The service from Hertz was very good, but Americans are not very efficient. We waited for over half an hour to pick up the car, even though there were hardly any people ahead of us. The best part about Hertz cars is that they all come with Fastrak, so you can use the Fastrak lanes on toll bridges and pay later when you return the car. The QX80 we exchanged for was excellent, white, with no scratches, very new inside, and highly equipped. It even had built-in navigation and XM radio. We had four suitcases and bought three more, completely filling up the third-row seats when folded. Luckily, we changed cars. However, parking a large car was challenging since many parking spaces were quite small. Hertz's phone service was very quick, and they answered our questions accurately and promptly.
Extremely terrible.
I had a reservation with Hertz to pick up the car at San Francisco Airport and return it in downtown San Francisco. I was supposed to pick up the car on 3.9 at 10:30 AM at the airport and return it on 3.13 in downtown, costing less than 1100 RMB. I chose the prepaid option via Zuzuche. Upon arrival at San Francisco Airport, I had to take a shuttle train to the car rental point, with no directions available, but fortunately, my colleague had been there before. When I got to the Hertz counter on the third floor of the parking garage, I was told to go to the first floor. On the first floor, they said their computer was broken and directed me back to the parking garage. At the parking garage office, the staff, who was of Chinese descent, was extremely rude and impolite, suggesting that I fill out a handwritten form since their computer was still down. All conversations were in English, and if I misunderstood any word, their attitude got worse. My impression of Hertz was extremely negative.
They also took my credit card into a back room to make a copy, which took it out of my sight, and charged a $200 pre-authorization, despite this being a prepaid order!
The real trouble started with the return. Given my experience with a domestic car rental company, I knew the return time could be lenient. Still, since this was an international rental, I reminded myself to be extra cautious.
Including the grace period, the return time was supposed to be before 11:00 AM on 3.13. Here comes the interesting part:
1. On 3.13, Daylight Saving Time (DST) was in effect, so the clock was turned forward by one hour, meaning 11:00 AM was actually 10:00 AM.
2. My hotel reminded me about DST, so I left an hour early, considering the new time.
3. Despite rushing, I arrived at the downtown parking garage around 10:20 AM. The staff inspected the car for five minutes and confirmed a full tank, which I had filled twice the night before and the day of, just to avoid any issues.
4. At the counter, the receipt showed 10:33 AM, and I was told I’d be charged a $26.25 late fee since I supposedly picked up the car at 10:00 AM on 3.9.
My reservation was for a return at 11:00 AM, so why am I being fined for returning at 10:25 AM, especially considering the DST hour loss? Despite my protests, it was useless. They had already copied my credit card, so I had no choice but to accept the loss and leave.
The branch was quite busy, with about a 40-minute wait in line. However, self-service pickup is available. Since it was my first rental, I chose to wait for counter service. The staff were very polite and recommended insurance for $18 per day, which I accepted. Overall, it was a good experience!
Chinese reception, speaks Mandarin. They didn't inform us in advance that the reserved car was unavailable. Upon picking up the car, we found out and communicated with the staff. They offered us a smaller Dodge or a Chevrolet for an extra $300 per day. We ended up spending an additional $160 on two insurances (one of which was for collision with uninsured vehicles, which in hindsight, was unnecessary). Returning the car was smooth; it was inspected on the spot and the deposit was refunded within two hours.
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Ryan Malan
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