Kyte - Rental Cars Delivered Reviews

Had a terrible experience picking up my this app in LA. I was slightly outside the service area so got my car delivered to a spot inside the service area at 8 am. Then I got a text from this app saying my car would be a half hour early so I got there at 7:15 am. Instead my car was almost two hours late. This coupled with a near dead phone and no way to charge it made for a very stressful experience where I was almost stranded in LA, an intimidating city that I just arrived in for work. I did get my car eventually, and it seems fine, but for an hour there I thought I had fallen for some elaborate car rental scam and was near tears because I had to get to my job, I was in an unfamiliar place, and my phone was dying. Meanwhile, there was no communication from this app or the person delivering the car and when I called and texted I would get a message saying that all their customer service people were busy. They also double charged me the $500 one-time service fee for the car and the website is really wonky. Unfortunately, this app is still one of the better options for long-term, low commitment rentals, especially right now when traditional rental and Uber prices are through the roof due to shortages and covid. I just wish the service had been more professional.

I’ve used this app several times now. The service is very unreliable. Occasionally they are on time. Usually they are not. Occasionally they keep you updated on your pickup or drop-off logistics. Usually they do not. When they miss their schedule, it’s inevitably because of an ‘emergency’ with a Surfer. ‘My Surfer had an emergency’ is now a running joke for me and my friends. I would never use this app on a business trip, but they are fine for a weekend rental to run some errands, e.g., if you are someone who doesn’t own a car. Despite these problems, this app is a good idea and a new service that is currently in its inexpensive ‘honeymoon’ phase. As such I’m sure their investors will pour a ton of money into this app over the next few years to try to make a go of it. In the long run, unless Surfers are paid absolute peanuts, I cannot see how it can possibly be cheaper to have a car dropped off and picked up at your doorstep vs you providing the labor associated with going to a rental counter. But perhaps in wealthier cities where people will pay a premium to avoid the rental counter, this app can carve out a niche. For the average person, at least this app provides an inexpensive alternative while they are in their growth phase and discounting to build a customer base.

I’ve had some terrible experiences with renting cars, in particular I remember waiting in line at Avis for about an hour when trying to pick up a car in Maui that I had already paid for. And at the Seattle airport where the person renting me the car charged without my permission extra insurance. And since I signed it, I didn’t have any recourse thru my credit card company. Anyways, using the this app app reminded me of how it felt to use Uber back in 2009, when it was new and the alternative was just taxis. It was life changing. Now I don’t rent cars that often, so I’ll save the hyperbole, but this is soo much better than the current opinions. I just wish they were in more cities.

I was super nervous scheduling this rental because I live in Manhattan with nowhere to easily park and was scheduling around flights that I couldn’t miss, but my pickup and dropoff contacts both arrived ~30 min early and waited for me to meet them. They definitely can’t guarantee an exact time to meet but if you have some time padding on each side this service is great, and on weekdays way cheaper than a standard rental. Zero complaints, my first trip was so smooth! As a note: they’re only supposed to wait up to five minutes *after* your scheduled time so pad early rather than late. They’ll wait if they’re early but not if you’re late

Was really excited about the concept for this because i live in a city and renting a car is such a difficult process. But ended up extremely disappointed.

It came time for the car to be delivered and i got a notification that they were experiencing a delay with the car and i would be updated with an ETA. I waited 30-45 minutes, still no update. I looked for a number to call and couldn’t find one so I started a chat in Kyte . All they could tell me was “we are waiting for the car”. At this point the car was an hour late and we were going to miss our reservations at the destination. Eventually they cancelled with no update on the car... I don’t think they ever even had a car available. I had to rebook last minute with getaround, which was over twice the price and inconvenient to get to.

Needless to say I was extremely disappointed and won’t be using this app again.

I never write reviews but I wanted to write one for this app because I had such a great experience.
1) The folks picking up the car and delivering were incredibly friendly and kind.
2) The folks managing the chat/help were incredibly accommodating and kind. They offered to change locations to better support me and I didn’t even ask.
3) Its a very simple and easy process.
4) It was my last bet because I could not find a car anywhere. And it wasn’t too expensive.

DO NOT USE. This is an unprofessional and uncommunicative company.

I booked a car for a quick trip and nowhere on the website was it clearly communicated that you have to be over 25 to rent. When you book, they don't even ask for your age, and nothing pops up to remind you that you can't rent if you're under 25.

Normally, for a relatively new startup, and especially in the car rental industry, I would be more understanding about this sort of issue. But the frustrating thing is that immediately AFTER I booked it, I got a message that casually mentioned that you can’t rent if you aren’t 25. (They completely neglected to state this earlier in the process).

Naturally, I went ahead and cancelled it, probably less than a minute after making the original reservation. Two months later and I’m still trying to get my money back. this app has been completely unresponsive.

Extremely disappointed in this huge flaw, especially for a company that is trying to brand itself to young people. Now I’m out $300 and, judging by how this app has behaved with this issue, I would never trust them enough to rent a car from them in the future.

BF and I were all set to head out to Palm Springs for a week. That morning, I received two messages asking if I could accommodate my car at a different time than originally scheduled. The exact wording was “If not, just let us know”. So I declined both requests. I figured it was no big deal. Then, moments before our rental was supposed to arrive, they wrote again saying they were experiencing “major issues” at their lot and would have to cancel our car. No phone call from a human or anything! They offered a refund but now I had to book another car and I didn’t get my charge back for two more days. So irritating. They offered a $50 store credit but no thanks! Never using again.

Thank you for such an easy and convenient car rental.❤️ Loved the whole experience. Great car. Arrived clean and ready for an adventure. Service was great. Staff friendly. App is easy to operate. Very user friendly.

Regarding Kyte , it would be nice to send our surfers direct messages so that things can be smoother. Our hotel valet wanted to hand over the keys since you are a newer company and he wanted to gain some experience for future interactions. My surfer called me and I was able to tell him the valets name. If I could have sent that name and image earlier he could have walked straight to the valet without pause.
That is my only suggestion.

Hope you use your company again someday ❤️ I highly recommend!

Dig the concept, not the execution. Driver was late… but there is minimal direct contact, so we sat in a hotel lobby waiting… and waiting between texts. Finally, a new “surfer” was sent and arrived 2 hours late along with a reminder that we’d have only a 5 minute window to meet them or lose the car. Ummm… some irony there.

Was told we’d get a $20 credit but not until our NEXT booking. Meh. Next booking? Would have preferred an on-time car so we wouldn’t have missed our reservations in the first place.

Sometimes, you need faster, more direct communication when there’s a problem with a service.

Dropped from 3 to 2 stars because surfer was late picking up the car too and said “good thing I noticed this just now, nobody else was scheduled to pick it up.”

You’ll probably pay less and dig the convenience… just be aware of other possible/probable hassles.

We’ll see if we ever use that credit we allegedly got…

I saw Kyte and thought it sounded amazing. I booked a car and got my confirmation email. The home screen showed my upcoming reservation so I assumed all was good. So today I’m waiting to get my car delivered and it hasn’t arrived . I click on the char button where it says there was an issue and my reservation was canceled. I was more than confused at this point as I never had a cancellation email or even a push notification for chat. I called the number and it’s a free google voice number. This really does not seem like a well run organization and chat support could have cared less that they left me scrambling to find another car in SF on Xmas Eve. I’ll stick with apps like Turo or even a more established rental company.

I traveled 3,000 miles for a work conference and by the time I got to my destination they informed me they were canceling my rental because of their idiotic facial recognition ID verification. My ID is 100% valid and the pictures I took look exactly like my ID picture. I called their customer service and they basically told me they don’t care. They don’t have the ability to manually override their ID verification software. This is why we can’t rely on technology, we always need the ability for a human to manually override its decisions. Now I will most likely miss the conference, which will likely cost me dearly in my career. Thanks a lot this app, what a joke.

Booked a car to travel for my stepfather’s memorial service. When my driver was late i reached out to this app via Kyte there was no response for almost two hours. At which time they informed me that my car would be at least another hour late “due to over booking” but they would be app to offer me a $20 “this app credit” as an apology. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I am missing my step father’s memorial service because of YOUR poor planning & you think I’m ever going to use your service again?!?!? Absolutely not. They are unprofessional and uncommunicative. Please do not fall for their marketing. Take your business else where.

this app got all the little things right. When I first got my car, I was in a rush, my phone was nearly dead, and I was running late. When I got in, there was a phone charger and holder waiting in the dash for me. When I got home from my trip, I completely forgot to refill the car with gas. Turns out, you don't even need to do that with this app! They refill the tank and don't charge any surcharges or fees. I had a great experience!

We choose to live car-free in LA (for environmental reasons) but still love to get away every few weeks and having a rental company that delivers and picks up and refuels for you is a dream come true! It takes all the hassle out of renting a car. I’m a big fan and will continue to use this app for all my future bookings! Plus, their rates are incredible value for money. Unbeatable, really!

when i initially found out about this app, i was struck that something like this existed. the vehicle was clean, gas was full and it arrived on time. the vehicle was fully loaded and provided an amazing experience for me.

the real experience - i was super late for my flight and had to keep postponing the pick up time. this app was able to accommodate me and allowed me to drop off at a later time. while running late, i spoke to the general manager, ansell and asked if he could drop me off at the airport, without hesitation, he said he would. this alone solidified the trust i have in this app and hope to see them excel. will be using them again for the greater future.

Rented a car with Kyte for a surf trip over the weekend. Awesome service, the person who brought the car was very friendly and attentive with all my questions about the car. Also, support service was on top of everything when issues with my international driver’s license arose. The car was splendid, clean, without damages or odor.
Overall great convenient service, recommended 100%.

This was the best rental car experience I ever had. I ordered the car a day before and the surfer was at my door the next day! The car was super clean and it was incredible convenient not to have to wait at a rental car station. Planning a trip is now so much easier and time efficient! Thank you for this amazing experience. Just completed my next booking.

I had an awesome experience with this app. Their customer service is so on point. It's rare to receive any customer service in this world today. I'd like to point out that my surfer Jose and Andrea that helped me through your chat were both so awesome. Thanks again for a positive car rental experience.

So many things have already gone wrong (glitches in trying to book, no response of approval of proof of identity docs, can’t use Kyte to modify trip, in app chat receives no response, early car arrival predicted) and I haven’t even received the car yet. This company is too new (at least in my area) and there are way to many technical issues and poor customer service. Don’t risk being one of the few that has a good experience. Try Turo or pay a little more for a professional company. Wanted to support and love this but just can’t.

We choose to live car-free in LA (for environmental reasons) but still love to get away every few weeks and having a rental company that delivers and picks up and refuels for you is a dream come true! It takes all the hassle out of renting a car. I’m a big fan and will continue to use this app for all my future bookings! Plus, their rates are incredible value for money. Unbeatable, really!

I love this app! Will never go back to traditional car rental. this app delivers the car right to me, instead of having to go downtown to wait in line for 20 mins. Have used Kyte a bunch during COVID and it’s so easy/ way better. Also it’s all automated so I don’t have to sign 80 paper forms, make driver license copies, etc. Thanks this app!!