Recommendation

Caution

Overall Summary

Suspicious

Why we think so

Carrentals.com is a website offering car rental bookings at over 29,000 locations worldwide, mainly serving the United States. It runs on established infrastructure from Amazon and Akamai and attracts approximately 226,000 monthly visitors. The domain is registered with CSC Corporate Domains, Inc., created over 28 years ago, and holds a registered trademark for the brand. While technically sound and secure, customer feedback is overwhelmingly negative, citing issues like refund denials, hidden fees, poor customer service, and bait-and-switch pricing. The site operates as a broker connected with third-party rental providers, which leads to frequent disputes and unresolved complaints. No major lawsuits are reported, but many customers report unresolved disputes through BBB and review sites. Users are advised to exercise caution and consider booking directly with rental companies.

Confidence Score

68%

Risk Insights

✅

Established Brand with Trademark

Registered US trademark since 2017

Corporate domain registration over 28 years old

Consistent brand and domain identity

⚠️

High Volume of Customer Complaints

Widespread refund and service issues reported

Low ratings on BBB and Sitejabber (1.3 stars)

Common problem areas: fees, cancellations, support

🛡️

No Safety or Blacklist Flags

No Google Safe Browsing or scam blacklist matches

SSL certificates valid and up-to-date

Infrastructure uses reputable CDNs and servers

Contradictory Signals

Although the business identity is legitimate, operational issues significantly impact user trust.

Signal A: Long-established domain and brand with trademark

Signal B: Strong negative customer reviews and complaint volume

Category Scores

Identity 85/100

Reputation 35/100

Technical 85/100

Content 70/100

Legal 60/100

Business Validity 65/100

Red Flags & Warnings

Numerous unresolved customer complaints about refund and cancellation disputes.
Reports of bait-and-switch pricing and hidden additional fees.
Poor customer service with reports of unresponsive support and extended wait times.

🔎 Detailed Checks & Analysis

Domain and Technical Infrastructure

Score: 85/100

Passed

"The site uses SSL valid through 2026, multiple CDN providers, and standard web technologies that suggest a serious setup."

Reason: Domain is long-standing, securely hosted on Amazon and Akamai, with reputable tech stack and moderate traffic.

Customer Trust and Reputation

Score: 30/100

Failed

"Highly negative ratings on BBB and Sitejabber indicate poor trust despite the site's technical legitimacy."

Reason: Widespread negative reviews highlight serious issues with refunds, hidden fees, and customer service.

Legal and Brand Validity

Score: 75/100

Passed

"No major lawsuits found, but dispute resolution policies require arbitration, showing standard corporate practices."

Reason: The brand is protected by a registered U.S. trademark, and the domain ownership is consistent with corporate registration.

Safety and Scam Blacklists

Score: 90/100

Passed

"The domain and infrastructure shows clean safety signals with no active blacklisting."

Reason: No indications of phishing or blacklisting on Google Safe Browsing or crypto scam databases.

Business Contact and Transparency

Score: 70/100

Passed

"Presence on social media and business registration details increase apparent legitimacy despite service issues."

Reason: Contact emails and phone numbers are available but mixed with different sources; some support links are external.

Traffic and Market Presence

Score: 75/100

Passed

"Market presence is solid but global rank is moderate; no major competitors listed as direct threats."

Reason: Over 225,000 monthly visits with primarily U.S. traffic and high search visibility in car rental category.

Your Next Steps

1

Consider booking directly with car rental providers to avoid potential disputes.
2

Review all terms carefully before payment, especially regarding cancellations and insurance fees.
3

Use credit cards with good fraud protection when paying online.
4

Check recent user reviews on trusted platforms to assess current service status.
5

If issues arise, attempt dispute resolution through official channels like BBB or credit card companies.

Evidence & Citations

Carrentals.com customer complaints and reviews on BBB and Sitejabber
Extensive customer complaints about refund denials and poor service detected.
US Trademark registration for CARRRENTALS.COM
Verified registration confirming brand legitimacy.
Domain registration and SSL details for carrentals.com
Domain aging over 28 years with valid secure certificate.

🕵🏻 Keep investigating

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