Fox Rent A Car - your experience/tips?
Posted by theherpetoculturist@reddit | Shoestring | View on Reddit | 25 comments
Hey guys, this is going to be my first time renting a car and I want to hear what everyone’s experience is surrounding Fox. I’ll be renting out of SFO and found their rates to be the most affordable (along with unlimited mileage). Pros/Cons? Anything I should look out for?
Just a bit nervous as it’s my first time renting one, so I’d like to hear what everyone’s thoughts are surrounding Fox.
Thanks!
No-Jellyfish8859@reddit
DO NOT USE FOX CAR RENTAL - the worst - Ive been renting cars for years so I do not know how I fell for the 'we will only charge you for the gas not used' scam. I knew I would be in hurry on the return so when the clerk assured me that they would only charge me for the gallons needed to fill the tank I said ok. I reviewed this policy several times with the clerk - but on the return ... they told me that there was no such policy and charged me a full tank. Also, on one occasion I had a car stall on me - so I called road side service , road side service never answered so I called the support line and asked them what I should do - they told me to take it to the nearest FOX rental car - then they charged me a 216.00 drop off fee! when I attempted to get a refund on the drop off fee they told me I damaged the car - which is just a lie - NEVER RENT FROM FOX
Masesucksatreddit@reddit
My family and I went to florida for Miami and Key West. We rented a cherokee from fox. During the drive to key west, we saw roaches but we thought they were a different bug, and the next day (at Key West) i spotted a roach while I was getting in the car. I just saw 3 roaches lol, so right now they’re coming to pick up the car and give us a new one
OliveTest_001@reddit
Ugh. Did you get the new car?
Bycuba@reddit
After 2 months of renting a car today I started to get charged on my credit card 5 times in 5 min, each 140$ . Scam. While talking to the bank they were still trying to charge non-stop. Stay away from scammers.
itsmeMr-C@reddit
Renter beware. Cant get any more shady. I pre-paid for my rental car about $220 for 8 days. I drove it a total of 22 miles in the 8 days and even topped of the tank before returning. They added over $280 in junk fees to my credit card when I returned it. Full tank of gas, no toll road fees or anything like that. Just random fees that literally made no sense. Dont walk, run from this shady company! (Fox Miami airport)
gimgumm@reddit
Hi! Same thing just happened to me from the Fox Fort Myers airport. Do you think it would be worth it to file a claim with my credit card company? Just looking for some other people in similar situations and their take. I'm pretty livid right now with them
oxycontin_raised@reddit
They’re shady at least.
LuminousLayla1@reddit
Fox is fine, as are most of the bigger companies, but it's hard to predict which one will have the best prices on a given date. If you plug your dates in this site you'll get a clearer picture. This is a better way to find a rental car than choosing a specific company IMO.
streetxjustice@reddit
WORST RENTAL EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE.
Prepaid $582 for a rental only to arrive at the rental counter, wait over an hour, and then be told that no cars were available. If a car is reserved for a specific date and time for pickup, especially when paid for, how is it not ready?
Finally, myself and several people in line ahead of me, were walked over to Dollar rental BY THE FOX EMPLOYEE because they had a few cars left. I was told that Fox would reimburse the difference, which I double checked with the Fox employee about before heading to the garage with my new rental agreement from Dollar for $948. Once the car was returned to Dollar, I called Fox to follow up on the reimbursement process only to be told that (A) there was no record in the Fox notes about running out of cars nor the employee promising reimbursement and (B) I should have been given an 'upsell agreement' by Fox which I was not.
Now it appears that I am out of luck with reimbursement after paying more than DOUBLE to a competitor under the promise of being made whole by Fox. Not only were the Fox representatives at the SEATAC counter not helpful, they were also incompetent. Calling the customer service line has been just as maddening an experience with no help or guidance given at all. I would sooner walk barefoot to my destination than to rent a car with Fox.
cunmaui808@reddit
Bare-bones rates for a POS company and service.
Traveling for funeral - got to Fox counter for reservation, employee runs credit card 3X in quick succession and cc denies charges all 3 times.
Called credit card fraud dept to authorize, success.
Fox employee says she CANNOT accept the same card: "policy is I can only run the card 3x"
Goodbye Fox, hello Avis.
Mean-Solution8105@reddit
I just used Fox for the first time at TPA. I usually use Enterprise or Budget, but Fox had cheaper rates. I was hesitant because I’ve read people that have had terrible experiences. Honestly, I have to admit, they were great. I had a car with 7k miles, clean, excellent condition, and I wasn’t nickeled and dimed when checking in for the vehicle. I was at the counter, and in the vehicle and on my way in maybe 10-15 minutes.
Mean-Solution8105@reddit
I should also add that I had a 10 day vehicle rental and it was $430. Every other rental company wanted $700 or more.
blakewantsa68@reddit
frequent traveler here. Fox at SFO is about third from the bottom in my worst all time rental car experiences. yes, it's cheaper. there's a reason for that.
your mileage may vary
theherpetoculturist@reddit (OP)
Ooff, got it. I’ll plan on avoiding them. Which rental company would you recommend? Alamo any good?
blakewantsa68@reddit
also avoid Sixt
Alamo is good, Budget is good. Enterprise is great but does not have pickup at the terminal so you have to leave extra time on drop-off.
Glimmer_III@reddit
It isn't about "who is good" but "who is not bad".
ACE and FOX = Bad.
Others = Balancing the interests of service level with cost.
Example: Alamo is owned by Enterprise. You're getting the same technicians and cars, but a different front end interface.
So be careful "swearing off" any specific agency. Be agnostic. Find the best deal with a good company, and understand inventory management constraints.
Best thing you can do to make your car pick-up easy with any of these agencies is:
1 - Fill out their rapid-pick-up program info.
2 - Make your reservation at least 24h prior to pick-up. (This allows them to create your rental profile and pre-pull your car.)
That's ^ how you skip the line. You don't need to have "elite status"...you just need to complete the paperwork in advance.
Good luck.
crevicecreature@reddit
Never had an issue with Fox, U Save or Sixth at LAX. As a matter of fact Budget, Avis and Hertz have tried to screw me with trying to tack on insurance or prepaid gas after I declined it, or claimed I hadn’t returned the car after hours with a full tank when I had.
-Smarty-Pants-@reddit
Fox at SFO is one of their better locations. It is not the most convenient agency but can be worth it if there are good savings.
Check https://carrentalsavers.com/fox-car-rental.html for Fox coupons and discounts and to compare prices.
Make sure you review terms and conditions. This is what catches most people out with smaller agencies.
yosemitelover11@reddit
I recently used Fox at SFO, it was surprisingly a good experience. They didn’t have the SUV I requested, however that was because my flight had delays. They were very apologetic, the worker offered me a different car and checked in with me a couple of times to make sure I was ok with getting a sedan. They were very patient with me asking questions on 18 hours of travel and 4 hours of sleep. I didn’t feel pressured to buy extra’s.
DocLibido@reddit
My daughter rented a car from Budget for a one way trip from Austin to DC. $150. I was shocked!
Impossible_Basil1040@reddit
Back in the days when I was younger than 21 we used to rent from them at LAX several times. It was fine, eventhough the price in the end never matched the ones online.
LFahs1@reddit
I have rented from Fox before and it was fine.
HealthLawyer123@reddit
Had an awful experience out of LAX. Shuttle never came, after 30+ minutes I got in a different agency’s shuttle that went near Fox and walked the rest of the way. Once there, lines were atrocious and you could tell they were trying to add things on to increase the rental cost.
Glimmer_III@reddit
Simply not worth it.
Both ACE and FOX approach insurance differently. If you do not take their insurance, and there is an issue -- any issue -- they will not work with your car insurance company. They will only work with you as an individual.
Which basically means you get dragged through the ringer with an asymmetry of experience and information. They basically turn the screws on you to take their insurance.
Once you put those insurance costs into the mix, neither ACE nor FOX is as competitive cost-wise as they first seem.
Do yourself a favor and become familiar with www.autoslash.com.
Look into renting something just outside the airport radius. You'll pay off-airport prices and can still return to the airport (usually) without one-way drop fees.
Takes a little more research, but once you get the hang of it, your costs will drop.
hydra1970@reddit
I think they charge extra to get a shuttle to their location which is next to Costco? I will rent from them if I am in the local area and take a bus to pick up the car.