The absolute worst rental car experience I've ever had. I arrived at the airport and shortly after realized their shuttles do not actually go to their location. According to the Expedia description, you're supposed to call them for pickup. Sounds simple enough, right? I called their number ten times in a row -- no answer. After getting nowhere, I gave up and paid for an Uber to their location, which is about 4 miles from the airport. When I walked into the office, it was a complete ghost town. I waited about five minutes before someone finally came to the front -- and they had a smug, unprofessional attitude from the start. My rental was already prepaid through Expedia, but then I was told I needed to pay nearly $700 just for insurance for four days. I have Progressive insurance, I'm in my 40s with a clean driving record, a valid driver's license, and major credit cards -- and somehow that still wasn't enough. Between the lack of shuttle service, no one answering the phone, the surprise insurance charges, and the terrible customer service, this was hands down one of the worst experiences I've had with any company -- especially in Florida. I would absolutely not recommend renting from here. read more

Ugh, can you give a business negative stars? I think this was the worst car rental experience I've ever had. I was shopping for a rental car through Expedia, I noticed that Rent-A-Wreck advertised a price of $186.88 for a week including all taxes and fees. Before I finalized my reservation, I called the company, explained what kind of car insurance I had and asked if there would be any additional fees. The woman I spoke to said no, so I completed the reservation. My confirmation and pre-paid receipt said all taxes and fees included. When I showed up at the rental counter, they insisted on charging me an additional $14.99 a day in "Administrative Fees" to use my own insurance. I've rented cars all over and never heard of such a fee. They also charged me some additional taxes and fees. I disputed the charges, and explained my confirmation said otherwise, but they wouldn't budge. They told me I had to pay an additional $128.21 or I couldn't have the car. Well, it was a busy travel weekend, with few other cars available, so they had me over a barrel. I paid and they brought me a scraped up, dirty Nissan Versa, that reeked of stale cigarette smoke. The tire pressure was low, but I decided to just fill them myself rather than go back to that hateful place. The car drove alright, and got good gas mileage, but for $315.09 it was not a good deal. I could have reserved something that was clean and didn't stink for about $250.00 through Expedia. Well my return flight was early in the morning and the rental desk didn't open until 7:00 a.m., so I called the company to ask about an early drop off. They said it would be another $150.00 to drop it off before 7:00 a.m. Rather than get the shaft again, I rescheduled my flight to leave later in the morning. Luckily the airlines rearranged my flight for free. I arrived to drop off my car at about 6:30-6:45 a.m., planning to wait in the parking lot until 7:00 to return the car, and guess what? There was an employee there who said I could do a free early drop off. I stood there in disbelief. The person I spoke with on the telephone was wrong and totally screwed me. I rearrange my flight and ended up with a long layover for nothing. On returning home I did some research and found out this company's billing practices are considered unfair, deceptive, and illegal by the Federal Trade Commission, the State of Florida, and the State of California where I booked the car. I strongly encourage everyone to avoid this rental car company, and report them to one of the government agencies listed above if you've had a similar experience. I know I'm going to. I hope this business gets shut down. read more

I had a horrible experience with Rent-a-wreck in Tampa. I waited 45mins for a shuttle - every other rental car company had multiple shuttles arrive and depart prior to a Rent-a-wreck shuttle appearing a single time. Once I was finally at the counter, they wouldn't accept my auto insurance from Amica, a very reputable company. Instead they insisted I purchase their liability insurance for $60/day. They couldn't explain why they wouldn't accept my insurance. It felt like a bait-and-switch scam. I walked away (as did the other potential customer on the shuttle with me), booked with another company on the spot and Uber-ed over there. I won't consider renting from Rent-a-wreck again. read more

This car rental company should NOT be in business. They are highway robbers. I reserved a rented car online for $30 and insurance is suppose to be $30 as well. When l went to pick up the car l ended up paying almost $200 dollars for the rental car. Who is suppose to hold this people responsible for their shady business practices? I was threatened with $2000 deposit if l try to use my private insurance. I will NEVER recommend anyone to do business with this company. They are taking advantage of the elderly by advertising on AARP website. They are thieves in disguise as a car rental company. STAY AWAY from this highway robbers. read more

Buyer Beware!!! This company is an absolute scam. I pre-purchased a reservation for them through carrentals.com for a cost of $9 a day. That should have been the first red flag but I took a chance. Arrived at the lot to pick up the car and was told that I HAD to have $500K in liability insurance otherwise we had to purchase theirs. Their own website and carrentals.com states that the insurance requirement's are 300K. They also practically tried to force us to purchase a toll pass even after I showed them I have my own transponder (local renter). The scare tactic is that they will charge $25 per toll and they cant guarantee that their transponder will not override my personal one. We have rented quite frequently and no other rental company has this issue. The last straw was they wanted to place a $2000 hold on my credit card; I can see up to $500 but $2K absolutely not. I had already given her my credit card and when she gave me the receipt to sign I saw the $2K and the company name on the receipt was HDC Rent A Car instead of the Rent A Wreck which the rental was reserved under I was over it. I immediately declined all service. I lost the cost of the money I had already pre-paid because she said I couldn't cancel within 48hours of the reservation...granted I made the reservation with the hour of actually wanting the rental. READ the reviews before you purchase from this off-site locations. read more

Rent-A Wreck - Car Rental Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

Unprofessional & unapologetic staff -- complete lack of accountability I arrived for a confirmed reservation to their Tampa location and was met with rude, dismissive behavior. The employee stayed on his phone and ignored me and a corporate rep. I sent Rent-A-Wreck a photo of the employee on his phone -- which they refused to acknowledge or review. Instead, they accused me of being at fault and making "unsound claims." This organization has shown ZERO responsibility or professionalism. I've never seen such a refusal to even admit wrongdoing. If you value customer care, stay far away from this location. read more

This company is a scam! They changed me 1000$ for 4 days of car rental! Stating I put scratches on the car wear there was already scratches! I am having to dispute it and not happy with this junk! Such a scam! Don't believe anything they say they are nice to your face and will charge you weeks after you return vehicle! read more

There really should be a negative star for this company. I went to Florida for a wedding. Arrive on Friday and leaving Monday. Made the rental online with Expedia. Was quoted and prepaid $85.50 for the car. I arrived to pick up the car, after waiting 35 minutes for the shuttle to arrive. And I get told that tolls are an extra fee, which I begrudgingly accepted, for an additional $117.44. Then the grand finale, I have to put down a $500.00 security deposit after giving them my insurance. The car was great, very good gas mileage and comfortable. When I picked up the car gas gauge said I had 285 miles till empty. When I dropped the car off the gas gauge said 294 miles till empty. And now they're trying to charge me $32.25 for fuel. They said it was at half a tank. All I can say is DO NOT EVER USE RENT A WRECK TAMPA!!!!! They will try to rip you off every way they can think of. read more

Wish I didn't have to rate them at all to leave a review... We booked our car through Orbitz. Upon arriving at their office in Orlando (20 min or more from the airport), we discovered that they were not going to honor the price quoted by Orbitz. Went from $65ish to nearly $400. We refused to pay that and the customer service representative offered to "work" with us and dropped it by $20. Beware - by walking away that left us finding our own way to our hotel - Thank goodness for Uber!! The other strange thing was that they had another office right across the parking lot which we noticed while waiting for our Uber. Thankful we were able to get a refund on what we had paid through the 3rd party. read more

I hadyhe absolute worst experience with the lady at the front desk. I was told a TOTAL price including taxes and fees online. When I gotto your location I presented my full coverage insurance and was told I would have to pay 15 per day for using my insurance ( as opposed to 20 for theirs). Then I was told I had to pay 500 deposiy since I was using a debit MASTER CARD instead of a regular credit one and told I had to pay a 20 per day fee for using this card. I asked to see where it said that. I was OK with paying the insurance fee bc I found that in the rules. She pretended like she was looking for the rules but was on her phone behind the counter watching something. I finally looked over the counter and asked her where it said I had a fee for tge debit cars. I was quoted 13.77 at the airport for taxes and fees, but was told these were expedia fees (??!!). She then said she was doing me a favor and charging me 20 for the debit card bc she wasn't really supposed to use it. I told her that wasn't legal to justice up fees. She said that was what it was and if I wanted the car or not for 135.00. I told her no thank you and left to get wonderful service at Avis. I will be reporting you to the Better Business Bureau. GOOGLE, yelp and anyone else who will listen ! read more

Scam Artists! The price listed will double when you arrive with tons of fees. They will force you to take their additional insurance- won't let you self insure to the tune of $45 extra a day. I was also charged random fees after the return as well. They will not explain, will not take phone calls or respond to emails. NO NOT USE THIS SHADY COMPANY! read more

does anybody read customer reviews ??? how is this company still in business. they're absolutely terrible. we're stuck in tampa at the airport with no way to get to our destination on time. at least the rental car company got its name correct. they're an absolute fucking wreck. read more

Beware! This place is a total scam. We have great insurance but when we arrived at the desk they informed us that our very reputable insurance company was not on their 'approved' list and we would need to purchase their insurance at $210. read more

I booked through Expedia. When I called directly, the man at Rent a Wreck informed me that I would have to pay for the car with a credit card number sent via e-mail. With e-mail not being secure, I asked for a different method to pay. He said he was going to cancel the reservation. He cancelled it. Expedia still charged me over $130 dollars. I had to book another vehicle. Expedia contacted Rent a Wreck who said they would not refund. Insane. Rent here to Wreck your day. read more

Garbage scam operation. Fraudulent up charges and garbage cars. Serves me right for last minute Expedia rental. Never again and if you see rent a wreck decline and Uber. You'll be money ahead. read more

If I could give a business negative stars I would. This place is not near the airport and you have to take a tight squeezed van with others to get there. When you get there you are greeted with a very small building with two people working.It takes about an hour to get your car and they get you on the up charges. Once you get your car they take pictures with their tablet/phone and send you on your way. read more

I rented the car in October for a week from Monday to Saturday in Tampa for about $100. When I arrived, I saw the sign on the counter that you are required to have $500k liability insurance which I was hoping to decline. In 25 years of renting cars I've never had to purchase additional insurance. My Geico insurance was always good enough. The lady proceeded to look through my insurance card with a fine comb and even asked me to download the app so she can further investigate the insurance details. Then she stated that I can either cancel the reservation or purchase their insurance at $30 a day (almost $1k a month) even though I had liability. The car was now $250 for the week. I had to be at work in an hour so I purchased it although they were forcing me to do it. I would never rent from these fraudsters again in a million years. read more

Wish I could select Zero stars; I rented front the location near Tampa Airport and it was horrible. The shuttle which is only 1 by the way, took over 45mins to pick us up. Then we had to wait another additional 30 mins while the receptionist chatted with the Hispanic couple before us. Once it was my turn, there was no apology for any inconvenience. The car was dirty with stained seats. The staff is rude and the service is terrible. I will not use them ever again nor do I recommend you too! read more

Please do not rent a car with Rent-A Wreck. I know it is cheap but they are always finding ways to make up for the cheap price. If you have rental car insurance, they will try to make you show proof of insurance via a document from the insurance company, even if you have an insurance card to proof that this insurance is still valid. So I tried to let them know that I call my insurance company to verify that my coverage cover rental cars. They were not happy that I embarrassed them of what I did, so the rental representative told me that they will add $10.00/ day regardless. That made me upset and I slap my hand that had a bottle of water on the counter and they told me that they were going to sue me because "it could have broken the counter" which it didn't, witness by a lawyer standing behind me. Then later they terminate my rental contract without a real cause. I later got my refund through the third party and I told them about this issue. They didn't like what happened at Rent-A Wreck and how they handle this issue. If you read all the reviews at the other location, it doesn't sound good either. read more