I was so pleased to have an all-around good experience in general with Cheapwheels Rent-a-Car, especially when I have read so many nightmare stories about renting a car in Alaska. I took one of their rentals to explore the south central portion of Alaska during a bucket list vacation in 2015. Not only were their prices highly competitive, but Mike & Cindy were a nice balance of no-nonsense & friendly. We chatted before I set out on my trip & once I returned the car. My rental was relatively new, in great condition, & gave me absolutely no trouble; on the contrary, it was quite the trooper for my 2-week road trip. I made sure to view the company's fine print & maps to ensure I wouldn't be traveling anywhere that wasn't allowed, so all went well for me. I am so grateful to Cheapwheels Rent-a-Car for providing a safe, comfortable, economical, & durable car so that I could have one of the best vacations of my life. read more

Avoid this place! First, they are overpriced - almost every other major car rental company in Anchorage is cheaper. Second, Cheapwheels forces you to buy their extremely pricey "insurance," which is void if you drive off-road (a problem for a state with so many B&B's that require driving on unpaved roads), and it requires a $1 to $2,000 deductible! No other car rental company requires such an outrageous deductible if you buy their coverage, and every reputable place will have basic insurance built into the rental cost itself. Additionally, Mike and Cindy are extremely shady and unethical businesspeople. Not only did they not explain how minimal their required "insurance" coverage is despite its exorbitant cost, but they also charge a $100 non-refundable deposit, which is unheard of in the car rental industry. This 'deposit' scheme was not adequately explained to me, of course, and was nowhere in writing. My credit card company is now attempting to get the money back after I had to cancel the reservation (after I found out about their shady insurance policy), and it is money that they basically stole. read more

Exceptional customer service. We had a great experience renting from Nathan and Mike for our weeklong road trip around south central Alaska. They opened up early and stayed late to accommodate our flight arrival/departure and were always available via phone to answer questions. Our car was clean and in great condition. These guys are really committed to their business and it was evident that they value their customers. We'll be back on our next trip! Thanks again :) read more

I've been using CheapWheels, renting cars from Mike and Cindy for several years now. I fly in from the Bush, pick up a clean, late model vehicle at their business, and go to town for the usual: visits to several medical specialists, and THEN, thanks to the low cost rent car, I can also lunch in a real restaurant, and even get in a little shopping! Mike has always taken us back to the airport. He is unfailingly courteous and helpful. I do not think anyone can beat their prices, and I am very sure few could match Mike's out-going hospitality and Cindy's charm. It's always a pleasure doing business with them at CheapWheels! NEW BARELY USED CARS, SUPER CLEAN, SAFE, and SMELLING GOOD, too! All the cars are smoke-free! And if you have problems with the car, or even get lost? A quick call to the office and you'll soon be fixed up and ready to hit the highway again! Their services are simply THAT good! Mike, Cindy and their kids run a good store. They're strong, trustworthy and ethical people running a true red-white & blue American-style 'Mom and Pop' business ... and succeeding! This is the ONLY car rental company I will use and can recommend in Anchorage. read more

I highly recommend them. Family owned and operated so no matter who helps you when your rent your car it most likely will be a family member. The rate of my rental was awesome. The car was perfect. Thank you - Hope to see you again next time I travel to Alaska. read more

Cheap huh? $150 a day for a Camry with crappy breaks is not cheap but In fact incredibly greedy.

Good price nice people late model Ford

Nathan is the best. Helped us out a lot considering our situation at a great price and with really great customer service. Very grateful to have found this family business. read more

Not really sure what Collin is talking about here (although his review was from years ago), but Cheapwheels Rent-A-Car has stepped up their game. I rented a car from them about a week ago to drive around Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula. I was a little nervous going with a smaller company but decided to go with them because they offered me by far the best price. They explained the $100 non-refundable deposit very clearly and when my rental was over, deducted the $100 from the final price like they told me they would. I have my own insurance coverage back home and didn't have any problems or have to buy anything extra with Cheapwheels. (And for the record, I did a lot of research beforehand and no other rental company I checked out included insurance in the rental cost price. Also, all of the rental car places I looked into had the same roads blocked off on their list of places you could take the rental car and told me I couldn't drive on gravel roads.) Mike and Cindy were super friendly and were more than happy to answer any questions I had about the rental. They also helped us with directions and recommended some places to check out in Anchorage. We stayed at the Alaska Backpacker's Inn a few miles away and weren't sure how to make it over the rental car place. Cheapwheels gladly came and picked us up as well as dropped us off at the airport afterwards. It was really rainy the week we rented the car so I was a little worried about the dirt and water we couldn't avoid getting in the car and on the seats but it wasn't a problem when we returned it. Definitely recommend this company! read more

Cheap Wheels was really a life saver because they were the only car rental company in Anchorage that had a vehicle available for rent. I was able to pick the car up within an hour of my call, which was extremely helpful. The car wasn't clean or in very good condition, but it got us around safely. Once back from vacation, I noticed that Cheap Wheels had charged my credit card $350 that I was not expecting. I called Cheap Wheels that morning and Mike answered. He assured me that the charge was their error, although he wasn't sure why they made the error. He said he would investigate, refund my card and call me back once it was complete. By the next afternoon, I still hadn't heard from Cheap Wheels, so I called again to check on the status of my refund. Mike said he hadn't had a chance to look into it yet and would get back to me once it was done. After three more days, I still hadn't heard from Cheap Wheels. I wanted to kindly call a third time in hopes to get the refund processed. Mike said he hadn't processed it yet because he was short staffed and hadn't had time to figure out why they had charged me incorrectly. I asked why he had to hold $350 on my card when he knew it was his error...Could he possibly credit my card and then figure out his accounting problem? At that point, Mike became enraged. He literally yelled at me through the phone. He wouldn't listen to me or let me get a word in. He said I had to stop calling and he would handle it when he could. I eventually just had to hang up because he was so angry and wouldn't stop yelling. I decided to dispute the charge with my credit card company, since he was quite difficult to communicate with. Cindy from Cheap Wheels called me a few days later and said she had figured out the problem and would credit me. She was friendly and did issue a refund, but I feel like the damage was already done. While I understand that mistakes happen, I didn't appreciate being treated so poorly by someone to whom I was giving my business. Especially considering that they had made the error...I can't really understand Mike's lack of professionalism. So, I'd say if you don't run into any accounting problems, Cheap Wheels may just be a great place from which to rent. But, be prepared for a very unfriendly response if you run into any issues. read more

The only reason I am giving this place a star is because of Nathan the General Manager. The owner, Mike, has absolutely NO customer service skills and escalates very quickly to the point where he states "I'll call a cab and you can rent somewhere else." Let me tell you the story. We've paid for the reservation fee at least 3 months prior. When we get to the place for pick up I find out there is a hold charge that I wasn't prepared for. Sure, I guess I should have realized that was a possibility but life is busy and you don't think about those details all the time- not to mention it's a used rental car place, right?! As both phones are going off and three people are at the desk answering calls and trying to talk to use between calls things got confusing- especially being caught off guard with this new $200 hold fee. At one time Mike (who is very overpowering, rude and talks over you to the point where no one else can talk) was speaking at the same time Nathan was- both speaking to ME... Which in itself is complicated to hear both conversations at the same time, right?! Anyway- had to stop and focus in at one person, I directed my attention to Nathan since he is obviously more human to hear what he was saying. I ended up having to transfer money, which is fine but I need to focus on what I am doing. Then Mike comes out and starts "explaining" the hold fee as if I am an idiot. I simply state "I understand" and continue what I was doing so that we could get out. Mike flies off his handle. States you don't have to be here. You're attitude... You can go somewhere else... You obviously don't understand... Blah blah blah- thinking to myself "do I really want to encourage this guy and his "business?" NO! I should go elsewhere." But no, we have plans and Nathan is amazing. That being said, I hope someday Mike retires and leaves the business to Nathan. I know for a fact he will be far more successful and possibly build his business. As long as Mike is there- it will suffer. As for my family, we will stick to the business with the customer service and white and black charges like Enterprise or somewhere else. *** UPDATE*** We returned our vehicle tonight. Much to our surprise they gave us the rental for free. I doubt we will be returning but we appreciate the apology. Increased rating from one star to 3. It's unfortunate that we had this experience but it seems like it make have been a less ones learned for both parties. read more

Your business is the BEST!!! Thank you for accepting debit cards and renting to locals. You're customer service ROCKS!!!

Went there to rent a car for a week and then found out I only needed it for the weekend. When I arrived and informed Mike I only needed it for the weekend he said, "I do not allow people with Anchorage addresses rent for just a weekend!" I was completely appalled, he might as well had said he wouldn't rent to me because of my race. Well never try to support this locally owned business again!! read more

I highly recommend to rent a car here.The owner is so awesome and really nice.Even,we got a car accident.They're still very helpful and nice to us. read more

Fantastic! We called 10+ car rental companies when we got to Anchorage and no one had a single car. We called Mike at CheapWheels and he fanagled and made something work for us. We got a great car for a great price. We will be using him for each Alaska vacation from now on. read more

This is the best deal you're gonna get in Anchorage- we know, we went and got quotes from every single place! =) Really reasonable prices and fast and friendly service. We had the car for 5 days to cruise around the Kenai Peninsula. The car was nothing fancy, but it worked great and that's all that mattered! Seemed like a really honest guy and I know we left happy. read more

Total waste of time, dont even bother to call. Their price was 260 per day (about $1800 for 7 days) and condition of the vehicle was horrible; bold tires less than 1/16" thread left on all 4 tires. When i mention about condition about the tire to Mike, seems like he is the owner, he got so upset and told that "my car is very safe to drive and i'm not renting it to you" i just laughed when he said that. Luckily I found 4 runner for less than $1000 for 7 days. I bet he wanted to ruin the vacation just because i told him about condition of rental but i ended up finding better rental car about half the price. Bottom line is that if you want to risk your life or your familys life get a car from this place. read more

Cheap Wheels is Gone! Now Mike is a car repair garage - who is renting used cars - not newer model rental cars - not BBB - has a negative rating with BBB - read the contract and then look at other Real Rental Car companies and their contracts and charges compared to Mikes hidden charges - outlandish business practices. No regulations for this type of rip off in Alaska - so AVOID - go Enterprise, Avis, Hertz, Budget, anybody but this Rip-Off. read more

CheapWheels Rent-A-Car - Cheap Wheels is dead and gone! Now Mike is running a rip-off car repair / used car rental - AVOID! - Car Rental Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

I'd like to weigh in on what seems to be the major negative with this company: Mike. I'm in town for a week, and was eager to know if there was a less expensive rental than the one I'd arranged for through, Orbitz in advance. Mike was there at the door, greeted me and we got down to business. Every detail he acquired in the conversation was used to my advantage not his, because he knew how the other rental agency worked, and what I would need. Cheap Wheels daily rate was 33% lower than the national chain's. Unfortunately, there weren't enough remaining days to qualify me for a weekly rates, so the numbers didn't work out. Mike may seem gruff, and impatient in explaining details, but I recognized when reading these reviews earlier, that these were probably cases of personality and communications style mismatches. If the reports about Mike put you off, don't let this stop you from doing your deal with this fine company. In my book, Mike is right up there with what is best about this company. read more

Very disappointed. Owner does not have ethical business practices. We put $100 deposit down for a car rental and then our plans changed. We are in the process of moving out of Alaska and a family friend was able to lend us a vehicle. Mike would not refund our $100 even though we gave him 3 weeks notice of cancellation! It is high season here and he will not have a problem renting that car. Avoid this place! read more

The people here are amazing. This was the best service we received while in Alaska. Nathan went out of his way to ensure we had everything we needed. Skip the big commercial car rental places who could care less about your happiness and give this place a try. You won't be dissappointed. read more

Highly recommend renting here. Mike and all were excellent. The base price was competitive to larger scale operations and the taxes were cheaper not renting at the airport. The car was well taken care of, handled perfectly in the snow (front wheel drive) and came equipped with studded tires, all for no extra charge! (Other rental car places wanted to charge me $20 extra per day for studded tires). What a great find! read more

After reading the positive reviews I decided to rent from CheapWheels to save a few bucks. Huge mistake! I booked a car with them for a 9 day vacation during which my family and I planned to do a good amount of driving around the Kenai Peninsula. We went with them because they were a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the big companies and I didn't mind driving a used car, figuring that the cars were in safe working condition. What I got was not in good working condition. It was a lemon- a 2008 Ford Fusion with 150,000 miles on it and in horrible condition. The steering was misaligned and broke to the right unless you held onto the steering wheel with the grip of death, the steering wheel rattles, it stinks like cigarette smoke and dirty dog, it's dirty, has torn seats, and had a tire inflation warning light that they said was just an electrical error to disregard. After half a day we decided we did not feel safe driving the car through remote areas for fear of breaking down and called to tell them that we would be returning the car because of the problems listed above. Nathan offered to put us in another car but we figured if they had a car in good working order wouldn't they have put us in it in the first place? We didn't want to waste more of our vacation dealing with junk cars. We politely declined and booked a car with Enterprise. When I brought the car back he again offered me another car and I told him we had already rented another car. At that point he told me he was going to charge my credit card $500, half the rental balance. We argued for a while, he admitted that this happens all the time and that we signed the contract and therefore are responsible for the balance. I have a call into my credit card company and hopefully will not be charged for the time we did not use the car. Cheap wheels are one thing, these guys are crooked and shady. It should be noted that we only spent $140 more for the enterprise car and got an Altima with less than 4,000 miles. read more