Rent-A-Wreck - our worst car rental experience!
We do not own a car by choice and have been renting cars from various companies over the last 10 years and have never experienced this low level of customer service before.
We rented a car from September 19, 2008 to September 23, 2008 to attend a wedding 700km east of Vancouver BC. On the day of scheduled return, the car suddenly broke down on the on-ramp to the I-5 in Burlington WA, at 3:30PM. It appeared to have an electrical problem, originating at the battery. We found the clamp to one terminal was loose and the connection extremely dirty. Attempts to troubleshoot the problem were unsuccessful and we phoned the representative at the franchise. He offered absolutely no help and had no suggestions on what we should do. We arranged for a tow truck and got the car towed to a service facility. The great staff at the Bavarian Autohaus in Burlington was an example for outstanding customer service and worked past closing time but was not able to fix the car. One of their employees dropped us and our luggage off at a nearby motel and we phoned our respective employers to notify them of our unscheduled day off. The Autohaus employee picked us up again the next morning at 10:30 and the car was ready to go. We drove back to Delta, BC to return the car. The Rent A Wreck franchise only covered the cost of towing and the car repair. Adding insult to injury, they offered to wave the charge for the extra day we used the car!
As a result of this breakdown, we incurred considerable additional cost for motel, meals and 2 lost days of work. As well, we experienced much stress and anxiety going through this ordeal. Rent-A-Wreck made no effort whatsoever to acknowledge or compensate us for this in any way. As a result, we are extremely upset and disappointed with Rent-A-Wreck and plan never to rent from them again. I am posting this complaint to prevent future customers from having a similar experience with Rent-A-Wreck.