Kyte - Rental cars, your way.

Rented from Kyte for my first time on Presidents’ Day weekend out of Hoboken NJ. I live in Brooklyn and took the train in to avoid the mess that is City traffic and the holland tunnel. Car was delivered on time and the delivery dude, Washington, called me ahead to confirm timing. I got there 5 mins early and all was well with pickup. Rented a like new Audi with 4WD for a snowy upstate trip. Car performed beautifully. On the drive back I decided to change my drop off location to Brooklyn and extend the time of drop off an hour to accommodate for traffic. Within the chat function of the app my customer service agent a was able to do both. There were fees associated with both, which were worth paying for the convenience. Overall 9.5/10, with normal car rental being a solid 3/10 experience. Only suggestion is to work on the delivery pickup experience. I got a notification that my driver was 30 minutes early which made me rush to meet them, but the eta changed to 10 minutes early and it worked out. A 10 min window is a tight timeline if you are also traveling to the pickup location. I know they have designated lots with a wider pickup window to but getting there requires a car. Designated parking spots in a few convenient locations a la ZipCar would be an nice experience.

The pick up and drop off were great as always! On time, friendly, and professional! The car was clean. Both times the gas was left just under full, which was no problem and the car drove fine. However, this is the second time I rented the luxury SUV, which is an Audi. The car drives great I had no problems with it but, the moment I got in the car I had two notices – one was that there was no windshield wiper fluid and the other was that the car was due for oil change in service. Normally not a big deal, but the first time was at the start of a two week long rental, and the second time was at the start of a week long rental of the Audi. During both of the rental I was short to drive over 1000 miles. I am not sure if delaying service for that number of miles is a big deal for a car like an Audi. Not having wiper fluid though is a safety issue. For the cost of the luxury SUV rental I would expect that both things would be managed so this notice wouldn’t appear immediately at the start of a rental and only once but twice. I would ask Kyte if you would change your protocol in preparing cars to address these issues before you drop off the car to your renters. It is confusing to me that you have such an easily preventable safety issue put your drivers and renters at risk when the rest of your service is really incredible. Thanks in advance for reading my review.

Normally I would give Kyte 5 stars, but today was awful. I’m a loyal Kyte customer as I rent a car at least once a month from them. Today the car that was delivered had a 2 months registration expiration. I immediately contacted customer service ( it said that they respond within 10 min) almost 25 min later they asked for a picture of the license plate. I sent that in. Another 20 min goes by before they respond that they had informed the ground team and would let me know. They then closed the chat and said they would open an email thread which never happened. I messaged again and got a new person. They did send the email thread and said they were waiting for an update. 2.5hrs later I was informed to drive the car and if I got a ticket they would cover it. I responded saying, your telling me to drive illegally, is that correct? No response after. Never did get an answer on if that was the resolution. Great service, but awful customer service!

I rented a car two months ago for a family reunion out of state. The pick up instructions for the car required me to take the metro to a confusing, not kid-friendly location. We arrived late due to unforeseen airline delays. Although we were able to give notice, we were still charged a late fee. The rental was fine, but we were not happy with the cleanliness of the vehicle. It was also low to the ground which was not ideal. On the way back, the app notified us that the driver had arrived but they didn’t arrive until over half an hour later. Luckily, we arrived with enough time to make our flight. Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem but we were traveling with a child and the drop off location wasn’t kid-friendly either and was very confusing. Fast forward to two months after our car was returned, I receive an email that I owed money for a traffic violation. Looking at the citation, the original charge was $100. I wasn’t notified until yesterday. The ticket included another $100 fine as a late fee, but the charge on my credit card was $235. I contacted customer service stating that I would not pay the late fee or additional charge because I was never notified of the initial fine. I got a response that the charges were valid and now they’re pending on my card. I would not recommend Kyte for families or travelers who are flying. The major car rental companies at the airport are far more convenient and have better customer service.

Had a terrible experience picking up my Kyte 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 Kyte 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 Kyte 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, Kyte 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.

Everything about this app was great, but then when issues arose I felt left stranded by their support. First I tried to extend a rental and they said no because they’re fully booked. Naturally I went to a separate account to try and book a car for the time frame that I needed, to see if it would say their are cars available. There were 7 available. The support was pretty stern when he said no, but then acted nonchalant and brushed it off when I sent him screenshots showing available cars. Mind you I had already drove back 2 hours because he said no and I thought I would have to return it because “their weren’t any available” Whatever. They extend it. Then, I was charged a smoking fee even though I didn’t smoke, I was sent fabricated evidence of stuff in the car I had never seen. (I took a video upon return of the car which showed that stuff wasn’t there) after a chain of 10-15 emails that seemed like I was in court they refunded me with no offer for compensation after “their investigation was over” and turned up nothing. Upon asking they said they’d give me $30 towards my next rental. I spent $700 on the premium rental. Wasted a whole day arguing with support, was overcharged, then offered $30. MAKE SURE YOU DOCUMENT INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THOROUGHLY BEFORE RETURNING CARS. I would’ve been screwed had I not had the video.

This company may look cheap but you’ll end up paying more. Zero customer service. Car rental was $35 per day but in order to extend it by one day they wanted additional $120 which forced me to come back driving at night. I was charged for cleaning fees for normal usage $100. Literally for crumbs they found under the foot mat. I can’t even tell if it’s mine or the previous passenger because who bothers taking pictures of the car under the foot mat before they rent a car. Literally, I had a bad feeling that they would pull up something so I took really good videos of the actual car that even show the seats were clean and we’re made dirty by their employees. But they’re asking me if I had footage of the place where you put your feet under the mat???? Normal companies would be embarrassed to charge you for that. I’m not a dirty person, but let’s say that if you rent a car for a week and use it non stop then car will have some minor sand/grass in it. I rented a car dozens of times in my life and was never ever ever charged for cleaning fee. This is an embarrassment to the company. They’re telling you not to fuel that they will do it for you, but forget to mention the rates is 30% higher. They don’t even have 24 seven customer service. Even if it’s cheaper, it ends up being more expensive. Do not trust this company with your credit card.

I’ve used Kyte 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 Kyte 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, Kyte 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 Kyte 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, Kyte can carve out a niche. For the average person, at least Kyte provides an inexpensive alternative while they are in their growth phase and discounting to build a customer base.

Delivery to your location is great but not unique as you can get that from eg. Uber valet (in NYC) The other selling point is the cheaper price but the cheap price definitely comes with risks. I’ve used twice. 1st time, everything went as planned - no problem. 2nd time, we received notification that the surfer arrived but actually he wasn’t there. We WAITED 2 HOURS for the surfer to actually arrive. During which time the customer service just kept saying “we’ll let you know when he’s there”. Their surfer mgmt system is horrible and customer service adds no value, even when you ‘speak to a human’ (there’s no actual speaking, everything is through messages) it’s all just standardized responses. Basically this is a startup that’s trying to keep operating costs as low as possible and they’re cutting on customer experience… hoping their growth will come from new customers, and not caring about return customers. Also, both times the car was filthy (previous user’s trash still stuffed in the pockets), once the tank was only partially filled and a fuse box was broken, and likely the tire pressure was uneven as the car kept pulling to one side. Luckily we were using for short 1 hr drive; I would not have used if was for a longer one.

I recently rented a Kyte car at SEA. The instructions for navigating to the pickup location were good, but I got a little confused in the light rail station and had to ask how to get to S 176th St. Once I passed that hurdle, I got confused again as to the exact pick-up location. It ended up being a small, short-term, empty parking lot… directly across the street from a Hilton hotel. It would be helpful if the instruction cited its proximity to the Hilton, as it’s an obvious visual landmark, and perhaps included a photo. Another customer was waiting and was also confused whether he was in the right spot. The car was decent (Dodge Charger), similar in condition to other cars throughout the industry these days. The huge plus was in the cost savings. I saved about $400 for a 6-day rental as compared the the best deal I could find inside the airport. As long as you pay close attention to instructions, are willing to walk a little, and are able to arrive early / on-time for pick-up and return, you can save a bundle with Kyte. I highly recommend Kyte and will try to rent from them in the future if I travel to one of their locations.

Rented a car last minute to go visit my dying grandmother on her death bed picked up the car from the air port and not even an hour later the bottom panel of the car was scrapping against the ground. I contact customer service to change the car and they told me I couldn’t change it cause I had already driven out of an area they service. They then told me to take it to a mechanic pay out of pocket to fix it myself and then they were also going to charge my $500 deposit to my card based of what I told them………. So I had no choice but to take it to a mechanic since they can no longer help me. Keep in mind all of there customer service is from some 3rd world country so they have no concept of anything useful. Them mechanic told me the person must of got service don’t under the car and didn’t bold the panel back correctly causing to to fall off once rented to me. The mechanic fixed it free of charge for me but for some reason the still charged me my $500 deposit charged it before I even returned the car….. so not only did they rent me a damaged car I had to go repair it myself and then I got charged $500 for it.. I’ve been trying to contact them and nothing still to this day I call and they just hang up on me and no response to my emails. Scam company it’s safer to go with a legit rental car place.

Typical unprofessionalism in Post 2020 Business world. This one hurts. I adored this company and ordered cars with regularity. Today, without warning, i went to order my usual rental and suddenly i get a warning stating Kyte no longer services my area (Boston). Huh? I go on the site and the top market listed is BOSTON! I go on support chat figuring this must be an error. As I’ve said, i ordered close to a dozen cars this year alone. I waited on the chat, answered the (not) smart bot questions, wait another 15-20 for a human, answer their questions for another 30 mins only to be told my “address in Boston” is not part of coverage area for Boston. I’m legit in Boston and their silly map stops at my town suddenly. Without warning they removed my ability to order but accept orders a block away from me. Does that make sense? Whatever. It’s their (bad) business, not mine but no apologies, no concessionari offers (such as, “u can walk .25 miles away and pick it up”), no nothing. No accountability. Zero. Sadly, it seems another decent business concept has fallen victim to the pathetic service and “customer is never right” mentality that customers now get treated with from 3/4 of the business community in the post 2020 world. Sad and shameful. Don’t use this service. They’ll cut you off just when you start liking them.

My delivery service was impeccable, my car was precisely what I ordered and the driver arrived on time and was nice enough. The car was not clean, the bumper was damaged, and there were lots of scratches. In addition the vehicle smelled like someone had smoked in it. The car drove well and the gas mileage was good. Unfortunately my pick up service is now 90 minutes late because the Kyte App did not allow me to enter the correct address. I know now this address should have been a New York, New York address but the app forced it to be a Brooklyn address. There was no way to edit this. When I tried to update them via chat (the only option since there is no phone number listed anywhere) they told me I would be charged $25 for changing my pick up location. Their estimated time for a chat reply is approximately 25 minutes which is insane. I have now provided them the correct address several times in the last two hours and they apparently cannot find me at a Hilton property at the intersection of Water and Broad Streets in lower Manhattan while my kids wait in the hotel room. This is an amazing business model but Kyte is really going to have to figure out the operational side of things for this to be this success it could be.

Wasn’t sure what to expect but the booking process was easy, ended up being cheaper than going to a rental lot, and a lot more flexible with drop off/pick up hours. Got a car in good condition (didn’t know the exact make in advance) and didn’t have any auto problems for the 14 hours I drove it over the weekend. Was able to add an additional driver easily. Lose half a star because getting in touch to edit agenda was a little iffy — super easy the first time I needed to and I was able to successfully use the chat in the app, but the second time I tried to use the app, then texted, then called twice before someone was able to help me extend the trip in time for the deadline to make sure I wasn’t charged and a courier didn’t come too early. Got a text five hours later but I had already handled it over the phone. But customer service still better than expected in my experience. If you need to get in touch to edit a trip, definitely give some buffer time and call if the chat isn’t responsive.

I would recommend! I had to extend my trip a few times during my original trip, due to unexpected life situations, and the Kyte staff were very courteous and helpful. During one of my extensions it was a glitch in the system that day, and my debit card was charged numerous times for one trip, and the app also did not reflect the charges or the trip change. However my bank provided me with Kyte’s customer care number. I received no issues during the call. The representative was able to see the problem and it was fixed, along with me receiving my refund, as well as trip extension. I would also like to add that in addition to calling ( I prefer the phone then the reach out by app), however I was very impressed with utilizing the copilot on the app. It was just as helpful then speaking with an agent. Utilize this service, and see for yourself how easy and smooth the process truly is!!!

I’ve only used Kyte twice. The first time was great, easy hand off and return, our surfer was pleasant but I wasn’t the one directly dealing with it. Second time two years later was a nightmare. The first surfer who dropped it off was okay, the surfer who came to pick it up not so much. He walked by me without notifying the app that he’d arrived and was not looking for me, so I got to hear him blast music from his phone and watched him look the car over for a minute blowing vape mist and swearing to himself. He never introduced himself, never asked how the ride went, and was completely clueless when I asked him how the return process went. And I quote, “I don’t know, I’m just following the app’s directions”. Then he had the audacity to ask what my plans were for the rest of the day and suggested we go on a date. Mind you, I am a woman traveling alone, and now this weirdo knows where I’m staying. I cannot believe the kinds of people Kyte is hiring to deliver and retrieve cars. Absolutely not the kind of experience any professional company should be putting their customers through. I will never use Kyte again. Vet your people better.

My first and last use of Kyte and here is why. My flight was cancelled in DFW due to severe weather. As soon as they cancelled, I reached out to customer service to let them know and that I would not be able to pick up my car. When the flight got pushed back into the night, I reached out again, multiple times but was unsuccessful in reaching anyone. I got a call from my surfer that my car was delivered and I told her I was still in Dallas due to weather and was frustrated with the inability to access customer service and had repeatedly asked them to call me, that I had notified I would not be able to pick up car at least 3 hours prior and here it was being delivered. She was apologetic and reached out to them for me, assuring me I would receive a call. At that time I was unable to rebook, not knowing for certain when I would arrive in Denver. I was finally contacted by an agent hours later. After a lengthy exchange and refusal by customer service to call me, I rebooked for the next afternoon, only to be charged for not picking up on time even though I had notified and charged a second time for rescheduling. Bad, bad, bad. Better think twice before using this company.

I’ve used Kyte 20+ times to drive to CT from NYC. My car is always delivered on time (if not early) and someone is always waiting at the designated pick up time and place with no issues. The cars have always been in perfect condition and very clean. The prices are amazingly affordable. I have recommended Kyte to many friends who don’t have cars in NYC, but I wish I could keep this hidden gem all to myself! A few suggestions as the service continues to develop: 1) A weird quirk of the app is that you can have many cards on file, but you can only charge your default card. It’s caused some confusion for me since I’ll choose a different card to charge at checkout but my default is still charged. 2) If Kyte had a monthly membership in NYC that allowed members X numbers of days with a car per month for a fixed fee I would totally do that and could see it being a popular service in the city!

Recently was on the fence about who to rent a car from on my recent vacation to Florida. Looking at rental charges, it was upwards to $500 for 5 days after all was tallied up. Then I found Kyte and decided to take a chance. I was able to get to my Airbnb and relax after my arrival. I got Kyte and found that they deliver to your location. I set up my rental to be delivered at my Airbnb and set up the drop off to the airport. The drop off was about 15min from the airport which made me worry, but kyte offered a voucher for my Uber from the drop off to the airport. My delivery was a really nice 2022 Camery fully loaded. The drop off was on time and friendly and I was updated via text the whole time. Showed my license and took some pics, then I was off! Drove the car with the 1200 mile limit which was plenty! I had ZERO issues. Fueled the car up and got ready for drop off. Showed up early and my kyte rep was ready to go. Took about 3min to transfer over the car and my Uber was already there and ready to take us to the airport. Communication was constant and 100% effective. This whole rental cost me $198! If you add the fuel I spent to fill back up, about $235!!! I cannot recommend Kyte enough! They will be my go to rental service from now on. I strongly suggest you try them out! Made my vacation sooooo easy and the rental was absolutely affordable.

We have used Kyte for several years, since they first launched. The promise of convenient delivery and pick up sounds too good to be true, in the end there have been many hiccups along the way. The support is terrible now, run thru the Philippines and no way to get a proper live body to resolve issues as they arise. The straw that broke the camel’s back was my last rental, the delivery showed up with my vehicle, but it was my wife’s name on the contract instead of mine, after 45 minutes attempting to get this resolved, the delivery guy was forced to take the car back, and I was left hanging scrambling to rent a vehicle from someone else late for my business meeting. When I tried to remake a new booking, they said my drivers license failed verification, they were unable to give me more info but anyone with the brain could see that it was a valid drivers license. They won’t provide any information on why it won’t verify, but I can go over to Hertz and rent a vehicle with a drivers license and credit card no problem. In the end, I’m taking my business elsewhere. When something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Overall I had a positive experience with Kyte. I was hesitant to try it based on some negative reviews but it worked out well for me. The price was notably cheaper than any other car rental options and the pick-up/drop-off spots were more conveniently located for me (in NYC). The car was dropped off on time and it was clean with a full tank of gas. Both “surfers” were friendly and reliable. My only complaint and the reason to downgrade from 5 to 4 stars was that the app was challenging to use. I had a very hard time picking the desired location for pick-up/drop-off. Additionally I had some issues trying to sign the rental agreement with the app crashing. I also found the pricing to be frustrating because it ended up being quite a bit more expensive than the original view of the options. That said, all car rentals have fees and expenses added at the end of booking and this didn’t seem to be significantly worse.

I was a little nervous about this service due to some poor reviews so I want to share how it went for me. My car was in the shop and I needed to drive to Santa Fe from Denver for a week for a family reunion. I ordered the most basic car to my house the day of the trip. It arrived a few minutes late, no biggie though, and they let me know. It was a 22' Camry with all the bells and whistles including AWD and a full tank. They give you 300 miles a day which was a cumulative 2100 for the week. This was PLENTY to get me to Santa Fe and back as well as some sightseeing around the state. Gas mileage was excellent also. I drove home at the end of the week and the surfer picked it up on time. They refunded my deposit and I was charged 325 for the entire thing (this is including a ten for each surfer). Seriously couldn't have gone smoother and I will definitely be using this service again.

Upon arrival in Boston I discovered I’d lost my drivers license. In the course of trying to figure out what to do as the whole vacation was in jeopardy an airport employee told me about this new rental company called Kyte. Eventually, the DL was found and my other reservation had been canceled. After everything the airport guy said I decided to give Kyte a try. They were awesome. The rate was great and when I needed help or answers they were forthcoming. I got a brand new car in great shape, clean as a whistle, dropped off by a really courteous guy. I needed to change my pick up time and day and it happened almost instantly with no hassle. The guy that picked up the car was even cooler than the guy that dropped it off! I may never rent from another company again when I’m in a city where Kyte operates. Definitely a highlight and stress reliever for us this past weekend.

We had a trip planned for several months and the week before the car we were planning on borrowing fell through. We were already on a semi tight budget and had never rented a car before but were in a position where it was pretty much necessary. After looking at many options and running into obstacles involving price, distance, age restrictions/fee’s (we’re 21) we came across Kyte. Now, I’m not usually one to write reviews, this may even be my first one on the App Store but I was so pleasantly surprised with the price, service and overall ease I felt this company deserved some kudos. We ran into an issue with my parter having just renewed her license and only having a paper license while the photo card came in the mail but Kyte customer support was incredibly helpful and allowed us to upload her expired license + the temporary paper copy. The Kyte surfers that dropped off and picked up the car were punctual, polite and in great communication with us. The car was brand new and impeccably clean. We even had to push our 8:30 PM return to 9:30 PM at the last minute due to traffic and they promptly extended it without any additional fees. Overall, a wonderful experience for a previously intimidating process. We already have plans to rent another car through them next month for a weekend trip!

First time using Kyte and absolutely fell in love with the service, the concept and the affordability. Just WOW. I reserved a car from a traditional car rental company. Took 30+ minutes to have the shuttle take me from the airport to the car rental building. When I got there, I saw a long line that was barely moving. It was going to take another 30+ minute for me to get the car. Found out about Kyte when waiting for my rental car desperately. Reserved a car from Kyte. The surfer delivered the car within 5 minutes of the booked appt time. The hands off took 5 minute for me to get a car!!!! And even better!!!! I found out the Kyte reservation was almost 15% cheaper than the original reservation that I had with a traditional car rental company!!! Better price for exceptional service!!!! You gotta give this app a try!!!

I really don’t know where to begin. Moved to New York for a travel nursing contract. I left my car back in Oklahoma and planned on using public transportation for all my commutes. I notified I needed to travel 30 miles away for three days of continuing education classes. At first I thought my only options were an hour and a half ride on public transportation each way or several hundred dollars in Uber costs; then I came across KYTE. I download the app and from the moment I opened the app, to the low daily cost, to the delivery of the brand new Toyota Corolla, to the pick up of the car when finished…everything was PERFECT. They were even prompt I. The delivery and pick up times set. The guys who delivered and picked up the car were awesome. I can’t say enough about this company! Thank you for making a stressful situation a breeze!

We love this app. Prior to Kyte we would Uber out to LGA to rent from Budget because other pickup services were so much more expensive and the traditional car rental locations on Manhattan are double the airport prices. Kyte prices are competitive, the cars are clean and in good condition, but the real value proposition here is the the pickup and return service. We can work up until the moment we leave on a weekend trip Friday afternoon and the car is almost always a few minutes early, similarly the return service is prompt. The only challenge is getting home early and finding street parking, but recently was told can just leave keys with doorman and they will go get the vehicle. All around way better than traditional car rental experience for similar to lower total price. What a quality of life improvement!

We recently rented a car through Kyte’s Los Angeles airport location. We were very pleased with the cost savings, but there were some misunderstandings regarding the pick-up process. In making the reservation, we reserved for the time our airplane was arriving. First mistake. We didn’t take into account the time it would take to retrieve our luggage (much longer than anticipated). At Los Angeles airport, Kyte provides you with a voucher so you can take an Uber to their lot (smart, in my opinion). But the Uber driver was stuck in traffic trying to get to the airport. Again, we had to wait much longer than anticipated. By the time we arrived at the Kyte lot, our car had been given away. We were able to get a replacement car, which was not exactly what we were looking for, but it sufficed. So, advice to the first time renter, be proactive in communicating with Kyte if you’re running late (we did not realize there was a chat feature in the Kyte app). Advice to Kyte: advise airport renters to select a reservation time after arrival… and be proactive in reaching out to renters if we are running late. Kyte is a great concept, and overall we were very happy with our experience. We will be renting from Kyte again, but hopefully others can avoid the “learning curve” struggles we went through.

This was a stressing experience from the start, and our drop off turned into a nightmare. To start, the pickup might actually be a far from the airport, and we all know flights are delayed: if you are even a little outside the pickup/drop off window, they will either charge you or leave you high-and-dry. For the drop off, they left us high-and-dry: We arrived within the window at the train station, but it wasn’t the exact location the guy was…and he just said he could leave us “because of the contract”. And we couldn’t get the handoff “rescheduled” for 2 whole hours. The “urgent” customer phone line put me on hold for 30min before just telling me to hang up and try again. We rescheduled our flight and had to buy an additional last-minute hotel room. All because the handoff process is an incredibly bad customer experience. These “disrupting” services are such crap. Their workers are contractors and they don’t hire sufficient numbers. The chat support was just a chat-bot The text-based support responded super slowly if at all. Dropping your car off at a regular rental service at the airport is so much less risk and hassle if/when things don’t quite fit inside of a 10min window. It’s city driving. You only have so much control - due to accidents or sudden traffic. You know what’s easy? Driving your car to typical rental drop off location at the airport. This was the worst rental experience of my life, and that was a competitive category.

The best thing about Kyte is having a car delivered right to your door. In New York City especially, it’s a struggle to have to haul around luggage. Now we can just be ready at our building and not have to drag luggage through the streets. The car was clean and in good condition. No complaints there. My only negative is the lack of organization when it comes to receipts and charging. Having a single, clear, itemized receipt with final charges, tips, and tolls would be immensely helpful for both documenting and also making sure all charges are accurate. Fishing through multiple receipts AND “invoices” (not sure why they’re different) gets overly complicated. Also, the final charge on my credit card still hasn’t gone through and it’s been almost a week.

I have had nothing but positive experiences each time I’ve used Kyte to rent cars. The concept & operation in a nutshell is already fantastic — you’ll deliver me a rental car to the exact location I want it at the exact time I want it and then you’ll pick it up from the exact location I want to be rid of it when I want to be rid of it?!? — and then Kyte topped it off with fantastic people! The drop off and pick up “surfers” have always been super friendly, very professional, and a pleasure to work with. (Not that there is much “work” to be done, since I just hand them my driver’s license to snap a photo of and then use my finger to sign the contract on their phones!) We’ve used Kyte a bunch over the last year and will absolutely continue to. I highly recommend the company.

Had a second great experience with Kyte. I needed a car to drive to a funeral in NJ last minute. It was easy and quick to book a car on its app and pay. When the driver dropped off car in front of my building he called ahead to give me a heads up but also I had a window of time to meet in front of my place so I didn’t feel rushed. The exchange took 2 min. On the way back I scheduled for. 5pm pick up for the car but I arrived 2hrs early and I was lucky that the pick up driver came early so I didn’t have to wait around. The rental for the day was $47/day for a SUV but there’s a $40 fee for pickup/Return which is well worth $ spent as it saved me 2hrs of my time going to a rental place. All together it cost $91.

It’s a shame as I have some friends that are angels at Kyte and I’ve had a good experience in SF but my experience outside of SF was nothing short of a scam. My surfer took a side photo of the dashboard that showed gas was not at full (we had topped up 10mins prior to returning). Have the support team even heard of Parallax Error???? Furthermore, my surfer waited at a spot that had a lot of cars and red kerbs so I couldn’t stop there, and I stopped 50 ft in front good but couldn’t find him as a result. He subsequently charged a late fee for his own inability to literally look at the road. This is ridiculous. Additionally, I had a plane delay and had to change my pick up timing by 15mins. It was an additional $25 charge. I’d recommend using a traditional rental that is more upfront with costs and bot having to deal with surfers. I had to pay an additional $60 in fees and I would certainly have just used a traditional rental if I had known better. I have cancelled my upcoming booking back in SF and will stick to Turo and other traditional providers.

The app lures you to select a model with a price that later on is basically doubled once you finish the checkout. And that’s not even due to insurance or anything like that. It’s just that the price that is quoted next to the vehicle when you choose it doesn’t include anything - no taxes no fees — nothing. It’s completely irrelevant to the final price. It’s a nasty trick. Don’t waste your time. Go to other search engines that tell you the actual price that you pay rather than the fake price that the app quotes and then it turns out to be only half of the price that you actually have to pay. Really questionable ethics. Funny thing is, if you didn’t used to be that way. Kyte quoted you a price that was pretty close to your final check out price. Very disappointing. In addition, although Kyte maintains that cancellation is free, if it is within 48 hours of the rental. Starting date, it turns out that this is not the case either. Instead, you will get a credit and on top of it you have to pay a fee.

Needed a last minute rental car to travel back home and reluctantly decided to use this service I’ve never used before. BIG MISTAKE. I was on a strict deadline due to the fact I had to make a train leaving at a certain time. My reservation was originally scheduled for 8:30am. First they pushed it back to 10:30am (2 hrs after) without my authorization and then showed up late so I almost missed my train. Not only did they almost completely ruin my travel plans but when I modified my return time, they charged my card on top of the $1000 I already put down for a 3 day car rental. Getting ahold of customer service is a nightmare. When you finally get connected with an employee maybe after 20 min of waiting..they are extremely unhelpful and rude. They don’t issue refunds. Only credits. And when you try to use those credits they charge your card anyways or additional fees 😂 I literally never leave bad reviews but I felt it was necessary to inform people to steer clear of this company. Beware.

I’ll do my best to keep this short and concise. I received a citations while renting a Kyte vehicle in CO. (The ticket was for changing lanes on the freeway when I was not allowed to 😵‍💫 but that’s on CO, not Kyte.) We were not aware of this citation because it was sent directly to Kyte via mail. Kyte did not inform us of the citation until AFTER the payment deadline, causing our fine to double, then charged our credit card the doubled amount. I reached out to Kyte (only via email, I could not find a phone number) to explain the situation. It seemed fair that they only charge us the initial ticket amount (instead of the doubled price). After some back and they proved to be inflexible and not understanding of a reasonable request… we would pay the initial amount and Kyte covers the rest due to their lack in communication. No go. The rental experience was actually pretty good until this moment. However, we will not rent from Kyte again because of their rigidity in customer service.

I got to say, I thought something might seem fishy when I first saw this service pop up on my search lists when seeking an inexpensive car to rent in Fort Lauderdale... But to my surprise Kyte when on it every step of the way. I did speak to customer service at first, to ensure I understood what was up. After that, it was all smooth sailing and found that my trip kept getting extended and it was as easy as opening up the app and setting dates and location for pickup and drop offs. This is a service that really comes in handy when your not at an airport picking up and dropping off as they bring it to your door or wherever you are at. I'll be a future customer, for sure!

I’ve had two rental experiences with Kyte so far and both have been great. The pricing is cheaper than traditional car rentals. Avoiding an hour long wait in line at the rental location is a big plus. The cars were in good condition and clean. The Kyte drivers were professional and courteous. Just two minor bits of feedback 1 - It should be easier to inform Kyte that you are ready to return the rental car ahead of schedule. The only option I saw in the app was to phone the driver, but my call went to a voicemail that was never listened to/responded to 2 - the text and app notifications don’t seem to be aligned. Eg I received text messages that seemed to contradict the app notifications/info in app with respect to whether my driver was on the way, what their ETA was, etc

This app is worse than a traditional rental car service in every way. The app claims you have a 2 hour buffer to pick up your vehicle, but this is not true. If your flight is delayed, like mine was, they will make you pick up the car from a lot. Which is just a public parking garage. So I took a bus which took 45 min from the airport and then you’re supposed to text a number so they can bring the car up. I did this but still had to wait 15 min on the street while they pulled the car up. Then I see the car and it’s filthy. Not even attempted to be washed. The drop off was equally frustrating. We were arriving early and I couldn’t arrange for someone to come get the vehicle. I had to bring it back to the lot I picked it up from and take a $30 Uber to the airport. I complained in the app and they offered me a $30 credit and said they hoped I used Kyte again. I’ll never use this app again

So I rented a vehicle and I’ve had it for about 5 days now, I went ahead and tried to extend the vehicle and apparently I’m not able to even tho it’s a whole day in advance? Contacted support and they said it’s to be “nice” to new users. I have never seen such a practice. Why would you pre-rent out a car someone is currently using? What if something happened and they HAD to keep it, along with the “DYNAMIC” prices based on availability; I would just steer clear from this app; they hold onto your $300 deposit for far longer than other companies, when I went to pick up the car the surfer was lagging to get it all done when it should’ve been done before I got there since I already paid for the flipping car to be ready! This place is designed to look good and what not with the streamlined process, but it’s actually candy coated poison. RUN! CHOOSE ELSEWHERE! THIS COMPANY DOES NOT CARE ABOUT ITS CURRENT USERS. I WILL NOT BE COMING BACK OR SPEAKING GOOD OF THIS COMPANY IF ASKED ABOUT IT

My car is broke and I needed a rental car so I decided to try Kyte. Well I was nervous with the dropping off and returning timing service. The Kyte surfer was at my location 20 minutes before pick up and to return the car. Made me feel very settled to use the service he was very professional well dressed and answer any questions I needed to be answered. He even waited to find a parking spot right in front of my residence. So I don’t have to walk far in the morning for work. I live in the city of Philadelphia which is not easy to find or get parking. His name Charles and he did a outstanding job representing Kyte as a surfer. I thank him for his professionalism. I will be using Kyte again thank you.

I just had my first experience as a Kyte customer last weekend. Not only was the price better than the alternatives, the quality of the car and the seamlessness of using the app for booking and communication regarding delivery & pickup was ideal. The “surfer” (what they call the person who delivers and picks up the car) who dropped off and picked up the car was also quick and efficient. Because I was new to the service and had specific questions, I communicated with Kyte’s customer service and other company personnel who were all very helpful and pleasant to work with. Overall, will definitely choose Kyte over alternatives again next time I’m in need.

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 the app. 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 kyte again.

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 Kyte 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’ve used Kyte a half dozen times now in NYC. The convenience of delivery is great and the surfers have been mostly timely (I don’t love too far from one of the company’s Manhattan lots near 60th). Changing times has been smooth if there’s ample forewarning. However, the conscience and flexibility disappears at the two-hour line. A 15-return window with variable NYC traffic is a invitation for Kyte to begin accruing fees. What’s worse, when the surfer ditches, then I’m stuck with a vehicle in Manhattan with nowhere to park it until Kyte finds a new surfer. Hustling through every toll and not topping off the tank because I’m trying to compensate for traffic easily adds up to $100 extra for a rental. Sometimes, the cheaper rental price is a good trade off, but sometimes it’s a loss. It makes me almost want to go back to brick and mortar rentals.

Having a rental car brought right to your door? Never having to again deal with searching the internet through a bunch of semi-local car rental lots, trying to find one that isn’t sold out for your dates, and then taking an Uber all the way across town just to get to your car? Of course this is how I want to rent a car. The pricing is fine, absolutely in line with the competition. No added gas fees beyond cost (which is reasonably calculated) if you don’t bother to fill the tank up. So why wouldn’t you use Kyte every time? Why wouldn’t you want effortless pick up and drop off at your own home? I’m never going to another rental car lot again.

By not owning a vehicle I consistently reduce my carbon footprint by taking public transportation, riding my bike, or walking. But sometimes I “can’t get there from here” and need a car. Kyte makes it SO EASY for me to get a vehicle when I need it, by dropping off and picking up literally at my front door. I save on monthly car payments and garage fees, while still having the convenience of a car at my home whenever I need one. I’ve never had a problem with the drop off pickup, the cars are always clean and in good condition, and the “surfers” are professional and able to answer my questions. I can’t recommend Kyte enough! Save the planet and save your time - use Kyte!

I have used this service twice now for rental cars in NYC, a very premium market for cars and a notorious one for poor service, no-show cars, bait-and-switch tactics, etc. at local rental agencies. Versus standing on line for paperwork and to be upsold, or having to get to an airport for a better rate, it’s a godsend. I was nervous about entrusting an important leg of our vacation to this service, especially because of the high cancellation charge on short notice. But it worked out great both times. Dropoffs and pickups have been universally smooth - dude just hands me keys to a nice car and melts away into the city. The cars were clean and new, and even making a scheduling change was easy.

If I could give an absolute ZERO then I would ! At least with Enterprise or Budget or any of the other companies you know when they are charging and how they are charging. For starters this company charges a hefty $500 for debit card rentals. Then once they charge your deposit, it is not released until days later. Even if their system has an error you are still at fault and will have to wait until they release your funds which is whenever they feel like it. Then they have these “support” team members who are extremely rude and offer you no support and they have no corporate that can try to help you monitor the situation and fix it so then you are just stuck waiting for your money that you paid them that they ROBBED you for! This company needs to scrap its whole system and DO BETTER ! I am disgusted by the reaction that I received from someone who was supposed to be “ SUPPORT “ !

I just used Kyte for the first time and I won’t be using it again. When I was picking up the car, I got multiple notifications claiming that I would be able to track the location of my driver as I waited for them, but I was not able to. I had no idea what kind of car I was waiting for, license plate, etc. Nothing. I couldn’t communicate with the driver directly, so I tried to reach out to the general customer service, but they took a while to respond. So basically I was just waiting there helplessly until someone randomly said to me “Are you waiting for a Kyte?” and it happened to be my driver. Had a similar experience with the drop off. I have no idea why they operate this way, but it was extremely frustrating and inconvenient.