Customer Service Manager, I'm writing today to bring to your attention the issues I experienced this past weekend regarding the rental car procured through Thrifty. (Confirmation/Case/Rental Record # 148071442) and to request reimbursement. On Wednesday, September 1, I arrived at the San Francisco Airport rental car center just after 12pm, observing virtually no lines at any rental agency with the exception of Thrifty/Dollar. The line at Thrifty/Dollar was approximately 40 people deep, and there were just two customer service representatives behind the desk. As I waited in line (not moving more than a few feet every 10-15 minutes), the line behind me grew significantly. One more customer service representative appeared, making it a total of three representatives helping 60+ individuals with their reservations. Having made my reservation six weeks ago, I was appalled at having to stand in line for over 90 minutes to pick up the car. I was assigned a 2020 Nissan Altima and finally left the airport to proceed in my trip. Not long thereafter, I was driving across the Bay Bridge amongst very busy traffic moving at speeds of at least 60 miles per hour, and on the Nissan's dashboard a red light began flashing as though there was a car directly in front of me that I was in danger of hitting. There were no cars ahead of me for at least four car lengths, but the Nissan's emergency system took over and braked, stalling the engine, and taking the car down to approximately 35 miles per hour, causing the cars around me to slam on their brakes. This could have caused a major accident on the bridge and was extremely terrifying to both me, and my travel companion. This continued to happen - at least four times - as I navigated to the far right lane (there is no shoulder on which to pull over on the Bay Bridge) where I proceeded to drive slowly until I could exit the freeway and make my way to my destination using city streets at slower speeds. At this point, the dashboard displayed an error message (which you can see in the attached photograph—or if no image can be attached can be provided upon request) that stated: “Forward Driving Aids Temporarily Disabled / Front Sensor Blocked / See Owner’s Manual” of which there was none. As if all of this were not bad enough, I proceeded to call Thrifty customer service when I arrived at my destination (around 4:30pm) to request a replacement car. After over an hour on hold, the representative first indicated that I would need to return to SFO, which was absolutely not an option, being more than an hour away. They then indicated that I would need to make my way to Oakland Airport to obtain a replacement car. I explained that this was also not an option, as it was 40 minutes in the wrong direction, and that I had important events that I needed to attend that evening (starting at 5:30pm). By looking at a map of the local area, I discovered that there was a Hertz rental office just a few miles from where I was, so suggested that a replacement vehicle be made available there. The customer service representative I was speaking with indicated that an "equivalent vehicle" may not be available at that location. At this point, Thrifty's main priority should have been getting the unsafe, malfunctioning vehicle off the road and putting me into a safe car - regardless of whether it was an equivalent vehicle or not! After spending well over 2 1/2 hours on the phone - much of which was on hold and which cut into an important dinner - I was finally informed that someone would be coming to collect the malfunctioning and dangerous vehicle, and that they would drop off a replacement. I received a text indicating that AAA would be there in an hour to pick up the car (text also available upon request). I was finally able to attend the dinner, later returning to the home I was staying at, only to find that the Nissan was still there. It had not been towed, nor had a replacement been provided. Furthermore, I had not received any updates as to the status of either action. It wasn't until 9:30pm that I received a call from AAA informing me that they were unable to tow the car. So, after wasting more than four hours of my day -- waiting in line for over 90 minutes to get the car to begin with, and being on a call with Thrifty customer service for over 2 1/2 hours -- I still had no solution to the issue, which is totally unacceptable. At that time in the evening, I realized that there was no option but to wait until the morning to try and get this resolved. At 8:30am the following day (Thursday, September 2) I began calling customer service again. I was put on hold for an extremely long period of time, and finally had to have my travel companion take over so that I could get ready for the day ahead. By the time she was able to speak with a manager it was close to 10am, and we had less than two hours to get to an appointment that was an hour away. She again asked to have me go to one of the airport to pick up another car, which would have made us hours late for our appointment, and which she reiterated was not an option. She was also told that the local rental offices may not have an equivalent vehicle available, to which she responded that it was Thrifty's responsibility to put us in a safe vehicle regardless of the type of car. The customer service representative was finally able to procure a replacement car at the Hertz location just a few miles from where we were located. While this ensured that we were able to make our appointment almost on time, it is worth noting that the replacement automobile (also a white 2020 Nissan Altima) was filthy inside and out, the gas tank was less than 3/4 full, and the brakes on the car squeaked and squealed constantly. I can't say that we felt safe driving it, but there was little choice at this point. I'm appalled at the entirety of my dealings with Thrifty. In total, I spent more than 7 hours of my time dealing with this issue, which should have been treated as a major risk/liability to your organization. It is unfathomable to me that this would not have been immediately escalated and resolved. Out of respect for the danger my travel companion and I were put in, as well as the amount of time we spent getting this resolved, I'm requesting a refund of the rental fees paid. I appreciate your timely response. Sincerely, Jesse Brodkey