Hertz Car Rental - San Diego - San Diego International Airport (SAN) — Local services in San Diego

I will never attempt to rent here again! I normally use Enterprise, however having needed a rental Thanksgiving Day, Hertz was accepting reservations with reasonable rates so I booked there and received 2 confirmation emails one of which was one hour prior to the reservation time. I went to the location to pick up the vehicle and was told that no one was there and then I would have to call the number on my reservation to have someone bring the vehicle to me. I called and was told that the location was actually closed and my reservation was made in their error, and the only thing that could be done is for me to drive 40 more miles to the airport location in which case they would credit me for the cost of the reservation to cover the added expenses, inconvenience, and correcting of their mistake. I triple checked to clarify with her because she barely spoke English I wanted to make sure I understood exactly and I even sat on hold while the agent called on the other line to the corporate office to get approval for this as well as the new location to confirm a vehicle would be available and we would not encounter any further issues, keep in mind I did not ask for any specific credit or compensation this was what they offered if we were willing to drive and pick up the vehicle somewhere else. However, once I arrived there I was informed that the actual amount of the rental with three times the original amount of the reservation and that they would be able to offer a 10% discount, which would not affect the added taxes and fees which are anchored at airport locations. None of these new numbers or prices were even mentioned during my first call. When I called back, Glen told me that the only thing they could do was price match from the original location to the airport location and told me no one ever agreed to any discount towards the trip. I asked him to read the notes and tell me who I originally spoke with, and he said he didn't know, there were no notes, but that he was sure there was no conversation where anyone on their behalf admitted fault nor offered any type of accomodation and was not authorized to listen to the recordings as I insisted to verify the legitimacy of my claim. I was told all I could do was pay the full amount plus an extra $100 for new fees, not on my original reservation, and once the car was returned I could file a complaint. Had I known I'd be paying airport prices and driving 45 minutes away, I wouldn't have opted to ruin my family's thanksgiving plans to be screwed over when I could've gone down there and rented from anyone. We refused to rent through them, after all of that, 3 hours on the phone, 3 hours of extra driving with a toddler, and then I heard about how they are notorious for charging after the trip for imperfections in the vehicle made prior to the trip, there was no way in hell I was giving them a dime. I rent cars often, and had this first experience with a new company been pleasant, I would be a potential long time, high paying consistent loyal customer, but not only will I never consider them again, I will make sure no one close to me has to be put through this torture that's for sure. I've worked in customer service myself for many years, and this is by far the worst "service" I've ever even heard of! Absolutely disappointing...

Absolutely the worst rental experience that we have ever had. We pre-paid for a full size SUV (equinox or bigger guaranteed according to the email). When we arrived there was nothing like that available…we needed to fit 4 large suitcases, 4 people, and 4 backpacks. We were sent to pick out “anything in the gold section” of a parking garage. This section was basically empty except for compact SUVs that didn’t fit our luggage. There were no employees at the rental parking garage that we were shuttled to, to speak with. Finally, after some time wandering and trying our bags in several vehicles an employee drove around and asked what we were looking for and we told him an SUV. He told us he would have an employee drive one around. We were given a blue Equinox and loaded our exhausted kids up, only to be told at the gate that car was not rentable and then we had to drive back around and choose another one. We explained to the very rude employee named Michelle that an email drove this one to us personally and it was the only one in the right size. We told her that she needed to get hold of a supervisor. After several attempts to contact a supervisor, she finally was able to get a hold of a supervisor named Amanda who was no help at all. We ended up driving around and once again unloading our kids and bags only to wander around a parking garage in an unfamiliar city, at night, after a whole day of traveling.

Finally, we encountered a very sweet middle aged soft spoken kind gentleman with glasses from Hertz to help us. I wish I had gotten his name. He was an angel! He radioed to the supervisor Amanda again who finally agreed to allow us to take a 4 door Jeep Wrangler. (but not without first being extremely rude about us on the walkie-talkie, which we could hear.) This kind man is the only reason I am ok with even giving Hertz 1 star. I wish I could give him 5 stars and give the rest 0.

The whole ordeal of getting shuttled over to the rental building, finding our own car, being turned around at the gate, and then finally being released with a vehicle we had prepaid for about 2 to 3 months in advance took nearly 3 hours.

And don’t even get me started about being belittled and shamed at the counter for not choosing the additional rental insurance when I told the guy several times that I had already confirmed with my insurance company that we were covered for insurance while driving a rental.

If you want to be frustrated, belittled, and have a huge chunk of your time wasted, not to mention have your kids sobbing and wandering in a parking garage trying out cars like you’re Goldilocks and it’s your job and if you want to compete with several other customers for each car that is driven into the gold parking spots like animals hunting for prey, then this is your company. If not, I would skip the San Diego...

Title: Terrible Experience with Faulty Vehicle and Rude Manager – Avoid This Location I had an absolutely frustrating and unacceptable experience renting from Hertz at the San Diego airport on July 27, 2025, as a President's Circle member. I picked up a Toyota Sienna XLE from the President's Circle section, expecting a smooth process given my status. We drove the car to our nearby hotel without issues. However, in the afternoon, when we started the car, multiple serious malfunctions appeared on the dashboard, including RSA Malfunction, Pre-Collision System Malfunction, LTA Malfunction, and Front Camera Unavailable. These safety issues made the car undrivable. We tried calling the location multiple times but got no answer, so we carefully returned it to the airport location immediately. We explained the situation to the manager on duty, Greg, and politely requested a vehicle exchange. Instead of helping, he accused us of causing the damage and questioned why we accepted the car in the first place. As customers, we're not mechanics – we can only inspect for visible exterior damage during pickup. He refused to waive charges and insisted on billing us $47.01 for the one-mile "rental," which directly contradicts Hertz's policies on handling defective vehicles. On top of that, the invoice included a $15 additional driver fee, which Greg claimed is only waived for family members. This is false – Hertz policy allows a waiver if both drivers are AAA members, as my friend and I are, and we've rented together before without this charge. The fee was added to our contract without our consent during pickup, and Greg was completely unfamiliar with company policies. He was rude, defensive, and even twisted my words to suggest I accused the company of "stealing" when I pointed out that unauthorized charges are unlawful. To avoid further conflict, we were forced to close the contract and open a new one for another car. This location's poor service, lack of accountability, and disregard for safety and policy ruined the start of our trip. As a loyal Hertz customer, I'm deeply disappointed and will be escalating this to corporate, disputing the charges with my credit card, and considering legal action if needed. Skip this Hertz branch – there are better rental options at SAN. (Attached photos: Rental invoice showing only 1 mile driven and full charges; car window marked with "RSA Malfunction" by staff; dashboard...