In February this year, exactly like February last year, and almost the same trip, the same strange incident happened. I picked up the car with a full tank and returned it with a full tank, but both times I got charged $65. I only found out about it after returning to my home country last year and multiple complaints led nowhere. This year I made sure to point it out when returning the car, and without asking any questions, they refunded me immediately! I can't help but suspect this might be intentional. I hope for an explanation. ALEMO is usually cheaper on the ZUZUCHE platform, but once you get there, they strongly recommend upgrading the vehicle and adding extra insurance. Various charges (like $145 for 8 days of GPS; last year, I got talked into adding over $700 of extra insurance and received a free GPS, the charges can be very arbitrary), and then casually being charged $65 for 8 days of rental at $15 per day, once confirmed, they would immediately refund it! Am I being overly suspicious?

There are relatively few counters at the store, so there’s a bit of a wait. However, the service is very attentive; they will explain everything to you in detail.

Professional and fast

The process was convenient and fast, and the car was in good condition. However, as a first-time renter, I was persuaded to pay extra for a vehicle upgrade, which was completely unnecessary since there was no significant difference between the original model and the upgraded one.

I booked a large MPV on the website, and the estimated total cost was more than 4,000 RMB. When I picked up the car at the rental company, they asked for my credit card. I repeatedly confirmed with the staff that the payment had been made online. They assured me that the car had been paid for and the credit card was only for potential additional charges. When I went to the car lot, all the cars of the same series were parked together. The staff directed me to the pick-up area and matched my order with one of the cars. There were 7-8 cars including Dodge, Kia, and Chrysler. There was also a Sienna, and I asked the staff if I could take it. The staff said any car in that row was fine. I was happy and didn’t think much of it since they confirmed the payment was already made online and said I could take any of the available cars. I drove off, but later I found out when returning the car that I was charged an additional 5,000 RMB. They said it was for a car upgrade, which means the total cost was now 10,000 RMB instead of the planned 4,000 RMB. It's really not cheap. If I had chosen an upgrade myself, I'd be fine paying more, but they charged me without my consent. I don’t think anyone can accept this. I hope others are cautious when renting cars in the future. This was my first time experiencing this in my three trips to the U.S.