Deluxe Rent A Car of LAX

Ok, I'm not going to rip these guys... Car was a 2008, and a good value for the price.

Notes: The tank was only 1/3 full when I grabbed it, and it is off airport, so you have to wait a bit for the shuttle, but even that was not as bad as my other LAX rental experiences.

I will give these cats another shot, unless they screw up the check in.

** BANG! !! ** They screwed it up on check in. Minus one star. Thank God I had plenty of time to resolve the issue (sort of). I handed the check in dude the only paperwork with receipt info on it that I had. He promptly disappeared, not to be seen again (along with my paperwork). The gal at the counter told me that the vehicle I had the keys for had not been rented all week, which was weird, because I had been driving it all week. Hmm. So she wandered off with the keys, and said that they'd just get it straightened out later.

"I need a receipt please"

"Um, have a seat. The manager will have to get you it"

15 minutes later:

(Me) "Excuse me, Sir, but I really need to get to the airport. I have a flight to catch."

(Manager) "Uh. Um. Do you have your paperwork?"

(Me) "Um. Uh. No, dip shit. I gave it to the guy outside."

(Manager) "Uh, can I fax it to you later?"

(Me) "No, I want something on paper that says I rented a car here, and paid for it in the amount we agreed on when I took it."

(Manager) "Duh. Doi. Um. Can I mail it to you then?"

(Me) "I am going to ignore that last statement, and just assume you had a stroke or something."

(Manager) "Maybe. I'm an idiot..."

(Some items of the conversation have been embellished for dramatic effect)

Finally, I had him pull up my records by using my name, so I had SOMETHING on paper. Ironically, the car I had rented 'on paper' was fancier than the one I actually got, though their system insists that the one I got was never driven all week... Oh well, other than the total cluster F at the end, they were great. I still might give them one more chance, just for fun.

THE END.

JULY OF 2008 - A SECOND CHANCE LOSSES THESE ASSWIPES THE FINAL STAR!!!

Tank was bone dry this time. BONE DRY! Light on and everything. There was a piece of gum on the roof, and the car was all banged up on one side. Kicker, the prick on the phone when I asked where the hell the shuttle was was short with me. Dicks.

Got them on carrentals.com for around $22 a day with fees, around 2 weeks before my trip. At LAX, finding the orange shuttle stop outside of baggage was a challenge, when you leave, all the way to the far right, I think the last stop. I got confused with the red stop off, to the left.

Waited around 20 minutes for the shuttle and 1 phone call to check, was assured one was coming. Look for the Johnny park shuttle, there is no Deluxe Rent a car shuttle. Around a 10 minute ride away from the airport. Dropped off at the rental place, around 15 in line ahead of me at 11am on Thursday, with 5 agents. Took around 45 minutes to stand in line and get my car. My agent was short toned with me, they don't seem friendly there except for the manager who came out to help from the back office. The only other nice guy was the one who got my PT cruiser. There were a few black marks on the bumpers and doors but the guy said that was normal and not needed to be marked on the paperwork.

Drop off took around 15 minutes, I lost my paperwork so went inside. There was some drama ahead of me with a customer who lost a car key. Shuttle drivers do help with the luggage. The shuttles are packed, coming and going to the airport.

Someone rented a car there, heard her quote at $45 a day for a similar car.

Look elsewhere! I can't believe I rented twice from this company when getting a car for my family members visiting. The first experience was terrible and I still used them again. My frustration level was through the roof. Cheap but not so cheap in the end.

The customer service is horrific. When we took the car back I lost it the second time (I was letting them have it) for waiting when very few customers were there so late. We waited forever to close out on this thing, and they just laughed at me as they made me wait.

Also, very lazy and slow moving workers. I went to get the car when all the paperwork was signed and inspection was done, we hopped in it and low and behold! It smelled like a mixture of filth and cigarette smoke. No way were we going ANYwhere in that vehicle. I went back in and it took another hour just to get out of that car and into another. No apologies whatsoever for that nasty car when I have asthma and told them we cannot have a smoke car.

Makes me mad even thinking of the rude employees at Deluxe Headache.

Please, rental customers, go through the car thoroughly when returning any car, I left a great CD in the car here so check even the CD player.

Deluxe? Are you sure? I don't think that word describes some of their services. Namely the shuttle driver.

Firstly, we had trouble with the Johnny Park shuttle that you have to take to get to this rental car location. The crazy bald-headed driver didn't pull over or wait when we were waving and RUNNING madly to the shuttle, he just took off. That should have been our first tip to go to Rent 4 Less instead.

When we arrived at Deluxe, the line was out the door! Three agents seemed to be snail slow helping all the people in line -- but somewhat sporadically. I saw a few of the agents disappear as the line grew longer.

Finally when we were helped, the man was pleasant and quick to help. He seemed to be in a management position. We were in a hurry, so I quickly did a check of the car even before he gave us time to do so. According to other reviews, this may be a wise choice. I did think it odd that I had to click the alarm key to see where our car was -- very very unorthodox and unprofessional. In a word, GHETTO!

We got our car, a 2009 Toyota Matrix which was $28.31 for the day. The car had 1/2 a tank full and the guy told us to only fill it up to 1/2 a tank when we got back. Hummmm ... again, that is weird.

The rest of the day went fine, until we returned the vehicle. Again, a large line formed at 8:45pm, and there was no separate line for returning cars, which should be very easy to do. The gentleman who helped us earlier took our keys, ripped off part of the receipt and gave me the remainder. All while the Johnny Park shuttle took off YET AGAIN.

But there was another shuttle --- with the crazy bald-headed man driver. Uh oh. TROUBLE. He wouldn't take us to the airport even though our flight had been changed and we needed to get there. He said he was off at 9pm and doesn't get paid for overtime. This was at 9:05pm. He mumbled some things and was just being rude. Finally he agreed to take us to the airport if we paid him and asked us how much money we had! What the heck? For $10 he leisurely drove us to the airport. Seriously unprofessional, bad business practice, and downright ridiculous.

Maybe if not for the Johnny Park shuttle madness, I MIGHT have thought of Deluxe as decent, but now I'd definitely recommend other chains.

My husband and I have traveled a lot this year to LA, which means we've rented plenty of cars. This establishment is by far THE worst one we've ever laid eyes upon. Actually, there was one in Inglewood that was worse, but this one tops it for the worst in the LAX area.

We arrived on a Wednesday night at around 11pm and had to wait nearly half an hour till they had all the paperwork down. Their system was down and they had to manually fill out everything. We paid with our Amex card,but they said that card didn't work. Umm, I've been paying all th bills on time, perhaps you messed up on a number, doofus!

After the long wait, which was definitely unexpected on a random Wednesday night, we did get our car... The sides were really scratched up. The first number on the front of the license plate was cut off. When we asked about it, they said it was wear and tear from the car wash. Seriously now?!

The gas was half full, which was really weird, but whatever. There was an unexpected $500 deposit which they never mentioned till you are actually there.

When we returned the car at the location we got it from, all the gates were closed and locked. We circled around the area a few times to see if there was a hidden entrance somewhere, but nope, everything was locked down. When we called, they casually told us that they moved locations. Thanks for not telling us when we got the car! And thanks for not putting assign up in the old location too!

This place is extremely unprofessional, but with the cheap price of $88 for two days, my husband might forgive them and just go with the cheapness. But you definitely get what you pay for...

Yes, their prices are very cheap... but i guess you get what you pay for. The service here is horrible...... THEY ARE SO FREAKING SLOW AND SO FREAKING RUDE! Like seriously, it seems like they provide slow service on purpose.

The first car they gave us, was so dirty. It look like somebody had sex in the back seat and left human residue every.. GROSS! and the car was only 1/4 full... WTF. The second car they gave was a bit cleaner, but THEY GAVE THE CAR TO US EMPTY WITH THE LIGHT ON!? wtf is that.

I don't think i'll do business with this company anymore. Poor management.

Holy moly! Shadiest mother-effing rental car I've ever seen. And I am a FAN! Where else can you get a rental car in LA for 15 bucks a day?

When the snotty little man at my hotel offered me the 'deal' of $220 for 3 days and 2 nights of car rentage, I almost growled at him. I said no thanks, went online, and found Deluxe Rent a Car!

Located in what we all swore was a chop shop (we saw old Volvos, BMWs, VWs and such thrown in with the typical toyotas and fords). So random. Our car was kinda scratched on all sides, but you know what? Service was friendly and prompt. The car was clean. The prices are low. That's all I need to know!

Oh and YES they take a 300/400 dollar deposit from you. But we didn't have any problems getting it back when we returned it.

NOTE: When you get to the airport, wait at the COURTESY SHUTTLE area (red), not the rental car area (purple). Look for JOHNNY PARK shuttle in white. They don't tell you this handy info. I had to call.

I should also add that my car had a registration expiration of February 2010 (8 months overdue). When I inquired about this upon returning the car, the manager on duty blathered about how it was purely technical and that the car had already been checked out.

Right...because the stickers wouldn't be applied on the spot once it was checked up and cleared.

Do NOT rent from this place.

I will NEVER rent from these guys again!

Reasons:
1. Place is a pig sty and smelled like an elephant just walked through. What place of business has magazines on the floor, dirty seats, unkept counters, wild life smell, etc? The only one I can think of is a seedy strip joint. Trust me, I know!

2. As others have stated, employees are damn lazy. I waited in line politely until the counter clerks had their little conversation. After I realized it was NOT business related I demanded help. They both looked at me like I was rude. What?!?

3. The minivan I rented was never ready on time after my month early reservation on line. It was only ready after the previous renter drove up with it and checked it out. And yes, I was waiting outside and looked at the plates. Same damn car. Seems like they only have one minivan to rent. Sad state of affairs.

4. The rental was not cleaned. Seems like the car went near sprinklers and made to appear as freshly washed. NOT! The interior was just as filthy. There was broken glasses for Pete's sake in the trunk. I had to request a real cleaning. Of course, the employee was annoyed cause he had to actually work.

This place is the flea market of rentals. I am surprised they just don't operate out of a tent. I would really think twice renting here. Fox Car Rentals are much more professional and have equally good pricing. You have been warned!

NEVER rent from here!

My "standard convertible" became a Toyota Corolla with 65k miles with the check engine low tire pressure lights lit. It also had not been cleaned on the inside.

These guys take bookings from websites such as carrentals.com (which I used via Kayak) and some other famous names, but these bookings are not connected to their system. Therefore, they could confirm 100 bookings for convertibles even if they only have 5 cars.

I stupidly ignored the poor Yelp reviews. Most of them seemed to pertain to poor service and a dirty office, neither of which really bothered me. These guys had an amazing rate of $32 for a convertible (a PT cruiser).

It was pretty busy when I got there at 11:30pm on a Friday night. When I got the front, the guy (who was super nice actually) said I was lucky as I got the "last one". Wow, i got the last convertible I thought. Nope, I got the last CAR. "See all those people behind you, they ain't getting a car" he said.

They said they would call me on Saturday to see if I could swap my car out. They never called, I called and they said they would call back. They didn't. I complained when I returned the car on Sunday. I got $15 back, which is better than nothing, but not enough. I've learned my lesson and will stick with the big names next time.