National Car Rental - Glasgow Airport - Paisley

Jerald R. C.

Had a great experience with National Car Hire at Glasgow Airport. I'm an Indian national visiting for work, and after wrapping up, I planned a 2-day trip around the Isle of Skye. Booked through Clarify Car Hire and got a good deal. The car I booked wasn’t available, but I got a free upgrade, which was a pleasant surprise. The vehicle was in great condition and perfect for the Highlands drive.

Staff were professional and friendly. Pickup and drop-off were smooth and quick. A £200 security deposit was taken and refunded within 3 days after return.

Tips:
1. Take clear photos of the car from all angles before you drive off and report any existing damages to the staff. And do the same thing when you drop off the car, so that you have a before and after for your own records.

2. Highly recommend taking the tire and windshield protection add-on if you're heading to the Highlands—some roads are unpaved and rough, and this will cover potential damage and help ensure your deposit is fully returned.

Would definitely rent from them again!

Mustafa M.

Really impressed with National Car Hire at Glasgow Airport. The staff were welcoming and made the whole process easy from start to finish. Pick-up was quick, the car was spotless and ready to go, and everything was explained clearly without any hassle. It is rare to find such friendly and efficient service these days, and it definitely made the journey a lot smoother. I would happily use this branch again and recommend it to others.

Damien M.

Worst service I’ve ever had with renting a car, and I do so fairly often. Was already running a bit behind on my schedule due to the kids being kids, so imagine my irritation at still having to wait around AN HOUR for my car to be ready after an already fairly lengthy check in process (15min or so) due to someone at one of the cabins opening my file and not closing it, locking the check in desk out from being able to access it I was told 10-15mins and it took an hour plus. This led to my entire first day’s itinerary being ruined as we were about an hour and a half later to everything than we should have been. I was also told that even though my booking (granted, through a third party ‘comparison’ site) included full coverage that they still wanted to charge me for theirs, and told me I’d have something ridiculous like an £1800 excess if anything happened since it wasn’t their insurance.

This situation was already upsetting but the real kicker was that my wife who I had added as an additional driver at £19 a day decided when watching me drive that the vehicle was a little big for her and she wasn’t comfortable driving it so on the morning after pickup I call up to just remove her from the rest of the rental and save the money since she wasn’t going to be driving anyway.

I was told on the phone that the ONLY way to remove someone is in person at a national branch, which I will not be near again until I return the car. I understand needing to be at a branch to add someone as they need the DL etc but taking it off should be as easy as a couple clicks and I feel like it’s just causing me unnecessary grief trying to make me detour and ruin another itinerary when already one has been due to delays.

Also, the vehicle continually pops up with a “driver fatigue warning” when I’m perfectly awake and driving fine. This is incredibly distracting and frankly dangerous.

1 ⭐️ because Google does not let me give zero, this will undoubtedly be the absolute last time I ever go to National. Out of dozens of rental companies across several countries I’ve never been so upset with the absolutely horrible service. The invoice even charged me a 22.5% ‘Premium location’ fee, beyond a joke. Liked the prices and intended to use them every couple months for trips as my vehicle locally is pretty small but this cements it being the one and only.

Disgraceful.

W O.

Great customer service from National. Pleased with the car and overall service from start to finish. Extra thanks to Akash for the smooth and professional checkout!

Bill K.

I recently rented a vehicle from national for a trip to Scotland. The staff was pleasant and professional. The car was clean and running well. The staff was able to answer all my questions about local driving and we very helpful. I highly recommend national if you get a chance to rent in Scotland

Cody P.

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS LOCATION----They will scam you for "tire damage" I was charged 350 pounds for a scratch on the tire, and based on other reviews, it seems like this is what they do to a lot of people.

Stephen M.

I was charged 200 pounds for fixing a flat tire on my hire car. The car had a slow puncture that ultimately made me stop driving. Their breakdown response time was 4-5 hours. Since I was stuck on a country lane in the dark I had to fix it myself. After handing it back they charge me 200 pounds, sent a threatening letter asking me to make an additional claim via my credit card, and then called me 21 times over the space of 2 days seeking a response. Do not hire a car from here. Try elsewhere

Edit: I've already called the US Emerald club line and they confirmed that US drivers would not be charged 200 pounds (and more requested) for a flat tire that I had to change in the middle of the night after a 4-5 hour breakdown response. I've already spoken to the manager of Enterprise at Glasgow Airport and they can see no problem at all in their customer service. So, my advice again is, DO NOT USE this car hire service

Tyler L.

My experience with National Car Rental in Scotland was nothing short of a scam. After a two-day rental, I returned my car to Glasgow Airport only to be blindsided by a £1,500 charge for a small abrasion in one of the tires. The employee blatantly admitted that the damage was due to the "state of the roads" in Scotland, something I was never informed about when renting the car. And informed me that they have a “0 tolerance policy” with tires – what a great way to shoulder unsuspecting customers with the cost of maintaining their tires. I drove responsibly, never hit anything, and didn’t even notice any damage—yet I was held fully accountable for issues caused by the poor road conditions. I’m a reasonable person and would absolutely pay for damage that I caused.

It’s clear that companies like National are running a racket in the UK, shifting the responsibility for their fleet’s upkeep onto innocent customers. They’re more interested in padding their profits than in treating customers fairly. To add insult to injury, their customer service was a disaster. It took four weeks to get a partial refund back after countless ignored emails and unhelpful responses.

If this is how National treats loyal customers, then they’re not worth your time or money. Avoid National Car Rental in the UK—this company is nothing but a racket designed to take advantage of travelers.