The Best and Worst Rental Car Companies in North America

Caroline Morse Teel is the Managing Editor for SmarterTravel Media. Follow her on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline.

Caroline joined Boston-based SmarterTravel in 2011 after living in Ireland, London, and Manhattan. She's traveled to all seven continents, jumped out of planes, and bungeed off bridges in the pursuit of a good story. She loves exploring off-the-beaten path destinations, anything outdoorsy, and all things adventure.

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When you’re searching for a rental car to book for your trip, it’s always tempting to reserve the cheapest vehicle that pops up on search. After all, a Corolla is the same regardless of which agency you book it from, right? It seems that way… but waiting outside the airport for a shuttle that never arrives, dealing with a dirty or unreliable car, or spending hours in line just to reach the rental car counter can quickly ruin your vacation.

Manager filling car rental documents standing in the showroom with car on the background — rh2010 | Adobe Stock

To help you avoid these rental car nightmares, J.D. Power conducts an annual North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study. This study surveys over 8,000 travelers who rented cars at airport locations for either business or leisure trips.

Participants ranked rental car agencies based on seven factors:

Ease of rental
Pick-up/drop-off experience
Level of trust
Vehicle
Staff
Value for price paid
Digital tools

The Best Rental Car Companies

A famous name doesn’t guarantee a good rental car experience. “Trust fosters loyalty, enhances the company’s reputation, and differentiates it in a competitive market,” said Azari Jones, rental car practice lead at J.D. Power. “This leads to higher customer retention and positive word-of-mouth. Without this trust, even a well-known brand may struggle to maintain long-term relationships with customers.”

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is an American car rental company — JHVEPhoto | Adobe Stock

According to the survey, these are the best rental car companies in North America.

National
Enterprise
Sixt
Advantage Rent A Car
Alamo
Hertz
ACE Rent A Car

The Worst Rental Car Companies

If you want to avoid a bad experience, you shouldn’t book with the following rental car companies, which were ranked lowest in the customer satisfaction survey.

Dollar
Budget
Thrifty
Fox Rent A Car
Avis
Payless

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