After showing up unexpectedly at his small shack with a makeshift company sign, I agreed to a none routine car rental agreement, in which I would suffice payment with dinner orders from the place I worked at, everything seemed to go as originally agreed for about 2 weeks until the first snow fall, Stan then calledand told me the mechanic needed to put snow tires on the car so after work I showed up at his mechanic spot which I thought was just a simple routine in and out but not thinking I wasn't going to be renting the car at that point I left most of my personal belongings including my wallet in the car rental, after a few days I got back in contact with Stan and he expressed that I owed him $70 for a tank of gas and proof of my insurance and my driver's license, when I told him I had everything required to pick the car back up he then went into a tyrant saying that I owed him for 13 days worth of car rental on top of the $70 in gas. I told him that was not part of the agreement because I fulfilled my part of the agreement and I didn't owe him anything. he then proceeded to tell me how he didn't want my girlfriend in the car and on top of it when I asked him for my wallet and other person belongings he said everything was thrown in the trash at which point I found the trash can located on his locked and I literally took it with us but no wallet was found. He would not let me check in the vehicle until after he had went inside himself and took something out from the passenger side which was where my wallet was located. This guy was very rude and on more than one occasion continually attempted to talk down to me yelling and shouting over the phone anytime I try and ask him a question or give him an answer. I highly suggest to stay away from this car rental business because it's very shady very poor maintained cars and very very poor customer service. The car itself that it was rented to me was in a previous accident it's headlights barely worked the night that I got the car I had to fix the headlamps in order to barely see in front of the car. The battery ended up almost dying so I continually had to get a jump start. The front end was very very loose anytime you pressed on the brakes the wheels shook. Had to put antifreeze in the car ourselves. Stay away from Stan and a1 car rentals read more

Called Stan and was immediately put off by his demeanor and attempts to convince me that I couldn't get a car elsewhere, so I told him "thanks but I'll look around." Then I read the reviews on Yelp (check out his previous page "A-1 Car Rentals" before he made a new page without the hypen) and on Google, which confirmed my decision. THEN, I am getting hammer called by this guy on my cell phone, no voicemail, just repeated phone calls over multiple days. His number is now blocked. What a nightmare it must be to actually rent from him.... read more

I recently rented a Jeep Commander to drive into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and stay for 2 weeks. It served me well as the McCarthy Road was in the worse shape I've seen it in years. Yes, I rent from A-1 and Stan every year when I visit to photograph in the park. I know I'm renting a used vehicle and am happy to do so. In 8 years of renting, I've never had a breakdown. Stan's personality can initially be sharp and unlike what you might experience with big name rentals but let trust guide you. He'll pay for taxi from airport to A-1 and when I returned the car he took me to my hotel, waited for me to check in, and then dropped me off close by so I could get a meal. Be nice and get nice back. I'll continue to rent from A-1. read more

A-1 Car Rental - Wrangell-St. Elias National Park - Car Rental Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

Rude, dangerous cars, overpriced low life. Stan is a predatory renter who takes advantage of people without credit cards. After he drained my debit card overcharging me he called me 15 times in two hours and then showed up at a thrift store I was shopping at with his henchmen demanding payment for the car. Told him I was done with the car and he tried to rip the keys out of hands before I could collect my belongs. After all that I forgot my garage door opener. He held it hostage for 60 dollars to pay for a tank of gas. A 12 gallon tank that was already half full. Do not rent from this place. James Livesay. read more

Don't rent from here. I paid $461 for 5 days (used it for 79 miles bc I was afraid it would break down w the dash board lights on: low pressure, engine, traction, cruise staying on-they put a skeleton sticker so u couldn't see the engine light on; whole front end shaking over 60 mph and the cabin of the car smelling like burnt rubber or oil. Also could not use back seat bc of soil in picture. read more

We rented an over priced dirty minivan for 2 weeks and are not happy at all- never again will we rent from them. It's unacceptable how the rear door to the trunk was broken the front right bumper is taped with duct tape and 3 of us adults had to clean the inside for an hour to get it kid friendly was full of dirt dust and crackers It is awful!!!! read more

Stan was helpful with suggestions on what car to rent over the phone. We spent a month with a converted minivan that saved us a fortune on places to stay at night. See some bad reviews here complaining about the condition of the cars. This is a budget rental company. Our car wasn't in top shape but it was reliable and did exactly what we needed: got us where we needed to go. Would definitely rent from Stan again. He even gave us spare fuel for our camping stove and a camping chair to use while we were there. read more

Studded tires! Excellent service! The owner Stanley was very helpful when I needed a truck in a hurry. I was flying in late and needed a truck for work that had studded tires. Stanley was kind enough to pick me up from the airport, provided a well maintained vehicle with great tires at a competitive price,AND dropped me off at the airport! I highly recommend A-1 car rental. read more

Stan Bogdan picked us up as promised at 1:30 a.m. at the Anchorage airport. We had a promised compact car that got us from point "A" to point "B" for the 10 days we were there. Those are the postives! The negatives .... car was dirty (not a huge deal ...after all, we were in Alaska), dash board had a warning light on, his office desk was chaos, we made arrangements for me to make confirmation phone calls (upon arriving at Seattle Airport, upon landing in Anchorage, upon leaving to head to his facility to return the car,etc...) He drove me absolutely NUTS by calling ME EIGHT times! (I never had the chance to call him upon our agreed time,because he kept calling ME! TWICE while on the plane when just landing. He kept calling, he called the night before we were returning the car ..... he almost ruined my trip...very annoying! I'm extremely happy we had the car and it got us where we needed. Will I book with him again? NOT if I can help it. read more

The Basics: Renting a car in Alaska in the summer time is going to run you about the same cost as college tuition, so just accept that. About $100/day during peak season is a good place to start for a compact or economy car. Winter, however, is a different story, and is often comparable to other advertised national prices. If you want to explore off the beaten path (the majority of the state) you will not be able to get there without driving on gravel roads-- something that voids your contract at most places. So, you will pay more at most places to get a car to travel on these roads if they even have any cars that they will let you do this in in the first place. This Business: A-1 is locally owned and can save you some money because it is not at the airport so it avoids the airport rental car tax. They also have cars available to drive on gravel roads. My Experience: I called around a month before my trip and decided to go with A-1. The owner quoted me a good price since I had a local coupon, took my reservation with a credit card card and email address and told me he would email me a confirmation. Great. Two weeks later I realized I had not received said email. I called again and the guy had no idea who I was. I reminded him of the call and quoted price and he said it sounded familiar and told me to call him again the day before I was supposed to pick up the car. I called the morning of the rental, told him what time I would be there and he said he would see me at the scheduled time. I actually drove by the tiny fenced in lot the first time because it seemed like someone's house. Its a small gravel lot with a trailer and some older model cars parked out front. We knocked on the door and no one answered, but an older man started talking to us from the front of a pick-up truck he was sitting in in the lot. He called the owner and proceeded to start telling us that we were definitely not from Alaska and that Obama would go down in history as the worst president we have ever had because he is letting all the immigrants in...it was completely random and totally off-putting. The owner arrived and asked again who I was. He questioned the price multiple times (he said he forgot our coupon price and that's why he thought it was too low), and kept saying "how does a PT Cruiser sound?" Good, i guess. The car was fine, clean but scratched with 100,000 miles and a check engine light that wouldn't go off and windows that only sometimes rolled down. This was actually fine-- we got great gas mileage and didn't have to stress about ruining the car. He never tried to convenience us that we needed to buy a bunch of extra insurance or any of the other nonsense other dealers try to pull. Returning the car was also fine, I just called and said I would be there in 10 mins, and when I realized I hadn't stopped at the gas station he let me drive to get gas (across the street) and come back without hassle. Overall: This was just a bizarre experience. It ended up being fine for our trip but he seemed totally unorganized. Also, being greeted by someone that works on his cars by being yelled at about politics was a totally uncomfortable and uneasy. Know before you go, it might be just what you need. read more

If I could give Stan a negative star I would. Do not give this man your credit/debit card! He & his old partner Bob Galeowitz are con-men. I went through 5 cars & a AAA tow between the two of them in one month! Biggest headache I had while in Anchorage. The cars are old, dirty & unreliable. They are the cheapest but it's for a reason...take my warning & spend the extra money. Will never use them again. I knew another travel nurse that used him too that was very displeased with his business. She went elsewhere after learning her lesson as well. read more

This guy is great. Very friendly service, and extremely reliable. He always has vehicles and seemingly the cheapest mid summer prices in anchorage. He even gave us a free ride back fro the airport. Deducting one star for not having the newest cars around, but they were clean, reliable, smelled good and drove very well. I would recommend A1 to anyone. read more

Check your credit card statement when you get home!

OK, Stan the owner is a straight forward, good guy. This is a budget car rental place. The cars are older with high miles, worn, and scratched up. We were in Anchorage in peak tourist season and all the name brand car rental companies were sold out. We found A1Rental and he had a ford Taurus. He picked us up in about 15 min from our hotel. We arrived at his lot to find a 2006 Taurus with 100'000 miles on it, and lots of scratches, and some duct tape. The interior had some old cigarette burns. Stan stated if we put some more scratches on it, it was no problem. Being short on options we said yes. The rental was straight forward with no hassle or BS. It did run us $80 per day. (Name brand rentals in Anchorage started at $120, plus taxes and fees.) The car did us good for our three days, with no mechanical problems, but the front tires were about bald, it felt like it needed some ball joint work, the windshield fluid did not work, the AC did not work, and the windshield wiper somewhat worked(needed new blades). I was a bit worried about the car possibly breaking down. Overall it worked for us with no major mechanical issues. We felt the cost was to much for this car. If you want a nice newer car this is not for you. If you want a car you don't need to baby around, worry about any scratches, you want the cheapest price in town, or you are out of options at other car rentals. If your going out on gravel roads. Then this may be for you. read more

This business had my vehicle ready and delivered with the paperwork and a 1/2 tank full of gas 30 min after I called. The entire process took approximately 30min and I drove off in a 2007 Ford Taurus. I would recommend this business to anyone arriving into Anchorage, especially travel nurses from down south who aren't inclined to drive up here. read more

Super RUDE person answering the phone today 8:00pm 7/27/2017. I was asking what are their hours and he asked are you renting or buying a car? I said buying. Then he asked "what's your budget?" I said I'd rather discuss it in person. He said "well, come by tomorrow we're closed right now then immediately hangs up. What a douche!!! read more

This is the worst rental car experience we've ever had and we've rented more cars than I can count. If you were quoted one price in writing and then quoted a much higher price after you arrived, file a complaint with the FTC, BBB and the Attorney General. This guy needs to be exposed for the fraud he is. Once you get to his lot he knows you have no other choice but to take his car or ruin your vacation. We didn't receive a "budget price" as others have mentioned. So for us, it wasn't a "get what you pay for" situation. The price increased over $500 from our initial quote. Paying over $240 a day is not a bargain from my experiences. The vehicles are absolutely filthy and are not reliable. You'll definitely be on edge if you travel too far. There are so many shady things that happened in the few moments we spent with him, they are too numerous to list. To sum it up, he knowingly sends cars out that are on the verge of breaking down and once it happens he doesn't take responsibility and I'm fairly certain he doesn't honor reservations unless he has a vehicle there at the time. When we arrived we were put into a different vehicle we were told we would have because some unhappy looking customers pulled up at the same moment we were getting out of the cab and switched cars. When we turned our vehicle in 5 hours early he told customers climbing out of a cab their car "just arrived". As if he'd had it all planned. I really feel bad for those people that took our car. I bet they are somewhere on the side of the road. I guess there is always a possibility that he has decent vehicles out there somewhere but why take a chance with him? He'll be the cheapest quote on the phone but it will change and you'll pay more in the long run plus you'll have to clean the inside before you'll even be comfortable to sit inside. I would avoid this place at all costs. read more

Great place to rent from. No rental cars were available at the Anchorage, AK airport, but A-1 had some. We had a lot of gear and passengers. We were able to get an SUV at the last minute for our stay. When we checked the car in, we were given a ride to the hotel so we weren't left stranded. Prices were reasonable and the cars are in good shape. We would use this rental company again. read more

I would not have given a star if I did not have to. I had been working with Stan, the owner, for about a week. A 5-seater car was reserved for us as we were to be arriving early Thursday morning. Stan, initially, so kindly and repeatedly told me he would accommodate us at 5am in order to pick up our reserved car as we were coming in on a red eye. He emailed me ONE afternoon prior to our arrival saying "he felt" a truck would be more suitable. He then emailed again suggesting a jeep and asking how much luggage we had. He ended the email with a "let me know as soon as possible". I called immediately, maybe an hour after the emails were sent. I thanked him for the suggestions, but stated I did not feel comfortable driving a truck, especially in unfamiliar territory. Stan proceeded to tell me that he does not have a car for us and that is the best he could do for us and HUNG UP. I called back minutes later, with no other choice, and said we would take the truck as long it was the same price. He exclaimed the truck is gone, as is the jeep and he could have a RAV4 for us at 10am and he COULD NOT accommodate 5am, like he had been saying this entire time. He is rude and abrupt and unprofessional. read more

This guy single-handedly ruined my trip. I called two weeks in advance, he quoted me $89 per day over the phone and said "of coarse" he would have a car for me. I called to confirm a few hours before I got there and he told me it would be $129 and that he "doesn't hold cars". He asked if I wanted the more expensive one then hung up on me. When I got to Anchorage at 1am he said he didn't have any more cars then hung up on me again. At that point there were no real cars from any company available so I had no way to get to my camp site or the wedding which I went to Anchorage for so we had to fly home and miss the wedding. If he had told me from the beginning that he doesn't hold cars I could've reserved something elsewhere. This is the most dishonest person I have had the misfortune of dealing with and I am disgusted at his complete lack of regard for anyone but himself! read more

A-1 Car Rental was the worse car renting experience I have ever had. First, Stan quoted me $89 a day over the phone, then after all the fees and taxes, it came out to be $160 per day. This is ridiculous. I attempted to speak to him about this, but he is extremely difficult to talk to and reason with. He talks so fast and doesn't listen to a single thing you say. Second, I misplaced by wallet during my trip, so I called him to ask him if he could look into the rental car. He was a complete jerk about this. He said he couldn't find the wallet, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even look. Third, the car I rented immediately had an oil light come on and the tire pressure light come on. It soon went off, but this was not a good way to start my trip. Overall, I'm very disappointed and will not be going back. I never write reviews, but felt like others needed to know about this terrible service. read more