SIXT Rent a Car Newark Int Airport — Attraction in Elizabeth

My recent encounter with SIXT car rental has undoubtedly been the worst experience I've ever had in renting a vehicle. From the moment I stepped foot into their facility, a series of issues unfolded, leaving me utterly disappointed with their customer service. To begin with, locating the rental car pickup point was a confusing ordeal. Despite reaching out to their support team, I was met with long wait times and unhelpful representatives who seemed more interested in ending the call quickly than assisting me. The directions I received were misleading, directing me to a non-existent SIXT shuttle at Newark airport. After wasting precious time, I called back, only to be met by a rude and barely English-speaking representative who was of no help at all. The customer service at the rental counter was equally dreadful. The staff appeared understaffed, frustrated, and unhelpful. The lines were chaotic and when I tried to provide feedback, one of your employees became combative, right in front of the manager who remained silent, failing to address the situation. To add to the stress, the supervisor handed me the car right in the path of the shuttle bus, forcing me to load my luggage while the bus driver impatiently honked their horn. Exiting the parking lot was yet another ordeal. There was no one in the booth to open the gate, and I waited for an additional 10 minutes before the supervisor finally appeared. As if that wasn't enough, when I returned the vehicle during normal operating hours, there was no one available for a proper check-in process. Instead, I was instructed to drop the vehicle in a drop box. Later, I was informed of an undocumented scratch on the car, which was not present when I returned it. Thankfully, I had the foresight to document the vehicle's condition with photos and a video walk-around. Considering the exorbitant pricing and the subpar service received, my disappointment with SIXT is beyond words. I could have paid the same amount or even less at a reputable car rental company and received superior customer service. Overall, my experience with SIXT was nothing short of a nightmare. Their inadequate facility, lackluster performance, and unhelpful staff have left an indelible mark of disappointment. I strongly urge anyone considering renting a car from this company to look elsewhere and spare themselves the headache and frustration I endured.

Update 5/14/2023: I have sent my damage claim to Ana at SIXT and still have not received a response. Sent pictures showing no damage and also have a video walkaround of the vehicle. However, I did receive an updated invoice with $524.92 in additional frivolous charges to include a $400 smoking fee. My wife and I have NEVER smoked in our lives! What a hassle this has been! I would avoid this company all together and seek a reputable car rental brand. Don't get lured in by discounted base rental rates as they make their money with garage fees...

Believe me, I thought long and hard before writing this review...

This is not about the car, the personnel or the experience. That was all terrific. This is about an experience I had with them in December of 2024.

My wife and son were in Florida and were scheduled to return home on a Friday night. My son, who has autism, had a complete meltdown at the airport. Not a great moment. He had to be held back from getting on the plane. Police. Hospital visit. etc. If you know autism, you may have this experience. It is awful. I had to fly down from Newark to Palm Beach and rent a one way car back up to Newark.

I rented through Sixt and saw that they had a $790 fee for a one way rental. I generally understand some fee, but $790??!! I had to bite the bullet and just do it. Everyone involved with my emergency trip was extremely helpful EXCEPT Sixt. The airline gave me a very reduced rate and even bumped me to first class when they heard what I was going thru. For no charge.

Sixt already has an unlimited mileage for their rentals. It is not like the car has to be returned down to Florida. Why such an exorbitant fee?

When I returned the car 10 hours early (BTW), I asked about getting some consideration because of what I just went through with my son. I was trying to manage costs with this emergency. I was told to call the office and they could handle that.

I got the bill in my email. They tried to charge $100 for a fueling charge even though I paid for the full tank and returned it full. I called and they immediately took that off the charge. Sorry our mistake. YEAH RIGHT!!! Sixt is just hoping you don't notice this overcharge. I wonder how much they make pulling that scheme??

I then reexplained my situation and they took all of this information for 30 minutes on the phone about my emergency and special situation regarding my autistic son. "Someone will get back to me" I was told within 24-48 hours. NEVER heard from anyone but then received a new bill for the rental.

Out of the $790 one way fee, they took off... $30!!!! Seriously??? What kind of courtesy is that?? Considering that everyone else involved went out of their way to be helpful... Sixt chose to basically ignore my request and threw a nonsense discount. Less than 5%!!

Therefore I can never recommend Sixt car rental company. I am not wrong here and doubt anyone would disagree. Overpriced one way rental fee for just returning it to another location. They lose nothing, costs nothing and the car likely went out for the next rental. I didn't expect a free charge, but something like 50% or more off would have been the right thing to do.

My mistake for choosing Sixt!!!! Unless someone contacts me and makes this right, my review stands as is. The Special needs community will know this story and hopefully put Sixt on their list of companies to avoid.

BIG THUMBS DOWN. Make it...

We flew in from out of the country to attend my Mom's funeral. I specifically reserved a Van to transport family. Upon arrival none were available nor ready. We were given an "upgrade" for a large Toyota SUV that supposedly had a bench seat. After a 17 + hour flight, I was too sleep deprived at the time to argue the the point or double check the back seat, and accepted the vehicle with the explicit assurance from the counter rep (who barely made eye contact and was apparently ready to go on break...) that it would comfortably seat 7. I asked him repeatedly if it was a “real seat” and was told it was. The next morning (in daylight) and day of funeral, I found it was actually a "pet friendly” SUV that barely seated 5 - the additional “seating" was a floor level jumper seat with backrests. We ended up having to put other passengers in the funeral home's transport for the one hour ride to the Veteran's cemetery. I was stressed enough with the funeral, and didn't need this aggravation. The only positives I can say is the vehicle itself was fine; albeit inadequate... and the return process was smooth.

Secondly- I haven’t been to EWR in a few years. Unbeknownst to us, the car rental location has been moved. I went by the provided reservation and confirmation address. Upon landing, we took Uber to listed address only to be left off at an abandoned car rental lot. Lights were on and building looked operational. Unaware that all rentals were now in a different location. This could be the fault of the 3rd party booking - but after long travel caused unneeded stress and a delay of at least an hour trying to locate the correct rental location. The Sixt agent on the phone apologized, but blamed the 3rd party for not updating the info. My take is If you're going to let 3rd parties book your cars, then YOU need to make sure they have the correct info. Especially since the SIxt info was also incorrect.

I have corporate accounts with other car rental companies, and thought I'd give Sixt a chance since we were trying to save some money. Not worth it. I was so extremely disappointed at this utter lack of customer care or compassion, that I’d only rent from them again if there were absolutely no...