Avoid at any cost. My family had been staying with my in-laws in MA so that we could have some support with our children for distance learning. It was time to go back home to OR, and we found a minivan to rent via Priceline that didn't have an exorbitant one-way return fee. The fun started when I went to pick up the minivan: Walking into the office, two out of the three women working behind the counter were not wearing a mask, despite state mandates for masking in public. I noticed immediately that the car smelled like stale cigarette smoke, despite the very prominently displayed no smoking policy (circled on my pickup inspection paperwork, no less). I mentioned this to the woman assisting me, and she told me that they didn't have any other minivans available, but I could stop at another location that had one in inventory and swap it out if I wanted, because when driving across the country with my two children and a fully packed van, trying to find another location with a minivan (which, according to the woman, are *incredibly* rare to find) the day before Christmas Eve, then stopping and spending an extra 3+ hours unloading and reloading into a new vehicle sounds like a ton of fun. Clearly, since we were due to leave the next day, I was left with no choice and took the vehicle. The morning we left, I saw that the oil change warning came on in the dashboard when starting the car. I hadn't noticed this the day I picked it up - I can't remember if the agent had started the car when checking the gas and mileage, or if I just hadn't noticed because I was still unfamiliar with the car. Fine then, we'll stop at a lube place somewhere on the way. After leaving, at our first gas stop, I noticed that both the front tires were nearly *bald*. The rear tires looked much more intact, suggesting that the tires had not been rotated in a very long time, possibly ever. I hadn't noticed this at pickup - it hadn't occurred to me to check for things like this, as I'd (incorrectly) assumed that basic automotive maintenance was a given, especially since this particular Hertz location appears to be associated with an auto repair shop. Since our route was due to take us through the northern midwest (IL, IA, NE, UT, WY, ID) in the middle of winter, the idea of driving my family on those nearly bald tires seemed risky. We managed to track down a Monro that was, amazingly, able to slide us into their schedule right away, and informed us that the tires were down to 3/32" - very close to not even passing MA DOT inspection. The manager at Monro, who incidentally handles maintenance for their nearby Enterprise location, was aghast that we were given a vehicle in this state, especially for a cross-country trip. I ultimately asked them to replace the two tires - I was informed that rotating the tires would not be a good idea, as the tread on the rear tires would be needed to prevent fishtailing, and I was not comfortable leaving the nearly bald tires on the front given we were expecting to be driving through snow, freezing rain, and almost-zero temperatures (Iowa ended up getting down to 5º). $400 and 2+ hours later, we were back on the road. I had not contacted Hertz at this point, as I was not obliged to give them the opportunity to impede our trip further. I did contact their roadside assistance once we made it home to report the incident, though I was informed that they wouldn't be able to do anything about reimbursing me for the tires until I returned the car. Upon returning the vehicle, I waited 30+ mins for a manager to appear and tell me that apparently because I was returning the car to an airport, and the car was picked up from a "Hertz Local Edition", they couldn't do anything about reimbursing me there, either, and someone would call me. I'm still waiting. It's also worth noting that the reservation was made two weeks in advance - this was not a last minute whim rental. I will not use Hertz again. read more

The absolute worst customer service hertz! No it really hurts(hertz) to know that companies are still so off kilter.........good luck on your closing read more

Initially my experience was pleasant. I booked a rental through Cheaptickets.com. I was able to pick up vehicle approximately 1.5 hrs early so I called and spoke with Karen who said it would be ok and still honor my booking price via cheaptickets.com. Karen indicated there would be $274 hold on my card but my total charged would be somewhere in $75 range. I proceeded to pick up rental, asked multiple times and confirmed my return time. Karen even wrote ok for Saturday drop off. I dropped off rental approximately 30 minutes prior to time indicated on cheapticket reservations. She NEVER once said return rental 1.5 hours earlier Saturday. Bottom line is I was lied too and overcharged for a day. Total charge is now $116.99. Cost is not the issue, it is the principle and the fact that I reiterated multiple times my return time considering I picked 1.5 hrs early. Mind you I had explained that I just flew from California due to unexpected death in family. Had I known the 1.5 hr difference would have made difference of a day I would have kept rental until Sunday to spend more time with family during this difficult time. I called Monday since Karen was not there Saturday and was given the run around and no change to my charge. One contradiction after another. I have used rentals for work travel and never experienced such a horrible time. Never again will I use Hertz. read more

I rented a car online. Prior to renting it I called their office and was assured I would be able to return it anywhere I wanted. The day I returned it to Natick, the Natick office told me I could only return it to Hadley MA according to the contract. I was on the way to the airport at that time and there was no way I could drive 1-2 hours back to Hadley to drop it off. He called them on the phone and Karen said I could only return it to Hadley. The Hertz guy told me they would probably charge me an additional $25. I told him that was acceptable. Karen called back and insisted in charging me an additional $150. Flat out denied that I ever spoke to anyone about returning the car in Boston. I told her to ask the ladies in the office. She wouldn't do that. I asked to speak to her boss Joe. I asked Joe if we could just split the difference at this point. Joe said he could only take $25 off. I had to call the Hertz general number and in the end they agreed to splitting the difference and making me pay just $75. In the end, it was not the money that mattered the most it was how I was treated. Be careful with them. read more