Caveat Emptor: Sedona Car Rentals

There's only one rental car company at Sedona Airport:  Sedona Car Rentals

Their website only listed two classes of available cars:  "Economy" and "SUV".  I didn't need an SUV to shuttle the three of us to / from the AirBNB and hiking trails, so I opted for the economy car.  

Here's the reservation confirmation I received:

Thursday, upon arriving at KSEZ, the FBO ramp worker retrieved the car and brought it plane-side for us (awesome!). 

FIRST CAR:

The car was a 2011 Ford Focus with 152200 miles on it (and a TPMS warning light.)  I noticed immediately upon leaving in it that it drove like a broken shopping cart:  Vibrated, and pulled left.  The transaxle made a loud whining noise that varied with the automobile's speed (not the engine RPM.)

On our way to the AirBNB we attempted to take this vehicle on the highway and it immediately revealed that it wasn't suitable for highway use.  At 55 MPH it began to shake violently.  It wouldn't really go above 60 MPH, and attempts to do so were scary as it felt like it was going to come apart.

We limped it to the AirBNB to check in and unload it, as it was now past the operating hours of Sedona Car Rentals and we were 45 minutes away (at actual highway speed, anyway.) 

The next morning I called Sedona Car Rentals and talked to Joe, who was both apologetic and dismissive.  He first claimed "I just put new tires on that car last year!" (I looked.  The tires were far from new, and had less than what is probably allowable tread left on them.)  He did agree to swap it for another car though, so we brought it back first thing in the morning on Friday.

"I just put new tires on that car last year!" - Joe

Joe made the statement "I had no idea.  I don't know if there's anything wrong with these cars unless someone tells me!"

SECOND CAR:

The replacement car he gave me was a 2013 Toyota Camry with 180000 miles on it (and a TPMS warning light.)  We got in it, headed out, and were relieved to discover that it would actually go 65+ MPH without trying to come apart.  It vibrated a bit, but not violently.  So we continued our vacation.  However, the next day as we were sightseeing on Hwy 89 we suddenly got a flat tire.  We hadn't hit or run over anything.

I pulled off at the next turnout and removed the wheel and was SHOCKED - there was NO TREAD on the center or inside edge of the tire at all, and in fact the steel belts were showing all the way around the tire! (The outer, visible edge looked fine hence we didn't notice when obtaining the vehicle.) We looked at the other front wheel closely only to discover it was in the same state!  These tires were not safe for driving on in ANY circumstances.  (See photos):

I put the spare on, but then because of the other tire I drove it at no more than 40 MPH all the way back to Sedona airport.  I told Joe and he again tried to argue about the condition of the tires until I showed him the pictures I took.  He then instead blamed the "owner" of the business and said "I've told him we need new tires."  Again he claimed "I don't know what condition these cars are in."   So the takeaway here is that the employees / owners of Sedona Car Rentals not only don't maintain the cars properly, they either don't inspect them or they are negligent when doing so to the point of the cars not being safe to use.

THIRD CAR:

Joe agreed to let us use the 2009 GMC Yukon SUV for the night so we'd have a way to get back to the AirBNB for our last evening.  It had just over 100000 miles on it and... you guessed it, a TPMS warning light.  This time we inspected the tires (and everything else.)  They were fine and the vehicle got us there and back.   Though we didn't attempt any further excursions, and wouldn't, in a vehicle provided by Sedona Car Rentals.

Personally, I won't ever again trust a car from Sedona Car Rentals even to get off the Airport Mesa and back.  I suspect they get away with this because they're the only game in town.