My wife Carolyn and I needed a car to rent that offered high clearance and low prices for a 10 day drive of discovery over the diverse landscape of Arizona. After comparing a number of well known car rental companies on-line , I settled on Thrifty Car Rental,  All in all, we were very pleased.
 
Thrifty Car Rental

From my experience I know that Thrifty Car Rental, As do a number of big names like Avis, Hertz and Enterprise can be found in many airports throughout the states. I knew we would be doing some off-road driving, yet not needing to have 4 wheel drive performance, Thrifty happened to have a vehicle at a price almost half as much as that of  the other biggie companies. I was shopping in what is considered a mid-sized car range.

Upon arrival we picked up our luggage and looked for our car rental service desk. They had shuttle service from the arrivals directly to the car rental area some ten minutes ride away. It seemed all the car rental companies used the same building complex which was quite large and far from intimate but handled our needs perfectly noting that the fellow who picked us up grabbed every bag from me and set them properly on the bus. Coming off he also took charge of the luggage while NOT with his hand out for each bag.

Pleased with the price we booked with Thrifty out of Arizona's Phoenix Sky Harbor International  Airport, we decided to start and end at that same point.

We had very fast service at the desk where most of our information was all set. I held the car with my debit card no problem. They didn't ask for proof of a flight back as is required to use such a method of payment.

We opted out of the upgraded car insurance being we carry collision privately. With paperwork in hand and a map to our destination we headed to pick out any car in a particular row of mid-sized vehicles.  

Carolyn was looking at color, shape and comfort. I was looking at wheel clearance because I knew we would be doing a few roads noted for sightseeing that though not considered "off  road", they would not be paved and did have rocky outcrops to be avoided.

In the end we went for a 2010 Jeep Compass that met most of our needs but did "cry" on us when we were making the 5,000 ft elevation changes as we headed north to the higher plateau country. The vehicle performed well on the roads intended and gave decent road mileage. All that will be discussed in another review of this vehicle.

...and our return

Upon return all went well. At initial check out of the vehicle we were asked if we would want to pay for the gas through them or fill it up ourselves for drop-off. We opted for the latter and filled up about a mile and a half out. The paperwork noted that we had to show a gas receipt from a station in the immediate area. I don't recall exact mileage, perhaps five miles.

In any case we were not asked for a receipt and a quick inspection had our car checked in and us emptying the vehicle. My bill was handed to me there and my card was then charged the exact amount. All went well and we were back to the airport some ten minutes later after the shuttle picked us up for the return.

I like Thrifty. Booking them on-line was easy. The prices were VERY competitive in fact the best and far lower than the bigger car rental companies for airport pick-up. The vehicle choice seemed good enough and the desk, pickup and return process all went well.

I can recommend Thrifty car rental.

Our Arizona 10 day trip covered so much!!

Recommended: Yes