Go Iceland Car Rental Reviews 83

THIS PLACE IS A SCAM! We had to pay them $15,000 for a new paint job to cover pinpoint sized "scratches"

My husband and I rented a VW van from the Go Iceland Car Rental Company. We rented the van for 5 days. When we returned the van, the company said that they would need to replace all three windows on the driver side of the van and repaint that side of the van due to damage from a sand storm. They showed us teeny tiny dots, smaller than a pencil tip, and said that was caused by sand and they needed to repair that damage. They said that we owed them $15,000. As a special education teacher who makes $50,000 per year and still has student loan debt this price tag immediately made me cry.

There are multiple issues that I have with their claim.

1. The “damage” was small and these tiny dots are barely noticeable when someone points to them and they are impossible to see if no one points them out. These tiny dots do not affect the functioning of the van and, the aggressive weather in Iceland makes the tiny dots seem like normal wear and tear and should NOT be the responsibility of the customer but the rental car company.

2. There is no way to really know if the damage during the time we had the car. We filled out the damage card at the start of the trip and walked around the car to assess the current damages but if there were tiny dots on the paint and the windows we would not have been able to see them.

3. $15,000 seems like way much money to repaint half the car and replace three windows.

4. There was another couple that was charged with the same damage when we were trying to get out of these charges. When we googled this company there were many negative reviews about this same charge. It seems like a scam!

5. They tried to make us sign a paper that said we take responsibility for the damage and when we refused to sign the document they said that they would not give us the document that says we returned the car. They coerced into signing a document we did not agree with by threatening to say that we did not return the car, therefore; charging us for the cost do the entire car. This part was what made us feel like it was a scam and that they we were completely taken advantage of us. We were afraid that if we didn’t comply we would not be able to leave the country or need to pay for the cost of the entire van.

This place is a total scam! We are still paying off the $15,000 debt that this placed charged us for nothing! I am sure that they didn't even repaint the car, they just pocketed our money.

We had great experience with this company. We had to adjust our booking and it was done very fast and the service was super friendly. We rented a camper van and it was really good and had everything in it. Didn't have any issues with the car during our trip. At the drop-off my husband forgot the camera under the pillow and we thought we gonna say good buy to it as we've already passed security gates. But the staff saved us and delivered the camera right to the airport within like 20 minutes. They are great and we are really grateful for such attitude! Totally recommend!

The staff were reasonable, and great to work with. The car ran like a charm. The price was right. They greeted me right off of the plane, and drove me to the rental shop where I quickly got my car and was headed on my way to adventure the land of Iceland.

!!!Highly recommend!!! Had a great experience with this Go Iceland rent-car, they were on time at the airport, the prices were very fair and the vehicles are super new, rented a small kia Manual with AC, drove around for couple days getting safely to my destination, unfortunately had a small little chip on the windshield caused by a large truck’s wake coming on the opposite direction and the manager of the company was super fair in understanding of the road and the weather conditions of Iceland and didn’t charge me for either the replacement or the deductible on which would’ve cost a lot. I definitely enjoyed my time in Iceland and this company, I’d rent from them again in the future. Keep up the good work.

We rented a camper van to drive around the ring road. My son ended up having emergency surgery in the hospital in Akureyri, and then we had to fly directly from Akureyri back to the US for continued treatment. The nurses in the hospital called Go Iceland, and they arranged for us to leave the van at a car service company in Akureyri, and they found someone to drive it back to Reykjavik. This was such a huge relief, as I had no idea how I could get the van the 5 hours back to Reykjavik. Great customer service.

If the option allows, this car renting company does not even worth voting for half of a star. Should be given zero star!!!
We arrived at the iceland airport, they car was not ready at the airport and we waited for a person who carried a card board with go iceland name on it. The person told us to wait at the designated spot saying would send us to the office after he received other customers together. In the end he just left with another group of people and we had to wait for the next pick up.
At the office, the waiting time was longer than 30 mins when there are not many groups ahead of us. This was not all, we were told to place ISK13k deposit if chose not to purchase basic and addition insurance. It was indicated on the website upon ordering the car that the rental price included the basic insurance. We had no better options to change as there were no other companies available that we could turn to like in the airport.
After we pick up the car, no one came to inspect the car with us and the instruction of the venue for car return was really vague and unhelpful. Just return it there ... the container office... we left because we made appoint at blue lagoon.
On the invoice, the agreement and verbally also didnt highlight to fill the petrol tank in full. Plus the fact that we travelled from the city to the site already about 30km. Of course some petrol would have been consumed. We caught by surprise that we were demanded to pay the handling and penalty fees of ISK5K ++ . We had no choice as we took a while to find the site to return the car since the instruction was not clear. This was not all, the guy at the office treated us very rudely when we clarified that the full tank requirement was not clearly pointed to us upon collection. Again we had no choice as we had a really early flight to catch at 4.30am in the morning and also had to rely on their transport to send us to the airport. We were in the middle of nowhere!!!
In conclusion, never ever rent from this company as they are really unprofessional and rude. We ended up had to pay more. Suggest to get Hetz and other reputable car rental company who have a counters at the airport for easy pick up and return.

I was scared about all this post here, but we already reserved a Duster 4x4 online. We pickup the car in Reykjavik. It was not so easy to find the pickup point, but the car was there as ordered.

We made a lot of pictures of the car also from bottom and added all damages on the paper, there were al lot which are not signed on the car and on the paper, but none of them had an impact to drive the car secure.

One tire was an other brand than the others but also an All Season tire and with the correct dimension.

The tank was not completely full.

After about 30 Minutes we were finish with all the paper work.

During the trip we hat a flat tire and changed the wheel. We called Go Iceland to ask, what we can/should do now and get a more ore less unfriendly answer but also an address of a garage nearby (16km from current location). So we could repair the flat tire and continue with a spare tire in case of a second incident. We are lucky not to get a second flat tire during the trip.

6 days later we drop off the car near the Airport. Also here it was not so easy to find the correct location. Google gives us two locations, one directly beside the airport where all other Car Rental companies are located, but there no office could be found. So we checked the other location and followed the route of google maps and found the office about 2km beside the airport.

It was 4:30am. We also filled the tank not completely. After a short discussion it was Ok. The car has been filled up at the Airport location and was brought to Reykjavik office where we picked it up, that's why it was not full and so it was ok we didn't brought back completely full.

The brought us to the Airport.

All over all, it was a normal experience with car rental company.

Very unhappy.
A lot of waiting time to get the car. Unexpected expenses and insurance charges. Impolite customer service.
Is this your welcome to Iceland?? Nasty.
Car was dirty and full of sand and dust.
After a 9 day rent, I dropped the car off.
Dropp off receptionist was not at a minimum level of profesionality. Rude and impolite.
I will never rent in this company again.
Strongly not recommended!!!!

I've rented a 4x4 for 13 days to travel around Iceland (15.06.2018 - 30.06.2018)

I was first a bit surprised as I didn't find the name of the company at the airport but at the information desk they informed me that with lot of companies, a kind of driver will arrive every 10-15 minutes to pick me up and bring me to the car park.

No major problem to pick up the car, I was given a paper with all the damage that had already the car, sign it (before having really seen it...) and I was ready to go.

It was quick and without any trouble.

During my holiday, I had 2 punctures.

The first tyre wasn't that bad but the garage said it was better to change it, what I did. I've called Go Iceland before and recommend also to change it. I took some pictures of the tyre to ask a refund. Bad luck, that thing could happen.

A couple of days later another tyre had a puncture. That one was in really bad conditions and I had no other choice than changing it again. The tyre has already been repaired before I've picked up the car.
I've taken some pictures again and didn't know if I would get a refund once the car will be returned.

Arriving at the end of my trip, I've returned the car and explained what arrived with our car. He answered that he couldn't do anything bit I had to send all documents and pictures to the main office by email and ask them.

After 2-3 emails, the company offered me to refund me one of the two tyres, which I found quite fair. One puncture could happen, but two.... So happy to get that refund.

No other further problem.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES rent from Go Iceland!! I traveled with two friends and from the very get-go we were wary about this company. We booked online before arriving in Iceland so it was to our surprise when we arrived at the office that they required a $2800 security deposit (nowhere was this indicated online).

We decided to stick with the standard insurance and opted out of sand and gravel insurance. They showed us pictures of what it looked like and we did not believe purchasing such insurance was necessary for our travels. When we received our car, I asked if someone would inspect the car with us but was rudely disregarded and was told taking pictures would be sufficient. We took pictures of the major issues already present when we received the rental but NOWHERE on the evaluation paperwork did it identify sand damage (which they apparently constitute as little specks of paint damage the size of a dot from a ball point pen) as something to take note of. Had I known this I would have taken pictures of EVERY SQUARE INCH OF THE CAR (I have original pictures to PROVE the specks they claimed we did were there BEFOREHAND).

When we returned the car at the end of our trip we were confident we were returning the car in great condition, which is why we were shocked when the guy inspecting out car claimed $8000 worth in damage!!! The guy who was helping us sat at his computer for about 45 minutes coming up with this estimate – however I’m convinced he was purposefully wasting time so that we would cave under pressure and sign for payment of damages just to catch our flight on time – luckily we returned our rental 5 hours prior to our flight.

When we showed them the original pictures we had taken to explain the damages were there before they completely disregarded us. There were several bystanders who agreed with us and thought the claims were outrageous. When we asked for documentation – he refused and said not until you sign, when we asked for his name, he refused and said not until you sign. It was very clear they were scamming us and would not comply with the most basic of requests until they got a signature. At this point we decided we needed to leave as we did not feel safe. We told them they could charge us all they wanted but we would not sign anything until we had proper documentation for the damages they were claiming. They threatened us that if we walked away they would continue to charge us and that we certainly would not be receiving our security deposit back.

The insurance company next door was willing to shuttle us to the airport. As we’re sitting in the shuttle, we see the car rental guy run into the car insurance company. He supposedly told them not to drive us because we had “unfinished business”. Luckily we managed to call a taxi and get to the airport on time. This was a nightmare and a lesson learned to pay the extra money to go with a reputable company. I hope no one has to go through this and encourage everyone to STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS.

My two friends and I (we are all young females) rented a car from GoIceland for a week. When we arrived, we were charged a $2800 deposit (mentioned nowhere on website). They tried to scare us into buying additional insurance by showing us a severe car damage caused by a sandstorm. We decided not to buy additional insurance as we were not driving to any beaches. We were given a Citreon even though we rented a Ford Fiesta. We examined our car closely for scratches, dents, chips, cracks, burns, tears, and missing parts - the only options on their paperwork, and we even asked someone to come out and look over the car with us. They refused and told us to take pictures of scratches. Looking back, we should’ve taken HD photos of every inch of the car.

We dropped off our car a week later. Our car was in pristine condition as we drove very carefully. The worker, Alex, (who refused to provide his full name unless we signed) kept pointing out the smallest possible scratches that no one would notice without a magnifying glass. We showed him pictures of the car which had these same specks when we received it, which he refused to acknowledge. After hours of typing he came up with an estimate of $8,000. He also refused to provide any documentation, just an arbitrary itemized bill with no pictures. He expected us to pay ~$11,000 (including the deposit) for normal wear and tear when our car was given to us with this supposed sand damage. He tried to charge us half the price of the car!!!!! Yet he insisted he was giving us a “great” deal and helping us out. He continuously lied and stated the car was brand new when it had 4500 km on it and we were previously told it was used. He also said sand damage only happens in Iceland and we wouldn’t understand. He was incredibly rude and unprofessional, and prevented the next door shuttle driver from even driving us to the airport; we almost missed our flight. He threatened to continue charging the car as a rental. His coworkers followed us and kept looking at us to the point where we felt very unsafe.

This company will try to scam you and take advantage if you do not buy all their overpriced insurance. Because you don’t know what to look for, they will take advantage by taking prior damage and pining it on you. I can’t imagine what they would charge for a scratch, dent, or cracked windshield. Imagine having actual sand damage - you will surely have to buy them a new car. Every bystander was shocked at what this company was doing to us. I highly recommend renting from a reputable company and avoiding these scam artists.

DO YOUR RESEARCH AHEAD OF TIME and do NOT rent from Go Iceland. The risk of getting scammed is not worth the cheap costs- rent from a reputable company instead.

On June 4th, 2018 my two friends and I rented a car from Go Iceland for our one week trip. We paid the entire cost of the car in advance for 3 drivers along with collision insurance. Upon checking in, we had to pay an additional $2800 deposit that was not stated anywhere on their website. We were further overwhelmed with a variety of insurance packages that included combinations of sand, ash, gravel protection. The worker handed us a sheet with categories for "scratches, burns, dents, tears, chips, missing, cracks" present from previous renters. We took the sheet outside to meticulously observe the car; we took over 20 pictures of the car to document additional damages that fell in those 6 categories. There were no workers that came outside to verify the damages with us or show us the car; they simply left our car running for a half hour outside and told us to "take pictures and take off".

A week later on June 11th, we returned our car to Go Iceland. We took pictures of our pristine car, which had no additional bumps, dents, or scratches. However, a worker named Alex spent over a half an hour examining our car and running his index finger across every square inch. He asked us if we had ever been to Iceland before, and after the three of us said no, he muttered a couple of words to his coworker and then told us that we had microscopic specks on our car that were indicative of "sand damage". We immediately took out the pictures from June 4th that happened to include pictures of the hood of the car, which was already covered in identical "sand specks" that Alex was accusing us of causing. Alex did a double take when we showed him this proof, and then proceeded to say that were microscopic specks on the headlights that cameras can not capture. Bystanders nearby claimed that there were no no visible damages on the car and stated that we were being scammed. We asked Alex how we could have possibly captured this alleged "sand damage" if this was not a type of damage that fell in one of the 6 categories we were specified to mark, and he responded that we "didn't know cars", "weren't Icelandic natives", and these marks were "very unique and we wouldn't understand".

We were then brought into the office, where Alex proceeded to type into an excel sheet for 3.2 hours. When we periodically asked him what he was doing and how much he was charging us, he was negligent and vague and simply continued to type and stall for time. He finally printed out the final billing statement when he realized we were willing to miss our flight to see this through. He charged us for damage to the hood of the car, front head light, front window, rear door window, front wing, mirrors cover, and fog lights. The total damage was 826, 439 kr. We had to pay $8000 for little cosmetic specks of paint damage the size of a ballpoint pen that were already present before we rented the car (we have photographic proof with date and time stamps)!!! Even real body damage would not cost more than half the value of the entire car. We asked him to take his own pictures to provide proof for the damage that we could not see, and he proceeded to mock us and refuse. Alex even pointed at me and said, "I refuse to speak to her."

I asked Alex for his full name or business card and he responded, "why do you want to know my name, what's your full name?" He would only give me his full name after he received a signature. When we asked to take pictures of our contract, he would only let us see it after he received a signature. When we asked him to email us pictures of the damage for our parents, he would only proceed after he received a signature. We then proceeded to call the US embassy, and a worker came up to us to urged us not to call because "the police had been there before". Unfortunately, we weren't able to contact the U.S. embassy with the numbers provided online.

At this point, we were about to miss our flight so we told Alex to charge us, but we weren't going to sign the alleged damages without proof. The rental car company next door was generous enough to drive us to the airport. After we loaded all of our luggage into the van and were about to drive off, we saw Alex sprinting to our van in our rearview mirror. He proceeded to tell our driver that he could not take us to the airport because we had unfinished business. We felt extremely unsafe at this point, and since we were unable to dial the police or contact taxis that were willing to drive us (when we were this close to the airport), we started recording Alex. The company refused to take our car back and will continue to charge for the car so we have to battle this situation overseas. This nightmare of an experience ruined our entire trip, and I will never try to save money again by renting from sketchy companies like GoIceland.

TOURISTS PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE YOUNG AND HAVE NEVER BEEN TO ICELAND BEFORE- AKA EASY TARGETS FOR THESE SCAMMERS.

STAY AWAY! Total rip off. If you rent through Oribitz or any similar site, take their collision insurance for $11 a day. If you don't ACE will tell you that you either have to put a $3000 hold on your card or pay $30 a day with $500 self risk. Most I've heard from any car rental establishment.
When we brought back our car , there was a scratch that we didn't make on it. They charged me $500 for a $50 scratch that could be buffed out. When asked what did the insurance that I purchased cover, apparently not a scratch, I was better off shattering the entire windshield, which would be covered by the $30 a day insurance. They definitely take tourists for a ride here. They know you don't have much of a choice so they can pretty much do whatever they want. Do your self a favor and rent with a more reputable company.

Oh by they way, they told me I could put in the claim with my insurance back home, NOPE! You are not covered internationally.

I hired a campervan for 5 days through GoIceland recently, was very easy to book with friendly staff who advised me which roads to avoid at that time of year. Compared to the cost of car and hotels i found this a pretty affordable way of seeing the country, the van itself was awesome without any faults but could always reach someone over the phone if i had any questions.

Would 100% recommend as loved seeing the country this way

I’m surprised about all the negative reviews, because all we encountered was a tiny problem: The gas can for cooking was empty, that’s it! There were no hidden costs. I guess they couldn’t really charge us for scratches etc (we didn’t make any), because we returned the vehicle late at night. They then dropped us off at the airport. All good! Other than the gas can, I just thought they weren’t too friendly, but still polite, although I feel that thats the general attitude of the Icelandic population towards tourists... we had the Kangoo Camper Van and were driving around for 5 days.

I booked for the drop off point for my camper van to be at my hotel in Reykjavík at 10am, after waiting 3 hours no one showed up, I tried contacting them in this time and there was no answer, only at 6pm did they contact me saying I owe a extra day because I didn’t return the van to them at their office, they let me return the van the next at 3pm because that was the time of my flight. They forced me to pay £120 For a extra day I didn’t want even though at no point they didn’t say I couldn’t drop the van off at this address. I would use this rental again their customer service is poor and will end up charging you extra

The van was as described;
*Friendly staff;
*No hidden fees;
*Just ask any questions you have before getting the car or email/ call them (i guess it's cultural: don't expect full, lengthy explanations); however, they covered all important points-to-mentions with us
*They extended our rent for half-day (per our request) without additional charge

Do not use this company it's a total rip off, the van we rented was wrecked that means they probably charged someone for damage but never repaired it and they will probably do the same with you. There was no sealing around door so there was a lot of draft during the night. We drove for 8 days around Iceland and got over the limit once and got fined for it this company charged me 5.000 ISK just for passing my information to the local authorities shame on you what a scam and utter way to rip off tourists !!! After all very disappointing trip local people were not friendly asked for help to a local driver with a Jeep to get unstuck from the side of the road and asked us for 400 euros in order to help. Avoi davoid avoid

STAY AWAY

Even if I paid extra for insurance - it covered nothing!
They earn money on a dirty business!
For a little scratch, which was even in a picture I made, when I rent the car, I had to paid ... ~700 euro extra.
Stay away as far as possible !!

Felt compelled to write a review about the company; after reading so many poor ones. We hired a Ford Fiesta or similar for 3 days use this past weekend- a group of 5 young adults. We received a brand new Renault Clio which was far nicer than we expected, equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, a GPS and phone charger. We inspected the car thoroughly upon pick up after reading the "scam" reviews and we're glad to see that all faults we spotted were already recorded by the company.

We drove most of the south coast up to glacier lagoon. We took the most expensive cover and read the conditions- we made sure not to do anything risky to damage the car and this was perfect. No issue at all.

When we returned the car we couldnt have been more pleasantly surprised; we filled up the tank as instructed and the young gentleman at the counter inspected the car, signed off on it being returned in great condition, offered us all coffee and we were out in 20 minutes.
I would use this company again and encourage others too as well. If you're sensible with the car, and respectful to the conditions of the insurance then you'll have no issues!