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Panama City car hire reviews and directory
Thrifty
Thrifty reviews
Car hire locations
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Thrifty
Locations in Panama City
Ave Domingo Diaz, Tocumen
+507 204 9591
Panama Domestic/intl Apo, Pa.
+507 315 0144
Tocumen Intl Apt, Panama
+507 238 4955
Via Espana N0. 100
+507 214 7677
Via Interamericana
+507 204 9595
- 4.0
- 5.4
- 5.4
- 3.8
- 3.3
Recent reviews
2.0 Poor
7 Nov 2016
Walked away
Pros: When we first got to the office we were told they could not honor the Internet rate we got through kayak. So instead of $106 it was $177. Surprised but ok with it for the monthly rate.
But then it turns out they cannot or will not accept any other insurance plan but their own, mandatory. Not US insurance which is understandable but also not Amex. Ok then, what s the rental rate with insurance? $1270. Yup. Not a typo. The office could not give us any breakdown and gave us all sorts of numbers which we could not make any sense of. We could not get info on what was the car rate, what different insurance plans there were.
It turns out it is the law to have Panama insurance, which is obviously ok, but the rates the rental companies charge are crazy. At the very least there should be such information available when you book online.
We decided to not rent the car in those circumstances and they were not very nice about it but we were not charged.
Cons: Not honoring internet rate.
Not explaining the various rates and insurance fees.
8.0 Good
7 Jan 2017
Pros: The vehicle was good. Personnel were good.
Cons: Their explanation of the insurance caused confusion and anxiety. Insurance for 3 days almost what a monthly payment cost. Once understanding their policies all went well. Also there is no designated return area for returning the vehicle nor were we given any explanation on where or how.
3.2 Mediocre
18 Jul 2017
Watch out for the cost of the insurance!
Cons: Prepare to pay three times more for the cost of insurance. The rent was $87 and the insurance $ 240. And it is mandatory to take, they won´t allow the use of any other insurance, even though you have one.
Do not expect the same service you receive in the USA. I booked an SUV and they gave me one of lower level (Creta instead of a Tucson) arguing that they were of the same level. It clearly is not. In Thrifty Panama, there is no policy to give you a better car if they do not have the one you rented, you get a worse car one for the same price, even if you disagree.
They do not offer the transfer service to the hotel or airport. You should take a taxi in an area that is not safe.
I do not recommend it.
4.4 OK
1 Dec 2016
Terrible Experience from Start to Finish
Cons: When I got to the rental car desk, I was surprised to find to out that they refused to accept my existing insurance coverage through my credit card and forced me to sign up for their far more expensive coverage that literally cost 11x the price of the car per day. When I dropped the rental car off, there was literally no one from Thrifty at the lot. Every other rental agency had someone present, but I had to leave the car outside, go talk to an agent inside, check in for my flight, RETURN to the rental desk to finish the check out process, then get back in line for airport security. Awful experience.
10.0 Excellent
13 Dec 2016
Pros: Excellent customer services on my arrival and departure from Panama
3.6 Mediocre
26 Aug 2016
Cons: These people are rip off artists. We are experienced travelers and I had confirmed my insurance coverage available to me through my credit card before I left the country. When we arrived to pick up the vehicle they refused to accept the coverage and refused to allow us to rent the vehicle unless we paid their insurance. It was EXTORTION!! I recommend having several reservations lined up so when they pull this B.S. (and they will) you can walk next door. We paid over three times the quoted price.
6.8 Good
14 Sep 2016
okay but slow and tedious
Pros: had good stock of cars , but cannot change car type. They will charge you a fortune.
Cons: Very slow service. Prepare 30-40 mins for the return process. They walk out to the parking lot to inspect car and come back to counter after 15 mins. The instruction for the return parking area is difficult to find.
Insurance is not included in price if you book online. This is 3 or 4x the daily rental price. So if rental is $10/day , mandatory insurance is 20 or 30/day.
2.0 Poor
15 Oct 2016
Scam
Cons: Staff was very rude. Lots of hidden fees. They post a very low price on the website and then make you buy 3 kinds of insurance for a very high price. They don't care if you already have insurance and state that it is mandatory. Total ripoff.
3.6 Mediocre
29 Oct 2016
Charged more when I expected when rented by Kayak.
Pros: Nothing.
Cons: I had to pay the insurance 2x to rent a car in Panamá.
2.0 Poor
5 Dec 2016
Mislead on price
Pros: Didn't end up renting
Cons: When booking thru kayak they quoted me a price more than 3x lower than avis and once in panama they requested an amount higher than avis saying that in their fine print it says that additional rates for insurance are applied. When booking I expect a full quote that does not require me to read the fine print of my rental contract. This is why I am now more likely to book through avis directly moving forward.
Dollar
Dollar reviews
Car hire locations
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Dollar
Locations in Panama City
Ave Carmelo Espadafora
+507 978 0150
Ave Eusebio A Morales
Ave Ricardo J. Alfaro
Calle Punta Colon
+507 215 8840
Ciudad De Santiago De Veragus
+507 270 0355
Panama City Intl Ap
Panama Domestic/intl Apo, Pa.
+507 270 0355
Via Tocumen
+507 236 4955
Y Calle 74, Obrrio
+507 270 0355
- 3.6
- 5.6
- 5.5
- 3.1
- 3.3
Recent reviews
2.0 Poor
23 Aug 2016
Cons: Customer service in ocean trum location is terrible . The front desk attendant is rude and inefficient.
4.8 OK
12 Sep 2016
Did not get what I ordered and the panamapass is o
Pros: I will be complaining directly to Dollar about my experience.
Cons: I ordered a small car - they gave me a Tucson - it was late that evening and I was too tired to fight about it. I get small cars because the required insurance costs less and the gas is less. I was not told about where to park when I returned the car either and the $7/day for the panama pass is outrageous. The tolls equate to less than $10 for the trip to and from the airport. He said we could not use cash and we say lines that allowed cash payment. I will be requesting a credit from Dollar for the upcharge on the insurance and the pass charges. . Our biggest expense when visiting Panama is the car rental.
6.8 Good
21 Nov 2016
Cons: The price was not sincere, I paid before my travel, and when I arrived to tha airport to pick up my car, they say that I have tio pay more.
2.0 Poor
27 Nov 2016
Smoking car and prepaid fiasco
Pros: The clerk at the pick up counter was courteous
Cons: No sympathy from the clerk at the drop off counter. Dismissed my issues of giving me a smoking vehicle and only 3/4 of a tank of gas when I prepaid for a full tank. Said it was my fault for not reporting my problems earlier. No help whatsoever.
4.4 OK
5 Dec 2016
Cons: Tried to charge us more than they were suppose to when vehicle was returned
7.6 Good
13 Dec 2016
Rental review
Pros: They were ready to take care of my needs
Cons: That one of the agent was easily distracted
2.0 Poor
30 Dec 2016
Did not honor kayak reservation
Cons: The location at Panama City airport did not honor the reservation and I had to pay more than twice the reservation amount
3.6 Mediocre
5 Jan 2017
They want us to buy a them a new windshield.
Cons: When we returned the car they noticed a very small chip in the windshield and said I would need to pay for a new windshield. My passenger says he noticed the chip when we drove off. When we picked up the car we watched the inspector go around it. He didn't look at the glass, and the chip is very hard to see from the outside. The visa charge is $600 - $700 above the rental but they have not sent me the detail of charges I requested. They haven't responded to my email. The phone number provided by Dollar corporate is out of service and they didn't pick up at the 800 number on the brochure. Dollar US says it isn't their problem because the Panama agency is independent.
2.0 Poor
26 Jan 2017
Pros: the initial transition was very pleasant
Cons: While, having mechanical issues with the car, we still had to pay for it. I don't think. I'd use them again.
4.4 OK
18 Mar 2017
Beware of renting cars in Panama
Pros: Car was nice.
Cons: The rental price quadrupled when I went to pick the car up. A bunch of feed not listed on Kayak were added that quadrupled the rate I was quoted.
Avis
Avis reviews
Car hire locations
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Avis
Locations in Panama City
Avenida Balboa
+507 398 0360
Avenida De La Rotonda
+507 278 9444
Calle D, El Cangrejo
+507 213 0555
Edif Distribuidora.David
+507 278 9455
Marcos A Gelabert Airport Albrook Field
+507 315 0434
Tocumen Intl Apo
+507 238 4037
- 3.5
- 6.0
- 5.0
- 5.0
- 3.5
Recent reviews
3.6 Mediocre
31 Dec 2016
Reservation and Insurance not honored.
Cons: I arrived 3 in the morning. Presented the reservation and international insurance policy. The receptionist said she couldn't honor the reservation because the insurance company wasn't recognized by Avis Panama. Instead of $75.00 (I also had paid $90.00 for Allinaz Insurance) I was charged $333.10 for the rental. Make sure you have insurance honored by Avis or else you will be stung.
8.0 Good
20 Jan 2017
Pros: Great customer service at the counter and outside at the rental parking lot.
Cons: The first couple of parking stalls in Line 1 are difficult to get out of. Would recommend backing the cars in if possible.
Panapass toll didn't work on part of the Panama/colon expressway toll. Luckily there was no traffic behind and was able to move over to toll agent booth.
2.0 Poor
5 Mar 2017
Rental was not available
Cons: Went to pick up the rental and was told it was not available, highly disappointed!
4.8 OK
8 Jan 2017
Kayak deal NOT honoured
Pros: Rather than being charged 35$ for 5 days as indicated by Kayak we were charged 25$ per day plus insurance. Our total, after we got out of all of the unecessary insurance ($400) was $240 to cover third party and collision, including the $125 for the car.
The Avis agent was not adequately answering my questions. The tire began leaking air the moment we got the car (surprsiginly someone else we had met on our trip that rented with Avis also had the same tire Issue) and the tires were balding already.
Either Avis is responsible and ripping off customers or Kayaks so called 'deals' are entirely false. We will not reserve a car through either organization again.
Alamo
Alamo reviews
Car hire locations
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Alamo
Locations in Panama City
Av Ricardo Arias
+507 269 8551
Ave Diogenes De La Rosa
+507 315 6074
Calle 50 Convia Brasil
+507 214 4422
Tocumen International Airport
+507 238 4142
Via Ricardo J Alfaro Entrada
+507 236 5752
- 4.7
- 7.3
- 7.3
- 4.7
- 4.7
Recent reviews
10.0 Excellent
30 Jul 2016
Pros: Very professional. Good car.
5.2 OK
21 Oct 2016
Considerable price change ^
Pros: I liked the convenience of booking in advance at what seemed like an excellent fare. Too bad it was all wrong.
Cons: The insurance that I was sold online did not meet the local requirements. When I arrived I was told that my 4 day rental would go from <$50 to $180. The required insurance was over $110 and and was not mentioned until arrival at the counter. I was also charged $5 for gas eventhough I returned it with more fuel than it had when I picked it up. Charged for an additional driver and was told that it was standard regardless of how many people would be driving. Generally felt scammed.
2.0 Poor
8 Jan 2017
Gave our reservation away
Cons: When we arrived at the airport, we found that Alamo gave our car away so that our reservation was good for nothing. We were left to take an expensive taxi to our hotel and instead of enjoying our night, we had to spend more than three hours trying to find a car. Never going with Alamo again.
Budget
Budget reviews
Car hire locations
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Budget
Locations in Panama City
El Cangrejo, 55th Street
+507 214 6806
Israel Avenue
+507 302 3737
Omar Torrijos Avenue
+507 315 0201
Tocumen Int'l Aeropuerto
+507 238 4069
Via Espana, La Cresta
+507 263 9190
Via Israel And 77th Street
+507 270 0477
- 6.0
- 8.0
- 8.0
- 5.0
- 3.0
Recent reviews
7.6 Good
18 Jul 2016
Beware of hidden policies/charges like obligatory
Pros: The price was amazing at first, $4 per day and $9 for insurance.
Cons: The $9 insurance purchased through kayak was not recognized in Panama by budget and I was forced to buy insurance through Budget as well. The cheapest insurance was $18. It was still a good deal but I felt a little deceived by the price because the obligatory additional insurance was not mentioned as far as I know and the insurance I did by wasn't recognized by budget, so basically a waste of money turning a good deal into an average deal :(
4.4 OK
29 Jan 2017
Cons: The road and signs are all in Spanish and the counter personal are not fluent in English. We unfortunateyl got lost and the rental agency tried their best to escort us to our hotel. Driving in Panama however was very dangerous and would not rent a car there ever again.
Ace
Ace reviews
Car hire locations
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Ace
Locations in Panama City
Hotel Riu Plaza, Calle 50
+507 378 9090
Marcos a Gelabert Intl Arpt
+507 315 0385
- 2.0
- 2.0
- 2.0
- 2.0
- 2.0
Recent reviews
2.0 Poor
22 Feb 2017
DON'T RENT FROM THIS COMPANY!!!
Pros: Nothing!
Cons: There is no one at the counter. You have to call and after an hour wait, they show up. It gets worse, when we came back to drop off the car, there was no one there! We almost missed our flight. Every other company at that airport terminal told us this was normal for Ace and went on about their inability to provide even the most basic customer service.
Hertz
Hertz reviews
Car hire locations
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Hertz
Locations in Panama City
Aeropuerto Marcos A Gelabert
+507 321 8308
Apto. Intl De Tocumen
+507 301 2696
Calle 52 Bella Vista&r.arias
+507 210 9213
Calle Eusebio A Morales
+507 301 2699
Hotel Breezes Playa Bijao
+507 908 3619
Via Porras
+507 321 8301
Via Transistmica
+507 301 2611
- 2.0
- 2.0
- 2.0
- 2.0
- 2.0
Recent reviews
2.0 Poor
31 Jan 2017
Pros: Kayak quoted 130 dollars, when I got to hertz the charge was over 500 dollars. I was in Panama as a volunteer translator for a small ngo, I was going to pick up the rental, buyback once the price hike occurred, I told the ngo that they would have to pay for the rental. They agreed. If the difference was fifty/sixty dollars, no problem, but the difference in price was over 400 dollars. Very upset and disappointed in that
Car hire locations
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ACO Rent A Car
Locations in Panama City
El Cangrejo Calle D Edf
+507 397 5116
Car hire locations
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Economy Rent a Car
Locations in Panama City
Nuevo Reparto El Carmen
507-6677-0827
Car hire locations
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Firefly
Locations in Panama City
Marcos A Gelabert Albrook Apt
+507 279 5777
San Francisco, Israel Avenue
+507 279 5777
Tocumen Intl Airport
+507 270 0355
Torres De Alba Hotel
+507 279 5777
Car hire locations
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keddy by Europcar
Locations in Panama City
Tocumen Office Storage- Galera No12 Via Panamerica
Car hire locations
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MEXRENTACAR
Locations in Panama City
Aeropuerto Internacional Marcos A Gelabert
Tocumen International Airport
+507 238 3200
Via Venetto
40 travellers who hired a car in Panama City gave the car agency they used an average rating of 4.4