Carwiz Reviews 49

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY they are fraudsters.
I hired a car from them from catania airport. They were not impressed that I didn’t take their insurance
When I returned the car without any issues or damage the lady behind the desk came out to check it and went straight to the wing mirror and said they was a scuff on the plastic. This had not been done by me!!!!
It was so slight you could hardly see it.
She then said I would be charged 120 euros to repay it. When I asked to see the repair quote/charge she refused saying they didn’t do that it would be repaired next time it was serviced.
I refused to sign the piece of paper she gave me re the damage and said I would report them. She just replied “do what you want”
They put the charge through on my credit card and I’ve taken it up with my bank. I’ve since found out they have also don’t this to a friend of mine and charged her 350 for a scratch UNDER the car which she didn’t do and they were accusing the guy in front of her the same thing.
AVOID at all costs. They need to be reported.

I booked a CARWIZ rental via WizzAir, including premium insurance. The voucher clearly stated that no additional insurance was required at the desk.
Despite this, at pickup in Catania I was told that extra insurance was mandatory in order to proceed with the rental, and I was charged an additional €175. It was not presented as optional. Only later, after carefully re-reading the voucher, did I realise this contradicted the written terms.
In addition, the vehicle provided was old and heavily worn. Pre-existing damage was not jointly recorded at handover; I was instructed to locate the car myself in the parking area, without a proper condition check or written damage report.
Customer support did not respond for weeks and only reacted after escalation. Their replies rely on signed paperwork but do not address the core issue: an optional service presented as compulsory, and poor handover standards.
Be very cautious at the desk, read your voucher in advance, and do not accept verbal statements that contradict it.

Terrible experience. At Bari Airport(whick the car rental is far away from airport) they didn`t want to give us the car we booked because we didn`t want to pay extra insurance. Then they gave us car with not full tank and charged extra on our card despite returning the car with more fuel than it was given to us with.
Thankfully we booked through Discover Cars and got a refund but the experience was very poor!

Thanks to Carwiz rent a car in Bari, the staff is friendly and professional. Everything is done at the highest level.
Recommendation ❤️

Typical Sicilan car insurance scheme. Renting of a car is in reasonably price range, but if you dont buy their insurance they charge you allot for anything possible. The worst thing is that they don't provide you with the necessary documents to make a clame with your insurance. When you try to contact them via email they just do not reply. Avoid them!

We rented a car from Carwiz to be picked up at Fontanarossa Airport in Catania. The scheduled pickup time was 10:00 a.m., but due to extreme flight delays, we didn’t arrive in Catania until 9:00 p.m. — after a total of 37 hours of travel.
At 8:00 a.m. that same morning, we called Carwiz to inform them about the delay and asked if they could hold the car for us until the evening. They assured us that this would not be a problem.
However, when we finally arrived at the Carwiz rental office at 9:30 p.m., we were told that the car had been rented out to someone else because they “don’t usually hold cars” if they aren’t picked up on time. The woman at the desk claimed she didn’t believe we had called, and when we showed proof of the call on our phone, she said we shouldn’t have contacted Carwiz directly but rather the website we booked through.
When we asked why we weren’t informed of this when we called, she replied that “it’s written in the agreement.” When we asked why their staff told us it was fine to pick up the car later, she said no one could have said that and that we must have misunderstood. She offered no apology or empathy at any point.
Fortunately, we managed to find another car with a different rental company just before closing time.
I would strongly advise against renting from Carwiz at this location — they come across as unreliable, unprofessional, and lacking in customer service.

We ended up renting from Carwiz Catania after being shafted by Target Rental, who cancelled our booking and refused to refund. Desperate, we went back on the search engines and got a deal for £40. Bargain and, mildly suspicious, although likely cheap due to being last minute.

Carwiz is at the very back of the Car Hire complex. We entered a very small office and were almost greeted by two bored looking women and a man. The first women to deal with our booking tried to sell us the insurance (as all car hire companies do, so fair enough). I stated that we didn't need it and was happy for them to hold a deposit of 700 euro on my credit card.

We proceeded with the booking, at which point I was informed that my Virgin Credit Card was not valid due to the nature of their booking system. Luckily I had another credit card which they can accept, however after three attempts I was told that the card would not approve the transaction. Odd, since I had three text messages saying the transaction was approved. I was told that I could use my debit card instead but I would have to purchase insurance for an extra 350 euro. Funny that.

Undeterred, I rang my CC company and after 30 mins of investigation was told that all transactions had been approved and there was no reason for the issue. By this point the original woman, who couldn't have been less interested, had left. So it was handed to another woman who 'entered it manually' and the card was approved. Now it may have been perfectly legit, but I have since read other reviews where the same problem lead to people being forced to pay by debit card and purchase insurance. So...you decide.

They tried harder this time to sell the insurance, warning me that even the smallest scratch would cost 300 euro. She then tried with roadside assistance warning me that tyres often blew on Sicilian roads and if that were to happen they would take the car and that would be that. I held fast despite the mild anxiety. Eventually they gave us a Fiat Panda and off we went. Without any paperwork.

Now thankfully I know to take videos of hire cars and highlight any marks or scratches. My partner also took photos. Had we not done this, things would not have worked out well. Two days before we returned the car I had an uneasy feeling, so I googled the reviews for Carwiz and was horrified by what I saw. Panicked, I cleaned the car from top to bottom, outside and in. I wished I had taken an interior video and was aware that I had no paperwork to prove previous damages. Luckily, I had the videos.

Upon return the woman inspected the car thoroughly and then (and no car hire company has ever asked this before) demanded to see the videos I had taken. She scrutinised them for several minutes, before taking us back outside and pointing to a tiny scratch on the hub cap of one of the wheels. My heart sank and I felt a battle on the horizon. Luckily, she had not checked my partners phone which had a photo of the wheel and, when we zoomed in, the scratch. As soon as we showed her she went 'ok fine', looking somewhat ashamed as if we had caught her out. She did not look happy, but refunded the deposit.

She claimed to email me the paperwork (which I had to ask for) but after two attempts it didn't arrive so she printed it, which I appreciated. I inspected it and noticed that on the first page (which highlights the damage before pick up), many things were not marked. Therefore if someone turned up without video or photographic evidence, they'd be screwed.

I've given them two stars because we were lucky. I won't necessarily blame the women as I imagine they are on a rubbish wage and need commission to survive. But for that reason I would never use this company again under any circumstances. Even if I have to walk to Milazzo.

I have a terrible bad experience in Bari. They dont accept my debit card, so the agent calculated a double priced offer. I had a full insurance with RentalCover. The arrogant lady said, she will arrange to get back this money soon. It was 1,5 months ago… I wrote them 3 emails but received no answer. This „lady” promised this transfer 2 times, secondly when I gave back the car. So probably she lied to me 2 times. This is their procedure. The HQ did not answer either. Never chose this company!

I had an extremely disappointing experience with Carwhiz. Our airport pickup was delayed by 40 minutes due to the absence of an on-site office and needing to wait for their shuttle bus. On the return, they claimed a wheel cover (not the rim) was damaged and have charged me €325, despite the rental car having > 10,000 km and normal wear being expected. A 2024 Fiat Panda Wheel Trim Cover, suitable for the hybrid model we rented, is available online (e.g., eBay) for less than €30.
They also requested video proof from before the rental, which I find unreasonable. I strongly advise avoiding this company and choosing a rental service with proper airport support that doesn’t attempt to overcharge for minor issues.

Booking confirmed with a Visa credit card in my name, fully meeting the requirements stated in the voucher. The contract clearly lists Visa Credit as accepted, with no mention whatsoever of any excluded issuing banks, and no list of major banks excluded is provided in the booking voucher issued by the broker they work with.

At pick-up, the card was refused without any valid reason and I was simply told to contact the broker, with no real assistance offered.
End result: booking unusable and no car available at the original rate — replacement rentals starting from €800–€1000.

A clear lack of transparency and complete disregard for the customer.

Warning! Scam in Bari!
The level of professionalism is simply disgraceful.
I came across this company while booking through DoYouItaly.
Service level: -1. They do not actually cooperate with DoYouItaly, even though they accept bookings from the platform.

The staff were arrogant and their English skills were extremely limited.

Very very bad service.

The car was old and had 70,000 km on the clock. According to the company, it was in "perfect" condition. Someone had been smoking cigarettes in earlier. The car broke down just before it was returned. The clutch was broken. It was impossible to continue driving. No contact was made at the numbers provided in the contract. No assistance was provided. Roadside assistance was called as agreed in contract. Carwiz immediately illegally charged the card for transport and parking the broken-down car, even though no receipt was provided! After 10 days of no contact, Carwiz demanded payment for the repair. €1,300!!!! They tried to illegally seize the credit card. So, in total, they demanded €1,600 in illegal fees. Be warned! Scammers and thieves! This case will end up in court.

Absolutely disgusted!
We booked a car in Catania airport, fully insured from Discovercars website.
Upon pickup, we were aggressively forced to buy a new policy, lying that the one we have doesn’t cover everything.
The young woman stayed she’s going to charge us 500€ for every little scratch.
They gave us a dirty car inside and out. We brought it back without any issue. They’ve charged us 260€ for ‘permanent stain’ to a chair, which was never there but they knew they can’t charge for any exterior so they make-up interior damage.
They didn’t say anything upon drop off, no evidence via email, just an invoice.
These people are scammers and I will take this further until I’ll get my money back.