National Car Rental — Attraction in New York

Haleem and the rest of the staff at National (Laguardia) are awesome! From the time I was picked up from the airport by the lady in the shuttle bus (Nia) I KNEW I was in good hands as she went out of her way to help with our 6 suitcases and two backpacks. Then she dropped us off right in front of where the cars were at the rental facility and Haleem and other staff were right there to greet us when the bus door opened.

Wow! I travel a lot and I’ve learned to adjust my expectations up or down depending on where I go and the companies I have to interact with—but I love that my expectations keep getting blown away by National wherever I go and I never have to adjust down for you all—not even in busy New York!

I was asked what type of vehicle I needed, offered the larger vehicles on the side as I originally started walking in the opposite direction and may have missed them, and the rep began by walking and talking with me and asking about my day and trip so far. When he realized I was still looking around at the selection, he backed off to give me space and so I didn’t feel pressured or in a rush. He told me where he’d be if I needed him. Then when I found a vehicle and opened the trunk, he came back, confirmed I liked it, and went to where I left my many bags to help me bring them and put them in the rental. Just WOW! The service level was so high and seemed so organic—he WANTED to help me!

Thank you guys. It’s clear that you all take your customers and your service level seriously and it shows. And this stuff doesn’t happen by chance. I know there are morning meetings and plans of execution behind the scenes to bring this level of excellence forward.

Please keep up the great work and know that the extra effort is evident in your work product. It’s because of stuff like this that I always come back to National despite all the competition out there. Consistently great service and a large selection of cars to choose from. What else is there to want or need from a rental facility? Nothing.

You guys are...

We picked up our rental, a Jeep Grand Cherokee hybrid rental agreement 860972965 on Friday October 27, 2024. We headed to West Orange, NJ, I accelerated to merge into traffic, the car downshifted and then failed to shift out of the lower gear. I couldn’t do anything to keep up with traffic without revving the engine into the red tac zone. We started down a hill so I could coast and shifted into neutral then back into drive and the car corrected. Needless to say I drove the rest of the trip without a rapid start. THEN … we parked and I put the car back into drive to adjust my position and the car would not move forward or backward. I thought I had somehow applied the parking brake but couldn’t find one. We left for our appointment and when we came back it operated correctly. Again after other stops and starts it did it again immediately after putting into park and then trying to move again. Well after the second time we decided to head back and cut our trip short. My wife called customer service to report the issue and after a frustrating conversation they said to call road service. Well we were on our way and didn’t want to stop again. When we stopped for gas near the airport it started fine but at the first traffic light it would not go. With people behind me blowing their horns because I was sitting through a green light, a message flashed on the dash about the automatic parking brake had applied. I turned the car off and back on and it operated properly. This happened twice more before we got back to the National Facility on Saturday. We drive a Hybrid RAV4 and this hybrid seemed to shift roughly between gas and electric. We waited at the facility approximately 45 minutes to speak to a manager and were finally told by a man accepting return vehicles and he said there was no manager there and he would have one call us. To date we have received no such call. I feel we should receive some sort of compensation for the problems but more importantly this car should not be rented again...

The NY La Guadia airport National car rental is the worst. First they quoted me a fair price of under$100 per day. When I arrived at the counter, the clerk Jose look at my file & asked are you with Berry Global. I replied, I retired. He made a phone & stated that your car will not be insured with Berry, I replied that’s fine, Ill purchase the insurance. Then he crunched the keys in the computer & say your rate will be $190+ per day totaling $380+ for 2 days including $12 insurance per day. At that instant, I was captive with no other good option except to agree. Larry took me to the car and start telling all shorts of rules in NY. After that, I walk around the car checking for dents & other misdemeanors & saw none. I drove to the hotel which is 4 miles, park it & have dinner. Next morning after breakfast we drove to my parents grave site in Brooklyn - 25 miles. After Brooklyn, we went back to the hotel, had lunch & decided to return the car coz it outrageous expensive. After returning the car, the attendant check the car & told me it’s for one day & will electronic mail the receipt We walk towards the office, sat on the bench waiting for the hotel shuttle. A young lady approach us stating there’s damage to the car with a picture in her cell phone., she says there’s a slight misalignment. I told her that there was nothing that happened to the car & she was insisting i pay for the repair. I looked at her telling her if there was anything that happened to the car, I would have reported when I turn it in because I purchase the insurance. She replied you purchased the insurance?. She check & say there’s no problem. When I got back to the hotel & talked to several other guest. They say, they’ve been victim before & start purchasing rental insurance. National car rental LaGuadia is committing fraud scamming customers. I wish the NY authorities will step in & address the scamming. I also hope this write up will reach National Car...