Ace Rent a Car

Others have said it well: You get what you pay for.
We decided to go with Ace, take a risk, and save almost 50 bucks for a one-​day rental. I wasn’t sure what to expect, so here’s the blow-​by-​blow:
Arrived in Long Beach. Called the rental car company while we were taxiing on the runway so they could send the shuttle. Out to the curb (didn’t check any luggage) just as the van rolls up. Cool. No wait.
Drove longer than expected (10 mins) to the rental place. Not a sparkling facility. Signed a bunch of papers, and had to authorize a $ 250 charge on the credit card. *NOTE: They actually charge you that, then credit back the difference when you get back. Not my favorite way to do business. They were friendly, though, and provided a nice map and gave us good instructions about how to get where we were going.
Went out to the lot. «Here’s your car!»
.
…
Are you serious?
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A Smart Car.
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Well, look. I’m an adventurous guy, and I thought this would make for a great story so I didn’t raise a fuss. I’ve never driven a Smart Car and I would only have it for a day, right?
The Smart Car is what happens nine months after a weed whacker makes love to a shoebox. Did I get from point A to point B? Yes… erch…one…erch…jerky shift… erch…after another. So bad it was actually funny. Power nothing (seats, windows, locks) and lovely stains on the seats. Cheap cars is their business model and they’ve perfected the practice.
The next day we returned the car, got on the shuttle with no wait, and were off to the airport. I will check my credit card to make triple sure the credit makes it back.
Definitely memorable. I may rent with them again, but it all depends on price. I’d pay extra to go with a different in-​terminal agency, but if it’s double the price, I may consider Ace again.

I wish I would have read these before renting a car from them.
We wanted a car the next morning for a trip up the coast. We went with a compact reservation (the only thing cheaper is an economy class car).
We got a Hyundai Accent. No power anything. We had to roll down the windows ourselves, couldn’t open the locks with anything but a finger. The car hadn’t been cleaned (even though no smoking is allowed, the removable ash tray had cigarette butts and ash in there, as well as there being dirty napkins in different spots).
This was clearly an economy class car and it doesn’t show up anywhere on their site. The receptionist told us flat out that they are part of a company called Blue Oval and that the owners bought completely different cars than what is on their website and that she couldn’t do anything about it.
The little car had to get frequent refills due to the small tank and we ended up with a smudged windshield on our road trip because the vehicle had ZERO wiper fluid. The little thing could barely make it over the Angeles Forest.
I definitely recommend AGAINST ever renting from here.

Bit cheaper than others, but you get what you pay for.
Cars are not well maintained, garbage left from previous renter, windows dirty, car made weird noise, etc.
Website described as if they are located in the terminal with the other major companies, but they are 10 minutes away from the airport.

Why can’t I get any radio stations?
Oh, the antenna is snapped off.
Why does the REPLACE OIL SOON light keep coming on?
Oh, because the sticker says you were due 4,000 miles ago.
Why does it make a comical, yet terrifying fluttering sound and vibrate above 50 MPH?
Oh, because I’m driving a complete piece of shit.
This is where rental cars go to die after Enterprise is too ashamed of them to use.
This is where waiting room chairs go to die after they are tossed into the alley behind the methadone clinic.
This is where spiders go to thrive, make spider babies, and try to crawl in the ears of customers sitting in methadone clinic rejected chairs.
But two stars? Yeah. Because this is also where 6’5″ ogres can get a full sized car that they can actually drive without having to use their left foot to hit the brake pedal for less than 30 bucks a day. There’s a reason they’re so cheap.
A stinky, cigarette hole in the seat, broken antenna, is-​the-​steering-​wheel-​going-​to-​snap-​off-​in-​my-​hands, spider baby in the ear reason.