Sixt
reviews and complaints

Never rent a car with sixt in europe. I rented opel astra with sixt for 10 days in november. I paid 309 euro for 2 drivers with full insurance for opel astra. I returned it on 23 of november. All was ok. The deposit after month was returned on my account. But on 16 of january I received the attached claim that our car was damaged by a marten. Marten gnawed some cable of engine sensor. And I have to pay 197 euro for repair. I wrote that the car was ok when I returned it and claims after such long period of time can't be accepted. So please do not disturb me again with such unfounded and proofless claims. On 04 of february I received one more surprising letter from sixt (Attached). They writing that I confermed damages when I returned the car. Omg, I didn't confirmed anything. If I confirmed why sixt returned the deposit? And the funniest thing that payment date postponed on 16th of february of 2016. This was very weird. I tried to find fax and email mentioned in claim. And find confirmation that this is real sixt fax and email. I called to local sixt to check number of the claim and they didn't find anything in the system. So I understood that this is fraud for sixt workers who have access to sixt database. I wrote claims on fraud on international customer service in uk and germany. After month I received answer from lauren mckay customer services agent:
"please be advised that this appears to be a damage claim, and therefor would need to be handled by the franchise in your local office. You can contact them via the following email address and telephone number:...
Sixt uk will be unable to assist further with this issue, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this may cause."
I descreibed all the situation one more time, ask them to check the situation asap and send me some reponse on my fraud claim.
After second claimd on [protected]@sixt.com and [protected]@sixt.com. I am receiving the 3rd letter from fraud email [protected]@sixt.com:
"please accept our apology regarding the mistake about the date. You are right, this shoulnd't have happened.
Nevertheless a damage occured during your rental.
We kindly ask you to settle the amount until the 14th of march 2015"
No comments!

I have booked a Chevrolet SRX from the 26th of December 2015 to the 2nd January 2016 - because I have
booked early I got a really fine deal: Only $ 360 for this period. Now I tried to reschedule the pickup time from
the 26th of December 12:00 noon to the 25th of December 10:00pm.

And now the funny thing: Rescheduling the pickup time means the contract will be remade and now the price
is not $ 360 but $ 1350!

It would be understandable if the price will rise for the one day, but for the whole period?

Poor Customer Care!

I am someone who hardly ever writes a review, but in this case I feel like I have an obligation to warn others. I also hope that this review reaches enough people so that SixT receives enough in lost sales to account for the money the are basically stealing out of my pocket.

I was impressed by the company's car selection and prices. They seemed more than reasonable and the car selection was much better than other companies. I had never used SixT before and decided to give them a try during a recent trip to California to attend a family wedding. I travel for business so I rent cars from all over the country and I've never had an experience like this. I wish I would have read reviews because now that I look I see that others have had similar experiences to mine.

So, we rented a small SUV in Los Angeles last September for four days. We were visiting family so we hardly used the car at all. When we returned the vehicle, they did a quick inspection, found no damage, and we left the facility. TWO AND A HALF MONTHS LATER in late November I get an email from them showing a picture of a flat tire and stating that we returned the car with a flat tire and we owe them $250. WHAT?!?! First of all, the tire wasn't flat when we dropped off the car. Not only would we have noticed a flat tire but the guy who did the inspection would have noticed. Secondly, why would they wait so long to contact us if there really was damage caused during our use? They allegedly took a picture of the flat tire back in early September so how come I didn't get the demand from them until late November?

So what can I do? They say that they are going to hand the claim over to a collections agent who will then cause me more grief and ultimately I'll end up having to pay because it's not enough money to deal with the aggravation plus it would cost more to fight it than the claim is worth.

After reading other reviews, my experience seems to be typical with this company. Take the old cliché to heart -- there is no such thing as a free lunch. Well, for SixT, they may entice you with low rates but in the end they will get your money. It's a horrible business model in my humble opinion, but at this point all I can do is learn my lesson, never use them again, and warn as many people as possible.

Take care.

I'm a US expat, working in the Netherlands. In 2013, I rented a car from Sixt-Amsterdam for 12 months (had to change it a few times, per their rules). I paid them over 13K euros during this period. When I returned one of the cars, they said that I had to pay 500 euros damage because there were scuffs on the bumper. They claim that I signed a form saying I took responsibility for the damage, and I absolutely did not. They sent photos of the scuffs, and there are indeed scuffs. I dispute that I caused the scuffs and that 500 euros is a reasonable damage claim for a scuffed bumper. I have had many email communications with Sixt on this, and they have likely sent this to a collections agency. On another occasion in 2013, I was told that a stone had nicked the hood and I would have to pay for that as well, but I never received paperwork on that. I believe that Sixt uses these outrageous damage claims as an additional revenue stream. Be careful with Sixt . . .

We were very very disappointed with Sixt. We made the reservations on line, went all the way to the Tocuman airport from Gorgona to get our rental car and was told by the young lady at the Sixt desk that our car was not there and they did not have another one for us? She then took us over to Express rental desk and we had to pay almost $200.00 more for a car from them.
We will not be using your services again and I will not be recommending Sixt to anyone. Very very disappointed.

Terri and Robert Galloway

I rented a car at SIXT, based on my mileage program (TAP-VICTORIA) information. I prepaid the car. However, without my agreement, they charged the value a second time, based on my signature on rental agreement, where (what a coincidence) my original credit card number was not mentioned). I had to fight 1 month to be refunded. As a revenge, 6 months later they have not yet credited the miles I am entitled to. A company to be avoided, reading all the complaints here.

On October 14th I rented a car from Sixt car rental at the Ljubljana train station. The clerk at the counter was indifferent at best. When asked if Sixt provided a map of Slovenia, he referred me to the local book store. A tourist information booth was in the adjacent complex. Not a very good first impression. When we returned the car to Sixt’s location in Maribor, the office was not open. After a 90 minute wait, the agent final showed up, 15 minutes prior to our boarding of a midday train.

When I returned to Canada and reviewed my VISA statement I was surprised to see that there were two charges from Sixt. The first charge of CAD84.99 was expected but a little high for one extra day of use. The second charge of CAD433.35 was unexplained. I had to write to Sixt to get an explanation. They replied that it was for damage to the rear bumper where the trunk cover comes down? When their agent in Maribor received the car from us, he had pointed out the three little chips. He said this might be a problem and would have to contact head office. The chips could have happened at any time, not necessarily from our use, just normal wear and tear on the vehicle from people putting luggage in and out of the trunk. The chips were the thickness of a small coin and less than a couple of centimeters in length. Rather than missing our train, I did not want to get into a long discussion or debate with the agent. I advised him that should there be a problem, Sixt should notify me. Sixt’s Ljubljana office had all of my contact information.

The fact that I had not received any notification from them until I contacted them, along with the amount of the charge, makes me suspect that this is some sort of shake down or scam. Sixt assumes they can put through any claim they want against naive consumers. I think Sixt expects that most consumers do not check their credit card statements closely or the consumer will just let their credit card insurance provider reimburse the cost. I have attached a couple of pictures so people can judge whether the charges were justified.

Even though my insurance company is going to reimburse me for the extra costs, I could not live with myself without alerting my fellow car renters to beware of Sixt’s practices. Make sure you have full insurance coverage and carefully examine the car top to bottom before signing off on the previous damage sheet if you decide to rent from Sixt. I have spoken with Hertz and Oryx car rental agencies elsewhere in Europe and their comment was that they didn’t even acknowledge scratches under 10 cms.

I have attached 3 images that the the level of the overcharging. The initial reservation states the anticipated charges will be 157.04 Euro, the receipt at rental states 251.74 euro (we did add a car seat, but still over the amount estimated), the final email bill is 352.29 Euro. So we someone inquired charges of 200 Euro from reservation to return AND we picked it up later and returned it before the allotted 24 hour rental period. Now I'm going back and forth with them on why we were charged this amount and they say I was to return the vehicle by 9 am; however, twice the representative and I went over that they charged for 24 hour periods and my 251.74 was for two 24 hour periods. After reading the various other complaints before me I'm so frustrated that I didn't read them before and look this company up. They have deceptive practices and rip off the consumer - there is no doubt about that. I will dispute the over charge and do my best to inform others of this bad company! So very sad!
The location we were to rent from closed early so we had to go to a different location, and they informed me that the GPS would be changed and it wasn't so we had to figure that out as well.

For the record, the associates were professional and helpful; however, they clearly didn't explain the terms. I venture to say that based on all the others that have had the exact same experience it would not have mattered - this company would have overcharged me either way.

I have been renting vehicles for many years. I work for a federal agency that keeps me in the field over 300 days a year. I do not own a vehicle, and instead I will rent if I need one. I am also a Hilton Honor Diamond member and I carry two major credit cards. Each of my cards included collision rental for rental vehicles. Using my Hilton Honor discount, I decided to use SixT for the first time on a one week rental. I made my reservation online in conjunction with Hilton Honors. When I reached the counter, the woman asked if I had a reservation and I responded yes handing over my licsence and credit card. Then the drama started. She has my license and card but she is telling me she can not find a reservation. I have been around long enough to know that this is a deceptive tactic. So I gave her the reservation number. A man is sitting next to her who seem to be with another company because there is a different sign hanging over him, but who really knows? I re-emphasize that I have reservation. Then she proceeds and about this time I know she is up to something because she is not very smart to cover her tracks. She ask me for my insurance company and I respond that in my reservation I purchased the package which includes the insurance. She goes into this dooms day scenario about what will happen if something happens. She tells me she don't see it and the man looks in his computer and tells her it is included but she keeps pressing me for my insurance. I tell her that it is included in my credit card. Then she gets stupid and displays the poorest counter manners you could imagine. She ignore me and turn to the man as if to say "can you believe this". This woman probably could not even qualify for my credit card and is now displaying her pure ignorance. I should have walked. Next she put a form in front of me and asked me to sign it. I responded that I am not signing anything until she tell me what I am signing. She snaps at me and responds that "I'm not finish!", and I respond that she needs to explain before asking me to sign. Then she punish me, the customer, by removing a set of keys from a slew of keys and telling me she is giving a car with scratches. My blood is boiling. Then she has the nerve o tell me that she will be taking more than the rental cost for this compact from my credit card. That was it with this hostile person. I took my credit card and license and walked several feet to Avis. In this day and age, who would employ such tactics and especially not knowing who they are violating. In this case, a federal employee. Never again, and I will be a walking advertisement, especially after I wrote to SixT who did not bother to respond. Totally unprofessional and definitely racially profiling.

We had problems with Sixt in Germany, too. First, they insisted we trade cars before traveling to Czech Republic,
then tried to charge us for the use of both cars on the day we made the
exchange ! I also believe they have an obligation in Germany to warn
North American drivers of the photo speed traps that are on the
autobahns.

We are not used to these devices, at least in Canada. Drivers travel
so fast on the autobahns that you spend most of your time concentrating
on the drivers that are whipping by you often at speeds well in excess
of 200 kmh. I would think, if only in the interests of good customer
service, Sixt should be warning customers these devices that are
everywhere in Germany. The result is that you miss seeing a few speed
limit signs or are simply following the traffic, then you return to
Canada, and you start to receive multiple invoices for 25 euros each
from Sixt for each time they've provided your i.d. to the police. What a
great way to make extra profit ! I can't imagine how many extra euros
they make each year. I suspect that almost every North American who
rents a car from Sixt ends up paying them multiple 25 euro charges long
after you thought you'd paid your bill.

Sixt has a loyalty program where you can earn a gold or platinum status based on the number of yearly rentals. These loyalty cards once attained entitle as per their website entitle you to the following: 10-15% discount on rental rates, car upgrade, low self service rates and a few other benefits which are pretty much useless. I have been a loyal customer with Sixt since about 6 years since my college days and I now rent on an average 120 - 140 days a year. I finally landed a platinum card at the beginning of this year which i was very excited about. My main goal with the platinum card was to reduce my rental costs which i assumed would happen with the 15% discount mentioned on their website. Contrary to what their website states, using the platinum card almost always makes the rental more expensive then renting regularly via their website without any loyalty card by 10% or more. It is actually disadvantageous to have a sixt platinum card while making a booking. I found this to be the case on several occasions and decided to speak to Sixt Belgium about it. Unfortunately all I got from them was a cold response saying that I had a "pretty good rate" with my platinum card and when I proved to them that I really didnt have a good rate but in fact it was a more expensive rate, they said that their website rates changes all the time so they can never know for sure which is a better rate. I found this to be absolutely ridiculous because this completely negates the point of being a loyal customer. Another thing is that with the platinum card they quietly make some add-ons mandatory like personal insurance and theft insurance which they indirectly make you pay for but which nobody needs or ever opts for in a regular rental. With a platinum card I expect to have the best rate possible and not have to keep checking on their website as a non member for the pricing everytime before making a reservation. I have attched the proof of the screenshots for the exact same rental with the same add ons costing more via the Platinum card reservation. Above all of this I have never gotten a car upgrade from Sixt either, as their standard answer is that they are all sold out of cars. Sixt is an absolute rip off car rental company that has misrepresentation of information on their website. If anybody can suggest how I can escalate this matter to a higher level at sixt please let me know because i have got no help from their helpline or branch manager.

I will never use Sixt again, I made the reservation and when I made it they stated the car had unlimited mileage but when I got to the counter they wanted to charge for every mile over a 100 per day. This was right when I was getting ready to leave. Very unprofessional on their part and needless to say I will not rent from them again. Beware, what you see when they advertise a car may not be what they put in the fine print of your contract. Stay away from this company.

My initial impression of Sixt: (Easy online booking; absolutely lovely people at the Shepherds Bush shop in Latimer Road around the corner from my home; too-good-to-be-true nearest and cheapest and on paper more competitive and convenient than Avis who I'd always used before at the Westfield; great car; great experience. Gave 5 Stars in my post-rental survey and was looking forward to a long relationship of years of car rental with them) has been completely ruined. I will never use them again as their post-rental policies stink of malpractice and making up profit margins. It's really clear now that they advertise apparently cheaper prices to get the business but then claw the money back to be profitable afterwards. I could have been a really loyal life-long customer, so for £50+VAT they have lost potentially £1000s from me, which also makes them incompetent as well as untrustworthy.
1. No one explained about needing to return the vehicle clean - an omission which has now cost me £50+20% VAT. I've been sent rather smug emails telling me they expect all customers to thoroughly check T&Cs before renting a car, so why was it the Return Fuel Fill was clearly explained to me by the woman at the desk, but the cleaning wasn't?

2. Vehicle check process for pre-existing damages on car pick-up: I did the vehicle check together with a nice man who handed the car over to me. He was about to say everything was OK when I spotted the scratch in the paintwork down to the metal on the mirror on the driver's side. I was expecting him to do something on his hand-held device, for there to be a proper record taken of this, like with other car rental companies. So I was a bit surprised when instead he hand-wrote on the back of my Driver's Contract piece of paper "Scratch in paintwork on driver's side mirror" on the back of my contract, he signed it, and dated it (20th June 2014) and I also signed this at his request. He then told me when I dropped the car off to leave that same piece of paper on the dashboard of the car with an additional note on it to say "Reminder: this is your note on 20th to say scratch in mirror was pre-existing at time of pick-up" and for me to sign, date this and leave it in the car. His words to me were "This note will mean I will remember this was already done and I won't charge you for the scratch".This did not feel right at the time, but I trusted the nice man so just went along with his instructions. I was the one who spotted this damage at the point of pick-up and exactly followed to the letter all of the instructions provided by your member of staff. When I was contacted by head office with the Damage Report the head office had not spoken to the local office. The only good thing in all of this was the local shop staff did inform head office about the piece of paper and pre-existing damage, so this matter was cleared up, but could have been initially without having to involve or scare me.
3. 1 week later after I'd received a final invoice Head office emailed me a Damage Report claiming I had scratched the car - I hadn't, this had been the fore-mentioned pre-existing damage which was noted at the pick-up. After sending me a series of blunt automated emails, some of which were in very poor English, asking me what photos I'd taken etc - the head office team then bothered to contact the Shepherds Bush shop to check facts and the matter was cleared up.
4. Only then I received another email saying I'm still going to be charged - an initially unquoted amount - for a full valet of the car - only now drawing my attention to Clause 11.3 of T&Cs (very buried on website) to return the car clean "because other people want to use the car after you". Cleaning was never mentioned at pick-up. Returning with a full fuel tank for example was, but nothing about returning it fully cleaned. I've never heard of a car rental company who doesn't clean a car between hires or puts that cost onto the customer or uses this as an excuse to take money out of a deposit. However looking at all the online complaint forums like this one this seems to be common policy from Sixt. It reminds me of unscrupulous estate agents who keep your deposit for 'cleaning' once you leave a rental property.
5. When I asked Head Office how much they were going to charge me for 'cleaning' they couldn't answer, they referred me to the local branch. The next day I received an automated email ("We friendly ask for your understanding that we create the invoice in the language of the rental location" - just an example of poor English in communication) with an invoice for £50+VAT for cleaning which they'll just take out of my £150 deposit. Who pays £50 to clean a car?!
6. My total rental in the end was far more expensive than Avis would have been who would never have put me through this. Your advertised apparently competitive prices are totally misleading as it's absolutely evident that you make their margins taking charges out of people's deposits - There's an EU law about misleading marketing.
7. Their processes are flaky - it seems now on purpose so that they can put customers into a vulnerable position after the event where they can charge them - The rental contract which included a list of pre-existing damages was given to me by the lady in the shop. This rental agreement with these pre-existing damages only existed as a piece of paper, I have not received anything electronically. The gentleman who met me and handed the vehicle over to me had something on a hand-held device which also listed these items, so it looked like there was an electronic version of the contract there but nothing given to me. I was told to leave behind the only evidence I had which was the handwritten note. It's obvious now why their processes are so flaky, they are not there to protect the consumer's best interests, they are there for them to exploit later for extra money.

We have been overcharged by SIXT rental company few days ago. Nobody told us that we have to pay for every extra km over 200 some amount. My brother supposed to be responsible and he was just visiting in DK whereas I have a temporary address here. My brother's card was declined so we used mine. We returned a car, even vacuumed and washed and the day after I was overcharged by approx 2500 DKK (ca.340EUR). So we went back to the company with a complaint while we couldn't get in touch with the manager. We sent him an email, no respond. Came back, left a message, no respond. Came back again and the guy working there told me that manager is not there.When I asked why I then saw him, he answered he is busy. They even lie face to face. From my view point SIXT is company without any professional manners so next time I rather pay more for a better service. Don't do the same mistake and never rent in SIXT.

#1-They would not accept a check from our company even though I had e-mailed ahead. They said it clearly stated that they did not accept checks on their website. I cannot find it. I was willing to give them the credit card number in addition to the check.
#2-It took over 2 hours to process our two van rentals when we arrived. They were trying to call the person who approved the check, but couldn't find them. They really didn't approve the check; they just failed to tell me that it was not okay to pay with a check, even though I clearly stated that I was bringing a check for the payment.
#3-They had added additional charges for the loss damage waiver (minimum excess L). I did end up accepting those charges.
#4-When our final bill came there was a $10 Transportation Facility Charge tacked on each van. They said it had been in effect since April 1 (this was May 9), but it had not shown on any other statement from them.
#5-They kept processing other rentals before finishing ours--something kept happening to the computers and they kept having to move to a different station. They kept shifting our rental work from one employee to another.
I must say through all of this that there were a couple of employees who truly tried to help and were kind. The did end up giving our group of 15 each a bottle of water.

I had prepaid a rental a car through sixt Ft Lauderdale to be picked up in San Juan PR. Everything was paid for in advance. When we arrived in San Juan, they padded on fees that were not disclosed at the time of rental and claimed it was because I prepaid with a debit card. The padded fees more than doubled the cost of the rental. I contacted SIXT and they told me that the fees were an attempt by the franchise to increase their commission. SIXT reviewed the situation and sent me a statement declaring my final costs and stating I would receive a refund for the additional amount. SInce then, they have avoided any contact with me and I have not received any refund. I have received 2 message via email from SIXT employees asking for time to investigate but after several days, I never hear back from them. There are numerous complaints about SIXT and their business practices ----DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

Dear Sxit,
I’m escalating this complain to you to show my deep disappointment of what happened with me:
On 27th July in Egypt I asked for London Cap from Sxit Egypt and the fees was 230 EGP however the driver misused the Visa machine and charge Me 250EGP
I checked with the company and they confirmed that this happened and the fees is only 230 EGP and the driver charged me 250 EGP
I feel this as fraud and misleading and as a result I need am action from your side
I have all supported documents a proof for my case

Regards
Karim Abdullah
[protected]

I rented a car in Venice and turned it into the Pisa airport. Nobody was at the counter at the rental return -- just a sign that said to drop the keys off in the slot, which I did.

Two weeks later, no charges had come through on my credit card. So I emailed Sixt to make sure everything was okay with my rental. I received an email back saying that there was a 400 euro charge for damages!

There were absolutely no damages to the car during my rental! I have four witnesses who were with the car at all times who will swear to the same. I think they try to get away with this type of shady fraud when people are from a foreign country and can't deal with these things easily.

I will be disputing the charges with my credit card company.

I recently went on a ski trip to Austria with my family, which included my 15-month old daughter. All was fine with the rental car on the way there. However upon checking out of the hotel I discovered that the front offside tyre was flat due to a nail.

At this point, the time was 10:30, and our flight left Munich Airport (c. 100 miles / 2 hours' drive away) at 15:30. The rental car had one of the 'temporary' spacer wheels in the boot, which had a maximum speed of 80kph. However for time and safety reasons (mountain roads, autobahn, young child, long distance), I didn't want to risk the spacer.

We phoned the car rental helpline several times, but two hours later we were still stuck in limbo at the hotel. We were never given straight answers by the helpline, and weren't even given an indication of when someone might come to help us.

At one stage we were told that someone was actually on their way with a replacement tyre, and would be there in 40 minutes. When this person didn't arrive, we were then told that there wasn't actually a tyre available.

At 12:25 we were told in a phone call with the car rental company to get a taxi to Munich Airport and they would reimburse the cost. At 12:45 the taxi arrived and the journey cost 280Euros. Because we were so late for the flight, I didn't have time to go to the car rental desk at Munich Airport.

*****Now that I've returned home the rental company is refusing to reimburse the cost of the taxi, and has even quoted that I was 'personally negligent' for driving over a nail! They have also denied knowledge of the phone calls that I placed with them on the morning of the incident. On returning home I have also spoken to two different customer service personnel, who advised me to send the taxi receipt then the cost could be reimbursed. However, these calls are now also being denied. Unfortunately I don't have this in writing

I rented a car from SIxt in June 2012 at Munich airport (booked by OAMTC for me as I locked my car key inside my car at Munich Airport and need to travel Salzburg urgently). I traveled to Salzburg, and next day morning took my another key of car, drove straight to Munich airport and returned the car. During inspection the fellow came, checked my papers, and then stand on the side platform to reach high enough to see the top of the car and told me that I made the damage on the roof of the car. I was shocked to see that minor scratch which obviously looked pretty old (atleast from the scratch you can roughly guess if this is all new), and immediately went to SIXT desk for clarification and told them about this. The lady sitting over there checked all papers and told that this was already in their system, and I need not to worry. I asked several times, because I don't want any inconvenience at later point of time, and I was firmly assured that the damage was there and I was cleared from any liabilities. Now after 6 months, I received a bill for damage payment!
I have to say that this is highly unprofessional from SIXT point to expect me to do micro-scopic analysis of the car before taking out on rent. Not sure if SIXT expect from their customer to spend hours on checking cars.
I never rent a car from SIXT (having corporate account with HERTZ), but it was from OAMTC so did. And I think this is very common practice in SIXT to charge for the damage from customers, atleast I while google, I found numerous similar incidents.
Would never recommend SIXT at any cost, even if they offer car for free.