CARWIZ Reviews 

Worst experience ever and company definitely to be avoided became quite aggresive when deciding not to take the additional insurance with the threat that the smallest scratch would be charged. Also witnessed similar with another client. My mistake was to only video the car and not the wheel rims and a small scratch was noted on a wheel rim of about 2 cm and was charged 550.00 Euro considering did not require extensive restoration definitely overcharging. Be aware and consider paying a little more with a more reputable company which will save you money in the end.

Carwiz up selling for unlimited mileage, they only allow 50 miles daily, wont take some or all insurance, forced to buy theirs $95.00. Always be skeptical with their $5.00- $20 daily rental. also Expedia charging extra collision fee $50 daily then additional insurance? Run !!!

Bate and switch about forced insurance you must have in order to rent a car, which is additional to full coverage insurance that I already have! 

My rental was until 6pm. When I arrived at 17:50 the office was closed. I video recorded myself dropping the keys in the Dropbox and showed the time on my watch. They came back to charge me for a late dropoff. When I provided evidence they conceded and said they would refund. I chased multiple times by email but after 4 weeks they ghosted me. This company clearly enjoys defrauding their customers! Avoid.

*1/5 — Avoid this rental company
Picked up a car through a third-party booking site and had a genuinely bad experience with the local rental company (Otopeni Airport, Romania).

- **2.5+ hour wait** to get the car after arrival, with no explanation given.
- The vehicle handed over was **not the model I booked** — a downgrade with no communication about it beforehand.
- Car was **dirty** and had a **service/maintenance warning light** on the dashboard at pickup.
- Staff tried to upsell **additional insurance (~€350)** at the counter despite my having already purchased excess cover through the booking site.
- At drop-off, staff claimed there were **two damages** and verbally demanded **€1,100 on the spot** — no inspection report, no comparison photos, no repair estimate, nothing in writing.
- I showed my own timestamped photos from pickup proving the marks were **pre-existing**, and was simply told to send the same photos again "in higher resolution."
- They said they'd email supporting documents — **never received anything**.
- After refusing to pay for damage I didn't cause, I was **abandoned at their office with no transport back to the airport**, even though a transfer is part of the standard drop-off process.
- A large **security deposit was pre-authorized** on my card 2600€
Overall: pressure tactics, no paperwork, no accountability, and being left stranded after refusing to pay an unsubstantiated claim. Would not rent from this company again and would think twice about the booking platform that partners with them.

I rented a car at Bratislava airport.
Got exactly the car I booked in new condition, on time, and the return was very easy as well with the deposit returned very fast. Thanks for the good service

We rented a car and picked it up at 3 a.m., when it was completely dark. The rental company wanted me to sign the paperwork before I had even seen the car.

The car was in good condition overall, but it already had several scratches, dents, and other damage. Because the car was parked in total darkness, I was unable to properly document the existing damage when I collected it, so I waited until the following morning to film the car.

When we returned the car, the staff started trying to charge us for all the dents and scratches, even though we had not caused them. They laughed at us mockingly and refused to believe that the damage was already there. They claimed that my video was not valid because it had been recorded three hours after I collected the car.

They then tried to pressure me into signing a document accepting responsibility for the damage, which I refused to do. After that, they started offering me discounts on the damage charges in an attempt to make me sign, but I still refused.

While we were standing there, four other customers returned their cars, and exactly the same thing happened to them!

I will never rent a car from this company again!

Absolute Nightmare of an experience. Booked through check24 so hopefully we'll get most of the additional charges back. DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO BOOK HERE. I am thinking of filing a lawsuit, this is completely unacceptable. I was fined more than double our initial booking price for some made up charges that were not part of the contract (check24 confirmed this). Horrible staff wearing fake rolexes (should tell you everything).

Friendly and helpful team at Heathrow, great value and wonderful car. Just what we needed. Many thanks to Farsi for helping so much with the pick up, Aaron with the return and Nav with the transfer to the station. They were all so kind, helpful and good humoured. I’ll definitely use this company again and look forward to another very positive experience.

Payed 200 euros more because I had no credit card

Can I put -10???

From the moment I collected car they tried to rip me off.
Ho that will be 185GBP hire.

NO! the contract is 158!!!
HO sorry !!they said ( right??)
They took photos all over the car triple checked my identity!!
Tried to flog me their insurance ( I have it covered by my travel insurance)
When I took it back again photos all over the car. Found 2 × 1/2" chips on the bumper after much argument they showed me the " original " photos
The end story was we will charge you 698GBP !!!!
Don't worry they said that's what you're insurance is for.....
They are TOTAL control artists
STAY AWAY!!!!

Scammers, they give you destroyed cars and make you pay for it. They find everything possible that they can make you pay for. If you have to choose between a bullet and carwiz choose the bullet.

Very rude staff, car had scratches, charged again for the insurance!! NEVER AGAIN!!AVOID!!

Corrupt. Finding loopholes to charge you more. We had to buy THEIR fully comp and when the car broke down it did not include roadside assistance!

We had to arrange ourselves in the middle of nowhere then pay for it. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY WHO ARE ALLOCATED BY 'DO YOU ITALY'

On 11 January 26, I received an email from Carwiz with instructions on how to collect the car I had booked in advance, together with the rental agreement and payment information.

First of all, I would like to point out that the vehicle collection did not take place according to the instructions provided in the email:

*"Pick Up instructions: Meet & Greet service; rental agent will wait by the arrival information desk at the airport with the client's name on a board."*

Nobody was waiting for us at the airport with a sign displaying our name. Instead, we only received a phone call saying, "We are at the airport." I would like to emphasize that the staff members were very polite and did their best in what was clearly a difficult situation.

We were directed to a lay-by outside the airport where the staff were waiting with the rental car. I would also like to point out that we were travelling with a young child, and the weather conditions were quite poor. Spending another hour sitting in a car with five people was far from ideal.

The staff explained that they had no other location where they could complete the paperwork, take the security deposit, and hand over the vehicle. To make matters worse, we also had to wait for the child seat that we had booked in advance, as it had not been brought to the collection point.

After our identification documents had been checked and all the paperwork completed, we discovered that the payment terminal was out of battery and completely unusable. As a result, we were unable to pay the security deposit and had to wait even longer. Fortunately, the staff sent us a payment link so that we could pay the deposit online, and the child seat finally arrived around 40 minutes later.

As compensation for these unexpected inconveniences, we were provided with the child seat free of charge, an additional driver at no extra cost, and the security deposit was reduced to PLN 4,400 instead of the PLN 5,100 stated in the agreement. We appreciate these gestures. However, I would have much preferred a smooth and efficient collection process that matched the instructions we had received, especially as we were travelling with a small child.

The second, and most important, issue concerns the security deposit.

According to the rental agreement:

*"A pre-authorisation (hold) will be placed on the user's credit card to cover any obligations arising from the rental agreement, including potential vehicle damage or other incidents for which the user is responsible. The user should ensure that sufficient funds are available for the credit card pre-authorisation up to the amount specified by the rental company."*

Unfortunately, instead of placing a pre-authorisation (a temporary hold on the card), Carwiz processed the deposit as an actual card payment. As a result, I incurred approximately £30 in additional charges.

After contacting the company by email, the customer service representative was initially very polite and helpful. She asked me to send copies of all the charges that had been posted to my card and assured me that the company would reimburse these costs. Unfortunately, although the communication was initially professional and responsive, all contact suddenly stopped, and I never received the promised reimbursement.

I cannot recommend this company to anyone. The level of customer service was extremely disappointing, and the company failed to honour its commitment to reimburse the additional costs caused by its own mistake. I will never use Carwiz again, and I will strongly advise others against renting from them.

Extortion at the counter. We had total coverage insurance from booking the car but they maintained that this had nothing to do with them so either we could pay 250€ for a new insurance with a 200€ deposit or an 1800€ deposit should we want to be "uninsured". There is also a 50€ cleaning fee. They are adding up numbers and extra fees when you are in no position to bargain. Shit company.

This was, without question, the most stressful car rental experience I have ever had.

Our family holiday effectively started with a dispute at the rental counter and ended with another dispute after returning the vehicle.

Before travelling, I contacted CarWiz because I was arriving late with three young children. I simply wanted to make sure there would be no unexpected issues when collecting the car. I never received a reply.

When we finally arrived after a long journey, I presented my physical Visa Premier credit card, which clearly states “Carte de Crédit”, together with my official Visa Premier insurance certificate covering rental vehicles. Both were refused. I was told I had to buy additional insurance to collect the car.

Standing at the counter late at night with three exhausted young children, I didn’t feel I had a real choice. I paid because I couldn’t leave my family stranded at the airport.

From that moment, what should have been the start of a relaxing family holiday became a source of constant stress.

Because of what had happened at pickup, I felt I had to document everything. I photographed the fuel gauge when I collected the vehicle and recorded videos of the vehicle both at pickup and at drop-off.

I’m very glad I did.

After returning the vehicle, I received additional charges for cleaning, a refuelling service and extra fuel. I dispute every one of these charges. My photographs show the fuel level at pickup, and I deliberately returned the vehicle with more fuel than it had when I collected it. My return video also shows that the vehicle was returned clean and in good condition.

Instead of finishing our holiday with good memories, I came home dealing with emails, evidence, disputed invoices and complaints.

I have now formally challenged these charges with CarWiz, Rentalcars/Booking.com and my bank, and I am prepared to pursue the matter further through the appropriate European consumer protection bodies if necessary.

My advice to anyone considering this company is simple: document absolutely everything. Photograph the fuel gauge, record videos of the vehicle before and after the rental, keep every receipt, and save every email. I genuinely believe those photos and videos are the only reason I have been able to challenge these charges.

A family holiday should begin with excitement and end with happy memories. Ours began with a dispute at the rental desk and ended with another dispute after returning the car. I sincerely hope no other family has to go through the same experience.

If I could give zero stars I would, shocking company. Gave some bullXXXX reason of not having a international driving licence to try to charge me 52 euros per day, so an additional 300+ euros for the 6 days. I think they were quite supprised when I told them they could stick that and to take me back to the airport. NO other company in the terminal required an international licence, they were very happy to rent cars. I was happier to give them my buisness than deal with these crooks. Shocking company - if this review saves one person from their tactics I will be happy.

Avoid this company at all costs. In my experience, they will try to charge you extra whenever they get the chance. This was by far the worst car rental experience I've ever had. It felt like a scam from start to finish. Do yourself a favor and rent from another company—you'll regret it if you choose this one.

Went to collect my car from CarWiz today and was chatting to another customer who had waited 2 hours for their vehicle. Because I agreed with them, that their service was always lacking but they had great prices, they cancelled my booking and told me in no uncertain terms to take a hike