3 Car Rental Companies Ranked As America's Worst (And Their Bad Reviews Back It Up)

Renting a car can be a pain for a wide variety of reasons. It can be costly (although Costco can unexpectedly save travelers on car rentals) and you could very well end up with a vehicle that you didn't select. Not to mention being hit by hidden fees and deposits you might not realize were part of the deal until you arrive at the counter or receive the bill. But not all car rental companies are created equally. The J.D. Power 2025 North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study points out that some care rental companies are better and others have room for improvement. 

The study was conducted over a one-year period and used a 1,000-point scale to determine overall customer satisfaction. J.D. Power revealed 13 of the best and the worst car-rental companies in the country based on factors like trust, value for price, and more. The top three include Enterprise, which received 734 points, followed by National Car Rental with 721 points (the company has previously scored top marks across the board), while Advantage Rent a Car and Sixt both earned 711 points.

On the other hand, Payless, Fox Rent A Car, and Dollar Car Rental were ranked as the bottom three. Dig a little deeper beyond this study and it's not hard to see why. If you sift through reviews on websites like Yelp, ConsumerAffairs, Trustpilot, and others, you'll discover the nitty gritty of why these companies have been left in the dust.

Payless markets itself as offering affordable car rentals for budget-conscious travelers. For reference, a one-day rental from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) can cost under $60 at the time of this writing. For comparison, you could pay over $90 a day at Enterprise's LAX location. However, it might be worth it to spend those extra dollars as it could possibly save you money in the long run. Payless scored only 650 points on the J.D. Power 2025 North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study. On Trustpilot, Payless has a 1.4 rating, with reviewer after reviewer writing that they felt that they were ripped off, citing surprise costs and deceptive pricing. Needless to say, the company doesn't have the best reputation with consumers.

"Payless's business model seem[s] to work on the premise of pulling you in with cheap day rates and then ambushing you with their own insurance products and sets of fees and taxes," explained an individual. In fact, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) alleged in 2017 that Payless was, for lack of better words, ripping people off with unexpected charges. The company was involved in a class-action lawsuit for this very reason, which was settled in 2025 for $19 million.

Likewise, countless others on Trustpilot stated that they were dissatisfied by the service, as well as the subpar quality of Payless' rentals. Reviewers on ConsumerAffairs, where Payless holds a 1.1 rating, had the same complaints. One person wrote, "Payless not only failed to provide a safe, clean, and functional vehicle, but they also showed a complete disregard for customer care, transparency, and basic decency."

Fox Rent A Car has locations in major destinations like Miami International Airport, Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, and Chicago O'Hare International Airport, just to name a few. Nevertheless, you should think twice about booking a vehicle with this company. It received 643 points out of 1,000 from the J.D. Power 2025 North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study, and, as one Redditor put it, "I would sooner walk barefoot to my destination than to rent a car with Fox." Although they have been around since 1989, this long-standing business has disastrous ratings and reviews, including on Yelp. At the time of this writing, Fox Rent A Car has 1.6 stars on the platform, a score that was calculated using 24 locations.

There are grievances from Yelp users across the country who give Fox Rent A Car one-star, with some recalling the inattentive customer service they were provided. "If you have an emergency, they won't help you. Spend your money elsewhere — this company does not care about its customers!" exclaimed a review written for the Fox Rent A Car at San Francisco International Airport. On ConsumerAffairs, Fox Rent A Car has a 1.1-star rating. The website notes that over 1,000 reviewers gave the company one star, many of whom say they were overcharged for their rental, especially those who booked on third-party websites.

"If you decide to rent from them keep ALL your receipts. When you drop off your car log the time. This company will rip you for every dollar they can and then they make YOU prove they're wrong," advised a reviewer. J.D. Power is not the only company that believes Fox Rent A Car is one of the worst car rental companies out there. In 2024, Consumer Reports bestowed it with this same title.

Coming in last on the J.D. Power 2025 North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study is Dollar Car Rental with 641 out of 1,000 points. Why did it score so low? Perhaps the "Complaints about Dollar Car rental" Facebook group can offer some insight. Boasting over 360 members, disgruntled customers frequently post on the page. Common themes among users include frustration over being unable to contact customer service directly, while others say that Dollar Car rental required them to pay the upgrade for a vehicle they did not choose.

Put simply, it appears that the company has a significant level of distrust from customers, especially as they have a track record of taking people's money without providing them a rental in the first place. According to an article published by Business Insider in 2022, one woman's credit plummeted after a mishap with Dollar Car Rental. She had a reservation but was ultimately not given a vehicle. Despite this, she received a bill for $768.

Redditors also lament their negative experiences with the company. "Hitchhiking is a safer bet than renting from Dollar Rent A Car," penned a user on the platform. In addition to all this, Dollar Car Rental has a 1.7 rating on Yelp -– a score that was derived based on 377 locations and 1.3 rating on ConsumerAffairs. It's worth mentioning that Dollar Car Rental is a subsidiary of the same group that owns other big names in the car-rental industry including Thrifty and Hertz, whose controversial new AI tool could drive up your costs.