Dubai_Abu Dhabi_Dubai

The rental store at Dubai T1 is right at the exit, easy to spot. We were traveling with six people and had reserved a 7-seater XC90. At the airport store, the staff informed me that the car wasn't available and that they could upgrade me to a BMW 7 Series. However, the 7 Series couldn't accommodate all of us. Eventually, they offered a Mazda CX-9, which is also a 7-seater. I thought that was fine, but when I asked about the price, the staff said it must be calculated based on the original order price. I pointed to their price list and said that it wasn't fair to charge the higher XC90 price for a Mazda CX-9. The staff referred to the contract terms, stating they couldn't guarantee the reserved model but must provide a vehicle with the same number of seats. The Mazda CX-9 is not the same class as the XC90, and I insisted that they charge based on the Mazda CX-9 rate. After a prolonged discussion, I was about to switch to another company when they suddenly agreed to give me the XC90, claiming it was initially reserved for another customer who hadn't arrived yet. Given the new XC90 had only 2000 kilometers on it, I suspect they were reluctant to rent it out. Additionally, the airport store said there would be a 150 DHS charge for returning the car at a different location. However, when I later decided to drop off the car at the Dubai Mall location due to changes in my travel plans, I called the 800 number on the contract to make the change, and they didn't mention any additional fee. So far, the credit card charge reflects only toll fees, and no extra charges have been added, though there might be additional charges later. Overall, the airport store's attitude was not favorable; it seems they were trying to manipulate tourists.

Not bad, found it right after leaving the airport. However, I was charged toll fees twice, currently in the process of sorting it out.

Overall it's fine. When giving the car, they just let you have a quick look. During inspection, they use a UV flashlight to check the whole car and found scratches under the side skirts.

When picking up the car, they didn't inform me where to park when returning it to Dubai Mall, nor did they mention there would be additional fees if not returned at the airport. When returning the car at 9 PM during the shopping season, there were no parking spaces available, so I parked in the fashion area of Dubai Mall. The person at the front desk told me that I must park in Cinema B2. I told them the mall is too big and I don’t know my way around, could I have some more time to find a spot. A woman with a bad attitude said they would only give me an extra half-hour. I ended up taking a wrong turn in the parking lot—Dubai's roads are very complicated. Each wrong turn meant a significant detour to get back, and eventually, I accidentally exited the parking lot, had to queue to get back in, and only then found the designated spot, which took over an hour.

The salesperson at the pickup location kept trying to upsell me. Frankly speaking, the Charger I booked was not available, so I settled for an Impala which is in the same category, but he still wanted me to pay extra. I didn't want to argue, so I negotiated a reasonable price and took the Impala. I am giving four stars because there were no extra charges for picking up at one location and dropping off at another.