Reviews of Island Rent-a-Car Rentals Victoria B.C. (Rent Cars)

Kyle Nice

My girlfriend dealt with a salesman on the phone while we were comparing prices for rental cars. She ran into an impatient, rude employee who treated her like he wanted nothing to do with our business. When he gave us a price, and we said we would keep it in mind and shop around for the best deal, he said "ya good luck with that".. We ended up calling him back after looking around and tried to make a reservation. When he asked for our credit card info, we said we weren't comfortable giving it over the phone, he then told us he needs to secure the rez to protect his business and promptly hung up on us. We've never seen any customer service Rep act so rude to a potential customer... At the end of the day another rental car company, which I will not name, called us and offered us the same deal for 2/3 the price. Being rude to customers is no way to protect your business sir!

Karen Martin

So far, so good! I was in a head on collision three days ago, I live in Sooke, I am not allowed to take a bus. I needed a car to go see a doctor. Thanks to the VERY fast and friendly, professional people working here, I was out driving within minutes of my arrival. Thank you Asheem(?) ????

Random Android

Needed a last-minute minivan rental over a long weekend to drive to the mainland to pick something up. Was accommodated quickly and with neighbourly friendliness by the sole hand who seems to operate the rental side. There are some hidden charges, but they were comparable to those of most rental shops. The 2013 Dodge Caravan had ~230,000k on it and was a bit shaky in reverse, but it did excellently at prolonged highway speeds from Victoria to Coquitlam and back again. If you go into it with wide open eyes, realize that it's not Enterprise or Hertz or whomever else, but a local outfit trying to operate a sales/rental shop with minimal overhead, then you should do fine... because you wouldn't be coming to them unless you were in a last-minute pinch of some kind to begin with... so, by existing and being willing to deal with you, they are doing you a favour... so be realistic and gracious about it. If you want a red carpet, spend more and plan further in advance and go with the big corporate outlets.

Blake Hooper

Came in last minute after Budget declined us for not having a credit card. They happily took a deposit and had us on our way at a VERY competitive rate. Car ran perfectly fine and on our return they offered us a courtesy lift back into town. I will now always lean towards the small rental companies for my car rental needs.

Allan Nott SEO Service

Excellent car rental prices in Victoria, B.C. Jeve and Dar own this auto rental shop to rent cars, trucks, suvs and minivans. I've known them about 5 years and really respect their work ethic and positive personalities to do business with. They rent affordable automobiles by the day, week/end, monthly and bi-annually.

Stephanie Anter

I called to rent a car being all cars are rented on the island due to the Tour de Victoria in town. Although the website states under $20 a day- he quoted me $80 a day plus tax plus insurance. I do not find this to be an honest or reputable company.

Hannes Hanath

Friendly staff, best prices in town.

Michael Donselaar

Friendly, just didn't find what we really wanted.

Kari “Miss Kari” Anderson

Had a great experience renting from here very, very friendly and great customer service ????will be recommending them to family and friends who visit ????

Michael Taylor

My partner and I attempted to test drive a used vehicle here. For the first scheduled appointment we were told to wait until the mechanics had inspected the vehicle. When we arrived for the appointment, we were told that they didn't have any demo plates available. On the subsequent scheduled appointment we test drove the car and it broke down. When the owner and mechanics arrived on the scene, the owner indicated that it was "bad luck" and offered no apology. The mechanics, to their credit, did offer apology and gave us a ride back to town, but not after they unsuccessfully tried to repair the vehicle onsite. Basically, I would recommend that no one buys a used car from here. The markups on price are significant (from Kelly Bluebook values) and their warranty is worthless. The only thing the "warranty" entitles you to is 20% of labour and parts for the first 90 days after purchase. Most importantly, the due diligence that is done in terms of mechanical inspection prior to sale is, in my experience, non-existent. The only reason that I am giving the place two stars instead of one, is that the rental car that we hired from here was fine. Although, in hindsight this was probably more due to luck than anything else.

Gordana Dujmusic

Thief!

Fraser Porter

Extremely bad experience

Tristan GL Wicks KE

I highly recommend this company. Manish is extremely friendly, helpful and capable and fair. He picked us up in Victoria and dropped us off again afterward and was extremely fair about the price. The car was in great condition—very clean and running well. Overall, a great and local place to rent your car in Victoria.

Kari “Miss Kari” Anderson

Had a great experience renting from here very, very friendly and great customer service ????will be recommending them to family and friends who visit ????

Adam Gagne

I needed to rent a car to take my Class 5 drivers test and Island Rent-a-Car was very helpful! They went out of their way to rent me a small, maneuverable car to take the test in. I personally recommend this place over the other rental car places in the area.

Dan Smith (mrplowdan)

Very knowledgeable, fair mechanics.

Jo Leung

Friendly service and reasonable price. We initially had some communication issue. The price we got over the phone didn't included the airport dropped off. This made us changed our plan the last minute. Instead of 3 days, we ended up returning the car the day before. They had no problem with the early returned and refund us back the 1 day of rental charge. Not everyone would be this flexible. Thank you for the wonderful experience. ????

Caitlin Kinnear

We rented a second hand car from Manish, it worked perfectly, got us all over the island with no problems and he was nice enough to give us a lift to the downtown ferry terminal after we dropped off the car.

Luke Varnadore

Charged $444 over a misunderstanding about rental period, was not willing to correct the mistake. 3 days almost $500 gone. Be careful what you sign here. I will be pursuing this until resolved or satisfied by other means.

Шфнпжцлд Ķůпяюглpюцöп

(Translated) I'll sit down at the welcome table. one of these days. whether you need a car or a car .. here you will find. automobile. Josh was very friendly and helpful, if you want to avoid annoying salespeople I highly recommend this dealership. (Original) Я сяду за приветственный стол. один из этих дней. нужна ли вам машина или машина .. здесь вы найдете. автомобиль. Джош был очень дружелюбным и услужливым, если вы хотите избежать назойливых продавцов, я очень рекомендую этот дилерский центр.

Melissa Chow

Island rent a car saved us because we booked a car at National but they couldn't rent to us because my husband didn't bring his original driver license, only his international driving license! We have rented cars around the world and have never been asked for this except here in Canada. We almost didn't get a car. Luckily they referred us to Island rent-a-car, an independent car rental place unlike all the major corporate ones in town! I called and luckily they had a car available that day. The owner even picked us up downtown and drove us to their shop. We returned the car on the third day and he drove us back to the harbour airport downtown. Really friendly and good service here. They just asked us where we plan to drive and didn't even have to pay deposit when we rented!! Very fas and efficient service. Definitely will rent from them in future and will tell all my friends about them!

Sara Murphy

Manish was very responsive to my inquiries and was able to secure me a car rental 1 day in advance. My purpose for renting a car was to drive to Goldstream provincial park and the car I was given was suited for just that. Great customer service, very helpful and the only rental car company in Victoria that accepts US visa debit. Would rent from this place again. Thank you Manish!

Rielle Desjarlais

9:15 am June 29 2019 the guy working keeps hanging up on me like he doesn't want to do his job. Very unprofessional

Paul Merriam

Fair prices, friendly and knowledgeable staff. Open on the weekend, when people rent cars.

Paul Merriam

Fair prices, friendly and knowledgeable staff. Open on the weekend, when people rent cars.

Sharon Cahill

Best deal in town. Customer service was excellent. Highly recommend this place. No b.s.

S G

I am really happy I rented a vehicle from this local business. I received gracious service by both experienced employees I came across, who were humble in their business and I wasn’t treated as just another customer to up-sale. Unfortunately, I had to switch to another rental company as I needed to go somewhere with direct ICBC insurance coverage so I wouldn’t have to wait to be reimbursed; the rental salesman referred me to another company where he used to work and had trusted connections. When I said I would cab there from Esquimalt the salesman amiably insisted he would drive me there instead. Indeed, he took me to an equally friendly business and he facilitated quick and professional service resulting in rental vehicle accommodation within 10 minutes - no hassle, fees, membership speeches, etc. Both rental shops demonstrated good-natured service directed by sensibility rather than corporate bureaucracy. An overall great experience and I’m grateful I had the opportunity to do business here.

CBM

I ended up going here to rent a car because it was a long weekend and everything in downtown Victoria was booked solid! In hindsight I am glad they were! I found Island Rent-a-Car when googling for other rental places. I emailed them and they promptly returned it. They told me to come in the morning and they would have a car for me. I went in the morning and in ten minutes I had the keys in my hand and I was in the road. They do rent used cars but they where clean and I had no issues! Besides the problem free rental dealing with island rental was easy, they where very nice and accommodating. I will definitely use them in the future! Thanks!!

Peter Lietavec

The cheapest in the town! I rented a car twice and didn't have any troubles. No additional charges, good price, friendly staff. If I will go to Victoria in the future I will choose this company again. But need to give just 4* because cars are older.

Adlen Afane

Prices are not too high

Helena Looby

My personal vehicle crapped out on me one year and I didn't have the funds to repair it or go out an buy a new (used) car so I turned to this company. I rented one of their vehicles for 6 weeks and they gave me an excellent price and awesome service. Yes the car I rented was already 10 years old but because they have automotive service on premises at least all their rentals are well maintained so you won't ever get stuck anywhere. It was a life saver for me especially compared to the chain companies who would have charged me 3 times what I paid. I have always appreciated their service and value they provide.

yarden keynan

i rented from island rental cars for a week its was way cheaper then any other company and the service was great if you dont care about renting a second hand car and saving a lot of money this rental company is for you and if you under 25 like i am you wount have to pay under age fee like in other company's keep in mind that there are many different options for renting car and this is an honest economic solution

Lori Dunn

Super-friendly and helpful. I've rented cars there twice now, and both times were fun, easy, painless. The cars are used, but in great repair - and obviously a great price! Highly recommended.

Cavan Frederick

Free pickup!

Flynn “Emberite” Ski

Island Rent a Car saved our trip to Vancouver Island! We originally booked a car through Budget, but once we arrived on site they told us they couldnt accept our card. We had already booked our accomodation all over the island for the next 10 days, and we were worried we wouldnt be able to get there. Manish had a car ready for us once we arrived, he was a lot of fun and walked us through the insurance policies professionally. The car ran well for the whole trip and was fantastic for the price. We will definitely be recommending to our friends who come to Victoria. Thanks!

Vik Ventures

I booked a car from this company for a day and I have to say I’m quite disappointed with my experience. While initially booking the car, the owner gave us a hard time about insurance and third party liability coverage on our credit card. Made us call our bank in the office to double-check not really taking our word and adding an extra insurance amount to the total bill. While we appreciated his diligence for insurance and his customers, we felt his attitude was a little curt. The car we rented was a old Mazda . Moreover, the owner spent less than a minute showing us the car before handing us the keys. It was obvious after driving for a half an hour it had not been looked after and serviced. Our biggest revelation about the car came when we were on the highway around 6 pm with no sunlight and realized that one of the headlights was not working (which is a motor vehicle violation), the brakes were not functioning smoothly, and while driving on the highway at 90km/hr the car was shaking; all indicating the car hadn’t been serviced and was risky to take on the road. While the price was affordable and an option for out-of-towners facing restrictions from bigger name rental agencies, the company should have better serviced cars available for their customers.

A Tobi

hidden fees and shady sales tactics

Aidan Elkin

I've rented a car from here twice and both times I've found it fast, easy, affordable, and always a pleasant experience.

Vida Woods

My experience with Island Rent-A-Car and Manish was excellent. I rented a car for 3 weeks, the price was great, the car although older was dependable and comfortable. I would definitely recommend them!

Paul Paterson

Manish runs a great business: excellent prices and service, good quality vehicles and a friendly welcome. The only place I'd recommend for your car rental needs.

Richard Milton

Good value, but expect the vehicle to have some problems. Particularly good if you need a car to just run around Victoria.

Andrzej Rusztowicz (Ekus)

Typical used car dealership/shop that somehow seems to offer them for rent, too. Old car, over 100K miles, I was charged extra $40 for a "courtesy ride" I did not ask for. On the last day on the island I called to ask if I could drop the car in Sidney, BC where ferry to Vancouver departs from, they declined. I then return the car half a day early (so I can get there another way), and then they propose that they can drop me off by the ferry anyway. I reply that I am not going to the terminal in Victoria (which they had picked me up from a few days before), but instead to Sidney, and I had planned to take a bus there but would appreciate a trip to nearest bus stop. But they insist it's not a problem. When leaving Victoria we pass a bus stop and I ask again to be dropped off but hear "no problem". The employee is very nice and says he actually lives in Sidney and commutes to Victoria. Next day I'm in Vancouver and get a voicemail from the owner that they're going to charge my card again for a "taxi fare" to Sidney. I call them back to protest and to explain the situation, only to be called a cheater and "switcher" (they claim I *asked* for a ride to ferry terminal *in Victoria* and then somehow "switched" to Sidney). I fully recommend Island Rent-a-Cheat if you love having your vacation ruined by calling your bank and disputing charges.

k Herns

Best rental car company in Victoria! Great service, great car and office location, professional staff and affordable as well! Manish, that owns the company is hands on and will treat and talk to you like a friend and not just a customer. He is super friendly and kind! They could take the car wherever is convinient for you to pick amd drop off after! Please if you’re around Victoria in BC, go see Manish at Island Rent-a-car! It’s simply, the BEST!

Mason Stubel

Great value rental cars! I found the service excellent!

Michael

Easy to deal with, no hassle at all When a tire was getting flat I got a free replacement rental within minutes, will be back for my next rental!

Andrew Holenchuk

Great crew and rates

Lloyd Houghton

This place is great. Always flexible and accommodating. Been using them for 5 years and never been disappointed. Thanks Dar and Ranjeev

mango django

Car ran good and was clean. I appreciated the good customer service. It was pretty quick in and out and no issues. I'll be back.

Laura Belisle

These guys were amazing, I needed a last minute rental while being there for work. I called and had the rental within 30 min.

Allen Chan

Good business, easy to deal with

Will L

Rented from here twice now, both times the cars have been very clean and ran perfectly! Within 15 minutes of arriving at the shop we were out in a rental. Prices are much lower than competitors in Victoria. I'm under 25 so have to pay an extra charge to rent from any company, but Island Rent-a-Car is still the cheapest (and also accepts debit)! Budget, Modo, Enterprise, Hertz.. there's seriously no contest. Staff are super friendly, honest and trustworthy. Returning the car takes no time at all; zero-hassle. One of the owners (didn't get your name!) even gave me a ride home after I told him I was going to get the bus!! I really appreciate it. I'll definitely continue to come back here! Highly recommend.

Michelle Fox

I found Island Rent-a-Car online and the website was dated with apparently old prices as I soon found out when I called them. (the new site is great!) However, the monthly price for a car was still the same and an awesome price it is. Yes, the cars are older but are very well maintained and very clean. They had many cars to choose from and they were quite polite and they really cared that you were happy with their business. Dar was very friendly and extremely accommodating even when I had to cut my vacation short due to a knee injury. He could have and probably should have charged me the price of a three week rental but he did not. Which was probably good for him because I was in a lot of pain and quite miserable that day. (my apologies again Dar) When I arrived in Victoria, one of their drivers picked us up and brought us to the business in downtown Victoria, and the same valet service was provided when I left. (cost $50 each way) Very friendly and likable drivers. I would definitely recommend this business to anyone and I myself will be using them again.

Jaskirat Singh

True and friendly staff, they did a free pick up from view royal and offered me great services. Richard the rental guy is really helpful and quick.

Charlie J

Fantastic fleet

Javier Aragones

(Translated) Very good deal, very good price (Original) Muy buen trato, muy buen precio

Kirsten Simoneau

If I could give this place a lower rating than 1 star I would. I rented a car from Island Rent a Car to use for a road trip. Not once was I told that it is unlimited km ON THE ISLAND ONLY. If I had been told this and gone over the rental agreement I would not have rented here. Fast forward to driving it and the Connector rod ( what holds the engine together ) has fallen off and the car completely broke down on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere. I called the company and they informed me that I wasn’t supposed to take the car off the island and that now I would have to figure my own way. I have not signed any part of the rental contract . In total I have spent over $2000 of my own money to get that car towed, a new rental vehicle so I could get back home and on getting to and from the mechanics in the meantime. The owner BHAR is now avoiding all my phone calls when I informed them I would like a full refund. Terrible way to solve this issue and I’m now having to take to here to try and get his attention. 100% disappointed with this place, unreliable and no coverage or customer service. Save yourself some hassle and go through a proper reliable company.

Jim Young

Summary: Good Value and easy to use service. Island Rent-a-car is easy to find and out of the congested centre of Victoria. I booked a small car for 6 days and had no problems with service. Complementary drop off is available to nearby locations with advanced notice.

robin Burgoyne

I rented a car from this place on a recent trip to Victoria. When I went to pick up the car it was not a small car as I had requested several times, but rather a medium sized car which was extremely old and beat up. It had scratches everywhere along with two huge dents. I took the car anyway thinking it would do, and luckily had pictures taken of all the damage. A day or two later I decided that the car was not comfortable for me to drive and so I called them and asked if I could bring it back and exchange it for a smaller one. Fast forward to when I returned the original rental. The person who had rented it to me immediately zoomed in on one of the dents. He pulled out the rental agreement that he had circled indicating damage but he had circled the opposite side of the car. He ran his fingers over the dent, and after I said I was not responsible for it he said "its fresh, the dent is fresh". He then stood there and told me to "call my insurance company". Luckily I had the photos so I was able to show him that the damage had been there when I took the car. He apologized for his "mistake" but I was really upset to say the least at the attempt to pin previous damage on me. I do not recommend renting from these people as it seems they are not trustworthy and if you do, BE SURE to check the rental agreement damage diagram to make sure it's accurate and take photos. It saved my bacon.

David Le Corre

Called Manish at Island Rent-A-Car at 9AM, was picked up 30 minutes later, and had the paperwork done with the keys in my hand by 10AM. Customer service is their #1 priority and it shows, not to mention the fair prices! Will absolutely use these guys any time I'm on the island and need a car. Fantastic.

Charley Simms

I used them to rent a car for the first time today. They answered the phone promptly , a good price on the rental. Came and picked me up, short time on paperwork. Some of the nicest people I have ever dealt with.When I returned the car they were just as affable, great price, #1 place to deal with for a car rental. Top of my list for rentals, maybe buying and other services they offer and I never knew about. Thank you for your great service.

Gary Castaneda

Fantastic experience with Island Rent-a-Car. They have really made sure that I get a suitable car for my Class 5 Road Test. Keep it up and more power!

Lynn Crawford

THIS RENTAL PLACE IS NOT LOCATED ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE COHO FERRY DOCK!!! They're a great price and they'll come pick you up and take you to their lot that is ten minutes away, but you get what you pay for. I called SIX TIMES before they picked up the phone so I could ask them to come get us. Older model Kia with over 108,000 km on it, passenger visor tied in the up position with string, and some sort of drips (milk maybe?) from the last renters that hadn't gotten cleaned up.

Trenton Flounoy-Stoetzel

Got to say this place was awesome, as I am an 18 year old backpacker and I had really given up on renting a car during my travel of Canada. But not only were they chill with me renting out a car, I didn't need to put down any deposit or whatnot. So thanks Manish ( sorry if have spelt your name wrong) you are a bloody legend

Christine Purslow

One word: Manish! He makes this car rental place ???? such a nice, helpful and sincere person. He made the whole process easy and with friendly service. I would use again.

Natalie Klymchuk

All went smooth with our car rental. We were even offered a pick up from our place. True 5-star experience. Best value in town. Cars are well taken care of. Will most certainly rent again and recommend to others. Thanks for everything Manish!

Shannon O'Halloran

Great service, friendly staff, good rates.Thanks Manish! Had just what I was after with a no fuss, friendly attitude.

Güvnør.tx.klg Namaste

So great even the other car-hire agencies recommend them. This is how I discovered them. Free courtesy pickups and drop-offs within a 20k radius of Victoria and 24hr roadside support, (we locked our keys in the car in torino and killed the battery from leaving the radio on and they sent a mechanic out with a replacement vehicle).

Rupert Sydney

Great deals but patronising staff who don't speak english

Laure P.

(Translated) For French like me who travel with an immediate debit card (= debit card) and not deferred (= credit card), this agency will get you out of trouble if you want to rent a car! It's the only one in Victoria with whom you can do business !! You will find in addition a lot of amiability and professionalism, and very correct prices! An address that I recommend! (Original) Pour les Français comme moi qui voyagent avec une carte de débit immédiat (=carte de débit) et non différé (= carte de crédit), cette agence vous sortira du pétrin si vous voulez louer une voiture! C'est la seule sur Victoria avec qui vous pourrez faire affaire!! Vous y trouverez en plus beaucoup d'amabilité et de professionnalisme, et des prix très corrects! Une adresse que je recommande!

renaud maurin

Rented a car here. If you're having credit card problems this is the place to go. They'll do it without a credit card and with a deposit. Cars are a little rough with higher mileage and the rates aren't as good as some deals you can get online, BUT the service was great and friendly and saved us from getting stranded without a car because of my credit card. 5/5

simon attwood

The guys at Island Rent a Car provide a brilliant friendly service. When the car rental giants of Avis ,Budget and National in Victoria wouldn't rent my wife and I car Manish did ,no problem within an hour -without a car we could not have got to our bookings in Tofino and Campbell River. I had a booking with Avis months prior ,we turned up that morning to collect our car and were told we couldn,t have it because I was the driver and it was her credit card! - then we were refused by Budget and National- !Shame on them ! But Island Rent a Car wanted our business and got us out of our tricky situation with aplomb. You guys were great -thankyou Simon /Lin

Vera S

I rented a car for 12 days. It was an older KIA which ran well and was good on gas. The service was friendly and honest. I will rent from them again.

Josh Rajinder

Best sevice , Low price, frindly staff.

Tom Scott

What great service and value! The big rentals would not accept Discover or a debit card, but Island did and saved our day. Manish was very courteous.

Karen Carmicheal

Shady cover business. Even their business partners don't trust them, as they have a large chain and padlock securing their part of the office.

vi auto exchange

Great variety of vehicles on their fleet, something for everyone!

horatiu pepenel

Not a good vibe

Guvnorr Von Boogershnitzle

Wide variety of new and used cars.

Greg Sowell

Okay, so I hate to have to put one star on this because the person there was very friendly. However, you need to be aware of what you're getting in to if you rent from this place. For starters, the primary business for this car rental company is not to rent cars. It's a used car lot that rents the cars for sale on the lot. That may not be bad in most cases, but these cars are very outdated and old. So, now to the cars themselves. Based on the website, I reserved a BMW X3. When I got there I found out the BMW was very old model and had more than a quarter of a million miles on it. I figured, fine... I can deal. Then, the worst part. The car engine light and oil light came on within minutes of driving it and the engine started making puttering sounds. We drove it back to return it and they then gave us a Dodge minivan to replace it, also very old and in bad condition. At least this one only had about 160,000 miles on it. Long story short, this is more of a rent-a-heap institution. If you want modern and clean then go to Budget, Enterprise or any other more reputable brand. This place will give you the Family Truckster.