This was my first international car rental, and I lacked experience. At the store, the staff said the model I booked wasn't available. They should have upgraded us for free to a larger model, but the staff insisted we pay more. They didn't explain properly that the extra payment was in addition to the original rental fee. After communicating with the rental company, we paid for one day of the upgrade and then swapped the car at the airport the next day. Overall, Dollar is a small company with tricky staff, and I avoided them for future rentals.

This is my third time renting a car in the US, always from Dollar. The first two times were through the Dollar UK website, and this time through QEEQ. Service is the same, no difference. Standard American car rental service. Car rental at San Francisco airport should be the standard for the US: there's a rail shuttle to the car rental building. It's more convenient than Los Angeles and Chicago. The Ford Escape seems to have a turbo engine, good on flat roads, but uncomfortable on mountain roads due to intermittent turbo engagement. I had to switch to S mode. Gas is really cheap in the US. I drove about 3000 km, costing roughly 0.6 RMB per km. In China, driving a RAV4 costs about 0.8 to 0.9 RMB per km. I used 87 octane gas, the cheapest one.

The service was acceptable, but the line was too long, and the process was too slow. It took almost an hour to pick up the car.

There's a quick rail system from San Francisco airport to the car rental point, which is very convenient. However, the car return location at Los Angeles airport was changed and there was no notification, so it was impossible to find the place based on the address given in the order.

I opted for full-to-full fuel and refueled within 5 miles before returning the car, paying cash to fill up the tank. When returning, I provided the fuel receipt, and the inspection person used a scanner, issuing a slip indicating fuel level 3 out of 8 and a total of -181 USD. I found out after I returned home that they claimed I didn't fully refuel the tank, as it was only three-eighths full. Since it was my first time renting a car and my English isn't great, I asked if I didn't need to pay anything and if the money would be refunded to my credit card. The person said yes, so I didn't keep the receipt. In the end, I discovered that 181 USD had been charged to my credit card.