Hertz Car Rental - Jersey City - Mall Drive W — Local services in Jersey City

I've rented from this Hertz location a few times and generally had good experiences, but always a few things to be desired. And you will likely encounter the first issue, which is finding the counter!

For all of those who are struggling to find this Hertz location, it is not inside the mall! It is inside the first level of the parking lot that is in the rear of Newport Mall, opposite the front entrance. When you enter that parking lot from the mall side, you must walk to the far right corner, where you will find the rental office and cars situated. You will know you found it once you see the small car wash it is connected to.

Inside this small rental office, you will find the counters where you can book and/or pick up the keys for your rental reservation. When I last visited, there were about 5-6 employees in the office and 3 computers, but only 2 were assisting customers. So, using all available staff to get customers processed quickly doesn't seem to be a big priority here.

The employees are decent and get the job done - they aren't cheerful or welcoming if thats what you are looking for. But I do not mind that as long as they get the job done right. For my last rental, this is where problems that knocked off stars came in.

During my last rental, upon inspection, I found that the interior of the car was dirty, and, worst of all, there was damage to the vehicle. But being damaged isn't what bothered me. The problem was that the damage wasn't documented!

Since I opted out of Hertz insurance because my credit card has rental insurance, I wanted to ensure that I wasn't held responsible for any damages I did not cause. So, I went back to the office to report the damage. It then took about 20 minutes for me to sort this out and get documentation.

When I entered the car, I continued my investigation of the interior, disregarding the trash and stains from the prior driver. And, when I started up the car, I discovered the gas tank wasn't full. But my rental agreement said it was!

Since Hertz charges about $20+ per gallon when the tank is returned lower than it was received, I had to make another trip to the office to have my rental documentation updated yet again. This took another 10 minutes.

So, a pickup that could have taken 20 minutes max, took about an hour due to waits at the counter, subsequent inspections, and handheld device malfunctions that kept them from being able to quickly update the rental agreement and document the car's condition.

So, operationally, this location could do better. For instance, even though there are about 5-6 reps stationed at this location, they don't answer the phones. I called multiple times in the morning and couldn't connect.

Finally, you can't get out of the parking lot with your rental car unless you have a validated parking pass. Which I didn't, and had to drive back to the counter to retrieve it after being unable to exit. Yet another thing they overlooked, that should have been handled when I picked up the keys.

The best part about this is that the prices are typically cheaper than most other Hertz rental locations nearby. Although they are higher than they were before 2020. Just do your best to find a promo code on their website and rent online for the best pricing. And, note that this location has a limited selection of cars, and rarely any luxury vehicle options (even if you booked one it can still be unavailable).

Although the team here is relatively nice, the service and operations are lacking in ways that add burdens on the customer - ones that could be very costly if missed. So, be sure to arrive at least an hour before your rental pickup time to sort out the agreement and thoroughly inspect the car.

Since I have had far better and more streamlined experiences at other Hertz locations, this one is a 3-star...

RUN AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK

The location is extremely mismanaged, and going through the other reviews, it looks like it has been this way for a while, and it keeps getting worse.

Prepared to be treated like cattle. The staff is exceptionally rude and on a power trip, perhaps because no action is taken against them and they know they will get away with anything. If this location was being run by a competent customer facing entity, these people would be let go at a heartbeat.

The lines are long, and the staff is extremely slow (They will waste time gossiping with each other instead of dealing with the customer). They have no proper signs to direct people in specific lines. An employee yells out details about the lines with an attitude (Giving different instructions every time). While waiting for over an hour in the Gold Members line, as in my case, if you make the grave mistake of putting on AirPods while they’re yelling out a different set of instructions, they will treat you like an inferior being, and loudly ask you to go back in the line, using phrases like “Do you want the car or not”, if you try protesting.

This wasn’t the first time I rented here, but is definitely the last. I’ve seen unpleasant experiences with other people frequently while standing in line for an hour before, but no negative experience of mine with them before crossed a line, unlike this time. Can’t stress enough that this is a top down problem so problem begins with whoever runs this location.

If you have a few extra bucks to space, please DONT rent from here. There is an Avis just a few steps away. Enterprise isn’t that far either.

If you do end up renting here, there is a strong chance that you will encounter an issue. You will then lodge a complaint and write a google review, to which they will respond with this comment, and you can bet they will all have a laugh at your expense as it’s being typed -

“Hi, xxx. We’re extremely sorry to read about your experience at our Jersey City Hertz Car Rental location. We do appreciate you taking the time to leave us a review and providing us with this feedback. We're always striving to improve and as a result, we will forward this to local management for review.”

As of today(Oct 19 2024), they’re rated 2.1. I’m sure this will go further down. The fact that it is even 2 is suspicious, as there are a lot of shady 5 star reviews below (Judge...

Typically I don’t leave reviews unless it’s a stellar experience, but this was too much of the opposite to omit. Where do I start…

1. as many other users mentioned, the location is horrid, in this dark, dingy corner of a parking garage with absolutely no signs. I rented a dollar car, but had to google that dollar was now hertz. You should probably put a sign up about that. Took me about 30 minutes of walking around to find it.

2. waited in line for about 45 minutes. Which typically would be annoying, but fine. But for about 30 of them they were talking to their own employees about when their checks will arrive and other random billing issues. Not to mention just chit chatting about their weekend plans.

3. when it was finally my time up to the counter, the guy asked for my credit card, and then put stickers on a key chain of about 25 keys while I hold my credit card out to hand to him. Took about 5 minutes while I stood there staring at him. I’m not joking. It was at this point I thought I was being punked.

4. finally got my car, then had to wait another 15 minutes while they washed it. What car rental washes the car while you wait when you pick it up? Then I waiting another 10 minutes until the “picture guy” came out and took photos of my car, then struggled for 5 minutes to upload them to their software because the company has no WiFi in the garage.

5. they gave me a EV car because it was the “managers special”. Which is fine, but it’s VERY difficult to find charging stations that are free in New York city. I returned it about 10% less power than I picked it up and was charged $45 dollars. Mind you it cost about $6 to charge the entire thing. I was also never verbally told to return it at the same level. Knowing these guys they probably don’t even have a charger on site.

Theres more, but you get the gist. This is BY FAR, the worst rental car experience I’ve ever had. Simply one of the most poorly ran business I’ve ever dealt with. Avoid this place...