Alamo Rent A Car — Local services in San Francisco

The pick-up in San Francisco went well, the people were friendly. But then we had a car breakdown (flat tire) on the way to LA and called the ALAMO assistance at 11 am. Although we were promised that help was on the way, no one came until after 5 pm in the afternoon. So we stood on the side of the road in Guadelupe CA for around 6 hours waiting for help in the heat (with 3 children). We kept calling Alamo in between (costing us several hundred dollars) and were told that help was on the way and we should wait. We felt very uncomfortable (nothing to eat, 3 impatient children) and were afraid we would have to stay in the car all night. For this reason, we looked for a nice local resident who then drove us to the airport which was more than a one hour drive away (this cost us another several hundred dollars) - we tried to get an UBER but in this place we couldn't get one since it was in the middle of nowhere). After some discussion, we were able to get a new car there (first, they told us to wait until our other car was towed away but then they felt some compassion and let us leave with a car. Once again, the people there were nice but Alamo's rules made it difficult for them to help us). The car we got was a cheaper class than the one we had rented.

As we had not received any help from Alamo during the breakdown of our car (despite the full insurance package) and we had to use a smaller vehicle for more than 2 weeks, we wanted to have a refund confirmed by Alamo before our trip home from the USA to compensate us for our inconvenience. We were put off until the vehicle was returned. When we dropped it off in Las Vegas, we were told that we could only be given a small amount of compensation because the contract runs via San Francisco (but the small amount of compensation was not transferred to us either). Because we had to get on the flight, we didn't have time to discuss it any longer. Here, too, the people were friendly, but it was not possible to give us a refund for the smaller car and the other things we had to pay because we didn't get assistance (phone calls, drive to the airport in a private car,...).

Back in Switzerland, we had one telephone contact and a promise of a small compensation, which we rejected because it was simply ridiculous (by the way, nothing has been paid out yet, it was just promises). We haven't heard anything from Alamo since September 2023. We are told to call some hotline, but that doesn't work either because they tell the whole story 100 times and then never follow up. I would like an email address and a solution to our problem. We would still be interested in finding a solution and we still need help. It would be great if somebody could reach out to us.

UPDATE: AFTER 1.5 YEARS AND A LOT OF EFFORT ALAMO GAVE US A COMPLETE REFUND. THANK YOU, COLLEEN! (5 stars for Colleen and the people at the pick up, 1 star for Alamo...

Review for Alamo Rent a Car – USA (San Francisco to Las Vegas, October 5-15)

I’m 25 years old and from Germany. My partner and I rented a car from Alamo for a road trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas. Unfortunately, our experience left us deeply disappointed.

Initial Pickup – San Francisco

We arrived at the San Francisco location and were able to pick up the car without much waiting time. However, the class of vehicle we had booked was unavailable. We were told we could either take a lower class or nothing at all. Since we had no other option and needed to make the drive to Las Vegas (over 900 km), we reluctantly accepted a downgrade.

Oil Change Warning

After a few hundred miles, an oil change warning appeared on the dashboard. We contacted Alamo support by phone (emails remain unanswered to this day), and they advised us to visit the nearest Alamo location for a replacement. At the time, we were in Sequoia National Park, far from any major city.

The closest reliable location where we could be sure of receiving a decent replacement was Los Angeles. This forced us to make a massive detour, leading to additional travel time and expenses.

Los Angeles Location

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, we were told we’d receive compensation and were instructed to discuss it at the drop-off location in Las Vegas. However, we waited for two hours in Los Angeles, and once again, the replacement vehicle was not the class we had originally booked. Compensation was promised – again – but nothing concrete was offered.

Final Drop-off – Las Vegas

On the last day of our trip, we spoke to Teemo at the Las Vegas location. He was helpful and took detailed notes of our situation. Teemo promised a refund for seven days of our rental as compensation.

Post-Trip Follow-Up

Now, over two months later, we still haven’t received any refund. We reached out to Alamo’s customer service (Caren) and were instead offered a 3-day free rental coupon for an economy full-size sedan – a vehicle type that doesn’t suit our travel needs. We always rent SUVs.

After communicating our dissatisfaction, Caren stopped responding, and we’ve been left without further replies or any refund.

Overall Experience

We are incredibly disappointed with the lack of follow-through and poor customer service. What could have been a memorable road trip was overshadowed by these avoidable issues. We’re sharing this experience in hopes that others are aware of what they might face.

Unfortunately, we cannot recommend Alamo based on...

We dropped our one-way rental car off at this San Fran office after driving up Highway 1 from LA. The guy in the carpark took the keys and charged my credit card (unbeknownst to me) more than $US350 more than I was supposed to be charged (a considerable amount since our quote was only $170). When I contested this price, he told me to go downstairs and sort it out at the office. On the way down, we worked out what had happened… the member of staff in LA had hidden some paperwork with much higher charges folded up inside my original paperwork when she handed it back to me as we drove out the carpark. There were two copies of the same paperwork, with an area where I was supposed to sign. As I hadn’t seen this, I certainly hadn’t signed it, so I was expecting an easy fix, and a full refund without much hassle. Boy, was I wrong. When I got down there, I spoke to a gentleman (I'm being nice and calling him a gentleman, he was anything but) who told me that the Alamo offices weren’t connected, and I would have to call the LA office. I asked him how they managed to charge my credit card 5 minutes ago if they weren’t “connected”, to which he offered no answer. When I asked if they could put me through to the LA office on their phone, he said they didn’t have their phone number. That’s right, even in the age of the internet, he didn’t have their phone number. I asked to speak to the manager, who, after 10 minutes waiting, was apparently on her lunch break, and I was instructed again to call the LA office. At this point my blood pressure was rapidly climbing, so I left for our hotel with the intention of returning in the morning. When I did come back, I was greeted by the same guy I had spoken to the night before. Excellent. “You’re back!” he exclaimed. Yes, I am indeed back, and I’m sure I looked happy to be there. When I asked to speak to the manager, he replied, “Again?”. No, not again, she was on her lunch break last night. A lunch break at 6pm, remember? I was finally greeted by the manager, who, after some mild deliberation, gave me a refund on the $350 I was over charged. Delighted though I was to get a refund, the amount of time I spent to get it, and the attitude from the non-managerial staff was appalling. I can only imagine how many people either didn’t notice extra charges, spoke English as a second language and perhaps didn’t understand what was going on, or straight up gave up through sheer frustration...