A recent study by the Consumer Affairs magazine Choice shows that a worrying minority or car rental users have reasonable complaints about significant sums charged to their credit cards without prior knowledge. These complaints are usually related to unfair fees and surcharges, as well as the overall quality of service offered by the car hire personnel. One of the most common car rental complaints pertains to supplemental insurance charges that are caused by excess reduction policies, which offer to assist a customer in paying for excess damages in the event that they are not covered by the basic insurance policy that is included with the car hire service. Other customers have reported being charged hundreds of dollars for damages that they did not cause, which is why many experts recommend taking photographs of the rental vehicle and having it thoroughly inspected before taking it off the lot and after returning it.

Another common car rental complaint is that exuberant surcharges are incurred when rental vehicles are dropped off at airports or certain high-volume locations, as some car rental companies are known to charge fees of up to 23% simply because the customer chose to drop off the vehicle at a "premium" location. Some of the less common car-rental complaints include those that are related to the cleanliness and/or performance of the rental vehicle. Although most car hire companies perform thorough inspections before renting their vehicles, even the smallest scratch or imperfection should be reported to a sales representative for renting the vehicle, as some customers have reported being forced to pay for damages caused by people that rent the vehicle before or after them.