National Car Rental

This is about the Reagan Airport National location… You have got to be kidding me. Where are all these glowing reviews coming from. The staff at this location is as stupid as doorknobs. Emerald club says pick any car, but when I arrived they said they didn’t have any cars until «somebody brings them from somewhere» her exact words, and she didn’t know from where! Then when i did get a car and tried to drive out I was told to go park the car again and go back downstairs to the counter since I rented through Priceline. But the counter guy said this was wrong. huh? Then when I drove away I noticed the tire pressure was low. Yes low… it was almost FLAT! I had to exchange the car the next day at an ENTERPRISE location. How can you rent a car to someone without checking this stuff out?! Bottom line STAY AWAY. I resigned my Emerald Club membership. They spend millions in advertising and yet accept this kind of services from their employees??? Idiots.
Go someplace, anyplace, else!

This review is only for this location. I generally think National Car/​Alamo/​Enterprise are great brands that provide customers a good experience. I’ve had similarly good experiences with Alamo and Enterprise at other locations as well. My bad experiences are unique to the DCA location.
On a recent visit to National Car Rental/​Alamo/​Enterprise DCA my friend and I needed to rent a full-​size SUV for the weekend to safely navigate roads ahead of a blizzard. Both of us rent from National/​Alamo/​Enterprise more than 25 times per year (we have their highest customer loyalty status, Executive Elite) and rent from this particular facility regularly. Initially we booked a midsize reservation because as an Executive Elite midsize lets you choose any car in the Emerald Aisle or Executive Aisle. There were many Full-​Size SUVs available but the «manager» (more on these guys later) said we did not reserve a Full Size SUV so they could not provide one because «Alamo customers often pay more».
We went online and changed our reservation to a Full Size SUV at the same location, went to the counter to have the contract signed by a National/​Alamo/​Enterprise Car Rental agent and proceeded back to the aisle to pick-​up the car. The manager, Christopher Piotrowski, laughed at us and said «there’s no way we’re getting a Full Size SUV». We called National Car Rental customer support and they said there is nothing they could do except file a complaint.
Let’s get this straight, we are top-​tier customers with a confirmed reservation for a car that they have many of and we get laughed at for expecting National to honor a confirmed reservation (reservations are guaranteed for Executive Elites).
This is not an isolated incident. Every bad car rental experience I’ve had with National has been at the DCA location. The staff is pushy, unprofessional. Everyone there is a «manager» so good luck finding someone to hold accountable for poor service. National/​Enterprise corporate should be embarrassed by how this locations staff represent the company.
My best advice, steer clear of Enterprise/​Alamo/​National at DCA.

I love national Emerald club, I have been using them for 5 years now and never had a bad experience. The weekly specials and just picking a car off the aisle is an awesome can’t go without feature!

Fast service and nice selection of cars! The Emerald Isle was hands down one of the best experiences I had renting a car. Look forward to renting again!

I am an Executive Emerald and I can choose any car from the executive line. that is a great perk and I rent a lot to earn it. Problem is the selection of vehicles leaves a lot to be desired. I expect electric seats, ample power for my phones, etc. The last 3 visits to DC Reagan were disappointing in the vehicle selection. Basic, plain vehicles, with cloth, cheap interiors. The small SUVs/​crossovers were worse if possible. Not very clean, not a good selection of vehicles. The staff at check in are always great. Just need to upgrade the fleet for Executive Level renters.

Our experience was similar to other reviews. I’m an Emerald Isle member and walked to the cars only to be completely confused by the lack of signage. The National cars are not clearly marked and it’s tough to tell which are National and which are Alamo once you get past the first short row of cars. We had to wander around the garage for a while to find an attendant because we didn’t want to take the wrong car. Once we found him, we told him we had reserved an SUV and he said we couldn’t have one unless he verified our reservation. Once that was done, he lead us out into the garage and I’m not sure he was 100% clear on which cars were his. He’d tell us to take «that one down there» then someone would jump in it. People were getting in SUVs and leaving left and right so I guess we didn’t do ourselves any favors by trying to make sure we got the right vehicle. We did get a car in the class we reserved and it was in great condition. The outside was clean but the inside was not. The console was covered in sticky soda syrup and there was trash in the seat pockets, glove box, etc. Overall, the car was fine and the employee we dealt with was just busily trying to keep up with the rush of people trying to figure out which cars were National. My only criticisms are the poor signage and the dirty interior of the car we ended up with. I’m sure if we rent from there again (and I would) it will be a quicker process now that I sort of know which cars belong to National. One thing to look for is the card hanging from the rear view mirror. I didn’t notice it until we got in the car but it has a National logo on it.

«NATIONAL ALWAYS THE BEST IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION «
The rental process here is absolutely seamless to include the return process. National is tops in my book for this reason and always treats their customers with the utmost repect. This is why I continue to rent with National and will remain a loyal customer as long as they keep their process the same. This coming from a guy who spends close to 300 days a year on the road. Last note Nationals selection of vehicles is by far and away the best in the business.

One of the best car-​rent experience, lady at aisle was so nice. She felt my mood and smilingly guided me to the Ford Charger, very few spoken words at DC Airport (Regan)! I thank her for the wonderful way she greeted/​guided me as if it’s from
The two ladies at checkout gate were smiling and ask if I need any direction or help. I asked for light switch or uniqueness about this car etc. and she was eager and willing to help with smile :-)
Thank you National Team for retaining and training these awesome staff as I have similar wonderful experiences at Denver CO, Dallas TX, Paris-​France and other airports! Love it, as always. Happy Holidays!

I was over charged– and when I went to try to correct it, the Manager tried to make me miss my plane out of spite, and refused to correct it. I had to call a foreign customer service agent and I still have no confirmation my charge was refunded. Terrible, gross customer service– and I’m executive elite!

First time with national and emerald program. Awesome and easy pickup drop off and friendly associates.

I have rented from this location every week for three years. Things have changed quite a bit over this time and not for the better.
1. Clean Cars — These are, at times, disgusting. Because this location is primarily business my perception is that they don’t think they get that dirty so they just pick up any big pieces of paper, trash, etc. They run it through a car wash (external) and leave any dirt, grime, dog food, sticky soda, etc. (all things I have experienced) without wiping down and thoroughly (or even superficially) cleaning.
Another HUGE problem is the inside of the windshield. This is NEVER cleaned and is dangerous, both, during the day and at night. The seriousness of this needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
2. Overcharging — I, honestly, feel like there is some sort of scam to increase revenues. When I have dropped my car off, on two consecutive occasions, I received fuel charges when I fueled the vehicle less than a mile away. I always let the pump shut off and then put more and more in. The charges have ranged from $ 10 – 20. Even if the vehicle was merely filled until the pump shut off an amount this high is not possible. Every time I have complained they just credit me back. The last time I requested that a manager get in contact with me… they haven’t. The response from Customer Service (sent on ⁰⁹⁄₂₅) was that someone from this location would be in contact with me in 2 – 3 business days.
I find it unlikely that anything would change. And, in fact, unlikely that this review (or any review) would impact their business one way or another due to the nature of their customer population and the location. They are going to receive people’s business one way or another.

Awesome customer service. They helped with pairing my phone. When there was a problem a got a free upgrade. During the whole process from check in to leaving I felt like I was being hugged. Johntel rocks

I love this National location. DCA is my home airport and occasionally I need to a rent a car for road trips. Since I live so close to the airport I take a cab here to pick up the car. They have all the usual’s — Emerald Aisle, great selection, etc etc. Never have had a bad experience here.

love the Emerald isle, good selection of cars, however I was able to see that the same cars were in other lesser isles; truth be told that is not a big deal.
The best part is the ability of just picking up any car and go, no waiting lines, no hassle.
I gave it 4 stars because the Brand new Mazda 6 I chose was rather dirty inside not wit trash, but it seemed that it was cleanned with a dirty rag and the windshild had like greasy swirls, amd again, even though it is not that big of a deal, it just makes me wonder why wouldnt they just properly clean them. Again, not the biggest deal.
The major reason for taken one star off was the representative at the exit, this was my forst time using this service and I had a couple of questions amd she was trully bothered by me asking her just two (2) simple questions, she was very condescending and gave me a lot, a lot of attitude, to the point that I was ready to get the hell out of the car and leave it there and walk away.
She was trully a B^%*€£^*. It was a skinny chick and I dont care who you are CEO or car lot attendant, you need to be good to your customers, they pay your damn salary!
Other than that, I might consider renting with you guys again or simply take the train

It was very simple to pick up my car and drive away. National also made it very simple to drop off my car and left for departure. The staff simply gave me my receipt the moment I stepped out of my car. The only problem I had was that the staff there seemed unfamiliar with the airport, and when I asked about directions to the departure gates, they gave me conflicted directions so I had to figure it out by myself. Wish they were more helpful.

National is the best. I refuse to use any other car rental service! DCA National experience was pretty much on point. Their car rental area wasn’t the easiest to find, but that was very minor. Lots of vehicles to choose from. Friendly staff. Cannot complain.

I picked up my car at DCA. Service was quick! I love being able to just grab a car and go. Staff was friendly. There were no lines. I was very happy!
Unfortunately, I docked a star from the review because the car I picked smelled like smoke (despite there being no-​smoking signs all over the dash). The smell wasn’t too bad when I picked it up because all the windows were down. After sitting overnight with the windows up, the smell was unbearable. It was my fault for picking the car with the smell and not saying anything to the staff, but it would be nice for National to do some extra interior cleaning when a car comes back clearly smelling like smoke.

I refuse to use any other car rental service!
I made the mistake once with Avis and I will never make it again, I love National!

I booked a weekend rental from the mobile app and wound up paying $ 60 for a Friday pick-​up and Monday morning drop-​off, including taxes. This was like $ 16 more than the rental I could’ve gotten from Avis or Budget, but getting a car from National is pretty speedy when you have an Emerald Club membership.
Awful stormy weather in the area, so they opened up the selection and I was able to choose *any* car to take away :) I grabbed a Mazda CX-​5 which was great for the constant rain and snow and icy roads. Drove out to Western Maryland and Pennsylvania so I needed something that would be comfy and good for driving distances.
Ran into one snag where one of our tires went flat and wouldn’t hold air, and since the only National locations open on weekends are those at the airports, we had to trek all the way back to Reagan on our little donut to swap out the car on Saturday night.
They swapped out our car no problem, and the manager, Geoff, was incredibly nice. He gave us with some rental credits for the inconvenience and was totally pleasant and apologetic throughout the entire experience. I’m not saying I enjoyed driving 3h round trip to go back to Reagan and swap out the car, but I wouldn’t hesitate to rent from National again for personal trips.

Overall this is one of the better National locations I’ve been able to use.
The Emerald and Executive aisles can be a bit of a crapshoot. Sometimes it’s half minivans (has anyone ever taken a minivan off the aisle?) and other times it’s a SUV-​fest. One time in haste I grabbed a Camry off the aisle that I didn’t realize had been one-​wayed from New Brunswick (all the dashboard components were in metric) but they gave me a free day when I complained about that one.
Prices here are all over the board. I’ve paid as little as $ 20 per day and seen rates as high as $ 80. I do most of my renting on the weekends and tend to get the lower rates (and there’s always a promotion for a free weekend day).
The cars do seem to fit with National’s standards: nothing smaller than full-​size on the Emerald Aisle and no car higher than 20k miles.
Having waited in line for 45 minutes at Enterprise in the past to save a buck (before I wised up) I can say that the convenience of the aisle, even for it’s problems, is well worth it.