Carwiz Reviews 390

Our experience with Carwiz was extremely disappointing.

We booked and paid in advance for a car for three days, with a 10am collection. Due to a minor issue (we had to return briefly to get the driving licence), we called ahead, but were told they would not hold the car unless we paid for an upgrade. After unnecessary back-and-forth, they finally gave us the car we had already booked and paid for.

The car itself had multiple warning alarms on, including an oil level warning. When we raised this in person (both at collection and again at drop-off), the staff was dismissive and openly rude. At one point, the employee sarcastically asked if I was a mechanic, implying the warnings didn’t matter. Being told that safety alerts “mean nothing” is completely unacceptable.

We were also pressured into buying their extra insurance using what felt like thinly veiled scare tactics. We were told that without their insurance, roadside assistance would only be available after 48 hours—an absurd and misleading claim. No option was offered to take basic rescue cover on its own.

To top it off, when returning the car, they charged €20 for cleaning due to a small amount of sand. This felt like a blatant attempt to extract extra money.

Overall, this felt less like a professional rental service and more like a business built on pressure, dismissive behaviour, and opportunistic charges. I would strongly advise others to avoid.

We had a really upsetting experience with this car rental in Bucharest and would strongly urge others to avoid.

We booked a Mercedes for a very low price, but on arrival were told it wasn’t available and were pushed into taking a heavily scratched alternative. We were also pressured to buy their insurance, and when we declined, we were required to leave an extremely high deposit (around £3,000).

We clearly pointed out existing scratches when collecting the car and were told not to worry. After using the car minimally for 2 days, staff then carried out an intense inspection on return and claimed a tiny mark was new damage, demanding payment.

When we refused, staff became aggressive, refused to call the original employee, and even denied us the shuttle back to the airport, leaving us stranded and forced to pay for our own transport.

Days later, despite not agreeing to any charges, a large amount was taken from our card. We had to dispute this through our bank to get our money back.

What should have been a simple rental completely ruined the end of our trip. Please be very careful—document everything or choose a different company.

Collected the car with hundreds of defects and dirty, first day took it to a car wash for a clean inside found used condoms and other packaging from previous customers. On return they charged me for no 16th chip on the windscreen (apparently it only had 15 chips) well prove that if you can. The car is a cash cow that it's used to generate money from fake claims as it's impossible to detail hundreds of damages. (Mafia style)This horrible company shouldn't be allowed to trade as it's a total scam , 5 days since I returned the car and I still haven't received my deposit back 2500euro plus they charged me 800euro for a chip in the windscreen, trying to go through the insurance company they don't reply to them... Please Avoid this scammers

This is a terrible company.
We waited for a shuttle to take us to the rental company. We waited for 1 1/2 hours… with the company texting and stating they are on their way and there must be traffic ( it was 11:30 pm).
We ended up having to Uber an hour to our destination.
Expedia could not get a refund. Car wiz completely lied about what happened. Below is what the told Expedia….
“ We were advised by Carwiz that their shuttle service was fully operational, running every 15 minutes as scheduled. They denied to refund saying that you chose to cancel the booking voluntarily, as you did not accept their terms and conditions.”

Protect your money and your peace.

Terrible service. This company is a scam. I pre paid for a car but when I went to pick up they demanded hundreds of extra dollars which I refused to pay....so I'm out the original money I payed and no car.

SCAMMERS! They forced me to pay an additional $111.60 ON TOP of what I’d already paid Priceline. They were icky and unethical. They wouldn’t let me see any paperwork or get a receipt.

They rip you off on the return. You have to drive the car through a car wash before you return the car - no matter how clean it is. Just pay something more at a real rental car company and avoid all the discussions and rip offs

Made a booking with a broker for a car rate of 4 euro a day. At the desk for pick up they ask me for extra 12 euro por day.

The reason!?

There was not flight number in my voucher!

This is fraud!

Ridiculous. They should be kicked out of business.

Such a shame for Naples and Italy.

I hire car in napes and all over Europe for my business all the time. CarWiz rent a car was a total unprofessional joke.

DO NOT TENT FROM THESE THIEVES !!!

I rented a car through easy jet car rental thinking I’d get an honest car rental company NO NO NO.
flight came in late and delays at passport control so I was late collecting my car in the. Afternoon.
€40 additional charge which doubles the rental price for being late due to easy jets own flights !!!
Car sits in a yard unused why is there more expense turning up late ??? Office was open , staff on site , people arrived after me.

Disgusting company and terrible couldn’t care less service !!

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS. OMPANY.

If you book a car through Ryanair then you are very likely to end up booking a car through Carwiz. Why ? Because they are the cheapest and obviously offer a good % to Ryanair. However cheap does not come with problems. I rented a car and insurance through Ryanair. Carwiz were very unhappy that I was not purchasing insurance through them. They insisted on a booking deposit on my credit card. I returned the car in perfect condition and when I arrived home I discovered that they had taken 310.40Euro from my account , claiming that there was damage to a bumper. My advise , give CARWIZ a wide berth and don't book a car rental through Ryanair.

ABSOLUTE SCAM — STAY AWAY

This company is running a classic bait-and-switch scam. They take reservations and money knowing full well they do not have enough cars — or possibly no cars at all.

We booked a vehicle two months in advance. After arriving at the pickup location, we were bluntly told that there were no cars and there would be none, and that we could “go wherever we want.” The staff was openly rude, aggressive, and unprofessional. Instead of helping, they laughed in our faces.

There was zero attempt to resolve the issue, offer alternatives, or take responsibility. Their so-called supervisor was clearly complicit and did nothing.

As a result, we were left without a car for our entire vacation. Our plans were completely ruined.

This is not incompetence — this is intentional deception.
Do not trust this company. Do not book here. Avoid at all costs.

I rented a car in Greece for 7 days in June, and from day 4 onward the vehicle became unusable due to a dead battery. Instead of providing a replacement car, the staff seriously suggested that I should buy a new battery myself. After two jump-starts, Carwiz refused any further assistance, and I had to rely on the ADAC to get help.

The customer service was rude, unprofessional, and completely unhelpful. As “compensation,” they offered only €40 and a €30 voucher, which I will never use. Considering that the car was unusable for three full days, this offer is absolutely unacceptable.

The experience was already terrible at pickup in Thessaloniki: the employee was extremely unfriendly. When I pointed out the broken air conditioning, he replied dismissively, “you better get used to it.”

Bottom line: Do not book with Carwiz. Unreliable cars, unprofessional staff, and zero willingness to solve problems. Never again. I am currently initiating legal steps regarding this incident.

🚫 WARNING: Do NOT Use CarWiz Zante – 1000% Avoid This Company

I would 1000% advise people not to use CarWiz in Zante. My experience with them was truly awful and left me feeling shaken and intimidated.

They met me at the airport and took me, a solo traveller, to a nearby minibus. From the very start, the man working for the company was unfriendly and rude. I had a large suitcase, and instead of offering to help, he simply opened the back of the van and walked off, what kind of gentleman does that? I later realised it was because he was far from a gentleman.

When we arrived at the CarWiz office just down the road from the airport, it was the same story, no offer to help with my luggage (which would have been nice). But once inside, things went from bad to worse.

He began aggressively trying to upsell me extra “super” insurance** even though I explained I had already purchased insurance through EasyJet. He didn’t like that and started screaming in my face, shouting about what would happen if I got even the smallest scratch on the car, how much it would cost, and other threats. His behaviour became increasingly hostile, to the point that if there hadn’t been a family in the building, I would have been genuinely scared for my safety as a woman travelling alone.

I stood my ground and refused to buy the extra insurance. He then took me to the car and continued his bullying tactics while I filmed around and underneath the vehicle, documenting every mark. He clearly didn’t like that and tried to put me off, saying, “Why are you taking pictures of small marks? We don’t look for that.” This was just minutes after yelling that I’d be charged for even the tiniest scratch if I didn’t take his insurance! The contradiction was ridiculous and manipulative.

I have never felt so intimidated in my life. His behaviour left me visibly shaken and upset.

On my second day, I went on TripAdvisor because I couldn’t stop thinking about the experience, and sure enough, I found hundreds of similar complaints about this company: “Call the police,” “Scammers,” “They stole my money,” and many more. That’s when I realised what I was dealing with.

I decided to freeze my credit card to stop the €500 deposit from being taken because I knew I’d never see that money again. I even contacted EasyJet to ask why on earth they are promoting this company.

The car itself was an absolute death trap, it had a burnt-out clutch, smoked throughout the holiday, and struggled on hills to the point where I feared for my safety driving it. I eventually asked someone I met on holiday to drive me in their hire car instead because the CarWiz car was simply unsafe.

In my opinion, CarWiz Zante are aggressive, nasty, and professional con artists. They intimidate customers, scam people out of money, and put safety at risk.

If you’ve already booked with them, freeze or block your credit card immediately before the deposit is taken, I had to completely change mine to stop them.

If you’ve already fallen victim to their behaviour, report them to whoever you booked through (e.g., EasyJet).
These people should not be allowed to continue threatening and scamming travellers.

I would have given them ZERO stars on here but one was needed to write this review.

Very friendly and efficient staff. There was no funny business with false charges. I would give it 4 stars however they really need some sign at the airport staying "Carwiz shuttle collect points this way" and "Carwiz collect point".

INSURANCE SCAM

TL;DR: do yourself a favor, go to another car rental company like Yours car rental.

This is not the first time I rent a car in Crete. The other times were always the same, I go to the rental company, I pay a security deposit for the car, and they pay it back when I give the car back.
Not with 'Carwiz' though: they refused to accept my Visa gold card, claiming it was a debit card and they could only block money from a credit card (this is not true, you can pre-authorize the amount of money even on a debit visa card as most hotel or car rental companies do). Instead, Carwiz threatened to cancel our reservation unless we buy their full car insurance, with which we wouldn’t need any caution. This forced sale for an unneeded and unwanted service (I already had insurance with Booking) ended up TRIPLING the price of the rental.

While I admit that this was an oversight of the contract on our end, I can but raise the following problems with Carwiz’s services:
* they refused to pre-authorize the money with my card
* they refused to accept cash money for the deposit
* they took advantage of our being stuck without a car to force us to pay their insurance
* they have no insurance variants except for the only exorbitant option: they charged us 315€ of insurance (instead of 60€ on booking) for a 133€ car rental
* it is clear from other reviews that they are fully aware of it and are taking advantage of the legal loophole to extort customers

This scam is completely unacceptable. It was a horrible way to start this trip, and not on par with the exceptional hospitality and fair prices in Crete.

Security deposit scam! We rent a car at LARNACA airport and we were requested to deposit 1200$ for security. We were never informed regarding this, but only after final confirmation and rcpt of booking details. The stuff was very aggressive and rude. Highly recommended to choose another rental company.

Just make sure that when you pick up the car you are offered a car in the category you paid for, to avoid wasting time asking for a refund.

I booked a car at Athens Airport. Everything went very well , we had to wait a bit for the Shuttle Bus but that’s the nature of a Station outside the Airport.
The car was Absolutely ok and stuff was Professional and nice. Seeing so many bad ratings does not reflect the experience I have made. Thanks a lot Carwiz for the good experience

Budapest Liszt Ferenc Airport

I had a fantastic experience with Carwiz (booking through Expedia). The staff were welcoming, friendly, and clearly knowledgeable. I completed the online check-in beforehand and uploaded all required documents, so at pickup, I only needed to show my passport to confirm my identity. After signing three times and having a nice chat, I received the keys along with clear instructions on where to find the car.

The car itself was spotless and in excellent condition — small, but full of extras! I was genuinely impressed that the most affordable option in their fleet was such a well-equipped, almost top-of-the-range version. It drove beautifully and had low mileage. The team also took the time to show me the few small existing marks on the vehicle and explained the full-to-full fuel policy. They even offered the option to prepay a full tank, which was perfect for my early-morning return.

Before returning the car, I gave it a quick wash — it had been raining, and I felt the car (and the service) deserved it! Drop-off was seamless: I simply parked it in the same spot where I picked it up, dropped the key into their return box, and was on my way to my flight.

Overall, I’m extremely pleased with the service, the car’s cleanliness, and the entire experience. I also really appreciated that, even though I had extended excess cover from Expedia, I wasn’t pressured or bombarded with insurance offers — a big plus!

I’ll definitely use Carwiz again and have already recommended them to my friends. A genuine 5-plus-star experience!

Carwiz Naples charged us for a scratch that was already there. We did take photos but the before photo had a slight shadow and didn’t show it clearly enough for the lady at reception. She initially agreed our dispute and agreed to waive the charge of 390 euros if we left a good review. They then called us in the airport after we left to say that they had changed their mind and had charged us anyway! The whole experience felt dodgy and like a scam. She went through the car with such a detailed inspection pointing out dust marks etc. We had photos of everything but the check in was taking so long, like around an hour of ‘what about this mark’ and us either wiping it away as it was a bit of dirt or producing a photo of it being there before we took it. We have hired cars in lots of countries and I’ve never experienced anything like it. Eventually the man who drives the transfer mini bus to the airport said he had to go. I believe this is to add pressure so you’ll just pay the fine to not miss your flight. Luckily we had plenty of time so I said it’s ok go, we’ll take a later transfer. That’s when she agreed to waive the fee. I believe this is a deliberate scam to make more money. We booked direct through Easy Jet and will never do that again. After reading other reviews I realise we were not alone. Do not use this company!