Firefly Car Rental

Great value! We had a 7 day car rental and our total was $ 135. We did the mileage option but only drove a couple hundred miles which helped. The location isn’t as convenient but the shuttle was fast so it wasn’t too bad. The people were very nice and offered to upgrade us to a brand new convertible. We decided against it but we were able to choose between two other new cars. Our car was very clean and one of the best rentals I’ve ever had. The car had a back up camera and lots of other nice things like usb charging ports.

I arrived at SFO, called Firefly to find out how to get there. I was told to take the AirTrain to the rental car location & then call again so they could come pick me up.
I did as instructed but they never answered the phone. After waiting for 30 mins for one of their shuttles and calling at least a dozen times I gave up & rented from budget.
I would not recommend them at all, very disappointed.

Why would Firefly accept reservations knowing the traveler is arriving outside Firefly’s limited service hours? Not recommended.

Made a reservation for 1÷12÷16 pickup at SFO. Waited at least 30 minutes for the shuttle to the off-​site rental location before giving up and finding a car at one of the on-​site rental companies.

Pain free car rental with good competitive rates. Basic cars, l nothing super special but very easy to pick up and drop off. 5minutes away from the airport with easy freeway access. Will be renting firefly again.

excellent service, queuing was slow but everywhere it is inexpensive, allan was attentive and all Spanish speaking, very cheap and helped us instead of car and also the best price! Allan speaks Spanish, the phone is difficult to answer but it is because they are so busy attending many people! it is better to visit! when you visit the site you will realize that they are too busy to answer the phone
excelente servicio, hacer la fila fue tardado pero en todo lugar de bajo costo lo es, allan fue atento y sobre toda habla español, muy barato y nos ayudo en cambio de auto y además el precio lo mejor! Allan habla español, el teléfono es difícil que respondan pero lo es porque están muy ocupados atendiendo muchas personas! es mejor visitar! Al principio creí que era porque no querían responderlo o dejar en espera pero ustedes verán que hay muchas personas en la línea que no tienen tiempo de responder el teléfono

It’s dirt cheap and the people are friendly.
My only problem was with their bridge toll reader. It’s basically a scam that charged me $ 24.80 for a $ 5 toll. You should pay all tolls yourself even though they have a reader.

We booked this car rental because it was cheap! We got $ 66 a week plus some fees for a total of about $ 120. Was a bit of a pain to have to AirTrain to all the car rental places (all rental car companies are there) and then another shuttle on ground floor for 10 mins (but we booked budget the next week and the line up was longer than the shuttle so it probably worked out to be the same).
Car selection was decent, we got a Yaris for the cheap price and the counter wasn’t trying to upsell us like dollar/​Thrifty did. We were off within 5 mins.
What made it great was that I left my iPhone 6 in the car when I returned it and they actually found it and kept it for me!
First guy said he didn’t see it but when he passed the phone to second guy, Allen, who seems to be the boss, he made the effort to look around for me and located the phone and reassured me that it’s all good and I can pick up in a week when I return! Thank you! :)
When I returned, the phone was packed with my name on it and tucked away in a safe place. Yay. I thought my phone is good as gone at a car rental place but Allen is honest and diligent. Thank you so much, much appreciated. Will definitely return for a rental next time.

I don’t know if it’s something that happens often here, but their system was down. Which I understand can happen sometimes, but it wasn’t until my friend suggest or asked if they had a way they can take down a transaction in paper form so we don’t need to wait any longer to rent a car. The man just stood there clueless and complained about the system being down for half an hour. I just found the whole interaction and situation very unprofessional. Then he just handed us some keys pointing to a car next to the office saying it was for us to fill out a form marking where we see any damage, and basically there were dents and scratches everywhere. I thought it was strange that he didn’t come out to verify with us, but whatever. And the car stunk like fast food. But gladly the return process was a lot faster and easier. Also to get to the location for rental from the airport is a bit of a drive via shuttle they have.
I say save yourself the trouble and rent elsewhere.

I would rent from here again. I was ready for the worst after reading some past reviews, but the car was fine. The staff was actually very friendly and knowledgeable about directions and toll roads (told me about how to pay the tolls). They weren’t overly pushy about upselling the car or extra options, although they did offer. My biggest issue that knocked off a star is because they are not part of the airport rental complex — you have to first take the tram to the car rental complex, then go downstairs and take a shuttle to an off site place. So it really took 45 minutes to an hour after I got my bags to actually get my car. It’s not terrible, but you should know that it does take longer than using an on-​site rental group.

I needed a car because my car was in the shop. Firefly seemed to be one of the lowest rental agencies that I have researched so I decided to book it. I was initially scared because of all the negative reviews about people having to wait. I called a day before to make sure my car was available, which it was, and just prayed everything would go smoothly when I went to pick up my car. My reservation was at 8am and I waited for the shuttle for about 15mins. People at Firefly don’t answer or they put you on hold for a long time so you just have to keep calling. When I got to the office, there was one 1 person working so I had to wait another 30mins. Overall, Firefly is ok if you don’t mind waiting. I probably would not use them on holidays such as Christmas.

If you don’t mind adding 2 hours onto your trip on both ends and not get the car you reserved, then go ahead and use Firefly. Oh, and p. s. they don’t answer their phone when you call for a pick up at the airport.
I will NOT make the mistake of using Firefly again.

I give Burlingame Firefly 1 star instead of 0 stars because the staff I dealt with there were excellent (with the possible exception of the manager — see below). So the 1 star is for the staff, not the company.
Two of the same complaints as other reviewers: (1) A long time between getting off the plane and getting a car, because of the long wait for the shuttle at the airport. (2) Almost impossible to reach the office by phone. When the situation described below happened, I called the office repeatedly for 2 days before I finally reached someone. NOTE: At least I didn’t attempt to pick up or drop off the car during the hours they are closed, so I wasn’t stranded like some reviewers.
My experience: I had a flat tire while parked overnight. I called the Emergency Road Service number to report it. I was told that I should change the tire myself (put on the spare) then go the next day to a tire store and buy a new tire! I asked if I would be reimbursed, and they said no. Then I mentioned that I had purchased insurance for it, and they said that I would still have go to the store and pay for the tire myself, but I would later be reimbursed for it. I then asked if they would come and put on the spare tire and they said yes, but that they would charge $ 79 to do so! I have AAA, so I asked if I could just call AAA to change the tire (which would be free) and they said yes, but that I would still have to go to a tire store the next day to buy a new tire, and put it on too!
I called AAA (which was about an hour’s wait, since they were busy). When they arrived they looked in the trunk and discovered that the car didn’t have a spare! So I called Emergency Road Service again and asked if they would bring a spare. They said no, and that I would have to have the car towed and be issued a replacement car. So I waited an hour again, and then got a call from the tow service that Emergency Road Service had sent them to an address on the other side of town from where I had told them I was. So I had another 20 min wait for them to get across town to where I actually was. I rode with the tow truck driver to the shop (Hertz in Burlingame) and then he took me to Hertz Rental at SFO where I was finally given another vehicle … after a long wait!
The new vehicle was not as large as the one it was replacing, did not have as many features, and it had 50,000 miles on it, while the first one had only 1000. Then the next day I got an e-​mail from my credit card that Hertz had charged me for gas on the first car, even though there had been no need to fill it yet (I was going to do so before returning it), and I *couldn’t* fill it once it had the flat and was being towed!
I repeatedly tried the Burlingame Firefly office for 2 days, and never got an answer! Finally I called Hertz and got a man in the Distribution Office, who was very sympathetic and took off the gas charge. He also said that he couldn’t understand why they sent me all the way to the Hertz lot at SFO to get the replacement (adding more time to the several hours already spent) since there are numerous Hertz offices close to where I had the flat tire in San Francisco. He said that he would call the Burlingame manager on her cellphone and tell her my situation. He said that I would hear back either from her or from him. However, after several hours I still had not heard back.
I tried the Burlingame Firefly office one last time, and this time finally got through. The man I reached was very nice and agreed to deduct the cost of one day from my total rental fee. So I finally received satisfaction, but only after a lot of hassle and delay, which, among other things, caused me to miss a couple of appointments.
I chose Firefly because their price was the cheapest. (I should check what some other reviewers claim, that the added charges actually make it as expensive as the other companies.) I learned the hard way that you get what you pay for. I will never use them again.
P. S. I learned from the man at Hertz that Firefly, Hertz, Dollar, and another firm which I can’t remember, are all owned by the same parent company. This makes me wonder whether I should ever use Hertz, Dollar, and the other company.

First time using Firefly. For a discount rental company they do a decent job. The guys at the counter didn’t try to push additional services or insurance to me. Maybe that was because I’m a seasoned traveler and knew what I needed.
They don’t have the largest selection of cars and I ended up with a dinky Mitsubishi Mirage. It was adequate for my small family.
The only knock against them is that the car wasn’t very clean when I received it.
Check-​out and return was fast.
The airport shuttle got us to the airport quickly. It drops you off at the car rental terminal, so you’ll have to take the air train to your terminal from there. No big deal, but plan ahead.

Almost 2 hours to pick up a car that was previously reserved. There were 2 people in line in front of me, and she gave my car to one of those people (they were walk ins). Hilariously long waits, and you don’t get what you paid for. Overall a terrible experience.
The prices are a little better than other places, but that’s for a reason. Honestly I think it’s worth paying a little more and avoid all the issues from this place.

CHEAPER FOR WHAT IT IS
it is not the best car rental but it gets the job done. Went on
to reserve a car for the weekend road trip and saw their prices were cheaper. If you get insurance you can sign up online for $ 11 or get it when you pick up the car. My pickup was set at 7am when they open but new sign on door says they open at 6am… Okay, so I asked to start the checking at 6:50 come 7 I’ll be jumping in my car. I was told I could but I’ll get charged. Not sure what would be getting charged starting 10 minutes early.
1) compact car I thought I was getting, I didn’t get. They gave me a different compact in which I settled for. FYI, after driving 2hrs it was a gas guzzler. Not cool and this place is first come first serve. I recommend you come early to get the cars that are available. Mind you, they can run out of cars regardless of your reservation.
2) they have a paper to mark any previous car scratches or dents. Double check it and also make sure you add any additional that you see before signing the paperwork. There were other scratches and dents they didn’t bother to mark.
3) the rental car was for simple use of driving long distances. It had very little miles but smelt like new car scent and cigarette ashes. When I got to my destination about 350 miles away the breaks started to sound funny. Luckily I made it back without having the breaks go out on me. Don’t they service their cars before giving it to clients?
The only two things I like about this spot is cheap pricing and the free shuttle ride back to SFO.
Until the next review…

Conveniently located across the street from the Marriott hotel, this seemed like a good idea. Cheap rentals of super compacts are available, but for whatever reason I decided to go with the mustang convertible — still not expensive.
Once I got in the car, I noticed it had 47 000 miles on the odometer. Knowing the way rentals are taken care of, this should have been my first signal not to take the car. Looking forward to riding with the top down, I ignored it.
I drove out to ½ Moon Bay, and began making my way down to Santa Cruz. Cell phone service via T-​Mobile is non existent in much of the area, a fact which would soon come to haunt me.
About a mile after crossing into Santa Cruz County, the tire warning light went off. The car began pulling to the left. Hard. I had a flat tire. Being in the middle of nowhere, I pulled off to the side of the road, and changed the tire. Thankfully all of the parts were there. Of course, it wasnt a full size spare. Just a dummy tire.
This ended my trip — I had to turn around and take the car back to Burlingame, and when I informed the attendant that the tire had blown out & canceled my trip, his only reply was «you don’t quite have a full tank of gas. How would you like to handle that?»
No discount was offered. I filled the tank and will never rent from this two-​bit company again.
Edit — 2÷8÷15 — I’ve been contacted by the Firefly social media representative, seeking to make amends. I’m not interested. Customer Service is an in the moment opportunity that all employees should be trained for, not a reactive service from someone behind a keyboard.

Best experience renting a car, EVER!
I needed a specific car for a commercial. I tried all of the big companies and none wanted to be bothered. They could rent me the class of car, but would not even check availability.
Finally, after several runarounds, I called Firefly. Not only did they have the car I needed at a great price. Sabrina, Marisol and Judy all went above and beyond moving dozens of cars, to get me what I needed. Sabrina is a pleasure to deal with and a real asset to this company.
This place is professional and fast. I’ll be back for sure.

I’m a regular user of ZipCar in the City for a car for an hour or two, sometimes I’ll use a car share for a day even, but when I know I’m going to use need a car for a few days or to take a longer trip it’s hugely beneficial to have access to FireFly.
It’s a bit of a pain to deal with the airport if you’re not flying in so for locals if you just BART over to Millbrae and grab a cab (Lyft/​Über) over it’s like $ 5 and so much easier. Frankly it’s not a terrible walk either. You’ll save most of that cost on your BART Ticket because there is an airport access fee for taking the train into the airport.
In 10 rentals I’ve only had one car that I didn’t care too much for and I turned around and took it back, swapped it out, no problem.
Their customer facing team is amazing. I seriously couldn’t ask for better, the people in there aren’t agents, they are much more like friends.
Even though I’ll continue to make my way out there to rent, I do wish they had a micro-​location in the City. If anyone from corporate is reading this, contact the City of San Francisco. They have parking rates for car sharing services as part of their urban improvement initiatives. Use hikers to keep the spots full during high volume and move them back to SFO for low volume times ;-)

It took 5 Cars before I got one that was acceptable:
The people I dealt with were nice, however, the Cars they have are C-​RAP.
First let me say; it is a hassle to get to the car rental store. In SFO you take a TRAM car from the main airport area to the Rental car area. All of the Major Car rental companies are located there. To get to Firefly however, you need to take a shuttle van from the main Rental car area, note: you may need to wait 10 –20 minutes before you get picked up. From there it is about a 5 – 10 minute ride to the car rental pickup area. Remember, you have to return the car here too. So you will do all of these steps in reverse on the return. In my opinion, it is not worth the hassle especially with any luggage in tow.
So back to my first sentence about 5 cars:
We arrived late one evening and went to pick up the car. The first car was newer, but smelled like smoke and had the check engine light on. I told them I was not comfortable with either of those issues. Second car seemed OK, however once I got it on the freeway; it shook horribly in the front like the wheels were not properly balanced. I called the Oakland firefly the next day as it was closer to me and told them my dilemma and they were happy to get me a different car. Car 3, the passenger seat was locked in the furthest upright position and my wife could not get comfortable, we didn’t leave the parking lot, car 4 we started to drive away and the brakes squeaked horribly, so we took that one back. Needless to say I am not too happy by this time. Finally, car 5 was the charm. It has been fine for the entire trip.
In summary, any money saved by using Firefly has been offset by the sheer hassle of the location as well and the 5-​car shuffle I had to play.
Rent at your own risk. Your mileage may vary. Yes, PUN intended.