I shared this story with Rent-A-Wreck corporate four days ago. They said they would reply within 24 hours but I have not heard back- so it's becoming a review on Yelp! Long story short: -An incredibly shoddy car that reeked of cigarettes -Indifferent service, one employee was outright drunk on the job -The owner showed up at the crack of dawn ringing our doorbell long after we returned the car because he forgot we'd returned it. We rented a car from the Hampden, Maine Rent-a-Wreck on April 12th. The person on the phone seemed to be not at all happy to speak to me but transferred me to someone who was. We got our quote and decided to go for it. When we got there one of the employees was drunk (like, hollering drunk) but the owner was quite happy to set us up with a vehicle- an older Chevy Impala. The car reeked horribly of cigarettes, the Check Engine light was on and it was complaining about not having enough air in the tires. The big problem turned up the next day, when the car started beeping at us and telling us to turn off the engine immediately because it didn't have any oil in it. For the record, there was a Prompto oil change sticker on the window saying the car should have had its oil changed 10,000 miles ago or last November, whichever came first. Wow. We brought it back to Rent-A-Wreck and were told by a VERY unfriendly young guy to ignore the beeping, so we did. It continued to do this for the remainder of the time we had it- I can share photos. The car also obviously had a failing transmission. It would rev for a few seconds before kicking into gear. I rather doubt these people would have had our back if their car had left us stranded somewhere. On April 18th, we returned the car and the owner shook my hand and told me "It's a pleasure doing business". I wasn't terribly impressed by the service but felt like leaving it at that. Today, on April 29th, I was woken up at the crack of dawn before I was even out of bed by my door bell ringing. I saw a strange, brand-new Mercedes out front and then saw when the person was leaving that it was the Rent-A-Wreck owner. I checked my phone and saw a call from 'No Caller ID'- meaning that he enabled caller ID blocking when calling me. Naturally, it's really scary having someone coming and ringing your doorbell early in the morning when you aren't even dressed. I called over to Rent-A-Wreck and got through to the guy who told me that I still had his car. For the record, the guy who came to my door was the same person who I had personally handed keys to and shaken hands with. I told him that no, I didn't have his car, because I had returned it *to him*. He immediately turned around and said there must have been a mistake. -The owner didn't check their records to see if anyone else had the car? -The owner didn't remember me returning the car to him personally? -The owner didn't ask anyone else in the shop if they had rented it out? -The owner didn't do any of these things before showing up at my door like he's in the Mafia? When someone does something like that I'm expecting them to be armed. We were so scared we were shaking. Given my experience with this place I can't ever imagine doing business with Rent-A-Wreck again. I'd hitch-hike or walk first. read more

Rent-A-Wreck - Low oil warming. "Oh, you can just ignore that" - Car Rental Near Me - Hampden, Maine

I rented a car from this company for a week's stay in Maine a couple of weeks ago. I knew nothing about the company, but I was hoping for a great deal. Not only did I receive an incredible deal, financially, but the owners were so incredibly easy to deal with. They were thoughtful and kind and extremely helpful in all aspects of the business transaction. The car was not really a wreck, although it was older and not exactly a show model. But it got me from point a to point B, and I was picked up at the airport when I arrived in Bangor, and dropped off on the day that I had to catch my flight home. This is a great company and when I return to Bangor next year, I will be calling them to rent another wreck! Thanks, guys! read more

Highly do not recommend!! I tried getting a car from here and waited until they said they would give me a call back. I called a total of 3 times to get an update and the 3 rd the owner was very rude even though I was just calling for a follow up. He told me that he had been doing this for over 30 years and if I really needed a rental to go somewhere else. For someone who is the owner and say they've been doing this for 30 years you sure have no manners and are extremely rude. Don't buy from here cause they'll just tell you to go somewhere else anyways. read more

This business makes going to Maine a breeze. They pick you up at the airport, take you back to the airport and we've never had a problem with one of their cars. I tell people I know, if you want to go to Maine just get a car from Rent-a-Wreck and then cruise Maine at your leisure. We get a car for a few days or a couple of weeks and this relationship we have with this business has made all the difference in our going to Maine for several weeks a year. read more

The worst place I have ever rented a car from, I picked up the car on Monday and it was dirty on the outside with mud, cat paw prints in mud on it, but the kicker was when I got in it stunk like wet dog and mildew and they had no other cars to rent to me so they claim. furthermore, as luck would have it, I had to ask the guy for 2 extra days and he charged me way to much money, he was rude, disrespectful and argumentative. I am seriously disappointed in the way they do business. read more

We recently rented a minivan from Rent a Wreck Bangor to take our son to college. We had 12 hours of driving followed by a 8 hour ferry ride and another 2 hours' drive to get there (and then a return trip). The ferry trip had been booked almost 2 months in advance. We drove 6 hours the first day without any problems. On day two, we noticed that the vehicle was making a noise when my husband accelerated. As we drove, the noise became louder, but we couldn't stop - we were booked on the ferry that evening and had to get there. We made it and spent the night crossing to Newfoundland. At 8am the next morning we were back on the road - we had to get to our destination, unpack my son's belongings and be back at the ferry terminal by 9pm. By about halfway to our destination, what had started as a noise when we accelerated had mushroomed into a constant loud rumble and a vibrating steering wheel. We pulled over into a small parking area alongside the highway. My husband checked the tires. The front driver's side wheel was missing two lug nuts - rusty stubs were all that remained. The three other lug nuts were so loose he could have spun them off with one twist of his fingers. He checked the back of the vehicle. No tire iron, no jack, no spare - nothing. My son went over to one of the two other vehicles parked in the lot and asked if they had a tire iron. Thankfully, they did and loaned it to us. We tightened up the three remaining lug nuts and got back on the road, got my son to school and got back to the ferry terminal that evening. We made it back to Bangor, and when my husband returned the vehicle he was quite upset. The franchise owner flat out told him that all the lug nuts were in place when the vehicle left the lot the day we rented it! He then stated that they'd recently replaced the tires on the van, and if there was an issue, it would be the fault of the garage that they hired to do the work, and not his responsibility! (A bit contradictory?) He also told my husband that we should have called - how could he do anything if he didn't know something was wrong? -We were in Canada - the '24-hour emergency number' is only good in the U.S. -This happened over the Labor Day weekend - the Bangor location was closed. -We were sent off in a vehicle that had no jack, spare or tire iron - according to Rent a Wreck corporate these should have been in the vehicle. -We were rented a vehicle that was not roadworthy. Contrary to what the franchise owner stated, there is no way that two properly tightened lug nuts spontaneously sheared off while we were traveling - and from the rusty condition that the posts were in, it was evident they'd been that way for a while. Plus, the other three nuts were never tightened properly. What could have happened at any time is that the three remaining nuts could have snapped or popped off from the increased force that was being placed on them, and the wheel would have fallen off the vehicle. In fact, given the increasing noise and wheel vibration, it was just a matter of time before it happened. If this took place when we were traveling at 60+ miles per hour, we could have lost control, gone off the road or into oncoming traffic and been seriously injured, or killed. In my experience, this owner does not care about the safety or the lives of his customers, based on the condition that this vehicle was rented out in. It should not have been put on the road. My question is, who but the franchise owner would be ultimately responsible for ensuring that the vehicles he rents out are roadworthy? If the owner states he isn't, I guess it becomes a case of 'rent at your own peril', which is, unfortunately, exactly what we did. I did take photos of the vehicle and the wheel. read more

Rented a 2007 Chevy Impala and in the course of 2 weeks, put over 2,500 miles on it while touring the Canadian Maritimes. The vehicle had 114,000 miles on it, but the suspension was very tight and the steering responsive. This vehicle obviously had undergone routine maintenance. The car was parked in the airport lot waiting for us on Labor Day, as promised. When we returned it, the franchise owner dropped us off at the airport. During the time we had the car one of the headlamps burned out. When the receipt was presented to him, he happily reimbursed us. The only gripe I had about the car was that someone driving ahead of this vehicle had spun gravel on to the car and embedded tiny stone particles into the windshield. We didn't notice anything was amiss until driving at night in the rain. A paint scraper (razor blade type) was cheaply purchased and after 15 minutes of removing the embedded chips, the problem was minimized. All in all, this rental worked out well and saved us some serious money. We do recommend this franchise! read more

I recently rented a car from Budget in Bangor airport. I went on their site and pre-paid for an intermediate car and paid using my debit card, which I have done more than 12 times with Budget in the past. When I arrived, the agent was less than helpful and would not honor the rental because IO did not have a credit card, only a debit card, even though I met all their online criteria and called there nation wide reservation number for approval. As I looked for another car to rent, I read an online review from someone who had the same problem with Budget and they rented from Rent-A-Wreck in Hampden, Maine. I call them!!! Wow!! What a difference. The entire staff was upbeat, helpful and I left with a full sized car for a better price. I spent the next 8 days driving to my Dad's, as he was sick and possibly living his final moments. He treansitioned to the other side and I was able to be there, worry-free about my transportation needs, because of the excellent people at Rent-A-Wreck. I recommend them and will be using them for all my rental needs going forward. Thank you for a wonderful customer service experience. read more