I’m a fairly new Sixt renter and after 2 spectacular rentals (both car and service) with Sixt in Houston and Dallas, it seems I went to the well once too often.



I needed a large SUV for 5 days in Denver, so I picked the X7. Not cheap but I’m a BMW fan, so I was okay with the cost.



Problems start when I’m unable to select a vehicle and have to go to the counter. Welcome Jake to the story. Sleazy salesman vibes right from the beginning. He starts with what I call “happy banter” which is used to distract the customer and make it seem like you’re dealing with a good friend.



During the happy banter, Jake asks, “Do you want Premium or Basic coverage?” Even though I’d already declined when I reserved the car. I guess he thought I was either distracted or naive and wouldn’t opt for the unstated 3rd option of “no coverage”. He seemed surprised and asked what my coverage was, which of course is none of his business.



We press on and we go through all the rest of the paperwork, which I’d already done at the time of booking.



Finally, he gets the keys, the car is right out front and I’m on my way. Except…the car is a piece of crap. It’s filthy, scratches and dings all over it, and the rear license plate is mangled in a way that seems impossible. It is certainly not “Extraordinary” as Sixt advertises.



Another employee is present and I tell him I’m not taking this car. He tries to find a similar class and can’t. Time to see Jake again.



They don’t have any other cars in that class. I did see an Escalade, but apparently that’s no longer in the X7 class. He said I could have that for an *additional* $150/day (that would make a total cost of $310/day). Nope.



Let’s try an X5. He’s got lots of those. I ask what will the new price be. Jake tells me they don’t change the price when swapping to a lower class, but he’ll see if his manager will authorize a refund. He disappears for a few seconds and tells me he agreed to do so. I’m skeptical, but I need to get on the road.



I do get a decent X5. The rental agreement shows no indication of a change in price, so I contact Sixt support. I’m told there are no refund notes in the record. You think Jake lied? He agrees to take $100 off the total cost. I wasn’t thrilled with that and was told I would have to contact “Allocation”. I asked to transfer to “Allocation”. He did. No answer. I call back and get the same guy. He tells me I have to talk to Allocation again. I said they didn’t answer. He said they never answer. Do they have a direct line? No. Then how do I contact Allocation? You have to physically go there. Time to talk to someone else.



I get Jose, and finally someone that seems to know what he’s doing. He writes up a formal complaint to the Denver station and tells me they will call me. They do and leave a message that when I return the car, they will price match to the correct X5 price. The new rental agreement is less, but still about same as the $100 the first customer rep offered.



To summarize the Denver Airport Sixt location:

1. A cheap trick to try to get me to sign up for insurance coverage.
2. A piece of junk X7.
3. A 100% up-charge for the next higher class.
4. No refund for a lower class.

Result: A Sixt Platinum member who will never use Sixt again. Nice job Jake @ Denver.