Rent-A-Wreck

Look for Kenya. She’ll do her level best to help you make things right. I walked in for a cargo van rental and I was out of there in about 5 minutes. The transaction was quick. Eventough though she was by herself, answering different phone calls. i would have given 5 stars but the cargo van was smelly and oily, the seat belt and the seat was dirty, has machinery oil and smelly. The AC didn’t work and I have to drive in an 85 degree weather. The driver side mirror was half missing

These guys are complete crooks, pay the extra $ 20 per day and just go anywhere but there. At first it seems cool because its a good deal, but they screw you with extra fees, but fine. Car was stuff with snow, I have pics of that. Will post later, like wtf is that… Then 5 months later they charge my card $ 150 for a freakin ticket? A $ 30 ticket, you guys charged me $ 150 to change the ticket to my address in Cali? You are terrible people. Then you tell me itll cover the cost of my ticket, so instead of notifying me that I got a ticket in that crazy snow storm, you never tell me then the ticket turns into a late ticket.
SO after all this they took my $ 150 and I still have to pay about $ 66 for the ticket… So these guys said that the $ 150 would cover my ticket, but it didn’t. DON“T GO HERE!!!

The worst customer service. I was told they were going to hold a car for me and when I got there it was not available. Should’ve asked for a way to reserve it over the phone but he never offered any options. Bill was pretty rude about it.

I have been flying into Newark for weekend university courses for more than two years. Even with discounts, renting from a more traditional car rental company usually cost almost $ 300 for the weekend. This was getting old. Then I discovered Rent A Wreck. I cannot say enough good things about the customer service.
The quality of the cars can be all over the map — but I pay about $ 75 for two days — far less than even a one-​day rental at another company. I have had vehicles ranging from a Mercedes sedan to a Genesis Coupe (WOW!), to a really beat up — I don’t even remember what it was. Sometimes things are not perfect — the Mercedes had been driven by a smoker before me and there were ashes all over. But one call to the manager, Bill, and he directed me to a great car wash and refunded more than the cost of the wash to me. When the Genesis Coupe ran out of washer fluid, I purchased a gallon with confidence, knowing the cost would be reimbursed (it was). Even the really bad car resulted in a partial refund of the rental cost and a promise that this would not happen again. And it hasn’t!
Even when you make a bone-​headed mistake like approving the contract even though it has the wrong number of days and don’t discover it until afterwards, they will work with you to make it right. (Thanks, Bill!)
You are paying a fraction of the normal rental cost and saving a substantial amount of the mandatory taxes and fees that are charged by the traditional on-​airport rental companies. In return, it takes a little more work on your part to execute the contract, and the cars are not the typical rental car — more like your neighbor’s spare car that he lets you borrow when your is in the shop. There are scratches and dents and sometimes its not the cleanest car — BUT YOU ARE SAVING A BUNDLE! Get over yourself and suck it up. This is a GREAT DEAL.
And the staff is excellent!

The car was really a wreck! Even when it was brand new a respectable rental car company would not have used this model. Definitely won’t be renting from these guys again.
* Kia Rio
* 85,000 miles
* Many scratches and dents outside
* Manual windows, locks, mirrors
* Crack in the windshield halfway across it
* Dashboard lights on: Tire pressure monitoring, airbag
* Dirty and stained seats
* Garbage (used water bottle, a rusty screw) from previous renters

Others have described the rental process from Newark Airport accurately. It’s convenient for sure and the concept is sound, but the vehicles are sub par. I rented a vehicle from the Newark Airport Rent-​A-​Wreck on July 20 for a 24-​hour stint in the area. My wife and I, and our 10 month-​old came in for a family reunion nearby.
The only positive part of this review will be for ABC Airport Parking, the subcontractor that shuttles renters from the airport to the rental lot. The shuttle came within 10 minutes of calling. The driver was courteous and got us to the parking lot quickly. Once there, the ABC folks got me into the car post-​haste. However, I was never given the opportunity to «walk the car,» to document damage.
The car had almost 160,000 miles on the odometer. The check engine light was on the entire 24-​hour period. The front passenger door had to be slammed in order to latch properly. The front passenger seat belt didn’t retract (as seat belts are meant to do). The front passenger seat had a stain on whose origins we struggled not to speculate. I can say that I reached my destination without incident, and returned without additional charge. This is the only positive thing I can say about my experience (other than regarding ABC).
One week ago, I sent my feedback using the online form to Rent-​A-​Wreck and received no reply. I don’t plan to use this service again.

This is the Newark Liberty Airport location (although the actual pickup of the vehicle is in Elizabeth, NJ… I’ll explain later).
How the process works for this company, is that you make a reservation (online or on on the phone) for a vehicle pickup at Newark Airport. The company will then handle all of the paperwork for the rental via email and the phone. The day of your rental pickup, the company will call you and give you a confirmation number for the vehicle. When you arrive at the airport for vehicle pickup, you have to call a number (which is actually an off-​site airport parking lot and shuttle company, in Elizabeth) and tell them that you’re ready to get your car. The parking lot shuttle company comes to get you, and you’re taken to the lot where your rental vehicle is waiting.
In late June 2013, I reserved 2 vehicles for my travel companion and myself. The first vehicle was ok. It was a a mid-​2000s model Jaguar with about 70,000 miles on it. The only problem with it was that it felt that it was having some power-​steering problems. The other vehicle was a Taurus, had no air conditioning, and it felt as if the transmission was going out because it would often suddenly jerk, and had a lot of hesitancy going into reverse.
From what I’ve heard from some north Jersey locals– a lot of people know that this company can rent out some pretty bad cars. Like, really, really beat up cars. But, my experience was not that bad (minus the no air conditioning and transmission issues… but I luckily didn’t drive the car that much). The prices for this company were significantly less (like $ 100 less) than all of the other airport rental companies. For those people who are willing to roll the dice with the type of car that you may get– you may want to try it.

This company gets 5 stars for the great service I experienced with them.
Yes, the cars are beat up, and it sounded a little mysterious at first since they don’t have a rental office. But the drop off and pick up were smooth and easy. All communications with them were efficient and friendly and all charges were exactly what were described to me (saving $ 150 from the cheapest other place).
But they really scored points when the car experienced some tire issues. After a few days with an older luxury car (a jaguar, what fun!), the tire went flat and the repair place said there was an issue with the rim. The spare was on and working, but I didn’t feel safe driving it in the country with my handicapped Mom in the car and rainy weather (no ability to walk somewhere if anything did go wrong), and they couldn’t find a replacement rim in stock on a Sunday (yeah, a jaguar, boo), so they drove out into the country to bring me a new car! Troopers! And we had no problems at all with the replacement car. Thank you Carlos, you and your team made me feel taken care of.

I needed to rent a car while in the north Jersey area visiting family for a few days. I read the reviews here and must admit I was a little hesitant at first. I mentioned my concerns when I called the office and asked if I could pay a little more money to get a better car. They told me they could do that and the price still came out to less than other places I called in the area. So off I went to pick up a car. I was in an out of the office in under 10 minutes and very pleasantly surprised when they handed me the keys for a really nice 2010 Mazda 3 with under 40,000 miles. The car was fantastic!
Not sure about the other people’s experiences here but I learned that if you offer to pay a few extra bucks a day you may get a nicer car than what you drive at home! The staff was also very accommodating and easy to work with. Will definitely use these guys again next time I’m in town.

Yeah, the overwhelming message here: you get what you pay for. I wish I’d read the reviews before renting, but I can’t really complain for what I got.
For starters, as everyone said, these cars are not «gently» used. The Chevy I got had more than 120,000 miles. The doors creaked, one of the seats had a big hole in the back, the radio antenna was snapped off. A taillight was half-​smashed; there were two giant dents. The engine light was on.
That being said, I had a different experience, customer-​service-​wise, than everyone else. Airport pickup was prompt and polite. Everyone I spoke to on the phone was helpful. There were some clarification issues, but not an usual amount for the hellish industry that is car rental.
The only real «dings» for me: the car only had a quarter tank of gas when I picked it up. Not cool when you are picking up a car in an unknown area, especially one with a weird freeway system like New Jersey. Also, they should be more up front about the fact that these things are REALLY wrecks; the engine light being on is pretty inexcusable, even though I’ve driven my personal car with the engine light on for months at a time.
Bottom line: I rented a car for about $ 200 for a week. I saved about a hundred bucks. Probably!

You always totally get what you pay for! One of the worst experiences EVER and 2 months later am still living the hell from it! Got an old nearly broke down car with a tank of gas on empty from this office after booking online. I should have left when I arrived, but really needed a car for less than 24 hours. I found my way down to their dungeon office and signed paperwork for an old «good cheap» rental car.
The car, with the grace of god, and with some very good luck, didn’t break down on me. I filled the tank up with gas from empty which was stupid on my part since there was a 50 mile limit and even this gas guzzler didnt need a full tank for 50 miles.
The «shuttle» back to the airport was my rental car with 2 nice, funny mechanics cracking jokes about their company the whole time. Although it was amusing its not your typical shuttle ride, mind you I paid extra for this service…
Now, 2 months later I have a charge on my credit card from them for $ 155 and $ 500. CRAZY! They said I couldnt drive into Manhattan, which I didnt. but I asked if I could drive into Queens and they said yes. Apparently these charges are for driving into Queens. No one will get back to me regarding this issue. ITS HELL!!!
This has been, without doubt, one of the worst living nightmares with regards to monetary issues. If I can save one single person from dealing with this company then atleast some good will come out of it! SAVE YOURSELVES a HUGE headache and avoid Rent a Wreck at all costs!!!
addendum: Mr Carl, ower of Rent a Wreck agreed to refund my $ 500 BS charge :) He is actually a decent human being and a logically minded business man. I enjoyed talking to him, although the rest of his staff is far from helpful I would agree to try his company out again through him.

Rent a Wreck seriously lives up to it’s name.
I was going back to NJ to take care of some stuff, trying to be budget-​conscious. So when I did a rental car search, and saw $ 34 a day instead of the regular rental cars’ $ 75+, I figured what the hell, I’ll do it.
I remembered Rent a Wreck from years (many years) ago and figured it’d be just an older car.
Ha! Was I WRONG!!!
The first car I got (yes, first) was so disgustingly filthy, trashed, smashed into oblivion, missing parts of it’s body, some of the doors wouldn’t open, check engine light on, steering wheel shook so much even at 40mph, I could hardly keep my hands on it, wipers were so old they just smeared the water on the windshield making it impossible to see in a sudden downpour. Then, the battery died — TWICE! Luckily the first time I had someone w/​me who had jumper cables. The second time I called them and said — Enough. I do not feel safe, I need another car. The guys at the Parlin location were totally nice, they got me another car, no problems. this one was better, marginally, but still pretty trashed. At least it ran, but the side view mirror on the drivers side was GLUED & TAPED on, and it was from some other car. Couldn’t adjust it, was afraid it’d fall off. Also, engine light on, large scrape along drivers side, which is probably what took off the mirror & the gas cap door.
Then, for returning the car, I had to go to the Scotch Plains location, since I needed the shuttle to get back to Newark Airport. Wow, hard to find, and is some shabby tiny office in the bottom of a house or something. Only one guy working, slowly.
Turns out, this guy WAS the shuttle operator, so I had to wait around for over an hour for him to be done with all the crazy people who showed up. Would’ve been nice if he had asked when my flight was! And the car I had rented served as the «shuttle»!!! He turned out to be a pretty nice guy, I got to the airport in time, but was very stressed (and it had been a super stressful week, and I so did not need more stress to go home with)
Will I ever use RAW again? No siree bob. I will pay extra to get less stress & better car/​service from now on.
Too Bad. Rent a Wreck used to be such a nice operation.

I seriously do not know or understand why any of these establishments are still open. I just checked New York location and many of them are closed, probably due to their service and rip-​off schemes. Keep in mind, this place is literal and lives up to their name. You will definitely be driving a wrecked car.
Warning this is a long list of complaints and dissatisfaction for one rental. But if you want an idea of how this place operates, please read on.
My boyfriend rented a car sometime this past mid-​Decemer in 2010 due to the snow to pick up a friend and he had reserved an SUV.
First, these people did not have the deceny to call ahead of time to tell him it became unavailable; they called 10 minutes before his arrival (his pick-​up time). Then they tried to rip him off by switching the «unavailable» SUV for a 15-​passenger van when there was only going to be a maximum of 3 people in the car. Needless to say even after rejecting the van, they kept trying to sell it.
Second, since they messed up on our reservation, they sent us to go pick up the downgraded car that so happen to be the only one available. They kept saying it’s a good car, it runs well and it’s «new». So they charged us at that first office for a total of about $ 80 then sent us on our way to the other location that was about 2 miles away to pick up the other car. That $ 80 can get you an Enterprise, Hertz, of Dollar car all for maybe an extra dollar. I can’t believe these people even priced their cars next to these efficient companies.
Third, at the new location we spot the KEA Rio that we were supposed to take. That car was falling apart. You would think it should be in a junk yard. But that’s not what I want to say. This company is called RENT A WRECK. since when did lack of customer service and car inspection fall under the terms of a wrecked car. They gave us that car without first cleaning it out, so I had to throw out all the garbage that was left in there by the previos users to avoid paying a cleaning fee — that included a nasty hair brush in the passenger seat (in wide open space). Now I’ve ranted on the service, next the car should be inspected before it’s rented out. Needless to say that was not done. And I saw at least 10 people working that day at that location. So my boyfriend popped the hood, and saw that the car had none or was ultra low on coolant — so we had to ask them to fill up to prevent the car from overheating on us while on the road. Second as we were pulling out boyfriend realized there was no window washer fluid. ARE YOU KIDDING ME PEOPLE??? But we just took the car without the fluid.
Fourth, while on the road, we plugged in our personal GPS, to find out that the AC adapter wasn’t working. We called, and they told us to BUY a new fuse. WOW — completely unbelievable. So imagine if we had rented a GPS from them, do you know what money they would’ve sucked out of us. Oh and mind you the bumper was falling off and touching the tire, so everytime we turned, we’d here this loud nasty scraping noise. The fuse was the last straw. I called for an exchange, and they didn’t even want to help. Told me call back and when I called back an hour later, the person did not even look. Right after I asked he just said no. And upon pick up they told us we can return at any location, but when I asked for a car exchange all of a sudden they tell me that the car needs to go back to its original rental office. So I tried calling for a price adjustment because with all these problems the car was not worth to be rented at $ 80 and it was only for one day way less than 24 hours. The people were rude and nasty and speaking as if it’s our fault.
Anyway there’s more, but this informing duty is hurting my fingers and quite tedious. still want to rent from them. It’s your choice. I’ve done my part in sharing the experience.

I rented from this location twice in the past few months and I haven’t had any problems to date. You pay ¹⁄₃ of what you would pay with any other rental company and the cars aren’t half bad. You also avoid the pricey young renter’s fees, so that is definitely a plus. True, the car hasn’t always come spotless, but they offer to refund you if you choose to get the car washed.
All in all, I would recommend them. I’ve never had a problem getting around in these cars. If you want luxury, pay for luxury. But if you want a decent car to get around in, this is the place.

I refuse to even give one star as a rating, but Unilocal requires at least one apparently. The guy showed up late that morning, so I had to wait on the steps of this shady «office building» which was really just a very old, worn out house that had been converted to stinky, dirty and unprofessional «offices». Shady, shady place. I understand I was renting a «wreck», and not a new or nice car, but I expected it to be clean and safe. It was neither.
The car was BEYOND FILTHY; the first stop I made was for antibacterial wipes. Gross. The passenger side mirror had been haphazardly replaced with an incorrect size and wouldn’t stay in place, rendering it useful so I couldn’t see anything all day. The glove box and trunk didn’t open. The A/​C didn’t work. The radio was missing buttons and only got 2 stations in. The transmission slipped multiple times. It was dragging something all day. The muffler needed replacing (It was horribly loud). The rearview mirror fell off. It was a horrible, horrible experience and I will never again take the cheap way out of a rental car.
I honestly don’t understand how this car passed state inspection. Just don’t do it.

It pains me to have to give it one star. Can’t I give negative stars, please?
Seriously. It is that bad.
I made a reservation with them because it was the cheapest I could possibly find. Then, I stumbled upon the other reviews here. I thought to myself, «Oh crap. Well… maybe these people just had bad experiences, maybe they just had bad luck. Reviews tend to be written by people who either really love or really hate something, right?»
But no no no. This place is fundamentally awful.
I could tell you the long, detailed story about how myself and two other people who each had reservations were told that there weren’t any cars available (excuse me, rather, «F*cking customers — We don’t got no cars!») by the woman (monster?) who was cursing like a sailor and actually smoking in the «office» (i.e., a windowless, apparently ventilation-​less basement). Not to mention the poor people who actually did receive a car (after two hours of waiting) only to discover that it stalled out in the parking lot!
But long story short, I ended up frantically renting a car last-​minute from Budget at the Newark Airport. Wonderful car, wonderful service — and crazy expensive because I had to rent last minute. So ultimately, trying to save some money ending up costing me far, far more.
Honestly though, I’m thrilled that I was forced to rent from a proper rental company at the airport rather than actually get a car from these awful, awful people. Because when they say «wrecks,» they actually mean it.
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

First car we got had the handbreak permanently engaged, which we could get to snap back. Went back in, got other car. Second car smelled so strong of gasoline inside that we had to return it after 2 days. The car also shook way too much on the highway. When we got back to return the car, we saw an other family who had been given the car with the defunct hand break! They had driven off with the car, car broke down on way down coast, stranded in freezing December cold. RentAWreck did not assist in any way, they had to call mechanic themselves, pay $ 300+ out of their pocket, and rent a wreck said it would pay them back when they returned the car. When they returned with the car 3 days later, the owner/​manager was MIA and wasn’t answering his phone. Family had to call the cops to get their money back. This place is SHADY.