Car rental at Phoenix Sky Harbor Intl Airport

Turned out ok

Cons: After flying across the country (Syracuse to Phoenix) we arrived to pick up our car and was told they didn't have any and that it could take a few hours to get. The first gentleman was very nice and apologized. He even suggested we check with their competitors. We did, with no luck, so went back to Dollar and the second man was rude and showed no interest in helping us. With no other options, we went down to check in and wait. Luckily, it wasn't long before a car became available. My issue was that I made this reservation months in advance. Dollar should be ready to accommodate those reservations even if that means going to another one of their locations and picking cars up.

Pros: Everything was as it can be expected. Low mileage car, practically new. Friendly customer service even at the late time of pick-up.

Cons: No car as pre-ordered was available, rental was then covered by a different but associated rental company, in our case Thrifty. Available car was the bare-bone basic model.

huge price increase from quote

Pros: The Nissan car we ended up with was clean, comfortable, and a smooth ride.

Cons: The quote I received from Kayak was $179 for a 2 week rental. The nominal rate was $29.98 per week. When I checked in, with tax & fees the quote was approximately $250. When I said I wanted my spouse as an extra driver, they added $13.50 per day plus tax & fees. I was expecting to get a rental for $179. It ended up costing me $467. Furthermore, when I arrived I was given 3 cars to choose from. I picked out a Ford Focus. I loaded all my luggage & began to drive toward the exit. The car hesitated & stalled when I accelerated, so I returned & selected a different car. I placed the keys of the Focus on the dashboard, where they were when I found them. I popped the trunk, stepped out of the car, and closed the drivers door. To my dismay, the doors were locked. I had not pushed the door lock button. I returned to the booth & explained the problem & waited a half hour while a staff person finally arrived and extracted the keys so I could get my backpack out of the back seat. Not a pleasant start to my trip.

Pros: I liked the fact you were able to choose which car you wanted from a row of cars.

Cons: The car wasn't very clean.

Pros: The car was clean and comfortable with ample storage and got excellent gas mileage.

Cons: The man at the pickup counter was not pleasant and spoke to me like I was a fool. I had purchased insurance and he informed me that it was no good and charged me $400 additional dollars which was not communicated when I rented the car for $104.