News

Actions

Advantage blames hail for shortage of rental cars in Denver

Customers say they waited hours overnight near DIA
Posted at 7:42 AM, May 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-12 09:49:02-04

DENVER -- It's been four days since a major hailstorm hit the Denver area. Now people from out of state are starting to feel the impact.

Overnight Thursday, a customer of Advantage car rental near Denver International Airport said she and others were told there were no cars available.

"They gave us hail damage from the storm. We said ‘well, you have cars in your lot.’ ‘Well, some of them don't have current tags. Some of them, the batteries are bad. Some of them we don't have keys for,’" said Leslie Farrow, who flew in from San Jose, California.

Farrow flew to Colorado to watch her niece graduate from Colorado State University in Fort Collins on Friday. She said her and the other customers were told they had to wait until other people returned cars before they could get one.

"I feel really bad for all of these other people. I know this is graduation weekend in Denver, and for some reason no one planned ahead," said Farrow.

The National Weather Service did not record any significant hail at the airport on Monday. It's not clear if any cars were returned to Advantage with hail damage. 

By around 3:30 am on Friday, it seemed most of the customers at Advantage had received rental cars. Farrow said she paid $113 for a two-day rental. 

Advantage advises booking directly through the site to receive alerts about issues involving cars. Third-party travel sites may not alert customers to changes.