SIXT Rental Car Company

[ddcrna]

Has anyone used this new company yet? I understand that it is a German Company, but new to Orlando. We got a ridiculously low price quote from them for a one week rental in Sep. Wanted to see if anyone had experience (good or bad) with them.

Thanks!

[btharvey]

I suggest a 'search provider' search for the following terms: SIXT rental orlando review.

When I did a general search, the results were, shall we say, "less than favorable." But you should read for yourself.

[CanadianWDWFan]

I have only used them in Germany and yes their prices were VERY good compared to other companies. While I had a very favourable experience in Germany I am sorry that I can't comment on their agency over here.

[Julie_Mouse]

We are using Sixt in two weeks when we arrive, and in my research I have found there are three primary complaints about their service at MCO:

1) The wait to pick up/drop off the car is usually 20-30 mins.

2) They are off-site so there is also 5 mins travel time to get to/from the airport.

3) When they put a hold on your credit card for the deposit, the amount that appears on your card is more than what you are actually paying for the rental. Once the car is returned, they charge you only for whatever your rate was.

I've also heard a couple of good things, like they often give free upgrades (to luxury cars!) and will apply additional discounts when you arrive to pick up the car. Also, we're going President's week, and their weekly rate was less than half of all the other agencies, so I'm okay with the extra travel time to save $300! YMMV. I'll post an updated review when I return!

[Julie_Mouse]

Just got back on 2/26 and wanted to report on our experience with Sixt. Sorry for length, I wanted to be thorough since there were no other reviews on here!

Overall, our experience was pretty poor, but I don't think our experience was typical. Upon arrival, they did not have the car we had reserved, which was a problem, as we had some golf clubs in addition to our luggage and we needed the large SUV we had requested to fit everything. It took about 1.5 hours for them to finally come up with a suitable vehicle, although this was due in part to the clerk being new and not knowing what she was doing. Our traveling companions got the minivan they had requested, but had to wait a while for it to be cleaned (it had just been returned). It was incredibly busy at the rental office that day, probably because it was the Sunday of President's Week. Despite all this, we talked to several other customers in the office while we were standing around waiting and none of them seemed to be having the problems we were having. After we drove off the lot, we realized that they had left an additional driver charge on our bill that we had specifically asked them to remove. We opted to deal with it when we returned the car, as we were already halfway to the resort and running late.

Returning the cars was quick and easy: you just drive up in the designated return spots and they come out to meet you and get the keys. The trouble occurred when we had to go inside to haggle about the additional driver charge. The clerk we dealt with told us there was nothing he could do, and that we would have to email someone higher up. He provided us with an email. Stewing about this while we were waiting on the shuttle to pick us up, we went back in to request a business card from the clerk. He claimed he didn't have one, and we should just email the person whose email he had given us. At this point the shuttle arrived, so we decided to just deal with it later. We have emailed the person, but no response yet (it's only been 24 hours).

Other things: the shuttle service is quick and easy to find in the airport. It takes less than 5 minutes to get to the rental office from MCO. You might have to wait for 1 shuttle (we saw people doing this on the Sunday we arrived, when it was busy), but it only takes 10-15 minutes. We spoke to several other customers while we were waiting in the office and while we were riding the shuttle, and nobody else seemed to be having the issues we were having, so that's why I don't think our experience was typical.

Our traveling companions had trouble with a $25 charge being added to their bill, which the Sixt employee explained was because they had booked through a third party website (a travel agency's website). If you are going to use them, I would book directly through their website/phone. Overall, even with the $75 additional driver charge (us) and the $25 extra charge (our traveling companions), the final cost for each vehicle was still less than what any other agencies were charging that week (think $200 vs. $500+), so I guess we still came out ahead. When you pick up the car, they do put a hold on your credit card that is roughly 2x the cost of the rental, but the only charge that shows on the credit card statement was the price shown on the bill.

If they offered a seriously reduced rate again, I would probably give them another chance. I think with time (they've only been in Orlando a short time from what I understand) their customer service might get better. Let me know if you have other questions, I'm happy to try and help!

[mom2morgan]

thanks for the review - I think you are being generous since it sure doesn't sound like I'd want to risk going with these folks!

[epceddie]

I agree. There are too many other options to go with that are much more dependable and hassle free. We just got back from a six-day stay at WDW and we rented a Ford Taurus from Dollar for $230. It took less than 10 minutes for us to be on the road to Disney and returning the car couldn't have been easier.
Signing up for Dollar's Express Program has really paid off. With your membership, you can skip the counter (and the lines) in the terminal and head right to the counter in the parking garage, where we've never had to stand in line. You just give them your reservation number and a ID and off you go.

[mudpuppysmom]

I agree. There are too many other options to go with that are much more dependable and hassle free. We just got back from a six-day stay at WDW and we rented a Ford Taurus from Dollar for $230. It took less than 10 minutes for us to be on the road to Disney and returning the car couldn't have been easier.
Signing up for Dollar's Express Program has really paid off. With your membership, you can skip the counter (and the lines) in the terminal and head right to the counter in the parking garage, where we've never had to stand in line. You just give them your reservation number and a ID and off you go.

This is pretty much what you do with National's Emerald Aisle......the longest part for us is letting the kids pick ou the car! We grab our luggage, walk to National's Emerald Aisle, load up and on the way out of the garage you show them your reservation, your ID and credit card and you are on your way in less than 10 minutes!

For us, with kids, I think riding a shuttle with luggage and keeping track of everyone would be more hassle than it's worth, but that is IMHO. I'm all for saving money too, but if problems persist with this company I would not give it a second glance.

[epceddie]

We've used National in the past and everything went very smoothly. Lately, we've been getting much better deals on Dollar for some reason.