Economy Rent a Car - Orlando Reviews 56

Booked my first rental with Economy Car rental at MCO. Even though the daily bait rate was very attractive but at the time of pick up they add debit card charge of $18 per day because the normal authorization on the credit card is $1000 which is unheard of and then they do not let you use your own Sun Pass because all their vehicles are registered already and they don't allow that . that means another $15 per day and all that adds up to bring the daily rate to same if not higher than the other regular car rental companies.
in short all their price advantage gets wiped off by all these extra unnecessary add ons which they have made unavoidable and then why to go off site and spend the same amount of money on an off site more hassle rental..

On November 18, 2025, I rented a car for my February 2026 vacation, and I made the reservation through Expedia.

When the day came to pick up the car, I arrived at the Economy location at the Orlando airport around midnight, and after waiting for 2 hours (it was already 2:00 AM), they told me they had no more cars available. They also said that even if they had one, they wouldn’t be able to give it to me because I had arrived late.

The person at the front desk was extremely rude and treated everyone in line very poorly, especially after we had all been waiting for such a long time.

I decided not to argue with him after he told me I had to go back to the airport, because I did not want to waste my time with someone who was clearly not willing to listen and had absolutely no manners.

So I went back to the airport, and thankfully the people at Alamo helped me right away, and in less than 15 minutes I had a car.

After spending hours calling Economy, and after multiple emails with them, in which they admitted their mistake and agreed to issue me a refund... I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE REFUND.

I have contacted them more than three times now, and every single time they tell me:

“Your refund is our priority, but we are having technical issues with our system.”

Today is March 30, and they still have not refunded my money.

This company is a SCAM.

Just because it may be the cheapest option does not mean you should spend your money here. Save yourself the headache and go with a company that is not just trying to take your money, because Economy is a scam.

They do not guarantee anything, and their customer service is terrible.

Too many hidden fees. Late pick up, tolls, insurance. Quadrupling the price of the rental. Do yourself a favor and pick rental straight from the airport. Pick up visitors tolls pass from airport. Make sure you know your insurance coverage and don’t let them talk you into coverage you don’t need. Attendant didn’t accept my insurance coverages even though I know it covers rentals. Will never rent from economy again.

Gave me a car will sidewall damage on the tire originally so they didn’t do a good inspection

Horrible. Charge a $1k deposit or you pay to waive it. Another scam. The car was purchased and paid for on Hotwire with additional insurance. You have to pay to waive the deposit.

This is the 3rd time ive used economy, always treated us really well. We will keep coming back!

They are not transparent about fees. They charged an extra $100 for using my own insurance, the reason to use your own insurance is to save money. I returned the car early because it was vibrating and it didn't feel safe to drive. Of course they refused to issue a partial refund. I STRONGLY ADVISE TO NOT RENT FROM THEM.

Having a toll charge issue, I cannot get a response from management. Called CALL CENTER twice, still waiting on response. Was misinformed by sales rep at Orlando rental site, said I COULD pay cash, ( I had my ILLINOIS toll pass with, he said I couldn’t use) also charged a spur of the moment $20 toll deposit. Went through (2). .85 cent tolls, NOT manned, had cash to pay, I’m being charged $20 ADMINSTRATIVE fee for that. Feeling penalized. Not much, but done to EVERY rental, that’s big $$$$$.

100% READ THIS. THIS IS NOT THE US ECONOMY RENTAL CAR WITH THE GREEN SIGN. THIS IS THE ECONOMY RENTAL CAR FROM COSTA RICA WITH THE RED SIGN WHICH IS A BUNCH OF SCAMMERS THAT TRY TO GET YOU THROUGH CROOK OR THROUGH HOOK TO BUY THEIR EXTRA INSURANCE. THE EXTRA INSURANCE IS REQUIRED IN COSTA RICA AND YOU HAVE IT ON YOUR CREDIT CARD. WHEN I BOOKED THEM THROUGH BOOKING.COM, I DIDN’T NOTICE THAT THIS WAS THE COSTA RICA COMPANY AND THEN THEY TRIED SCAMMY STUFF AGAIN. I SAID NO TO ALL THE INSURANCE BECAUSE I HAD IT ON MY CREDIT CARD AND THEN THE GUY LIED TO ME OUTRIGHT AND TOLD ME IT WAS 187$ FOR SUNPASS TOLL ROAD FEES FOR THE WEEK AND WHATEVER I DIDN’T USE WOULD GET DROPPED OFF I DIDN’T GET A CHANCE TO READ THE INVOICE OR THE DOCUMENTS. I JUST WAS TOLD SIGN SIGN SIGN AND AT THE END IT WASN’T FOR THE SUNPASS, IT WAS FOR THE EXTRA INSURANCE THAT I HAD KEPT SAYING I DIDN’T WANT AND HE KNEW I DIDN’T NEED BECAUSE I HAD BOOKED WITH MY CREDIT CARD.

GREEN MEANS GO. THAT IS THE US COMPANY WITH THE GREEN SIGN

RED MEANS STOP THAT IS THE COSTA RICA COMPANY WITH THE RED SIGN

ONE IS LEGITIMATE ONE IS A SCAMMER.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY AT ORLANDO AIRPORT

SCAMMERS Donot not rent from them Scammers

they do not tell you upfront that they are offsite and you do not get an opportunity to cancel. They even work with the bank so you are not refunded.
SCAMMERS SCAMMERS SCAMMERS

A pity that we didn’t read the reviews before renting with Economy rent a car.
By mistake ( a ten minute drive from Orlando International) we landed up at their counter.
When we were asked by a very pleasant guy named Jamie, what were the terms that we were offered for a big car from December 14-19 from the other rental company that we had originally booked with through Booking, we said $250.
He offered us the same size car for $290. Since we were exhausted after arriving from New York, we agreed despite the $40 difference.
We also asked for a 18:30 return since our flight was scheduled for 21:00 back to New York.
He agreed.
Our return flight was delayed by an hour and we returned the car an hour and a half late.
For this one and a half hour, we were charged $250!!!!
We asked the person at the return to please call the manager.
He called someone called Ramirez who refused to give us or even accept a partial amount of the fine for the one and a half hour delay.
I wrote to Customer Service and they also refused to refund me the $250 minus a one and a half hour penalty, (perhaps considering a $20 fine would also be acceptable .)
I had no choice but to pay because otherwise we would have missed our flight to New York.
In any case, keep away from this company Economy Rent a Car!
They are extremely corrupt !!!

So we rented a vehicle from the Orlando location and go through the process and they requested a $1000 deposit, which is absurd. Then it was of you don't want to leave a deposit, then it'll be (i think it was) $197.00 and they keep that. First red flag... Then we were told to get the sun pass and put out POV plate on it if we didn't want to be charged the $20 per toll charge of we happened to go through a toll. So we did get the Sun Pass and spoke to an agent and she told us it was illegal to get a pass with a different plate when the rental already had a toll account, but we did it anyhow. We returned the vehicle and explained to the young lady what transpired and she told us that it would still be a 50/50 chance that the rental company would still charge us for the $20 toll fees. Needless to say they have charged my card $60 as of today. Do not rent from this company, they will find any way to rip you off.

Here are the facts. The facility in Orlando was very clean. The daily rental rates are very affordable. However, be sure to read the renter's policies because there are additional fees that you need to be aware of prior to renting and arrival. 1) There is a $1,000 incidental hold required. If you do not have the ability to place a $1,000 hold on your credit card or debit card, they provide additional options. 2) The additional option is to be charged an additional non-refundable daily rate of $20 for incidentals. 3) If you intend to use your own car insurance, there is an additional non-refundable fee of at least $20 for them to process paperwork in the event you have an accident. 4) Before signing your paperwork, be sure to read through everything. There were multiple mistakes in my paper work (the wrong email address, address, etc.). 5) Be sure to take interior and exterior pictures of your vehicle prior to driving off the lot and when returning to the lot. The team provides you with paperwork that details the damages already notated, but there may be some that they've missed. Give yourself at least 30 minutes to wait for the return shuttle to the airport.

This car rental is a scam! Avoid it! They charge me 50 usd per day for his basic insurance coverage and I had no option. They do no accept other insurance so you have to pay what they charge you.

DO NOT USE! I have been waiting for a car for 2.5 hours, and still have not received my car. When I brought up my concerns, I was told "nobody cares." Please be advised NO BODY AT ECONOMY RENT A CAR, at least not the bald gentleman with a goetee on July 22, 2025 at 7:28 am.

Charged me for damage waiver and insurance after I declined the coverages verbally. I provided a credit card and my personal insurance at signing in lieu of these coverages. They charged me anyway. Ripoff artists.

This company should be out of business. I ended up with two issues.
(1) When I rented a vehicle on line the price was very acceptable. No indication of additional charges. However, when picking up the car, we were charged additional insurance for loss of use (????), and insurance of my insurance deductible (???). I provided the document from my insurer that our insurance covers all the costs and is applicable in Canada and US. Not accepted, pay or no vehicle. So they charged me for insurance of my deductible around $300 (US), and my deductible is $300 (Canadian). I was complaining that for those who are booking online, this additional insurance was not mentioned. They quoted one sentence from the middle of the paragraph explaining the use of shuttle (????) where additional insurance may be required.
2. I returned the vehicle a day earlier and was hoping to get reimbursed for the difference. Very rude customer representative said that they are not returning the money and I should talk to the manager. Since it was Saturday, I did call the manager on Monday and got a straight answer that they are not reimbursing customers for early return. Asking where is this information available I got the answer that that is corporate policy, period.
I strongly recommend to be careful by renting from this company. Who knows how many other, similar, policy issues you may experience with them. The only reason I decided to pay and took the car from them was that we arrived at midnight and looking for other companies would be difficult for us.

Usually my car renting experience is simple and easy. Proof of Insurance, Valid Drivers License and a Major CC. Unfortunately for some reason, Economy Rent A Car needs your decloration page too! At 2am after watching George throw out of the building another older couple and waiting to get to the counter, I made sure I had all my documents to make this fast and easy. That wasn't the case. Proof of Insurance apparently isn't your valid insurance card? In the USA, its all I've ever needed to rent hundreds of cars. Economy Rent A Car, a South American company wants your decloration page too! Very suspicious? Fraud Alert! After realizing I would not be able to get my decloration page with policy limits which would easily show my "full coverage" as my insurance company was closed until 8AM. I agreed to pay for the Economy insurance policy that was egregiously higher then normal?$185 for 3 days? George explained, If you use your insurance the company puts $1,000 hold on your CC? Purchase our insurance and we only hold $10 a day? Any other company normal hold is $250 using your own insurance? So, I agreed to pay for their insurance, "Extorsion"! I said that policy is rediculas, and then George starts accusing me of being rude & disrespectful. I told him I was not yet he persisted. Then he said, thats it, and Canceled my reservation. My son was watching from the corner and he said, Dad, it was obvious, that guy wanted you to get mad. He was definitly wanting a fight. George, then said he couldn't give me a refund, told me I was now trespassing on Private property and he was going to call the cops, So I called the cops! And after I called the cops filed an official complaint with the Orange County Sherrifs dept, George amazingly figured out how to process the refund. Something is very off with George and how he treated the other couple and then me. I'm thinking about suing the Economy Rental Car co and George for Breach of Contract and the hardship they placed my son and I at 3am in Orlando! My insurance was accepted at AVIS but now I'm late for my Hotel Reservation. This experience has ruined what was supposed to be a fun time with my son!

Fraud Alert!
They canceled our reservation without our consent and demanded twice the rate in order to reinstate it.
Their manager assured us a full refund while being video recorded. Economy Rent A Car never refunded the money!

My experience with Economy Rent a Car, particularly with manager Frank Gutierrez, was exceptionally negative. Faced with an unforeseen flight cancellation, I was unable to use my reservation. Despite the situation being completely out of my control, Frank Gutierrez and his team showed no willingness to accommodate or understand, adhering blindly to a no-refund policy. Their communication was as unfriendly as it was inflexible, exemplifying a complete disregard for customer service. I strongly advise against using Economy Rent a Car; their service is not only rigid but also lacks the basic courtesy you’d expect in the hospitality industry.

Angelo was very professional and helped me with my car rental with all the questions I had.