SIXT Car Hire - London Park Lane

Took a reservation online 2 days before trip.arrived at location and branch was CLOSED.
26 minutes over the phone only to get outrageous answers (come tomorrow for a refund) or alternative rentals for double the price. First and last experience with Sixt

Not only is this branch closed long term but SIXT still let you make booking here. They’ll just redirect you to Victoria instead. Why accept the bookings if you can’t actually pick up or drop off here??

After going to Victoria and checking in, I was told to wait 5min for the car. True to form it then took 40min. Would absolutely not recommend SIXT.

Rented a Mercedes E class from central London for trip to Cotswolds and customer experience was zero. Raised two customer service emails which were promptly ignored since I had a prepaid reservation. My suggestion is go to a vendor that values their customers and provides experience equal to what they advertise. Happy customers are repeat customers. Never again.

First, my rental was supposed to be at Hilton, it was changed to Victoria Station. That wasn't a big deal but just created unnecessary confusion. Upon arrival, I entered Victoria Station from the front entry where the tube stations lead you. Immediately upon entry, I saw a Sixt booth. First, the guy there tells me that the car I rented was not available. I rented a BMW hatchback and he gave me an Audi Sedan. He then asked if I wanted insurance. I responded that I thought insurance was included. He then made the argument that the Audi was basically brand new, small things tend to happen to rental cars (scratches, etc) and that the deductable was high. Long story short, he sold me on an upgraded insurance that I wasn't particularly comfortable with but felt I had no other choice. So now it's time to retrieve the car. He verbally explains the directions but provided no map which really is necessary given that the pickup area is in the far side of the station. So I eventually get to the pickup area. The next staff member pulls up the Audi. I ask him to open the trunk to see the cargo capacity. It is way too small. I mentioned that I originally rented a BMW hatchback specifically for the storage. He stated that the Audi was what they had in my class. My only option was to upgrade to a Land Rover Discovery which was way more expensive albeit a nicer car than I had originally rented. We negotiated a price and I will say that this staff member was very accommodating. However, I still wasn't happy that my rental car budget had essentially doubled between walking in the door and leaving the establishment. I had no issues with the vehicle itself. It ran perfectly. Upon return, the parking lot had only one space marked for return. Unfortunately, bad parking jobs by previous returnees rendered it impossible to park in. So I found and alternate spot and parked the vehicle. The staff were not present which was unfortunate because the next day, I get an email from Sixt claiming I damaged the vehicle. The damages they sent me related to the bumper/spoiler. They claimed it was loose. I sure didn't hit anything and the photos they sent didn't make it obvious what they were claiming. They also claimed I scratched the vehicle. When I picked up the Land Rover, it was evident the vehicle was not new. It had scratches, the mirror was dinged, the driver seat was torn, etc. I did not care because I needed a reliable vehicle with sufficient storage capacity. However, I certainly do care if Sixt is going to attempt to charge me for pre-existing damage. Honestly, I don't know what is going on with this Sixt location but it seems like a management issue. In the past, I have rented from Sixt at the Venice airport location in Italy and had an exceptional experience there. In London, it just seemed like I was getting hit up for money left, right and center. I still have no clue whether they still intend to pursue these alleged damages that they are claiming. With the exception of the staff member that assisted me with the vehicle upgrade, overall it was a pretty miserable rental experience all things considered. Nobody wants to get hit with damage claims especially superficial issues that I didn't created. I am sure all the cars in their inventory have little dings and scratches because (1) the parking spaces are way too narrow at Victoria Station (2) it's a mixed use parking lot where basically anyone can circulate around their vehicles. If Sixt wants to hit customers with petty charges like this, they should fully photograph each vehicle before the rental, have customer sign off on damages and then have a staff member present to compare/contrast upon return. I have rented at least 20 plus vehicles over the course of my life and this experience by far stands out as the worst primarily because I did not get the vehicle I rented, paid double what was expected and have stress that Sixt is claiming superficial damages against me that I do not understand nor agree with.

We have experienced a bizarre situation. It appears that The Park Lane branch is closed for over a year yet the system still offers it as an option....you are prompt to hassle yourself to Victoria Station for the service . For a customer loaded with luggage , after crossing town just to realise that no one is home , well...

their branch is closed. they dont email me that they cannot deliver the car in this location. I had to take (and pay for) a taxi, so to get me to the victoria rail station where i could pickup the car.
AWFUL SERVICE

Worst rental car experience ever. Boycott Sixt.

Based our travel plans on renting from Park Lane Hilton, which is PERMANENTLY CLOSED, although they failed to inform us (false advertising).

Picked up from an alternate site, but Sixt did not reimburse travel (like they promised).

The associate was nice, and offered us free upgrade, but we were charged $200 for this "free" upgrade.

Dropped off at Heathrow - but spent an hour and a half trying to find the return location. Google maps and Sixt website showed inaccurate data. No signs at all. Missed a flight because of it, stuck in London overnight.

A month later, we were charged $96 for a "Parking violation." Sixt apparently wanted us to pay for parking at the drop-off location!! Even though the Sixt employees in the garage directed us to park where we did and assured us we were all set.

Take the bus. Walk. Anything but Sixt!

One of the best experiences I had in renting a car, the staff very professionals and explained everything it simple language.
Thank you team London Hilton park lane 🌹