Matcar Rental
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Mat is reputable but be careful
After reading the reviews here I rented a car from them at Istanbul SG airport. I was a little concerned because they pushed very hard to buy their insurance which was covered by my credit card and then they said my credit card insurance would not be applicable which is not true because my credit card ensures me Not the rental company. After talking to the boss they decided to accept my credit card so be a little careful about this and understand whether you are covered by your own insurance. The car was somewhat damaged but I took extensive photos, more than they did, and it was a good thing I did. One photo showed the license plate frame was broken but I didn't notice since I thought the license plate was fixed to the car, not just the frame. Two days later in one town with a bumpy road the license plate fell out and I saw that the frame was broken and the hotel people were very nice and looked around town for the license plate but couldn't find it. So I went to the police and they were very nice, finally calling the rental company, confirming with traffic police and then telling me to continue my trip that it was not a big problem. I was questioned by traffic police about seven times during my one month trip but they let me proceed understanding I was just a tourist and not really responsible for the ownership of the car. But it made me a little bit concerned every time I was stopped by the police at checkpoints. When I returned the car they noticed the number plate was gone and they told me to pay for it which I refused because I had a photo showing the frame was damaged before I got in the car. They claimed my photo was not correct and that nobody had ever contacted the company which was not true and so I insisted to talk with the manager. Finally it became an issue that they did not want to talk to the manager so they agreed not to charge me for the license plate which obviously was completely their problem. I also had to change the battery in the remote key since it ran out of power on my second day as well, luckily when the door was unlocked so I was able to get in and drive the car someplace I could get a new battery. So, summing up, this company did not charge a deposit which would've been a more serious discussion if they insisted on keeping some of the deposit money to pay for the license plate. They also didn't want to bother checking with management about the problem so the car rental was not expensive. But I will say about the service it is definitely not five star in attitude which was a little disconcerting. But it didn't cost me any money. The car had some damage Which bothered me a little bit because this indicates they are not really all that good about taking care of details. But I got through my trip and for the price I paid I guess you just have to put up with the small issues. I encourage anybody if they are renting a car to take extremely extensive photos before even getting in the car, many more than even I took. In some countries I have had problems with rental companies claiming I damaged the car or motorcycle which was not true and in the end having to pay some money to a very disreputable company. But I think in the end Mat is a reputable company and I would rent from them again but I would be much more careful about previous damage done to the car and checking a little bit more carefully. One thing I did not like and I really resent from rental car companies, when I got in the car there was only enough gas to get to a local gas station. When I returned the car it was almost half full which was my bad calculation. And of course the rental company made money from that since they could use that gas. This is a trick that many rental companies use just to make a little bit of money and I find very distasteful.