How to rent a car at McGhee Tyson Airport

TYS has five on-airport rental companies with counters inside or adjacent to the terminal: Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Budget, and National. They all operate similarly. You walk to the counter after collecting your bags, show your license and credit card, pick a car class from whatever's available that day, sign the rental agreement, decline or accept the insurance and fuel options, and get pointed to a specific car in the rental lot.

Post-flight lines at TYS are not as bad as a major hub, but they exist. Budget for 20–45 minutes after a busy morning or afternoon arrival. The bigger issue is the upsell sequence at the counter — you will be offered an upgrade, CDW, liability supplement, fuel options, and possibly a roadside plan. Each can be declined; just be prepared to hold your ground on five separate items.

The on-airport fleet is what you'd expect from the national chains: compact sedans, midsize sedans, SUVs, minivans. Fine for business travel. Not right for the Dragon.

Drive865 is not a counter company at TYS. There's no Drive865 booth in the terminal. Instead, your car is already parked in Economy Lot C before you land, and you walk to it with a four-digit lockbox code that's in your booking confirmation email.

Here's the full sequence: walk out of baggage claim and turn right to the Economy Lot shuttle stop. Take the shuttle to Stop C-1A (the Economy Lot stop — the shuttle runs every 15 minutes and is free). From Stop C-1A, walk to Section Orange 1 of the lot. We send you a photo with the car's exact spot once it's dropped off, so you're not hunting. The lockbox sits on the door handle — enter the code, take the key. Put the lockbox in the glove box for drop-off. Total time from baggage claim to ignition: 5–15 minutes.

You've already paid and signed your rental agreement before arriving, so there's nothing to do at the lot except drive. Flight delayed? The car waits. Arriving at midnight? Same process.

Most large airports have off-airport rental companies — not just peer-to-peer hosts, but small commercial operators who pick up at economy lots rather than paying the airport concession fee. TYS is small enough that the off-airport category is thin: Drive865 is the primary operator, and Turo hosts make up most of the rest.

The practical benefit: no concession fee built into the rate (which ranges from 10–15% on counter rates at most airports), no counter, no wait, and a car that was actually selected for the trip. The tradeoff is a small amount of extra navigation on the first pickup — Economy Lot C is a 10-minute shuttle ride, not a 90-second walk from baggage claim.

Drive865's car is in Economy Lot C when you arrive. Economy Lot C charges a daily parking fee. Your car will have been there since we dropped it off — typically a few hours before your trip start time. At pickup, the lot fee is on the gate when you drive out. It's usually $7–11. If it's over $11, Drive865 reimburses the difference — just send us the receipt.

At return, you're dropping the car back in an Economy Lot (C, B, or A all work). The return lot charges nothing extra on your end — we handle the lot at our collection. The nearest fuel station is two minutes south on Maryville Pike; refuel there before drop-off.

The lockbox process doesn't have a pickup window or a counter that closes at 6pm. The car is in the lot regardless of when you arrive. Late flight, connection miss, weather delay — none of it affects your pickup. You land when you land, take the shuttle, and the car is there.

If you have a significant delay (more than a few hours), text us — we'll confirm the car is still in position and there are no logistics issues on our end. The car doesn't move unless we move it.

Return to any Economy Lot — C, B, or A. You don't need to return to the exact same spot. Park anywhere in the lot, take photos of the car from all four sides (same photos we ask for at pickup), send them to us over SMS or email, and scramble the lockbox code before leaving.

Lockbox scramble: after you put the key back in and close the lockbox, spin the dials so the code reads something other than your code. This is the signal to us that the car is back and locked. We come collect it on our own schedule.

If you're sprinting to catch a flight, prioritize the photos and text us — we can walk through the rest remotely. Don't leave without the photos; they're the record of condition at return.

Before you drive out of the lot, do a quick condition check: photograph the car from each corner and the roof. Note any pre-existing dings, scratches, or chips and send the photos to us — this protects you if anything is later disputed. Most guests do this in under three minutes.

Check tire condition (we maintain current-season tires on all cars, but a look doesn't hurt), confirm the fuel level matches your booking confirmation, and locate the lockbox (it goes in the glove box). Start the car and let it run for 30 seconds before pulling out. If anything is off — warning light, noise, anything unusual — text us before you leave the lot. We'll resolve it on the spot or arrange a swap.