Biggest Factor Driving Car Rental Satisfaction

by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Wed October 7, 2026

Being able to choose a preferred rental car is one of the biggest factors in car rental satisfaction, according to this year’s JD Power North America Rental Car Study.

The study, released today, found that customer satisfaction increases 18 points on a 1,000-point scale when they can choose which car they’d like to rent, and increases 10 points when their reserved vehicle class is available.

This isn’t too surprising, since freedom of choice and flexibility are major contributors to overall satisfaction when traveling. Whether travelers want a certain type of car, a specific brand, or other factors, it’s clear they’re happier when they can choose what they want at the rental car lot.

Rental car companies seem to be taking note: 90% of travelers said the vehicle class they reserved was available when they arrived at the rental car station, up 3% year over year. Eighty-five percent of travelers also said they were able to choose a specific vehicle, up 5%.

"The ability of rental car companies to deliver on customers' specific vehicle preferences is an important part of the overall rental experience, and when the reserved class of vehicle is not available, the overall satisfaction score falls by 111 points, " said Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at JD Power.

"On the whole, the industry is getting better at delivering on this level of vehicle-specific customer preference, with 90% of customers now indicating they received a vehicle in the class they reserved and 85% indicating they were able to choose a specific vehicle from the lot—both of which are improvements over last year."

The Rental Car Companies With the Highest Satisfaction

The analytics company also analyzed overall customer satisfaction with North America’s major car rental companies, ranking them on a 1,000-point scale. Rankings are based on seven key factors: ease of renting a car, the pick-up and drop-off experience, trust, vehicle, staff, value and digital tools.

The analysis, conducted over a year from August 2025 to August 2026, asked nearly 8,000 business and leisure travelers who rented a vehicle from an airport rental car location for their answers.

The one with the happiest customers? Enterprise led with 739 out of 1,000. National followed close behind with 726 points, while Advantage Rent A Car received 717, earning third place.

The rest of the rankings are as follows: