Rent a Volkswagen Jetta

Our vacation was completely ruined. When we arrived at the airport late in the evening, we were given an Audi A7 instead of the Volkswagen Jetta we expected, with no other option offered. The car was old and unreliable; during the trip, we had to add 5 liters of engine coolant and 2 liters of engine oil. On our way back, the rear left tire—which, like the car itself, was very old (dating back to 2011)—blew out. We had to buy a new 20-inch tire at our own expense for 300 euros without any assistance, though thankfully we didn't miss our flight. I intend to post reviews on every platform where you offer your services. I feel I was deceived, and I do not want you to ruin other people's experiences the way you ruined mine.

A very bad experience renting a car in Albania. I do not recommend it. We booked a Volkswagen Jetta, but instead we were given an Audi A7, which was presented to us as a higher-class vehicle. Unfortunately, the problem wasn’t the car swap itself, but the car’s technical condition. From the very beginning of the rental, the car was not properly prepared: there was no windshield washer fluid, one of the wiper blades was damaged, and the spare tire/tire repair kit, first-aid kit, and other necessary equipment were missing; the fuel gauge was at nearly two marks. The child seats, which had been reserved in advance, were delivered to us only after about 1–1.5 hours of waiting, and they were unacceptably dirty—one even had a distinct smell of urine. The very next car displayed a low coolant level warning, and we reported this to the rental company. While driving through the mountains in hot weather, the car overheated repeatedly, forcing us to stop and wait for it to cool down. The most unpleasant part was the rental company’s response. Despite our reports of the problem, we were essentially told to just top off the water and keep driving. When a mechanic offered to inspect the car and help, the car’s owner wouldn’t let him get involved and again told us to just top off the water. Subsequently, we were even accused of damaging the car ourselves. We strongly disagree with this and have correspondence, photos, and videos confirming that the cooling problem arose during the rental, was promptly reported to the rental company, and that we acted in accordance with their instructions. Due to constant overheating, we lost a lot of time and were forced to stop several times in the heat of the mountains with our children. The situation also jeopardized our trip to the airport and our return flight because the coolant hose was not properly secured. To avoid missing our flight, we had to effectively repair the car on the side of the road in the heat without any tools, and we’re grateful to the kind people who gave us a clamp that solved the problem. It was particularly upsetting that when we returned the car, the driver started yelling at us and blaming us for the breakdown, all while failing to prepare a proper vehicle handover report and effectively preventing us from resolving the issue calmly. For us, this wasn’t just poor service—we believe we were provided with a car that had a serious technical problem, one that directly affected our family’s safety. I do not recommend this rental company, and I believe that TakeCars should thoroughly investigate this situation.