rental car was clean and well maintained. The return process was just as easy. Also, I like their commitment to a paperless invoicing system. The invoice was e-​mailed to me, where I could save it directly to my phone.
Top notch. I will definitely be choosing Sixt for my future car rentals.

This Sixt location is inside Shore Hotel. Most rental companies in the area are not open on weekends, and Sixt is open 7 days a week from 8am to 7pm! We even saw the staff working until past 7pm. I was very, very, very pleased with Sixt. I had never heard of them before and was a bit wary, but I knew that getting around LA without a car would be impossible. I went to the counter for same-​day reservation and they only had one car remaining, which was an SUV. They gave me a very competitive rate. Half an hour later, I was ballin’ hard in a Cadillac Escalade (I would’ve been in a Corolla for the same price at Hertz).
The process was very easy, the rate was competitive, our rental car was spotless (and luxurious! And it came with a navigation system for no additional charge) and the staff were friendly and relatively on the ball. They even let us return the car to LAX at no additional charge. Wow! What a refreshing change. They also didn’t push us to purchase their insurance like all other car rental companies.
I think what’s missing is the system. Headquartered in Bavaria, I think the systems they’re using may be a bit behind… It didn’t require the staff member booking our reservation to enter an email address, even though the contract was to be sent via email. When the contract was emailed to us, it looked antiquated. They called me early the next day, inquiring «what happened to the car» because they had entered the return time to be 5am instead of 5pm. Once I called them back, it was quickly sorted out. Then when we returned the car, they said they would email the receipt… Again, the system didn’t require them to have an email address even though it’s clearly required and somehow, the email address didn’t get stored from when we booked it.
Even with these system/​process issues, they are still leaps and bounds ahead of their competitors. I think the only thing they lack is scale (in the US at least. They are the fifth biggest car rental company in the world!). I highly recommend them.

Beautiful location situated directly across from the Santa Monica Pier inside of the Shore Hotel.