Book Thrifty car hires at San Diego Carlsbad-Palomar Airport

Driver's age: 26-65
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Car Rental Deals
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Car Rental Deals

Thrifty car hire prices at San Diego Carlsbad-Palomar Airport

Discover the best prices and deals for your travel.
Economy car
Economy
M
Compact car
Compact
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Economy car
Economy
M
Compact car
Compact
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* These are the best rates found by KAYAK users in the past 48 hours and may change
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FAQs about hiring a car from Thrifty at San Diego Carlsbad-Palomar Airport

  • Does Thrifty offer shuttle or airport pick-up services from San Diego Carlsbad-Palomar Airport (CLD)?

    No (according to our data)

Reviews

Pros

" and clean"(in 2376 reviews)
"The "(in 959 reviews)
", easy pick up."(in 959 reviews)

Cons

"Thrifty's was terrible."(in 203 reviews)
" inside."(in 69 reviews)
" is horrible."(in 203 reviews)
Overall rating5.9 FairBased on 9951 reviews
Cleanliness
6.8
Comfort
6.7
Overall
5.9
Pick-up/Drop-off
5.9
Value for money
6.0

Recent reviews

Traveller rating
1422
689
125
522
135
0
2894
Find reviews that mention:
10.0
The staff was very friendly and helpful. The car was in perfect condition and clean. The pickup and return of the vehicle were straightforward with no fuss.Reviewed 25 June 2025
review fromkayak
2.0
They were closed when I showed up, despite accepting the reservation at that time and sending numerous confirmation messages. When I called, I was told to "come back tomorrow", even though I had already paid for the first day (and, of course, I couldn't come back the next day). No apology was offered. Still waiting on a refund, but fully prepared to need to contest the charge through my bank due to the horrid customer service.Reviewed 23 June 2025
review fromkayak
10.0
Great car, great price, easy to deal with.Reviewed 23 June 2025
review fromkayak
2.0
I prepaid for the rental and my flight time was changed where the rental office was closed early on the day of my arrival. I tried numerous times and there was no local phone number for the location for my rental at the airport. Customer service was not able to assist, and also denied a refund for my rental.I was not able to pick up my rental and was charged the full cost of the rental as well. Highly unsatisfied.Reviewed 23 June 2025
review fromkayak
2.0
I made the reservation then called to confirm the vehicle and particulars. Two days before travel I called the Las Vegas thrifty to confirm again. Imagine the surprise when I arrived to find that I was assigned a minivan instead of the Ford transit I had booked and was told I could not rent it there and return it in Salt Lake City without paying an additional $800. The nice lady showed me the booking and it was the code for a minivan. A minivan is not equivalent to the Transit. I had seven adults and luggage which I why I rented such an expensive vehicle through this site. Contact me.Reviewed 19 June 2025
review fromkayak
10.0
Staff was polite, car was immaculate.Reviewed 19 June 2025
review fromkayak
8.0
Pick-up took a long time. Car was great, but not the brand we expected.Reviewed 18 June 2025
review fromkayak
2.0
The line to pick up the car was winding around and over 20 people deep when I arrived. They had one person working. Each person was taking around 10 minutes to assist- if you do the math, that’s over two hours to pick up the car. There was an option to pay $30 to skip the line but that resulted in an error message. I eventually cancelled the reservation and walked right up to a different counterReviewed 15 June 2025
review fromkayak
10.0
Great!Reviewed 15 June 2025
review fromkayak
2.0
Someone needs to put on a separate site that your website NEVER honors the car that is being advertised and it’s always some different type of car that is supposedly similar to the car in the picture advertised. Maybe a website that is viewed anytime a person tries to rent a car through Kayak that is not the car they will receive. Also, it was over a hour wait to get the car when we first showed up on property.Reviewed 13 June 2025
review fromkayak
6.0
It was over an hour wait to get the car but the two attendants were working their hardest to get thru the line. Returning the car in Brindisi was crazy. The kid checking in the car was more worried about talking to his friends hanging around than trying to listen to me. I tried multiple times to tell him we had received a parking ticket but he ignored the comment and went talking back to his friends. Not sure what else to do.Reviewed 11 June 2025
review fromkayak
10.0
My experience was great , no problem , and fast serviceReviewed 10 June 2025
review fromkayak

Other car hire agencies at San Diego Carlsbad-Palomar Airport scored

Thrifty Car Hire CLD: Flying into San Diego Carlsbad-Palomar Airport? Find the cheapest San Diego Carlsbad-Palomar Airport hire car from Thrifty now with KAYAK. KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites to help you find and book the best car hire deal from Thrifty at San Diego Carlsbad-Palomar Airport.