Drivalia UK - MANCHESTER AIRPORT Reviews 

Rental was great. Really happy with the service. Thanks Ryan.

The worst car company to rent from. Pie in the sky quotes and most of all something will go wrong if you ever begin to depend on them. Had to get a taxi at 2.30 in the morning, after three hours of waiting, we were let down for a car because Drivalia systems were down… it was a nightmare for myself and everyone in the queue … I’m confident in saying never ever again…. DONT DO IT

*****If I could rate this zero I would!!!! This company was a shocker. We travelled from Australia. Booked online. When we booked it said ‘located at airport - not offsite’. It was offsite!!!!

Picked up from Manchester airport. Took us 45 mins to find out WHERE to pick it up.

Didn’t bring original actual visa card to pay refundable deposit. They wouldn’t accept tapping a card. He wanted it inserted into the machine. Didnt have it. Isn’t this a modern world??!! Who carries an actual Visa card?

They wouldn’t help us sort this. They wouldn’t take partners REAL Visa card to secure the deposit, because the booking wasn’t in their name.

They wouldn’t cancel the booking and immediately rebook the car in partners name… who had the actual Visa card.

So ended up having to pay the whole security bond up front NO REFUND. An extra $2700 AUD!!!! On top of the car hire ‘which was offsite’. DISGUSTING.

Returned car to London Heathrow 22 days later and they wouldn’t take us to airport. We had to UBER. Am furious. This is not ok! Disgusting service.

**** BE CAREFUL ***

Drivalia is miles away from Manchester Airport. The shuttle bus, which Drivalia provides, took an hour and a half to arrive. By this time there were about ten other groups waiting so it was a struggle to get on a lots of people were left waiting for the next shuttle bus.
I had paid already damage waiver in advance online, but in the office the salesman was insisting I pay hundreds of pounds extra for even more insurance. He was very passive aggressive and arrogant. I felt really uncomfortable. The whole experience made me feel like I was being scammed (even if the company is actually legit).
My suggestion is to book one of the car hire companies which are based at Manchester airport such as Enterprise. It's nearer and the customer service far exceeds Drivalia's.

If your flight is delayed. Please ensure you change your time of arrival in the app and pay the difference before you go to the desk on landing. They advise you to call them, but that is a complete waste of time. (one lady kept them updated 4 time, same result). They do not hold your car after 2 hours (generous they say), but they do not advise you of this when you call. Around 6 of us were greeted with a smiling going to do my best for you employee (I wasn't convinced I had seen him in action before) "But my hands are tied, all the small cars have been reallocated and it going to cost X to upgrade" which you can accept and pay or lose what you have already paid as a no show. We were told we were lucky we had booked direct and it cost an extra £160, bear in mind it was 9.00 p.m. after a 2 and a half hour flight delay, 30 minutes wait at the airport to be transferred, and a wait at the desk as only one person was on duty. We couldn't get through by telephone as directed when we landed and had to hope there was space for us on the minibus. All in all not the experience we expected, I have complained to customer services but I am not hopeful.

Absolute awful company and extremely sneaky we arrange late pickup and then when got to the desk 45 minutes early they was already closed and no one was there to support so we had no choice but to book a hotel for the night and wait for the morning, turned up and they was barely apologetic that this awful firm has cost me a fortune in last minute local hotel and taxi to and from it cut my holiday short by a day I was then greeted with a £300 insurance form I had to sign which was not expected otherwise I couldn't have the vehicle which is non refundable and not with the price of the hire overall awful experience will never use these again good luck if you do look at your reviews your a joke

Outrageously bad customer service. Avoid Drivalia at all costs. As a regular customer of Drivalia at Manchester airport for many years I was treated by the agent Ryan with disrespect and mockery . I complained to customer services who 7 weeks later have also treated me with disprespect and mockery and not given me any fomr of decent response , just told me to wait and i will receive a reply. How long do I have to wait ???? Professional business's take customer complaints seriously and deal with them immediately. Even on another Trust Pilot review Drivalia replied to contact customer services which obviously I had already done.
Go to one of the many other car rental companies for decent customer care and a clean car and prompt shuttle service, none of this is available with Drivalia. Drivalia are to be avoided at all costs

Outrageous customer service. I have been a regular customer of Drivalia at Manchester Airport for years. My driving license is very slightly damaged. They have accepted with no problems on numerous occasions and rented me a car. The cars are often quite dirty and a bit battered. They often keep you waiting for 30 minutes for their shuttle service. In August 2025 having rented a car recently from the same branch Ryan decided to refuse my license , refuse the photo of it in perfect condition, refuse the fact I had been rented cars from there several times recently and refuse a pdf government document of my license. I have been complaining for 2 months and no response. They reply on Trust pilot to contact customer services . I have been doing that for 2 months. Outrageous

Manchester Airport location. Avoid at all cost. We booked a van online and paid a full booking price. Upon the pick up at the desk, the man was not informing what checks were being done, we agreed to DVLA check and then the man progressed to credit checks which we were not informed of. Eventually the check failed and we were not given the van. We could have used another driver to do the checks if we knew and were informed of those being performed and we would have been given the van. A lot of checks are not communicated out and therefore done without your consent. We got the refund triggered by them however the £35 was taken off if for admin fees. The company is very shady, their T&C are full of admin fees that high branded rental companies don't have and potentially are not in line with regulations. Avoid at all cost.

I have been a regular customer of Drivalia at Manchester Airport for years and rented a car a few times in 2025 with my slightly damaged driving license with no problems. Suddenly at 21h15 on 7/08/25 Ryan decides he won’t accept my license. I told him it was accepted a few weeks before and several times before recently so why not now and that my 98 year old mother was waiting for me. I showed him a photo of the same license before it was slightly damaged. Still no. I then struggled for nearly 2 hours in front of Ryan getting a pdf file from the government from the internet to prove this was my license. I gave this to Ryan and he refused it because it is from the French government. It is my name and the same numbers that are written on my license. Manchester is a big international airport. Surely anyone working there should have a modicum of insight into capturing international documents of names and numbers. So at midnight Ryan watched me leave a 62 year old female alone with no car , a regular customer of Drivalia. Outrageous.

Absolutely outrageous and such a conning firm taking advantage and ripping people off . I have been to alot of places in my army life and seen alot of stuff but this has to be one of the worst places ive delt with , hired car booked and paid for over easy jet , arrived , firm Closed and i had to get a hotel room . Next day they took the payment again . And refuse to return it. . Not a Happy veteran feel betrayed in my own land.

Steer clear of this firm

I was actually ripped off by this company, (which frequently changes its name by the way), previously. Take note. If you book through CarJet with full protection, they will still lie and harass you to take out their own insurance. When I constantly refused to do this they asked for £1500 credit card deposit saying CarJet were disreputable and would never refund anything. They lied and said my credit card was not valid even though the bank confirmed it was. They then cancelled the booking and said ," Good luck with getting a refund from CarJet" End result £350 out of pocket

I arrived at Drivalia Manchester Airport branch on 7th September, 10 minutes before my booking was due to start. The agent (who was polite) immediately informed me that the booked EV wasn’t available due to other customers not returning vehicles on time. No prior notice, no alternative ready.

Despite providing valid proofs of address within the 3-month window, I was told a credit check was still necessary—contrary to Drivalia’s own T&Cs, which state this only applies if proof of address is missing. The check failed, inexplicably, even though I have a strong credit rating and had just passed one for a phone contract.

I was then told to contact customer services for a refund. This turned into a wild goose chase:

Web chat referred me to the booking portal, which didn’t recognize my details since the booking date had passed.

Phone support told me to log a complaint online, which also failed due to the expired booking.

Finally, I was told a refund would incur a £35 admin fee—on a £26.99 booking. Charging more than the booking cost for a failed credit check (which shouldn’t have happened) is outrageous.

Thankfully, I secured a car from Sixt at the airport with zero hassle and no credit check. Drivalia’s process was obstructive, contradictory, and ultimately failed to deliver the service I paid for.

I’ve since received a chargeback from my bank, but I won’t be booking with Drivalia again—and I strongly advise others to think twice before doing so. You may end up with no car, wasted time, and unnecessary stress.

So there you have it.

Contradiction in T&Cs: If their website states credit checks are only done when proof of address is missing, and yours was valid, that’s a clear breach.

Failure to deliver the booked product: Not having the EV available is their operational failure, not the customers and breach of contract with the customer.

Obstructive refund process: Referring you in circles and then charging a fee for their own failure is not just poor service—it borders on unethical.

Adam was fantastic thank you

I’ve used this company a few times and would highly recommend them, they are different from the other companies at the airport x private bus straight to the car hire, Adam was very helpful with my enquiries today x

Picked my car up from Manchester on Sunday. The chap in reception was dealing with tough customers extremely well and I had a pleasant straightforward experience. Adam handed over the car and I was in and out within 15 minutes. Great experience cheers to the 2 lads.

Hi,
Matt looked after me at Manchester Airport. Matt,the car & the service were top notch. Really impressed.

Adam from Manchester really assisted me and my family pleasant experience with this company and this gentle man who served me

Great service by Adam thank you very much. I would strongly recommend the company to hire a van for house move. Full transparency no hidden costs. Large van was in excellent condition.

Matt super helpful as always