I am finally settled with my credit card company so I can post a full review. DO NOT RENT FROM THRIFTY IN CANCUN AIRPORT!
Rented a car for 3 days Feb 24-26, 2018. Picked up from the airport and like everyone else said, I wasn't able to pay for full insurance so I got a different rate a the counter. Not a terrible deal so I signed off on it. It was supposed to be ~$32 per day including insurance.
On the next day driving, the engine cut off in the middle of the highway 20 minutes south of the airport. Engine turns but doesn't start. Dash and everything lights up, showing we have 2 out of 8 bars of gasoline left but I was already suspecting it was out of gas. Called Thrifty for help and told them to bring gasoline.
Waited more than an hour for the replacement car and representative to come. He tried all sort of buttons and knobs, and came to the same conclusion. Called his manager to report (sorry I don't understand Spanish but feel free to comment in the video) and said he needed to go get gasoline (duh) and asked us to drive him. I said at this point we were already 2-3 hours stuck on the road and we have an event to attend later. He called back the manager, and still insisted that I cannot take the new car unless I go get gasoline with him and drive him back. Fine. Drove him to get gasoline, put it in the stalled car, engine started right away. He inspected the car, everything is fine, and he noted that the gasoline gauge is malfunctioning for the first vehicle and we drove off in the replacement vehicle.
When we returned the replacement vehicle the next day at the end of our contract, the airport manager said he couldn't close the contract because the shop was still inspecting the 1st vehicle. I showed him my video of the technician/representative already signed off on everything the day before when we did the swap, the manager said there was nothing he could do and he took my rental agreement (for the replacement car). We had a plane to catch, nothing else I could do either.
Credit card bill came and Thrifty wanted to charge me almost $1000 USD for car repair, and some other fees that wasn't on the original rental agreement. I disputed them all with my credit card company, and waited for Thrifty's response.
The response came back and showed me a contract for the agreed amount, and a credit card terminal receipt copy that doesn't have my signature on it, dated 3-4 days after I left Mexico, but charged me more than the contract (and the contract did say full insurance included). I was like ok? So I wrote back my credit card company saying I will agree to pay what's in the contract and that's it. (I returned with full tank of gasoline, and the return inspection also passed.). The credit card company somehow thought it meant I agreed with the charges, and after another month of communications we settled on the contract amount with exchange rate at around that time.
I was in the area for 2 weeks, and rented from Thrifty in the hotel zone no problem. But the Thrifty in the Cancun Airport is shady as heck.
