Penske Truck Rental Reviews 56

I had one of the worst rental experiences I’ve ever dealt with, and it still has not been properly resolved.

This was a local Penske rental (Reservation #14346425, Truck ID #91626368). The truck broke down at approximately 4:30 PM and left me stranded on the side of the highway for roughly 4.5–7 hours waiting for assistance.

What followed was complete chaos:

Over 20 phone calls between Penske, dispatch, and towing companies
4 tow trucks dispatched — 3 either canceled or never showed
Constant conflicting information and no real coordination
A “solution” from Penske that created even more work and expense for us

Because of the breakdown and lack of support, I had to:

Pay $294.98 out of pocket for towing
Pay $170 cash for emergency movers just to unload the truck
Pay for fuel for a replacement vehicle
Purchase supplies to secure the disabled truck and our belongings
Delay our move and make additional trips because our belongings had to be held overnight

I also took time off work specifically to complete this move and lost income, only to end up stranded on the side of the road unable to finish it as planned.

On top of all of this:

There were still unexplained and pending charges on my account
I had to personally coordinate cancellations, extensions, and logistics
Communication from Penske was inconsistent throughout the entire process

After everything, Penske refunded only $543, which does not fully cover the out-of-pocket costs caused directly by their equipment failure, much less the additional time, stress, lost work, and logistical nightmare this created.

A truck breaking down is one thing. Leaving customers stranded for hours with failed roadside dispatches, poor communication, and incomplete reimbursement afterward is another.

If you’re considering Penske, understand that if something goes wrong, you may be completely on your own to deal with it — and pay for it yourself. Their advertised “90-minute roadside assistance guarantee” was meaningless in my experience, and the level of support I received from this company was unacceptable from start to finish.

Rented a Penske truck for a 500-mile move and the experience was unacceptable from start to finish.

First issue — I was rerouted 30 miles out of my way to pick up the truck due to “staffing issues” at the original location. That added unnecessary time and hassle before the move even began.

The condition of the truck was even worse. It had over 150,000 miles and clearly hadn’t been properly cleaned or inspected. The cargo area was full of gravel, forcing the moving help I hired (and was paying hourly) to spend about 30 minutes just cleaning it out before we could even load. Inside the cab, we found empty alcohol bottles — completely unprofessional and concerning.

Performance-wise, the truck struggled badly. It could barely get above 50 MPH on the interstate, making the drive longer and more stressful than it needed to be. To top it off, the fuel gauge didn’t work, which made planning fuel stops a guessing game — not something you want on a long-distance move.

Overall, this rental felt neglected, poorly maintained, and not ready for customer use. For the price paid, this level of service and equipment condition is unacceptable. I would strongly reconsider before renting from Penske again

TREAT EMPLOYEES LIKE GARBAGE LIKE WORKING FOR THE DEVIL

The operator in Lufkin, Texas, Ms. Alice Rhea, was very helpful and understanding.

The Rental Representative Ridha shaikh was so kind on the phone & helped me get all of the answers i needed.
I have never had anyone get me the information i needed in such a quick manner as she did.
thank you.

I Will say that they should not falsely advertise free unlimited mileage
I found it on Google and so I called and the person I talked to said no you have to pay for the mileage after I asked her about the advertisement So I will undoubtedly not use them. But I will try my best to never use u haul again

Rented a 26 ft diesel truck from Penske and had a terrible experience.

I specifically told them I had never driven a diesel truck and asked for full instructions. They failed to mention something critical: the truck requires DEF (diesel exhaust fluid). When the DEF ran low, the truck lost power on the highway and eventually became undrivable.

I contacted Penske multiple times during the issue — no response.

A roadside mechanic later told me I just needed DEF — something that could have been avoided entirely if Penske had done their job.

On top of that, the truck had multiple mechanical failures (lift gate and engine issues), causing major delays and extra costs.

Then Penske sent me a bill blaming me for the DEF issue — even charging $66 for fluid that costs about $25 in stores.

Poor maintenance, poor communication, and zero accountability.

Would not recommend.

I have purchased 3 trucks from Penske for my business in the pass 9 years. I tell you I know the process once you take ownership of your truck.You have a 15 day warranty if you find any issues with the truck to get it fixed. I went through the right process by letting Penske know about the issues I found. Penske had me take the truck to Penske in Forest Park ga. They had my truck going on 4 weeks. I was told I would get compensated for the 1st payment and for my insurance payment too. I sent over documents stating how much I was paying for insurance. After finally picking up the truck from the shop I had to bring it back at least 3 times. The unit was never fixed. After speaking wit stormy Hill again she advised me to take the truck to another shop of my choice. I took it to a freightliner shop in Forest Park,ga. They found out what was wrong with my truck so I advised Penske about the repairs. Penske refused to pay so I had to pay for the diagnosed fee. Penske excuse for not paying for my repairs is I put over 10,000 miles on the truck. I reported the issues within my so called 15 day warranty. I have spoken with Joel Powers(Manager)and explained the situation with him. I have left several emails and phone calls. I have not heard anything back from him either. This is how they treat a customer who has bought 3 trucks.DO NOT PURCHASE ANY VEHICLE FROM PENSKE.

I had a very frustrating and unprofessional experience with Penske during my recent truck rental.

I called Penske ahead of time to reserve a truck and was told there was only one location that had the vehicle available. Based on that information, I drove over an hour to that location expecting the truck I reserved to be ready. When I arrived, they told me the truck and size I had reserved was not available at all.

The staff then took a very long time trying to solve the issue, which delayed us even more. Eventually, the only option they gave us was a 26-foot truck, which was much bigger than what we reserved and far larger than what we actually needed. This made our moving job much more difficult, since maneuvering such a large truck was unnecessary and inconvenient.

To make matters worse, the truck they gave us had difficulty starting with the key, which made the situation even more stressful and raised concerns about the condition of the vehicle.

After all this, I was later charged an additional $214 for a supposed “extra day”, which is completely incorrect. The truck was returned on time according to the agreed pick-up and drop-off schedule.

Overall, this was a very poor and unprofessional experience, from the incorrect reservation information to the oversized vehicle and the incorrect extra charge. I expected much better service and accuracy from a company like Penske.

Hello I had a consecutive rental reservation made with the representative Rebecca at the Warren, Mi. location 13875 East 10 mile for the 3 Thursdays. I recieved a phone call from Penske Wednesday about 4pm. Stating that they no longer honered my reservation for a sprinter van and offered a 16 ft. small truck in which I specifically told penske to make sure it was a sprinter for my buisness. I asked the rep what happened to my reservation and she just told me they had zero sprinters in the entire state for me. Penske put me and my company in the worst possible situation by waiting a few hours for my reservation to tell me they have no sprinters for me. I DO NOT RECOMMEND doing any buisness with them they are NOT reliable and expect you to take what they want to give you as if its suitable when you specifically say it is NOT from the origanil rental agreement

Read please and save youself from getting scammed
LThis is in their web page
Damage Waiver (LDW)
LDW covers you from financial responsibility if you experience any loss or damage to the truck or towing equipment except if the vehicle or equipment is used in any manner that violates the rental agreement terms. LDW does not cover your personal vehicle.
Why is LDW recommended?
Without Penske's Limited Damage Waiver, you will be liable for any damage to your rental truck regardless of who is at fault.

When I rented the truck, I paid for the insurance assuming that I am covered but that is just how this company makes money. Just think how many people renting these trucks get into an accident. I have been renting it for last 10 years I never had any scratch but this time I drove into a garage as per the clearance, however there was a pipe that damaged the back part of the truck on right side. There was no roof damage, the roller door was still working. When I returned the truck, I was told the roof is damaged but when I argued I was told that I was negligence. I provide all the footage of the garage and the pipe that was impeding. I spoke an insurance lawyer he told me that the insurance I paid should cover the damage. I check the rental agreement of other truck rental companies they told me that an accident is when the damage happens not caused. I did not cause the accident. I followed all the proper precautions I was not aware that there is a pipe.
My point is as follows:
1. I don’t think there is any insurance, this company is making millions of dollars scamming people.
2. If there is insurance who is the insurer, if Penske is the insurer, then it is in their best interest not to pay the insurance and make extra money.
3. The insurance lawyer who checked the rental agreement said there is no disclosure about roof damage. He said if the manager is saying that I was told verbally then why there is a agreement, you know what he means.
4. The repair was done by their own company that means another way of making money.
5. The repair cost of the truck is 10 time more than what I would have paid a courier company to do my move.

I don’t recommend anyone to rent their truck and if you do rent don’t pay

Order the Penske truck for a move they said it was available and everything was a green light I received a call saying the truck was no longer available at the location but there was one at a different location just a little farther away I said fine I'll still take it. They apologized and said during this time of the year FedEx usually rents up all their trucks and they are sorry but they were glad they were able to find me one available truck. I get out there The guy tells me I can get the truck for 75 mi I have absolutely no idea how many miles I need I did not get to check that out I didn't bother because it said unlimited mileage. Went back and forth basically they did not want me to rent the truck and they were trying to make a one excuse after another because they'd rather rent to FedEx. My issue with this is don't tell me it's available and then don't tell me I have to go a little further out waste my time waste my money my gasoline just to check for you to basically tell me no I can only go 75 mi with it that sounds crazy I don't even know how many miles I need

Made an on-line reservation days in advance for a moving truck that had to be on a specific date. Chose Penske because their web site said "guaranteed availability." Less than 24 hours before the move, the local Penske office calls saying a truck is not available. In the meantime, they continued to send emails confirming the reservation.

Changing the move date was not an option, so had to scramble looking for another truck the afternoon before the move, at a much higher cost.

The local branch repeatedly insisted that I change my reservation to 3 days later in exchange for "a small discount," even though I explained to them several times that the date was not flexible.

To add insult to injury, I then get an email from Penske saying I cancelled my reservation, skirting themselves out of their "guaranteed availability." After great difficulty contacting anyone at their web site, finally got a hold of someone, who promptly transferred me back to the branch that deleted my reservation. They send you in circles so you end up wasting time and getting nowhere.

THIS FALSE ADVERTISING HAS GOT TO STOP!

Worst truck rental experience of my life. Sent me to 3 locations all 30 minutes apart from each other because y’all couldn’t locate a truck I reserved nearly 2 weeks in advance. I had ~40 friends waiting to help me load a moving truck, but half had to leave because I was over an hour late and we had to load it in the dark, while it was raining. Penske’s errors kept me from getting to say one last goodbye to all the friends and family I had made before moving out of state. The customer service reps were sweet and tried to help as much as possible, but their help was unfortunately shadowed by the rest of the experience. The AC also didn’t work for the entire first half of a 22+ hour roadtrip spanning 3 days. The radio and clock in the cab also didn’t work half of the time. The truck ran well, but I highly regret using Penke’s service and would not recommend at all.

I am a first time truck owner operator and I went to purchase my Freightliner M2 box truck from Penske. Horrible experience from the beginning to current day, it took them 4 months to deliver the truck, yes it was a used truck and they said they were changing stuff and repairing stuff and when i finally got it, i realized that the truck is a complete lemon. Everyday i have a new surprise, first it had coolant leak, then it was the throttle body problems, then it was numerous exhaust sensors, now after a month its consuming oil and today i got a Engine cylinder misfire check engine code. Yes i was smart to buy warranty but what kind of trucks are they selling for 40,000 plus and then they don't want to own up to anything. Their service folks in Baltimore were nice and fixed a few things intially but then they were like that its past the 15 day mark and we cant do anything anymore. Caution and watch out folks

DONOT USE PENSKE- My son a police officer helped me move and when he went to fill up the fuel tank after $15 it kept clicking off and fluid coming to the top and couldnt get any more fuel to go in tank so he thought it was Full. Now mind you we only went 42 miles and I Got billed $65.60 for 8.2 gallons at $8 a gallon. Called corporate office said he was too busy to look in to this situation. Said it was in the paperwork and who has time to go thru all that when you are in the middle of moving. Think it should of been told to the Renter about their Stupid and Deceptive Scam device to stop you from filling the fuel tank...Deceptive Company STAY AWAY From This COMPANY!!!

I will never rent with Penske again.
I rented from them in July. I returned the truck to the location on PIcketville RD in Jacksonville FL. We were told to bring the truck forward and leave the keys in the ignition. The man who checked us out said we were "all good". A week later I got a call from Penske telling me to return the truck. I placed a call to the location I returned it to and was told that they have me marked down as returning it on time. on 8/29 I got a charge for $555. I called Penske and was told it was because the truck was returned late. I told them that I already called them and was told that they saw I returned it on time. The man stumbles and said oh it is for a missing key. Well why didn't you mention this key when we talked before? No reply. Why didn't anyone call me? No reply. I was told to dispute the charge. I did. Now Penske is fighting it saying that I stole the truck and didn't return it until September 4th. They charged me for gas on 8/28. how could they know how much gas was needed in a truck they didn't have?
VERY SHADY!!

They do not inspect their vehicles properly. We rented a truck here and it had to be towed since it DIDN’T HAVE OIL. Literally nothing came up on the dipstick when we checked ourselves after engine lights were flashing and the vehicle had to be towed.

Then they made us drive in our own vehicle to pick up another one, rather than making any kind of effort themselves. They were short staffed and no explanation as to how this could have happened. No discount or anything for the hassle and time wasted on our end.

They also over charged us for the rental (but have agreed to give us a partial refund to the correct price).

I’m worried that the new truck will have some sort of issue too due to the low quality standards here, we thought paying a bit more with Penske over UHaul meant a better level of service but I guess not.

People need to be able to rely on these vehicles. I do not feel safe with Penske honestly and will try something else next time. It was my dad picking up and driving the vehicle and I can’t imagine if something happened to him due to the car breaking down in the highway or something.

We've never used Penske before. I dealt with Blake McClellan, and he walked me through the entire process. His customer service skills were impeccable, thorough, and I'll definitely use Penske again and recommend them highly. It became quickly obvious that Blake had a rare passion for his job and customer service excellence. The cost compared to others was not only competitive but actually beat many we considered. Having 40 years of executive-level management expertise, I would have hired and promoted this young man to coach and lead my team of 900 associates and a budget of $45M, any day of the week.

Secured a truck to move our son to be picked up at Home Depot in Oviedo, FL. Got a call o our two hour drive there saying truck was gone, then another call saying we were good to go. Literally walking into the HD and they called again saying truck was rented for an “emergency”. What kind of emergency requires a box truck? Human trafficking? Complete bullcrap and left us with no truck to move our son. Talk about an EMERGENCY. U-Haul to the rescue, not sure why we didn’t start with them to begin with. Penske won’t get another penny of my money. Garbage service and business practice!