DO Not Rent from San Diego Rent-A-Car. They are a very shady operation to say the least. I rented a car from them during a busy holiday easter week when all the large rental companies were sold out. They offered me a very good rate and i took it since i had few other options. Boy was that a BAD DECISION.
Upon filling out the paperwork, i looked at the car which was full of dents, dings and scrapes. It also smelled horrific and the cigarette smoke was covered over by some heavy perfume. I went back inside to point all of this out to the rental agent who's name is Jack Asman and said the car report he gave me did not notate all of the car damage. He said don't worry about it since they know all about it and they are all old cars.
I also pointed out that it had 1/8 tank of fuel in it and just above empty... He again stated: "don't worry, just bring it back empty to us"At that point my suspicions were raised considerably, but i was also in a hurry to just get out and do my business. I told him doesn't it make sense to just give a a car with a full tank and i bring it back full and if not, you charge me for the remainder? Seems these guys try to get you to bring the car back with a bit more fuel than they give you to make another few dollars... Pretty low i'm sure everyone will agree.
Now: on the contract my rental rate was $250usd. They told me i had to leave a deposit in the amount of $200 more for the rental and they told me that this charge would remain for 30 days after i returned the car... So they could be sure i did not get any traffic or parking tickets and any of those would come out of my deposit. Not normal at other rental car companies and again i thought strange... But moved forward.
Upon returning my rental and checking the car, i was told my deposit would be returned 30 days later (only because i asked them about this)... I rented the car on March 13 and returned it on March 18. On March 21 i see that my deposit was never refunded... I emailed them-No Response! ; Yep—i saw this coming. So i call the owner Tony Gardea. He said no problem, just email him about this and give details of my rental, i did so... Yep, NO Reply again.
So twice more over the next week i email him - you guessed it. No Reply. I've now had to resort to reporting this to my credit card agency American Express and they are now making an investigation. I can tell you WHERE this is headed though... If they do not return your deposit, they obviously have a scam in place which is NOT to return your deposit... So, I advise you NOT to rent from this agency. You will be sorry you did in the end.
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