Have used these guys a couple times. Once for a long term rental over a few months and once since Covid. I appreciate their communication and ease. A lot of car rental places outsource their customer service or make everything online. These guys are real people. Practical, safe, affordable, reliable, and you've got some options. Vehicles have always been cleaned. They did an oil change for my long term rental. I was able to watch their cleaning process during the pandemic from the parking lot and was satisfied with their level of care and consideration. Renting from here has always been easy and convenient for me, as I've always planned ahead and communicated. As long as you know what you need and add some lead time, these guys can help get you where you need to go. read more

I love this place for easy local car rentals. They have the best rates around especially for rentals that are lest than a week long. It is pretty easy to extend rental time if you need an extra day unexpected, just give them a call. You will just have to pay the same day rate and won't get penalized for breaking original reservation. Yes the cars a little Older but they are clean and run great. Plus the rental agents are super friendly and treat you like a human being. That is Big bonus I believe! read more

I rented a Midsize vehicle which turned out to be a very clean Nissan Altima. The only aesthetic imperfection of the vehicle was a back bumper scratch. Very normal especially if your in San Francisco. I checked the tires and the back tire treads were low but not at a dangerous level. The front tire treads were great. The breaks did start to squeak but then stopped. The prices were very competitive. I do recommend if you do rent from here to book it as soon as possible especially if it's near a major holiday. I would definitely rent from here again. read more

Piece of shit company. Rented a car for $150 for 4 days. Called in after booking online to change to 3 days. Dumbass employee goes "ok cool" and makes no changes in their system. Within an hour of picking it up the trip it was rented for fell through and we returned it. Fully charged for 4 days, no customer support. The in store employee "can't do anything because it was ordered online" so why do you even have a job? Useless company hiring useless people. Stay far away. Car smelled like cigarettes too. Pay an extra $20 a day and go to enterprise. Their cars, employees and customer service are all a "wreck." Straight thieves. read more

Possibly one of the most humdrum experiences I've had while renting a car: I called and talked to a very pleasant guy about renting one of his trucks for a day about two weeks ahead of time. (YAWN) I found the place right on 3rd street near Cesar Chavez quite easily (YAWN) I walked in just as the person in front of me in line was walking out and gave the guy my credit card and driver's license. (YAWN) The truck was ready and sitting outside the front door by the time we got done signing docs, talking about the rules, etc. We also did the proverbial visual inspection of the truck. (YAWN) The truck worked well, got the job done, and I got it back within a few hours without standing in line, etc. (YAWN) There are some things that are SOOOOOO much better when they are simple, boring and predictable. Renting a car/truck is most definitely one of them. I like Rent-A-Wreck. read more

Rent-A-Wreck - Car Rental Near Me - San Francisco, California

This company's customer service and cars are truly a WRECK... do not rent their cars, it will breakdown while you are on a far away trip, and they will NOT provide the best service. I was in San Jose on a work related trip. I was gone for an hour, and when I returned to the car, it would not start. I called the agent in the location I rented the car from, and the agents' response was: "what do you want us to do for you"?...... I was shocked!! I am stuck in the middle of nowhere, the car I spent money on did not work, and the agent is asking me what I want to be done???? ITS HIS DUTY to figure it out and provide me with services that my money paid for!! When I got mad and said, "its not my duty to figure it out, you should be the one to help me", he then said he will call a towing company, which would have taken a couple of hours and I would have missed my deadline for returning the car....... Luckily I found a great gentleman who helped jump my car (SEE PHOTOS) and I was able to return to San Francisco.... I was extremely stressed the whole way about it breaking down and did not even want to turn it off to fill gas. When I emailed customer service, they ignored me... I do not recommend this place at all. read more

Rent-A-Wreck - Car Rental Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Rented a car for a week. Returned it after only 3 days. Was told that I would get a refund. No refund.

Great customer service and great prices. Asked me if I wanted to purchase insurance, but didn't try to oversell me on anything. Checked in and out the door driving in 5 min! read more

Debit card users beware, this location does not in fact accept debit cards (as their parent company website says they do), but only credit cards. I booked online a few weeks before we came down to San Francisco for vacation, planning to drive from there down to Big Sur for most of our stay. Knowing that most rental car companies do not take credit cards, I did some research to find that Rent-A-Wreck did, so booked with them and was happy to see that the prices were also less than most quotes I got from other companies. What I was never told until I walked into the office, was that this specific location does not accept debit cards, only credit cards. I was told that I should have received an email from the owner that confirmed our reservation and mentioned that they didn't accept debits. I've thoroughly gone through my email now and while I did in fact receive a confirmation email from San Francisco Rent-A-Wreck, there was absolutely no mention of their differing policy from the rest of the company. The only nice thing I have to say about this experience was that the man behind the counter seemed sympathetic and helped us dial around to a few other car rental companies in the area. He said this happens often, so it looks like I'm not the only one who's not getting those informative emails. We ended up renting from National at 750 Bush St. and having a wonderful experience there. They accept debits with an itinerary for a return flight and we got a nice new VW Passat (and they did not put any hold on my account, just a final charge when I returned the car). Judging from the mix of mostly very used looking cars on Rent-A-Wreck's lot, I'm glad we ended up at National instead. For the record, Enterprise will rent to debit card users, but only if they're local residents (the airport location may have a different policy, though the person I spoke to at the downtown location couldn't say and I couldn't get through to a live person at the airport over the phone.) Budget and Hertz will also rent with a debit, but you have to pass a credit check. read more

Being a city dweller and non car owner - I rent a lot of cars. RaW is somewhere I will definitely go back to if I need to rent a car for longer term (3 days +). It's a low key experience here - you don't get the over animated counter staff, you don't get asked what color you want your wheels in and the paper work comes out of a dot matrix printer. You get a nice 'hello', ID check, sign some stuff, walk round the car and they hand you the keys... fast and efficient. The cars are a little scratched and dented (they do note the faults down). The car may even rattle a bit - but you know what? The car I got was mechanically sound, it's clean and the fuel efficiency wasn't any better or worse than the cars you get at major rental places. I generally rent from the bigger shops to take advantage of their weekend discounts, but RentAWreck was cheaper that particular weekend. It was definitely a worthy alternative. read more

They're the most up-front rental car company I've ever rented from. The car had a dent and some scratches, but it was clean and reliable. Extremely fair prices - for both the car and the tolls, and easy pick-up, contract extension, and return. I've already told all of my friends, and I will definitely be renting from them again in the future. read more

We chose to rent a wreck in order to save the trip to SFO. Boy, was that a mistake. Cost us three times what we would otherwise have had to pay. First they tried to pawn off a car with a bumper hanging by a thread. When we said no thank you, they gave us a car, which appeared to be okay (once we'd reviewed every scratch and dent to ensure we wouldn't be dinged $$ for them). But, we never checked the quality of the tires! We rolled over a piece of broken glass that landed up costing more than $100 for the replacement of a tire. Seriously? You put a $100 tire on a wreck? If that wasn't bad enough, the car had mold in it resulting in one of us getting sick, so that was the cost of a trip to the doctor. Whatever you do, don't expect customer service. Like Rose M., I give this business one star only because negative stars are not an option. Next time, I will take the taxi to SFO because, in the long run, it's cheaper and an infinitely better experience! read more

No nonsense car rental and although you may hear a noise or see a dent, the vehicles look good and run well. We rented a minivan for a week to accommodate our holiday visitors and everyone was happy. I give Rent-A-Wreck five stars for their professionalism -- we were charged an extra day but when we explained the error, they kindly corrected the charge. They're easy to find off the freeway and there is a gas station across the street if you need to fill up the tank before returning your rental. Really, don't let the name scare you off -- Rent-A-Wreck is no-frills and easy. read more

Worth the trek. I don't rent vehicles often, maybe once a year, but when I do, I come here. Friendly, professional service, best pricing that I've found - UHaul may say, "Only $19.95/day!" but it usually adds up to a lot more than that once all's said and done. But this isn't about bashing national chains with stressed-out, underpaid employees, it's about utilizing a professional local business that provides a quality product at an affordable price. read more

Easy, breezy, Rent-a-Wreck. I was a little freaked out by the name, so I did some calling and shopping around online before I decided this was the place. After some expensive quotes and complicated/frustrating booking attempts elsewhere, I gave them a call and *voila* - car reserved. The pick-up process was fast and efficient and I opted for the late drop-off, which was a piece of cake (park car + put key in box = the end). Perhaps it wasn't the most beautiful car in the world, but hey: it worked, it was cheap, it was easy. RaW - I'll be back. read more

Worst rental car In San francisco and the worst costumer service i've received so far. Decided to rent a car at this location in SF instead of using our regular car rental from the san francisco airport. Their pricing structures were the initial motivation but this was just an unfortunate mistake. On the website there was no information about a mandatory liability insurance , my husband and I decided to walk out if the office and called our bank to check our coverage policy and when we called back, the store manager decided to give our reservation to someone else. Be aware that you credit card may offer liability insurance so if they offer you "maditory" insurance through their company, DON'T TAKE IT! and save your self $90. read more

Rent-a-wreck in San Francisco are where I go again and again and again and again. Love these guys. No nonsense car rental, you get what you pay for and what you asked for. I don't want a "free upgrade" (they cost more in fuel and insurance, there is nothing free about them), I want the car I asked for (a small one) at the price I asked (cheap as hell) for when I asked for it at a location easy to get to without a car (they have even look after my bicycle while I have been renting from them)... at Went A Wreck this is exactly what I get. And if I'm lucky I get air-con, a CD player, electric windows... I even rented from them for my CA drivers test and they provided all the documents I needed with no fuss. And what is more is that this is a local company, your money does not go to some big corporation elsewhere it goes into the pockets to local people. You want a big fast new flashy expensive gas-guzzling car then go elsewhere. You want a cheap car that gets you about with no fuss then come to these guys. read more

These guys are great! I've rented from this family owned business for the past 10 years and have only had one semi negative experience with a car and they handled it professionally. I recommend Rent-a-Wreck to all of my friends and out of town guests. read more

Great service, perfectly fine cars and low prices. In SF, this is the only shop I ever rent from. This seems to be a family owned business, and I always am served by the same few guys, so service is consistent. Nothing overly exuberant about their customer service, it's friendly, efficient and down to earth. Just like their cars! They're across the street from a gas station which also makes returns easy. Anyways, great prices and easy to work with people and cars. read more

Great price... We rented a convertible (Ford Mustang) for 2 days to explore the northern parts of the bay area, and at $75/day, it was an unbeatable price. The car was in great shape. Great service... This was far and away the easiest car rental experience I've had. On top of it all, when we returned the car it was pouring down rain, and one of the guys from Rent-A-Wreck gave us a ride to the nearest BART station to help us avoid paying a $40 cab fare to the airport. These guys know how to treat their customers. They are also conveniently located a block and a half from a T (Muni streetcar) station on 3rd street, so getting there should be a snap. Rent-A-Wreck will always be my first choice for rental cars in the San Francisco/bay area. read more

Quick, easy move for some appliances. Park across the street to avoid getting boxed in by any semi's from their next door neighbor. My wife's start-up rented from here frequently when they were moving furniture and I just rented one a couple weeks ago. It was a totally easy experience. Having rented numerous Uhaul's/etc in the past, it was refreshing to see a family-run shop with good quality equipment and no hassle. This place will definitely be at the top of my list the next time around. read more

Shopped around a little, read yelp reviews, it seemed like this place had good rates. Boy is that true! They don't have cute little college-student-friendly "trucks" like the lowest U-haul rate tier, and they were out of the 10-foot trucks so I got a 16, which is big enough that you probably don't want to try to drive it unless you know what you're doing at least a little bit. Total spend for the move was less than it would have been with the 19.95 truck from the other place, because the mileage rate is much more reasonable here. Definitely think about your mileage when you're renting a truck. If you're moving up the block maybe the U-haul is a better deal, but things tend to be surprisingly far away around here. I got a huge diesel truck with a hydraulic lift gate, big enough that I didn't even have to think about how to fit stuff in, and it was about half the price I was expecting, once the mileage was factored in. My mileage was just under 100. Oh yeah, and I walked in without a reservation on Saturday morning. So yeah, I really like these guys and I'll come here any chance I get. read more

I live about a mile and a half down Third Street from Rent-A-Wreck, so it is very convenient for me to take the T-Third to the nearest stop and walk over. I realized that my Share-A-Little plan at CityCarShare ends up being MORE expensive than renting with Rent-A-Wreck. The cars are not "wrecks"... just dented here and there or a stain on the seats... nothing major. They are actually a relief to drive, because you know you are not really going to do anything to mess up a nice new car. Cars are fine, prices are competitive, location is convenient (for me), and the staff has always been polite. Five stars! read more

Rented various vans and large SUVs over the years to deliver paintings or move band gear. Good service. Reliable. Make a reservation. If the trip is really short, sometimes you can get 1/2 rate. Can drop off car after hours. read more

This place is awesome! Saved us a bunch on uber costs while visiting the city. Non of the other car rental agencies could match their prices or availability. Definitely saved us some serious $$$ read more

If I could give this place negative stars I would, walked an hour through the city to get here and they said I needed a credit card for a $30 purchase. Employees didn't really care one way or another, and acted as if I was trying to pay with Monopoly money or the like when I tried to use my debit card read more

I love these guys. I was in a bind and I needed a van for my business. They got me on the road with a late model passenger van with no hassle. There prices were awesome and was way cheaper then the other guys in town. They are very close to my office too which means I could walk there. Cheers guys! read more

Years later and I still don't own a car and may never have to. I'm still going to this rent-a-wreck after almost a decade. They offer the BEST customer service ever. They're always friendly, fast, reliable. I feel so lucky to have this service pretty close to where I live. I'll also never have to use a big corporate car rental place, at least not in S.F. read more

The whole experience was incredibly simple- I reserved a car online and it was ready at the time I specified. Very cheap for economy and mileage was included. Friendly, capable staff. Flexible drop-off options. Can't recommend enough. read more

NEVER RENT FROM THIS PLACE! Honestly I have had trouble with them both times that I rented with them. (Well I rented once and walked out the second time) First time in- Came in and rented with them. They charged my card three times (over $400 each time) eventually declining their request. They said that it didn't go through the first time but I knew I had over $1000 on that card. I called the card company and they said they had charged my card twice and the third time they flagged it cause it was the same amount 3 times. The guy sat arguing with me that, that wasn't the case when I'm on the phone with my credit card company and that is what they are telling me. Eventually, after sitting there for 2 hours, the guy rented me the car cause the credit card lady argued with him for thirty minutes on my phone using my minutes saying the charge did go through and it was on my account. He was extremely rude to me and I just needed the car because after all that, all the other car places in the city were closed and I couldn't wait til the next day to leave. Nor could I do anything about the $800 in charges they had already put on my account because they said they couldn't see it and wouldn't refund it. Wasn't planning on ever going back after that experience but decided to give them another try. Second time in-went in and gave them my ID and debit card. He says they don't take debit, only credit. I ask how much so I can move the money from my debit to my credit, he says $26 a day and $11.95 for insurance per day. So for two days, thats around $80. I call and move the money over to my credit card. He runs my credit card for $200 and doesn't even tell me why. I see him doing this and ask him why, since he never said anything about a deposit and he said thats how they always do that. Without even telling me how much you're charging to my card? I told him never mind and walked out. I have NEVER worked with a company where they just charge your card without telling you how much is going to be charged to that card. HONESTLY if you want to rent a car, its WAY worth going to a corp. office of Hertz or Alamo. These people are ABSOLUTELY out of their mind if they think the way they are running there business now is ethical. Good Luck Rent a Wreck, if the way you treated me is the way you treat all your customers, I'm sure you will soon have NO customers. read more

These guys are always awesome! Great equipment, easy in and out, really fair prices! I've rented about 5 times in last two years, consistently happy read more

I was visiting the Bay Area for a week in November. I checked out the other rental car agencies and was put off by all the negative reviews, so I took a chance renting from Rent A Wreck. Wow...it was perhaps the best rental car experience I've ever had. I will say it was a bit of a challenge to get to their location from SFO; I took BART from SFO to Mission and 24th Street station and then Uber from there. But once I got to their location, Sean had me choose from three different vehicles and I was on my way in 5 minutes. The price for the week was less than even the low end rental car companies. And to top it off, when I returned the car, Sean offered to drive me back to the BART station for my trip back to SFO. That's real customer service! I will definitely rent from them again. read more

I've rented from these guys twice and the last time was the best time. Got a super reliable although fairly used (over 50k miles) chevy hatchback for a ridiculously low price for two weeks. Think I paid something like $130 a week, far cheaper than the national chain prices. No surprises with the price or the service. And, the best part..... I got a flat and they came out and put the spare tire on for me since I'm mechanically challenged! Then the guy lead me to a garage where I paid $20 bucks to fix the tire. Would use them again and recommend to anyone who is cost-conscious. read more

Great people, great car, seamless service! Picked me up at Glen Park BART from SFO!

I just love that place. Excellent customer service. We always use them when we need to move bulky items. We don't need a brand new truck, so their truck are perfect! read more

One of San Francisco's best options for short term car rentals, and perfect when you need a cargo van or box truck.

If you are a carless San Franciscan and want to support a locally owned, family business go here. No frills vehicles in good condition, friendly low key service, fast, easy checkout and drop off, unbeatable prices. I'm almost reluctant to share this well kept secret. Trucks and commercial vehicles too. read more

I almost rented from these guys 10 yo car for over $160 a week. Very fortunately I did not have American Express card with me, so they did not allow me to pay with other cards. Few hours later I rented from Hertz on Geary brand new Toyota Yaris with less than 10 000 miles on it for about $20 less (they gladly accepted simple debit card). My advice: please, please compare prices and you will never find yourself in that hole trying to rent a wreck which may be unsafe to drive from the guys who are taking advantage of your temporary challenges; they are selling you something over average market prices and forcing to pay for that by American Express. PS: after having quick look on reviews here I see that besides obviously pre-ordered compliments from their friends these guys do not have any positive feedback here. What a great company! read more

Nice guys who are in the office. A few bucks cheaper than the name brands. I rented a car for one week to use while mine was being fixed. It was a Nissan hatchback with some silly name like Emu or Egantia with nearly 43,000 miles on it. It had an intruder alarm with a hair trigger which would go off and on as it chose. It's a lot of fun when you park in front of a crowded restaurant with an even more crowded outdoor seating area. Boy those people didn't see that coming. And the tire pressure low warning light was on all week. When I told the gents in the office i go the standard .... "sorry about the ...." . Well if you're sorry about it dude then sorry it all the way to the invoice and give me a discount or a bag of pretzels to show me that you're sorry. But no, it was just the "we're sorry" line .... then, "you're all set" ... "thank you for your business". Yeah if that's ever going to happen again. read more

the staff there were really friendly and helpful, compact car was in excellent shape and drove well, location isn't as convenient as at the airport but there is T stop a block away and worked really well for us. read more