SIXT Rent a Car San Francisco Fairmont Hotel — Local services in San Francisco

EDIT: I contacted Sixt with the information they requested in their response to my review, and Sixt dropped the damage claim. I'm very happy that they did the right thing by dropping the claim; however, it doesn't excuse the initial behavior described below. Still be careful when renting with Sixt and be sure to document the car's condition both before AND after the rental.

AVOID SIXT! Damage Scam!!

Initially, I was impressed with Sixt. The agents were friendly, and the pickup process was smooth. But things took a sharp turn when I inspected the car. It was in shockingly poor condition for a vehicle less than a year old—large dents, scratches, torn seats, a dislocated grille, and more. The damage was so excessive it seemed improbable for one car to sustain all of it through normal use. This raised red flags, but I documented everything thoroughly, snapping photos while the agent chuckled at how meticulous I was.

During my three-day rental, the car was either in my sight or parked in a private driveway, except for a brief hour at a coffee shop. I returned it in the same condition, relieved to have avoided any incidents. But days later, I received an email from Sixt showing four deep scratches on the hood, asking for an explanation. The damage made no sense given the car’s limited exposure, and the hood isn’t a typical area for such scratches. For someone to create those scratches would require either extreme carelessness or malice.

If the damage didn’t happen during my rental, the only plausible explanation is that it occurred after I returned the car. Given how damaged the car was when I picked it up, other renters’ reviews of similar issues at this location, and numerous online complaints about “Sixt damage scams,” I suspect foul play. It seems likely that a Sixt employee scratched the car after the return to file a claim against me.

My mistake? Not taking photos at return. I’ve never done this with any rental company before, as no agency had given me a reason to. Sixt, however, taught me a hard lesson. Always take return photos—especially with them.

Other reviews confirm this isn’t an isolated incident. A Google search for “Sixt damage scam” reveals numerous complaints, and there’s even a Facebook group dedicated to victims. David Rosario's review below describes a very similar experience with this same Sixt location.

It’s telling that Sixt doesn’t appear to repair damage after collecting claims. The car I rented was a patchwork of unrepaired dents and scratches, indicating that claims money isn’t going toward fixing vehicles. If Sixt isn’t repairing cars, where is the money going? Into someone’s pocket, it seems.

I’ll admit, it’s a clever scam. Each claim nets Sixt hundreds of dollars, and since most renters don’t take return photos, challenging claims is difficult. Even when a claim is disputed, the worst that happens for Sixt is they drop it. There’s little downside for them, but significant stress and financial burden for the customer.

Take my advice: AVOID SIXT. If you must rent from them, document every inch of the car—both at pickup and return. Don’t become their...

In pretty much every one of my experiences with Sixt, I’ve had outstanding service! Their choice of vehicles are always high quality, and always well-kept/excellent condition. On. Our most recent trip, I just wanted to highlight the amazing hospitality and expertise of Kian on the front end pickup/rental, and Jose on the back end/drop off. Kian was very friendly and efficient, as well as proactive in anticipating that we might need a few extra minutes built-in to the contract from the start, just in case. He was also very good at having useful-but-not-cumbersome information and paperwork available for the trip. (Having his manager ready also to offer water and coffee while we waited was also a very nice touch!). At the end of the rental, Kian’s expertise came very much in handy, as we made it with literally three minutes to spare! And here is where Jose really shined. He very gently reminded us without pressuring us that we had to return the car at the agreed-upon gas level upon the start of the trip, which I’d completely forgotten in my rush to get back on time. He allowed us enough grace to run out and fill up - suggesting either of two locations of gas stations nearby - without incurring a hefty penalty. He was both professional and engaging in this respect, and we’re both very grateful he was the person to coach us through this last potential panic attack so that we could say our entire trip was smooth from start to finish. ...

When I picked up the car from Sixt - Fairmont hotel, I noticed that the white Dodge Challenger car had several scratches, both on the front side and on the rear side. I then asked the Sixt employee, Ihab, if I needed to take some photos of the car and he said NO because I rented the vehicle with full insurance. However, when I returned the vehicle, another Sixt employee (Eric) seemed surprised by his colleague's guidance and checked the entire vehicle saying there were scratches that were not listed in his spreadsheet. I told him that those scratches were already on the vehicle before and I even had a photo of the car parked on the street where they appeared. In other words, great dishonesty and confusion on the part of the company, causing customers to waste time filling out forms and reporting problems that are not theirs. Regardless of the fact that I didn't have to pay for any possible damage, I was told that I wouldn't even need to check the vehicle, which wasn't true because when I returned it, the Sixt employee made me waste more than 20 minutes getting the entire car and asking me about scratches that were already on it. Furthermore, Sixt later sent me several emails asking me to report the problem. The only problem is that they don't check the vehicle before delivering it to us and then they want to question scratches that were already on the vehicle. I am extremely...