Essence Car Rental - Istanbul - Ataturk Airport International Information, Car hire Instructions & Policies

Picked up the car myself, returned it to the airport myself, no service at all, had to take the subway back to my accommodation!

There was no office at all. On the pickup day, I searched half a day at the airport and found no one. Eventually, I found someone who quickly handed over the car at the underground parking lot. Returning the car was equally troublesome, as I had to wait in the parking lot for someone to come as agreed. Completely unacceptable.

The car was in great condition, a diesel Renault CLIO, recently registered for three months with only 5000 kilometers. It was basically brand new.

The staff did not make notes on the damaged areas and assured that there were no issues. When returning the car at a different location, they did not communicate with their local colleagues in a timely manner and blamed us for the damages. They did not provide a proper response! Additionally, the car was very old and frequently indicated engine overheating on the highway, requiring maintenance!

Car pick-up was easy and straightforward. A company representative met us at the arrivals hall and took us directly to the parking lot opposite. After verifying and inspecting the car, we received the keys. No unnecessary questions or explanations about operating the vehicle. They just informed us that the car had no gas and could only drive for about 10 kilometers. We also had to pay the parking fee ourselves when leaving the lot. I asked the parking attendant where the nearest gas station was, but he didn't speak English. Without further ado, I drove out of the airport, avoiding highways and overpasses, sticking to surface roads to find a gas station. I stopped on the side of the road and flagged down a taxi to ask the driver. He didn't know either. Just when I was about to despair, a passenger in the taxi told me to follow him. People in Islamic countries are actually very friendly, haha.

Since it's a small company without a storefront, there was no queue. I received one-on-one dedicated service. The only minor issue was a discussion over currency conversion fees when paying, but everything else was satisfactory.

The company did not confirm my order, causing eight of us to wait at the airport for over eight hours. We left the airport at 6 AM and only got the car around 2 PM. It directly disrupted our itinerary; we missed our hotel reservation and lost 150 euros.