FlightCar

I left my car at Flightcar for 1 month. I received two checks for $ 56 and $ 21. My car was not returned to me in the condition I dropped it off. The trunk of my vehicle had water in it, there was damage all around the body, and the rims of my car had serious curb rash, I received several notices for toll and parking violations.
The response from Flightcar was not pleasant and I feel abused. Flightcar offered me several hundred bucks for damage that will surely cost more once the body shop assesses it. When you rent from a traditional rental car service such as Enterprise, they inspect the vehicles meticulously for damage. Based on the before and after of my vehicle, I can say without a doubt Flightcar does not inspect vehicles when they are returned. I never received notice that my vehicle had been damaged. The first notice I received from Flightcar was that my car’s battery was dead. The vehicle had a battery that was only a few months old when I dropped it off and car batteries don’t die in months unless abused.
I’m still working my situation out and I hope that Flightcar will fully cover the damages of my vehicle.

Free parking and I made some money. What else can I say? Car was clean when I picked it back up and they were prompt to get us from the airport. Will definitely do it again!

To be honest, I’ve not used their car, but just experienced their service. So what I can only say is that: no idea about the cars, but excellent service, great persons near SJC airport office. They are: AJ, Juan, Dre. I appreciate their customer serving attitude and kindness and helpfulness as a human being.
I did reserve a car from them through a website, but probably due to my carelessness, I didn’t notice that there was a mileage cap on my option, but actually in my case, I would drive a lot across California, and then would definitely break the cap and get awfully charged. It is the guys in flightcar who reminded me this issue, and helped me and suggested me to consider other companies, and waited me to contact other options, and finally cancelled my reservation without charging any fees, drove me to another car renter, which their competitor actually. I would say, honestly, some of the things are out of their business, but they chose to help me, this is all about their great personalities. Companies with this kind of employees who always care about their customer, even potential customers, deserve a bright future in their business, and all travelers who won’t drive too much (100 miles/​day) worth to trust this company!

I am giving a 1 because I can’t give a ZERO! I was on the phone for an hour after booking my reservation to get more details and called back a few more times with other questions. On all calls I was asked to go to the airport to get my car and present my pickup number. I get to the airport to the car rental terminal because that’s what my confirmation says to do and guess what it’s not there. I call the number again and the guy asks me to hold while he checks with the lot to see if there are any cars available to rent. Imagine the shock on my face when he says that. Then imagine my rage when he came back and said there are no more cars. Wasted 2.5 hours of my Thanksgiving evening. I am beyond upset and very disappointed. I will be sure to tell everyone never ever to use this company! Terrible!

I was very apprehensive about using FlightCar when reading the reviews, but I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised by my experience.
THE NEED: My car was involved in an accident about a month ago and has been rendered unusable. I rented from a local place (Acar), but I found myself disappointed with what I was getting (A beat up 2000 Toyota Camry with a check engine light on and brakes that were just DYING for replacement for $ ²⁰⁰⁄₅ days was NOT my cup of tea). Unfortunately, not a lot of places rent to 18 year olds, so my only options were to go back to Acar, or give Flightcar a try for a week and hopefully land myself a somewhat nicer ride. I was very nervous booking my rental with them after reading the Unilocal reviews, but I was so desperate for transportation that I said «eff it» and went ahead with it.
GETTING THE RENTAL: This isn’t your typical airport Enterprise or Hertz. In fact, it’s office/​lot isn’t even on the SJC airport exit from Highway 87. This was fine for me because I had a relative drive me to the office, but for airport travelers like this service is probably intended for, it can be frustrating. I’ve heard nightmare stories about their «Shuttle» service, so I wouldn’t bother with it and to just take Über or the bus to their office on 4^th Street.
Flightcar is basically a car sharing network, but unlike Zipcar, it’s others people’s personal vehicles rather than a fleet of corporate owned vehicles. The benefit is that the rates are cheaper than a «typical» rental place, but that also means Flightcar has very little to no regulation over the quality and maintenance of the vehicle. I already knew that going into this, but if you’re expecting to get a fresh-​off-​the-​dealers-​lot, 2015 model year car, be forewarned.
THE RENTAL ITSELF: They were originally going to give me a Kia Soul, but the key broke, so they upgraded me to a fairly loaded 2011 Toyota Venza for free. SCORE!
–However, as mentioned above, it had it’s problems. It had the Check Engine light on. The guy at the lot dismissed it as being an oil change reminder, but as the owner of a Toyota Camry, I know that the «Maint Reqd» light would only be on instead. But hooking it up to my scan tool at home showed it was just an evap issue, which turned out to be a loose gas cap.
–It was also fairly dirty when I got it. The cloth seats were very heavily stained, and the fact that there was a bottle of lotion and napkins in the car when I got it was really quite concerning. But the driver seat was fairly clean, so I couldn’t complain too much. It’s not like Flightcar has an entire detailing department.
–Probably the most concerning was the front tires were nearly bald. I can’t blame flightcar for this, but it’s something I take very seriously and I wish Flightcar could do something about this. I would’ve much rather had a cheaper econobox if it meant it had safer tires.
OTHER DRAWBACKS:
— You’re limited to 100 miles a day, and the extra mile charge is $.45. I drive a lot, and even with my liberal cutting back of my driving, I still went 55 miles over, leading to a $ 25 over charge. That seems a bit pricey to me. So if you drive a lot and find the 100 mile daily limit to be a challenge, be prepared to fork over some money at the end.
— Customer service is hit or miss, one person will tell you one thing and another person will say something completely different. (Example: my security hold was $ 300, but another person on the phone said it would be $ 500 because I’m underage)
VERDICT:
It’s a good option for those who need a cheap rental and don’t care if the car is in pristine condition, or if you’re under 25 and need a rental (like me). However, if I could, I probably would’ve paid the little bit of extra money and rented something from Enterprise with the added comfort of renting a better-​maintained car. But overall, I had no major complaints with Flightcar and will likely use them again in the future.

I didn’t realize when I rented that this was a car share program.
Pros:
* cheapest deal around
* fast airport pickup and close location
Cons:
* The car was tidy, but dirty inside and out
* the driver’s side windshield didn’t roll up all the way
* I got about 10 emails in a 24 hour period from FlightCar with no option of unsubscribing
* I dropped the car off at 6am and no one was there. I followed the instructions on the door to leave the keys with the parking lot attendant (why was this never mentioned as a procedure?). I then got an $ 80 late fee because they didn’t check the car in until noon. I had to call to get the charge reversed, when it was their mistake.
I won’t be choosing this service again.

Damages to car while rented by Flight Car; no response from business for over 5 weeks
I had provided my car for rent through Flight Car’s monthly parking program on 18^th April 2015. The car was returned to me on 13^th October 2015 with multiple scratches which are more than 2 inches long.
The company has since been very sluggish in responding and at first dismissed the issue as normal wear and tear. It has been more than 5 weeks and basic communication is lacking from Flight Car.

I listed my car on flight car and came to drop it at SJC. There is nobody at the location. I looked around everywhere couldn’t find anybody but found a number on the door. I called it, no response, then I call the customer support they put me on hold for 10 mins and say that the manager is now coming to the office. Totally upset with this I drove to the airport and parked my car in the long term parking lot. After half an hour I get a call from the manager that he reached the location and if I am still interested in dropping the vehicle.

Horrible experience overall. Don’t use this service if you are in a hurry or want to get somewhere fast. Initially it sounds all good. The cost is a little lower than other rental car services, and they promise to pick you up from the airport and take you to their rental car center. And that’s where the problem starts: They just didn’t show up. I sat there for 50 minutes and tried to call their number several times to let them know I arrived, but no answer. I also tried to call their customer service number. Same result: No answer. When I finally got a hold of them they told me they didn’t get the notification that I had arrived at the airport even though I had used their app exactly as instructed. What’s even worse, when they finally picked me up after I had waited for almost an hour they didn’t even apologize, but just gave me more excuses why they had not picked me up as promised within 10 to 15 minutes after arrival. I will never use this service again, I’d rather pay a little more to another rental car company that provides good customer service.

Terrible, terrible, terrible experience and will NOT use again. It was impossible to get a hold of anyone when I landed, when the shuttle driver finally came he claimed I needed to wait until the next one. I talked my way on to the shuttle (not sure why they wanted me to wait AGAIN), and then I got to the lot and there was no one there. No one. I kept calling customer service, who would then call the manager, who would then call the office. Meanwhile, I am standing outside of the office listening to the phones ring and ring with no one there to answer.
I stood there forever waiting for someone to arrive, and the whole time I can see all of the keys just sitting right inside the OPEN window. So eventually, after being SO fed up, I reached into the window, grabbed my key, and left. If that doesn’t make you a little apprehensive about using this service, I don’t know what will.
DO NOT USE.

I completely agree the many one star reviews.
I did not know FlightCar existed and nor that their concept is to let you park your car on their lot in exchange for allowing them to rent it out while you are traveling. I had no idea I would be renting private cars that are not regular rentals. I have no idea how they vet the cars to see if they are safe and reliable which according to other reviews appear not to be. I booked through Economy Booking and was told I would get a Mercedes GLK or similar. When I got to the rental office I was offered a 2007 LandRover with 130,000 miles on it. I refused it as it had too many miles. I was offered another big SUV with 140,000 miles that was dirty inside. Again I refused and was offered a newer economy car but it made a god-​awful noise every time it was turned on. So of course I refused to drive that. (By the way I have photos of all these.) There were no other options however the kind young lady found me a newer car that was not «ready» but I took it as it appeared to be in good shape and I needed to get on the road.
Two days later I was told I had to return it immediately as the owner wanted it back. They offered to pick it up in Watsonville where I was visiting and swap it out as I had rented it out for a total of 5 days. At that point I told them to pick it up and terminate my contract as I was so frustrated and didn’t want to have anything more to do with them. I also asked for all my money back which they agreed to. To their credit I did get my money back but I had to call headquarters. Interestingly after I pleaded my case the representative told me the manager (she put me on hold and called the San Jose office to get their take) had told them a completely different story adding insult to injury.
So dear consumer, based on my experience I would agree their rates are cheaper but you need to decide on your own if you would take the risk of driving someone else’s car. Be sure to read all of the one star reviews as they confirm again and again it’s a precarious situation. As for me I wouldn’t have done so had I known their concept and would never put myself in that situation again.

After notifying Flightcar using their app that I arrived at the airport I had to wait almost an hour to be picked up. During that time I tried several times to call customer service, but nobody picked up. When they finally came they gave me all kinds of excuses why it took so long, but not one apology. It was a very frustrating experience as I ended up being late to the meeting for which I came to San Jose. I will never use FlightCar again, it’s utterly unreliable, and I can only recommend to use another rental car company. I’d rather pay more but know that I am not going to be stuck at the airport.

This is just embarrassing. The cars are really old with lots of miles. These cars are not in any condition to drive. Just imagine if you have a nice car below 40K miles, would you ever rent it to a complete stranger.
The car I drove had 89K miles, with all kinds of odor. The other option I had was a car with full off cigarette smell. I had no choice but to rent the best one they had. The car had several mechanical issues, it took at least 5 attempts to put the car back in Drive mode, transmission was completely gone. The break pads had nothing left in them, I had to be really careful. The side mirrors were wobbly and several other issues.
But the employees there are trying to do the best they can. I wish they had some minimum car requirements like Über. Very poorly run business overall. Stay away from this.

Before I start, Cedric at SJC was helpful and nice.
I drove the rental to San Francisco and stayed the night. The next morning I had a flat tire. I talked with Cody on the phone, manager, and he said that I would be reimbursed for my troubles. I fixed the flat tire and it cost me $ 15. I called them when I was getting the flat tire fixed to confirm. No return phone call. After I returned the car, I emailed customer service with my reimbursement request and didn’t receive a response. I again emailed support to follow up if they received it AND NO RESPONSE again. It’s only $ 15 but it’s the principle and they said they would reimburse me. It was even in the computer notes of my rental agreement.

I didn’t think this experience could get worse.
2 weeks after my disastrous rental experience, I got a fastrak violation notice due to the renter evading a bridge toll. I sent it to both the support email and the social email asking for reimbursement. I receive an email reply that said «accounting will get back to you» and then nothing. It’s been 10 days and i have followed up twice with them.
Concept is brilliant. Customer service is sorely lacking!!!

I wanted to like the concept a lot but it fell a little short. I think that there should be two sets of reviews. One for renters and one for the people who let their car be rented. I rented and mostly the experience was good. Pick was fairly quick and the car was OK a 2003 Mercedes. It needed a car wash on the outside and a good cleaning on the inside. There was a small mechanical defect in the assembly of the shifter that was no big deal. The 100 miles per day might be an issue for some renters. The drop off was fine and I got back to the terminal in good time. Google maps is confused finding the location as it thinks you can just drive through the freeway barrier on the 101 to get to the drop off. I would recommend for a leisure traveler who will not be doing a lot of miles.

Where do I begin. I had no idea that flightcar was a service where you borrowed other people’s cars. This seems like a good concept but there needs to be more checks and balances with the actual cars.
First, I found a Chevy suburban ‘or similar’ car on Kayak. I booked it for a great deal. When it was time to pick up the car I was offered a 5 seater Toyota Highlander (not anything close to a suburban or similar). So the other option was a ²⁰⁰⁸⁄₉ Honda Odyssey minivan, we ended up settling for this and we got a %10 discount since we didn’t get what we wanted. After having this car for 24 hours the A/​C roared and sounded like an old WW2 bomber plane, the interior was dusty and dirty, it had 105,000 miles and the transmission wouldn’t change gears properly and actually downshifted when I was on the freeway.
So I called to get the car changed out and we finally ended up with an 8 seater 2011 Honda Pilot which was better but not great. A couple tires had hardly any tread left and were close to racing slicks, the seats were stained and the service light flashed the whole time, possibly for an oil change or general maintenance. For the price it served its purpose.
The only positives were the price, the customer service and the staff at the flightcar location were very nice, accommodating and super helpful. Once the quality of the car improves, this could be a great idea. Until then I will pay a little more and rent from the regular rental places like Hertz, Budget and so on. At least there I will get the exact car I want, a new car with low miles, good tires, clean interior, no service lights and other peoples belongings inside of it.

Fastest and cheapest way to rent a car near San José airport. Everything was great, kind staff. A nice girl called Vanessa took me home after vehicle return, when her turn was over. She has been so kind to me. So… thanx Vanessa, thanx FlightCar. Recommended service.

First timer — I really wanted the biz model to be successful, but alas, execution is the name of the game. Huge, huge miss on the inbound. I give it two stars as the actual car I drove (Lexus ES) was good quality and better than I would have had for the same rate for sure.
Pros:
— Good car for the rate
— Website is clean and easy to navigate until booked
— Sent a text with how to get picked up and also emailed.
— Fast email with summary charges following dropoff (even though nobody was there at dropoff)
Negatives (where do I start):
— Have to get a copy of your drivers history to send to them (I appreciate the validation of drivers who drive someone else’s car) $ 13 extra I had to pay.
— Location is actually 10 min drive away (all other rental cars are onsite at SJC)
— Pickup ridiculousness (1 hour 12 minutes from when I called to arrive at car rental location)
— I call as instructed and call center person READS off her in instructions which tell you to simply walk to the next terminal. She thinks it is out the door — it is not; 15 min walk or shuttle ride. So I head there via the shuttle I take each week. She then calls me en route and tells me not to go there. Too late — I am already on my way. She already told the shuttle to leave since I was so far away. So I take the shuttle back to the original spot. She tells me the shuttle will be there there «within minutes.» 4 calls and 40 mins later, nothing. She says she can send Über. No thanks, that will take longer too. She says I can take a taxi to their location and they will pay.
— I take a taxi and pay $ 18.50 personally. They say they will reimburse.
— pull up to the ghetto car park and to the one room office. The guy there was nice enough and check in was fairly fast.
— He says he will take the $ 18.50 off the bill. When I got my bill it hasn’t been taken off. Now I need to file with them to get that reimbursed.
— I drive away and realize there is NO gas in the car. Literally the miles remaining says zero. To even drive away I need to go put gas in the car. (this is a sneaky deal for the owner as how likely is it that I will run it down that low on return? free gas…)
— On return, nobody there. The attendant of the car park tells me they don’t have anything to do with «those guys» but I leave the key and stand in the «waiting room» (old linoleum ripped out of a house, piecemeal chairs, and it is raining…)
Net: So far cost me $ 31.50 more in personal charges for the privilege on top of the full rental fee. 1 hour 12 minutes from call to arrival. Ghetto location. But a nice car to drive for the two days.
I MAY give them one more shot if I am traveling personally and want to see if I can get a nice car for a good rate with the family. I will not do it again for business (I commute each week to SJC) like this.
UPDATE: they did send me a reimbursement on my issues. I think the response posted to my review misses the point that it took over an hour to just get there.

Used it as a rider. Kept the car for 10 days for my initial move in days at the Bay Area. Highly satisfied with their service. Cedric picked us from airport handled all our bulky luggage himself. And when the car we had booked turned out to be smaller for our luggage, he easily gave a sedan which could keep our luggages at no extra cost though the car was somewhat old. After I returned Cedric was kind enough to drop me to my home all the way in Sunnyvale. It seems they just started in SJC airport, but I highly recommend them for their cheap rates compared to rental cars