This was my first time using Ctrip. I could pay for my car rental in RMB, which offered discounts. Adding an extra driver, a tank of gas, and full insurance included, made the price significantly lower than with overseas rental companies.
The car I was given was a Nissan mid-size sedan. It was brand new, clean, and scratch-free. I plugged in my phone and used Apple Play navigation, which helped me avoid toll highways.
As for the service, let's break it down. I picked up the car at the airport and returned it near Universal Studios. The airport staff was very perfunctory. When I delivered the car, they refused to come out and inspect it with me, saying I could call them if I had any issues. I asked what if the car had scratches already and I couldn't explain it when I returned it. She said she didn't have time. I figured I had comprehensive insurance anyway. Thankfully, the car was in excellent condition, so I didn't bother to argue with her. Later, I discovered she had mistakenly signed our previously canceled rental booking for us, resulting in a $700 charge to our credit card. We had already paid in full online through Ctrip before our trip. Ctrip said the US dealership might have realized the mistake and would refund the money in a few days. The difficulty was that the receipt and rental confirmation from Ctrip were only in Chinese. This made it difficult to negotiate with the local rental company while we were abroad.
When returning the car, we could have gone on a round-the-world tour, but we spent an hour negotiating with the rental company. The friendly American manager helped us identify the issue, canceled the erroneous booking, and refunded our money. He said it was a good thing we asked on the spot, as it would have been very troublesome to get a refund back home. Always return the car with a full tank of gas. Don't trust Ctrip's offer to return the car without gas; the American dealership won't honor it. It's recommended to provide an English contract when renting a car abroad.