Renting a car in the US is very convenient and user-friendly.

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?

We picked up the car at the Los Angeles airport location. There were both self-service machines and manned counters. After seeing the long line at the manned counters, we decided to try the self-service machine. We entered a lot of information, which took a long time, but in the end, it printed out a small slip of paper instead of a contract. Since our return time was outside their business hours, we were told to go to the manned counter. A helpful lady suggested changing the return time, but since it might take even longer and there could be other issues, we decided to join the queue. We waited for a long time. The middle-aged man who attended to us had a stern expression and tried to sell us insurance. I told him I already had third-party insurance and showed him the notice under the rental order on QEEQ. He wasn't happy but walked away. When he returned, he asked me to sign a lot of liability clauses in a cold tone. The guy helping us choose a car was really nice. Under the SUV section, there were options like the Grand Cherokee, Buick Envision, Santa Fe, Toyota, and more. Only the Buick had leather seats, which I thought would be easier to clean, so we picked the Buick. It was a new car and drove very well. We returned the car in the early morning at Bozeman airport. We parked the car in the designated area, took photos, and followed the signs to the rental car counter in the airport terminal. We filled out a form and had to write down the parking spot, but we couldn't remember it, so we just noted the row and side. We then dropped the keys into the key box. The process went quite smoothly. We also rented from Alamo in North Carolina, and their service was much better than in Los Angeles. The car was even upgraded, though it was a bit older and did not drive as well.

Very long queue, had to wait a long time. Luckily, there were self-service machines available. The car model didn't match the one in the order at all. It seems like orders made through the agency with discounted prices receive this kind of treatment.

- the car had a scratch - the front windshield water pump was not working (I discovered that later when I thought there was no water so I added water but still it didn’t work)

- I was supposed to have lid an insurance if the tank was not returned full but when I picked it up at the Alamo Counter they said that I needed to return it with a full tank

The car I ordered was not available at this location which did not help and the alternative vehicle was not ready for over an hour.