Reviews of Practicar Car Rentals Nanaimo (Rent Cars)

Trevor Defehr

These guys saved my butt as I had come to Nanaimo for a weekend and promised to drive a friend to a wedding. I had originally booked a rental with Budget and upon arrival they told me they could no longer rent me a car and I was left stranded. Just as my friend was ready to cancel our trip to see her best friend's wedding, I got ahold of a woman at Practicar who was extremely helpful in finding me a last minute car, what would have been a horrible disappointment turned out to be a wonderful weekend. Thanks Practicar!

Alexandra Bedard

Great experience with Cary (sorry for the spelling!?) in renting a Uhaul cargo van last-minute. He we friendly and accommodating, and I was able to drop the van off after hours without any extra charge!

Skate House

Customer Service was top notch. When Budget told me I needed my own insurance to rent a vehicle from them I walked two blocks down the road to Practicar and not only got a way better deal, But I was not charged for bringing the car back 30 minutes late or for the extra 60 km we drove it. this is where i will be renting my next car in nanaimo

J James (applbttmcomic)

Super reasonable, convenient and friendly!

stan smith

Pretty good experienced cars at very low cost. Helpful and proficient staff.

Klára Čarková

Perfect service! Great experience! Thank you a lot!

chm.7

kerry is an awesome guy! our car did not work anymore (on sunday 9pm). kerry did not hesitate to pick us up at hornby lake which is 60km north of nanaimo. thanks for everything! chris & lisa

J C

We had good experience with Practicar , we booked the car just a week before our vacation while seems no other rental company has car available. Everything went well and smooth, plus no one can beat their price on the island. Thanks for your services Practicar !

Jessica Marling

We were picked up from the ferry and brought back to the office to pay and pick up our car. Thank you guys for your kind and friendly service.

Tasha Leigh

Sam at the front desk was more than helpful. Thank you practicar for saving our vacation!

Michael O'Mahoney

Good service and the best rates in the area.

Rachel Dellandrea

Thanks for the friendly service and lift to the ferry!

Nasser Mohammed

good cars

Kevin Watt

Great price for really old cars. Hated driving it but liked saving the money.

Kim M

Always great service!

Bryce Thomsen

Karry was so friendly and professional. Was extremely accommodating to meet our needs and provided excellent service.

Grahama

I rented a Pontiac Wave from Practicar (aka Rent-a-Wreck) for nine days while recently visiting Nanaimo, and was very happy. The rental included 50km per day for a total of 450km (of which I only used 270), and the total price, including all taxes, was $212. This was significantly less than I could find elsewhere. The car was clean, responsive, and other than the occasional squeak while braking, I experienced no mechanical problems. The staff was polite and attentive. When I picked up the vehicle, the attendant (Corrina) was great, and she was very thorough in noting the existing scratches and bumps. I will definitely be renting from them again on my next trip to Nanaimo.

Morgane B

NEVER book a car at this place. This is highly unreliable and you could end up without any car in the end. Customer service non existant.

Jesse Anderson

Awesome follow up to see if i was coming! Amazing customer service and was enjoyable waiting even know it was busy! Highly reccomend them for price, service and how friendly they were!

Mercedez Jones

5 stars for being the only rental car place in town that offered a car without credit card and staff were very nice. With that said, cars are much older models , mileage charge after certain km, and a huge security deposit of over $500. Also, pickup from airport to their location was not available but was possible to the airport for a fee. Despite this, I was very happy that they provide this service in Nanaimo that the big car companies are reluctant to do without a credit card. If they get newer car models, I'll certainly use them again. Prefer to give my business to smaller Canadian own businesses.

C J

Good experience. Fairly hassle free.

Tim Mcgrath

Right downtown between Bakers and Lordco on Cliff St.

Moritz Pacak

Reliable and cheap rental cars, even for underaged drivers. No waiting, good service and shuttle from ferry terminal. I can recommend.

Andria Gillespie

Steve and his staff are very friendly and accommodating. I live on an island in Nanaimo Harbour and use their services usually as least once a week. Often I have given them only a few hours notice and they've always had a car ready for my arrival. They're conveniently located just a short 5 min. walk from the boat basin. Their cars are always clean and reliable. They've been wonderful to deal with since I've been living in this great city.

Finin Crowley

Great customer service :)

Brandy Liddicoat

Kerry is amazing and worked with us while we were shopping for a new vehicle. He never once got frustrated no matter how many days in a row I called him to extend "for just one more day". Thanks a million Kerry!

Jeet Singh

I had such a nice experience with Practicar. Corrina and Samantha both are so customer oriented. I guess it is because the owner and I think his name is Steve is super customer caring, polite and such a hospitable guy. Even though our car was ordinary, it was still a joy dealing with Practicar at Nanaimo. People like them make life beautiful. Thanks a lot to all at Practicar.

Hilary Verch

Customer service was nice, they picked us up at the airport and were very friendly, they gave us some good suggestions of things to do while in the area. Our car was clean and reliable.

Theresa Stephen

Completely turned off due to the heavy stench of smoke in the office. Vehicles are one step away from going to the scrap yard. They are more a highly used car dealer, then a reliable rental company. Would definitely not consider this place to rent a car from.

Mat M

Very helpful and good service.

Brian Veale

The car was just fine, and trouble free. Staff members were cheerful and helpful. All-in-all, a positive experience hiring a car from Practicar, and I'll definitely turn to them again the next time I'm in Nanaimo.

omar almolla

The new owner is awesome, a lot more cars to choose from now .. cheap prices yet reliable cars !!

S Perry

Im sorry but don't go here. We liked the service person but I cant in good conscience recommend people do business here

Steve Henderson

was told car had winter tires when they clearly didn't. Vehicles are not safe. Do not go here

Robert Anderson (Blake)

They stayed open late to help us when our ferry arrived late and we were in danger of being stranded.

Sandi Nelles

Cheap but very old not very clean car. Had to stand in the parking lot for half an hour before they picked us up even though we reserved ahead and the place is about 8 minutes from the ferry docks.

Judy Kroll

Do NOT rent a car from this place! Their cars are beyond wrecks. I requested a GPS. As I drove away, getting more and more lost, the GPS did not help..it was in German. I had to go back for a second GPS, and it did not work. They had no more. The car was making a constant beeping noise, which the rental place denied. In addition, they were incredibly rude. VERY unprofessional. The woman who rented to me said "I'll skip the inspection. The car is very dinged up. Just bring it back without the door hanging off." Now, they are charging me $700 for a dent that I did not put in it. STAY AWAY!! It is not worth the savings to deal with this place.

Dav5140a Jackie11

Got picked up and dropped to ferry (Departure bay, I think). Car had a fair amount of minor damage outside, as long as you can look past this they are cheap and have good customer service, had no issues when returning. They also gave us a pass for the provincial park as we were going to Tofino so saved us 20 bucks a day. Next time I am on the island I will use them again.

Sven Röhreke

(Translated) Extremely friendly, helpful and flexible! Good prices and no hidden costs. The lady even checked the ferry schedule for me and gave me a ride to the ferry station. Extremely friendly and helpful, highly recommended. Quite cheap, as seemingly used vehicles are rented. Absolutely fair and no hidden costs. (Original) Extremely friendly, helpful and flexible! Good prices and no hidden costs. The lady even checked the ferry schedule for me and gave me a ride to the ferry station. Ausgesprochen freundlich und hilfsbereit, sehr zu empfehlen. Recht günstig, da scheinbar gebrauchte Fahrzeuge vermietet werden. Absolut fair und ohne versteckte Kosten.

Ilona Turnes

We rent a car here, the day we were supposed to take it the shop never opened without any explanation... Lost of time and money.

Damon Ferenczi

Great service!! Great price. Took a car to tofino and back was amazing dealing with them! I would highly recommend them!

Clément Stièvet

Very cheap. But cars are in very bad conditions and dirty (flat tire, warning indicator, animal hair, oil not changed...). The manager is nice, by the way.

Talia Stannard

I do not recommend this place. I had picked this place because of the price, and the convenience of their store hours. They gave me such a hard time about if I had insurance, which I do, and I had to have USAA send them proof. When I got my vehicle, everything was fine, but after driving it for a bit the check engine light went on. I was concerned, as the car was an older model. Then, I noticed one of the brake lights went out. I was so annoyed! I drove back (an hour out of my way) to return the car. The guy who helped me was so rude! He pretty much told me he had no sympathy for my situation. He also told me that I could have gone to the hardware store to replace the brake light, that it wasn’t such a big deal. What????The customer service was horrible!!! When I mentioned that no other agency has ever given me a hard time about proof of car insurance, he told me that I apparently don’t know how car rentals work! It was awful. I went next door to Budget and 15 mins later, got a newer vehicle, no one hassled me about proof of insurance and they offer a free shuttle to the ferry! Seriously, use Budget, they were amazing!!!!!