Anyone heard of Firefly Car rental?

[Echo queen]

Returned from the happiest place on earth 11/3. No problems with Firefly car rental. Got a Chevy Impala mileage was a little high @42,000 mile but car ran good. It is a little ways to walk back to where the cars are but for the price of $114 for 6 days it was worth it. Secret for a good rate is to book early as possible. No high pressure sales at the counter. Have another rental with them next month. Well worth the money.

So how did the return of the car go?

 

[bearh]

No problem returning car. Returned about 2:00 in the afternoon. Waited about 3 minutes for the guy to show up to check the car out. Gave us a receipt for the quoted price and we were on our way. Will definitely rent from them again.

 

[gigi from canada]

I booked a SUV on September 27 for a 15 day trip from Feb. 26 to March 13 at a rate of 615.42 USD. Now, 2 months later, when I go online to book the exact same it's showing 1300$

Should I be worried about my reservation? Will they honor this low rate? I have the email andres number.

 

[nilseks]

They will honor the rate you booked at. Just bring a printout of your confirmation.

 

[YesterdaysAirRace]

They gave me an all-inclusive price of $51.84 for Thursday nite thru Sunday evening for an econobox ("Kia Rio or similar"). That includes all the taxes and concession fees and whatnot. This is significantly less than the usual suspects like Enterprise (who I love). I'll probably spend more on coffee probably that weekend. But...too good to be true?

So I didn't forget about my post here; it's just...things still aren't resolved.

The pick-up was OK. I wound up with a giant Town and Country minivan, no additional charge, because that's all that was available I guess. It was fully loaded with every bell and whistle, so, that was a nice plus, considering I reserved an economy.

During the contract signing, the agent convinced me to buy the pre-paid gas option. I never buy these, but he claimed this one was different--that I'd get a credit for any gas left in the car. In other words, I'd pay up front for a full tank ($62.68 for the van), but if I brought it back at, say, half-tank, I'd get half of that back.

I wound up bringing it back at 3/8 tank. And guess what, they charged me the full amount, $62.68. My $50 rental is now a $125.25 rental.

I spent over 50 minutes on hold listening to the same three smooth jazz tunes while I waited for someone to answer at their billing number. They confirmed that indeed the pre-pay works just like everywhere else, where you only come out ahead if you bring the tank back empty, and only get a credit if you bring it back full. I explained that I specifically asked that three times--twice when buying it, and once when I returned it, and everyone said I would receive a credit for a partial tank. Not their problem, apparently.

The best she could do was send me a $25 gift certificate for a future rental, which I might get in 2-3 weeks. She said if I wanted an actual refund, I have to call the Orlando desk.

I didn't ask for a number, stupidly, thinking it was on my contract. It's not, neither is it on the website, nor can I find one in online phone books. So I called the 800 reservation number, figuring they'd answer a lot faster than the billing people (they did). They spent five minutes looking for a number for the Orlando desk, before telling me they didn't have one either, and they'd send an email to that office with my contact info asking for a call-back.

I gave them my contact info but I seriously doubt I'll get a call-back. So now I'm just going to try to dispute the amount with my credit card company and make the problem theirs. As of now I've spent an hour trying to get back $20 back or so. If I get angry enough I'll figure out which regulatory office in Florida to complain to. It's not the money anymore; it's the principle (as they say).

This is where the el-cheapo aspect bites a person--when there's a problem. No email addresses, no phone numbers, no one answering the phone when you call. If you don't make the mistake of believing their lies on the upsell and just stick to the basic rental, I'm sure they're OK. However, I shudder to think what happens if you have a mechanical problem or there's damage.

Good luck.

[EDIT an hour later]
I just disputed 3/8 of the fuel charge (around 23.50) with my Visa card, and they instantly credited it. That means the bank treated it as a policy charge-off-- a case when the amount is low enough that they don't think it's worth their time investigating whether my claim is legitimate or in trying to resolve it with the merchant (because they'd spend MORE than that amount in labor). While my problem is solved, it unfortunately means that Firefly gets to keep their extra $23.50, since the bank doesn't usually do a merchant charge-back of policy charge-offs. Congrats, Firefly, you screwed Chase Bank out of the money.

I still won't use Firefly again, because it's clear a) they are unethical and b) they are impossible to resolve problems with. I may still decide to file a complaint with the state of Florida just to help preserve my sense of justice.

You're off to a great start, Firefly. Soon your reviews here in the US will read just the ones in Europe, I guess.

 

[Maliki2]

I booked a SUV on September 27 for a 15 day trip from Feb. 26 to March 13 at a rate of 615.42 USD. Now, 2 months later, when I go online to book the exact same it's showing 1300$

Should I be worried about my reservation? Will they honor this low rate? I have the email andres number.

Why would you worry about what is on the site now when you booked at a different rate?!? Its not like car rental prices stay the same throughout the year...they change daily and in some cases hours or even minutes.

 

[Maliki2]

No problem returning car. Returned about 2:00 in the afternoon. Waited about 3 minutes for the guy to show up to check the car out. Gave us a receipt for the quoted price and we were on our way. Will definitely rent from them again.

Good to hear. Some of the reviews here I think people are expecting VIP service from a economy rental agency. If I have to walk an extra mile to save 300 bucks I will do it. But its just not these smaller agencies but the big ones that are just as bad.

Ill give them a go if none of the others will drop their prices.

 

[Tara8595]

No problems for us. Mom and I rented Firefly for 5 days over a weekend. When we got there, they were out of compact and offered us a minivan. Wish we had a crowd to take advantage of that deal. On a whim, we asked if they had a convertible instead, and she checked and said for $50 more, we could upgrade to a convertible mustang. So we said, Hell yeah! We ended up having the best time with that car and since the initial booking was $90, we got the convertible for $140 for 5 days, which I thought was a great deal. We had so much fun.

No issues picking up or returning the car - no high pressure to upsell - I just told her up front I only wanted what I had booked with no extras. Oh, and there was no line.

 

[goofyfigment]

Do they put a hold on your credit card above the amount of the rental

 

[Maliki2]

Do they put a hold on your credit card above the amount of the rental

I was told a homd of 200 plus rental rate.

 

[goofyfigment]

I was told a homd of 200 plus rental rate.

Thank you

 

[jimmurphy99]

reservation desk at Orlando airport (11/17/2013):
1. I reserved a 4 door sedan, desk person tried to tell me that I reserved a 2 door. After my denial, they said they could get into a minivan for $15 per day extra. They finally put me into a Chrysler 200 at the reserved price. This is a 4 door sedan, but smaller than quoted.

2. moderately high pressure to buy all upgrades - insurance, gas price protection, etc. I denied them all

Firefly spaces are located in the back corner of the second deck of the parking structure, behind Hertz. It was a little bit of a walk but doable.

The car - Chrysler 200
1. Lots of body scrapes and scratches. I took pictures of them all before accepting car
2. Fuel tank was 3/4 full.
3. Approx. 30,000 miles. First time renting so I do not know if that is good, bad, or indifferent. Car drove fine.
4. The front passenger window could go up on its own, but not down. Had to lower it from the driver's seat.

Returning the car:
1. The entrance to the Firefly lot can be tricky to find. Took an nice drive around MCO because I missed it the first time.
2. I was met by an attendant as I drove in. He told me where to park, looked in the car to see if the gas tank was full, and took my contract with him to the booth on the lot. 3 minutes later he handed me my receipt for the reserved price.

Overall impression:
You get what you pay for. The weekly rate was about $100 less than the big boys. Being prepared for the games they will play at the reservation desk, I would use them again if the savings were significant enough.

 

[bittersk]

I rented from them last week. I live in Orlando and was going out of town for the weekend to Charleston and cant afforded to put all of those miles on my car.

I read my reviews and was well versed in the games they try to play, thanks to everyone on here! I politely declined everything they tried to upsell me. They did put the $200 hold on my card and it was there till 1 days AFTER i returned the car. I did check it and the correct amount was charged on my card.

The car was ok. It was the cheapest version of the car they could have purchased. It had dings and scratches on it. I took pictures of everything and also noted all of it at check out when i was leaving the airport. I have no trouble.

The car was NOTHING fancy, it worked well and got me where i needed to go and back home safely. The customer service was far from stellar at the counter but i would rent for them again. They were cheap and back by a good company. I was nervous because of all the bad reviews i saw but it was not that bad at all. I wanted to take my time to give you guys an ok review so people aren't scared to rent from them. I know i was very nervous that i was going to have a TON of trouble and that was not the case. This sounds like i am trying to get them more business, I'm really not. But i am a 26 year old lady who was nervous after the horror stories on here and yelp and other sites and was VERY happy that was not the case.

I also have the phone number for the Orlando desk if anyone needs to get in touch with them. They have hand written it on their rental info.

 

[goofy4tink]

I was chatting with a friend of mine over the weekend. The subject of Firefly rentals came up. She rented from them recently..and had no issue what so ever. Yes, it was a hike to the car area. And she said their car had about 40,000 miles on it, but it was clean and in good shape...a Fusion if I remember correctly. She didn't mention any issues with upselling at the counter tho. She said she would use them again with no hesitation.

 

[lpearl]

Just rented from them last night. So far so good. I think the guy at the counter was named Rudi, and he was helpful. We got a 2013 Ford Fusion w/ 20000 miles. The walk to the cars isn't bad at all. I'll try to remember to reply when I return it. No real pressure to add coverage or the fuel plan. It might have helped that we arrived at midnight and there wasn't a line (but Hertz had one lol)

 

[gigi from canada]

I have a suv reserved with Firefly for 615$ for 2 weeks plus 2 days
I just got a suv from Dollar for 589$

Would you move to Dollar or stay with firefly?

 

[Echo queen]

I returned from our trip on 12/31/13. We had the full size car for 10 days ($250). There was only 1 customer at the counter when we arrived, it was at least 20 min it sounded like she was trying to get a free upgrades because she rented a vehicle that was too small.
Our checkin was fast maybe 7 min and we were off, no high pressure options.
The other rental lines were long we arrived at the counter at about 10pm. Traffic was nonexistent.

The car was easy to find in the garage and ther was ample signs coming and going, no issues. I have a foot issue and I didn't think the walk was long at all.

Drop off was at 10am an attendant was there to help us right away.

I aim for the best price without a shuttle and this fit the bill. If the price is right would not think twice to use them again.

Have a great vacation.

 

[Donna M]

I have a suv reserved with Firefly for 615$ for 2 weeks plus 2 days
I just got a suv from Dollar for 589$

Would you move to Dollar or stay with firefly?

Move to the cheaper suv.

 

[njmom47]

Add my dd#2, her friend and friend's mom to the list of unhappy Firefly customers. Something to do with the "full tank of gas at drop-off". I'll stick with Enterprise.

 

[dizzyinwdw]

Anyone have any recent experiences? This company is half price for a rental car vs Dollar for 7 nights in April, but wondering if it is worth it? TIA!