Charleston Car Hire

Offsite rental location that is seriously understaffed

Cons: Took a long time to get and drop off the car due to perhaps two people working in the entire facility. No line or anything, just took a long time. Rental location is about 10 minute drive offsite.

Lost reservation

Pros: The staff member matches the price and was helpful

Cons: When we arrived our reservation could not be found via name or reservation number. We rented a car seat too and the car seat seemed unsafe and flimsy - thrifty needs to invest in equipment like car seats that isn’t the cheapest model out there.

Pros: While staff were pleasant when I dealt with them, there’d were not enough of them, I had a line and 30 min wait which is tricky when planning a shuttle and flight arrival. They did not greet customers, showed no sense of urgency and did not explain options unless asked. Personal side conversations were a bit distracting though no personal phone use which is rare. Again pleasant but bare minimum service Facilities and car were very clean though customer chairs (for waiting) were chewed up)

Cons: My rental was in definite need of break service. I realized this the first time I had to break at speed on the highway. Either the rotors/ pads or both need attention give the sound, shudder and lack or adequate break response. I had an hour drive and was immediately in traffic given the time of my flight. I did not return the vehicle as a result. After my trip, upon return, I pointed this out for safety. The service woman made a note and pointed this out to another woman who had come from the back. That woman responded, “All of our cars need work”. Not very comforting. I can imagine the constant preventative maintenance needed, however, I got the clear sense that this was not a priority. I will go with a different company next time - for convenience, service and more.

Cons: The car was not very clean at all. Still trash in it and not vacuumed. I also would never book a car rental through Kayak again. Our flight was cancelled so we were unable to get the car at the time I had the reservation for. When I called to change it to one day later I was told that if I didn’t cancel there would be a $50 penalty. She said I had to cancel the reservation and make a new one. By doing this I ended up having the car for one less day but paid over $100 more for the new reservation. Tried to save money but ended up not:(.

Not a good rental company

Pros: Very nice and helpful shuttle driver

Cons: Long wait in line, long wait to get your car after waiting in line and paying, and then makes erroneous changes on your credit card after returning the car. I am never renting from Thrifty again.

Pros: Car was comfortable and clean

Cons: It took 2 hours to pick up the car. First we had to wait for the shuttle to the rental car location. It was only a 15 passenger van so could not accommodate many people. There was only one van, so we had to wait for the van to drop off and come back. When we finally go there, there were only two people working and they took 20-30 minutes per guest. We waited in line for about 1.5 hours before being told to wait outside they would bring our car out. After 30 min more of waiting, we yelled to the guy in back who was hosing off a different car to please bring our car to us. He finally did. Total 2 hours waiting. Drop off was much better. Took 15-20 minutes. Although considering most airport car rental places they are waiting for you as soon as you pull up, it was still significantly longer than most other places. We will never rent from Thrifty again.