Global drive - Information, Car Rental Instructions & Policies

At the time of pickup, the rental company informed me that the rented vehicle was not available because the previous renter had not returned it. They didn't know when the car would be available. After waiting for several hours, the company's solution was that the vehicle was still not returned, so either wait indefinitely or switch to a manual transmission model (I originally rented an automatic) without a refund for the difference. I found both options unreasonable, so I decided to rent from another company. During the process of renting from another company, I was informed that the vehicle had been returned and was available, but this was already more than 4 hours past the scheduled pickup time.

Thrifty is a small company in Europe, with fewer models and locations. I booked an automatic Focus or a similar model, but when picking up the car, there was only an automatic Skoda Fabia available. Both the price and the space specifications are lower than the Focus, more on par with the Ford Fiesta. Also, when picking up the car at Frankfurt Airport, the staff said that starting from October 1st, winter tires were required and I'd have to pay an additional cost every day. Over 10 days, they charged me more than 160 euros. I initially thought this was a universal and mandatory rule, so I didn't question it, but later found out from the internet and friends that winter tires are only required from November onwards. I didn't need them from October 1st to 11th, and in fact, it was around 20 degrees Celsius in Germany during those days.