RateItAll: The Opinion Network

I just recently rented a car from Avis on Wednesday July 2nd 2008. This location was in 4904 N. Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 , U S A
818-382-7755. The agents name was Ron. (seemed to be from a middle eastern descent)

And my.....what a bad experience. Well. my situation starts when I needed a small car to get around for that day. The only reason why I gave two stars is because there were a couple of things that I appreciated. But I'll get to that later. So I got picked up by Ron at 10:00 am (+). And we arrived at the Avis location in about 10 to fifteen minutes. After about fifteen more minutes of processing I ended up renting a silver KIA RIO. So after I finish the paper work I walk to the rental to drive away and I notice that we didn't do a check on the ca so I turn around to Ron and mention it to him. And "bamm" we find about 4 future questionable scratches that would have haunted me. After filling out the paper for the scratches I finally drive off at approximately 10:30 - 10:35. As I went back home in the normal 98 degree L.A. heat I notice the air conditioning is not working properly but I never bothered to mention because I was stressed for time and I was willing to give it a little more EXTRA time to kick in (which it never did). So the next day I wake up at 10:30 am to start my day and decided to extended my rental. But very shortly after something came up to were I didn't need the car as originally planned. So I immediately called back to make the change. Mr. Ron didn't like that. At this time it was 10:45ish. He repeatedly said, "Oh I can't do that, I already put the order in" Then he said in a very agitated and rude way, "I cannot open your contract unless your here". So since I'm only ten to fifteen minutes away I told him I was on my way so that I would not have to pay for the day. So buying me fifteen minutes its now 11:00. (this was soon his favorite phrase "11:00, 11:00") So when I show up to drop the car off his demeaner was very rude, non chalant, and just plain careless. Then he said very shortly "its now 11:00 you rented the car at 10:00, your late and you have to pay for the car for the full day". At that time I was super mad but I said nothing. I just said "ok" and began to asked him could I turn it in Friday which was the Fourth of July. He said yes and that he would be in the office at 9:00. I said from nine to when? he gave me a unsecure answer like around ten. So the next day I call him at 10:05 five. I said "Ron, are you still there?" He said "yes" very rudely. I said sorry I'm late can I still come up. He gave me the ok so I showed up. No one was there so I called Ron again. When he pulled up after leaving me cause he said that I was late. He got out of the car and immediately said "YOUR KILLING ME MAN" What a rude remark . Needless to say that I was billed an extra fifteen daollars for a quarter of a gallon of gas short. This was just a bad experience for me and I did not appreciate the rude and tackless service from RON. And I wish that someone from Avis's department fixes his attitude.

I do appreciate him helping me on a closed day. Thats the only reason why I gave two stars instead of the mostly deserved one star.

document #409882152 car#08823931 car group A Sil Kia Rio 4dr CO 952RVS

I recently (April 17, 2008) rented the car @ Hobby Airport in Houston, TX for more than a month and when I signed the contract I was not sure about the return date, but I knew it will be more than a month. So, the lady in the counter said it should not be a problem if I decided to keep it longer than a month and all I needed to do was give them a call and let them know when I will intend to return the car. When I asked about what the price will be for the car after a month, since I was getting the monthly rate (which is cheaper than weekly or daily), she told me they will divide the monthly rate by 30 and just multiply by the number of days exceeding the month. I was OK with that as it was a good deal...

After a month, I called them and told them that I will be keeping the car until June 4, 2008. The person on the phone, told me that it is fine and thanks for calling and letting them know.

I decided to return the car @ different location, but with in the same city limit (as their is no additional charge for that), the person on the counter told me that their computers are down and will not be able to print the receipt at that time and I have to pick-it-up later. I was fine with that as I had to go somewhere and the location was close to my residence. Since, it was a weekdayI could not go back to that location until friday afternoon (as they close @ 6 PM). When I saw the receipt, I was shocked to see the huge bill and rates were entirely different than what I was told. I asked the manager their to sort the things out, but he bailed out of it say it was not the location where I rented the car. So, I went back to the Hobby Airport location and asked the person their. She told me she could not do much as it was more than two days and they cannot change anything. She also mentioned that the Manager was out on some emergency, but asked me to call the customer care people to sort things out.

When I called the customer service, they told me that they cannot do anything as it is in the hand of the Hobby Airport Location Manager and she rudely hang up on me, when I was trying to convince her about the situation. I later called the location manager and he told me that he cannot help as it more than two days and only customer service can help and when I told him about what happened with the customer service, he told me then it is out of his control also as the main office has customer service could not help me.

All together to sum up the entire experience, I will never rent a car from Avis, if it means I have to walk 100 miles or stay overnight at location for car to be available at another rental company. I HATE AVIS...

Rented a Kia hatchback from Avis during a recent trip to San Juan, PR. The car was very clean and fuel efficient. The customer service was expedient and efficient, and they even gave us directions to the hotel.

So far I have rented Avis Rent a Car 3 times each year since 2005 in LAX airport and doing great. This year was quick first in line at the counter after entering the kiosk and took less than 4 minutes to complete the process, booked us a Chevolet Impala with full tank, took us only short walk to get to my car, and the car was in a clean and good condition, but compared to the first time rented in 2005, reserved a full size car the same way that year but double upgraded to a luxury car in a Cadillac with no charge since they were out of full size and premium cars (just a note that luxury cars does hog gas to refill about every 200-250 miles in a tank). About the rental car coverage is not needed if you have insurance to cover a rental car. For a notice I did not take the coverage and have not encontered an accident yet and Los Angeles is one of the bad drivers and high rate of accidents. The Bus service is ok, and return service was good. Avis so far is my best rental car company close to hertz.

And sometimes if it is so expensive as $300 a week or more than $40 a day , consider using Hotwire.com deep discount rate (and it only works returning the same place and it is not refundable or changeable unless noted) and you will get those trusted brands like avis, hertz, national, budget, and alamo for maybe as low as $15 a day for midsize (and it will be random between these 5 rental companies and will only be shown after you book). Worth the a little more money for trusted brands than dollar, thrifty, or fox rent a car. For my first time using hotwire in 2007 for full size for $25 a day got me hooked up with Avis on luck.

Rental company did not disclose all costs. Then received poor and rude service, from the manager.

I won't speak for International, but Toronto Pearson Avis rocks. If you don't like the car, they will find you one that you like. They are the absolute quickest of all of them even if there is a line up waiting to drop cars off.

DON'T RENT FROM AVIS IN EUROPE. They try harder to scam you! Currently in a fight with Avis over CDW fees they charged. I did not want it or sign for it, yet they are charging me more than the rental cost. Tried to get straightened out in Europe.... NO. Tried to get straightened out in US... NO. Bad customer service, unethical business practices. WILL NEVER USE AVIS AGAIN.

We rented from AVIS in Norway. Six months after paying the rental fee,we got an additional charge on our credit card. After a number of telephone calls, we were informed that the extra charges were for supposedly failing to pay a toll fee plus Avis added an additional "administrative" fee of over $60. We had receipts for all the tolls we paid and asked AVIS for proof of our infraction. We were informed that we had ignored their prior request for the toll infraction fee therefore their extra "Admministrative" fee was added to our credit card without our knowledge. We never received a notice of such from AVIS until our credit card was billed six months later. A registered letter was sent to AVIS' Overseas Vice President explaining our position. No response was ever received from AVIS. "We try harder" I think not.

They lie to their customers when booking the reservation about the prices.

Rented a car at LAX - shuttle pick-up was very fast, line at counter went quickly, spouse was included free as additional driver, and they brought the car to me instead of making me lug my belongings and two children to the car! Price was only $10 more than company we used two years ago that I would rate a 2. Excellent customer service from each person we encountered. Will use them next time I travel.

Reserved a "Lucerne or equivalent" with XM Radio. Received a Grand Marquis with no XM radio.

I usually always rent from AVIS, especially when I go down to Florida to visit family. Avis is a little more expensive most of the time, but the time you save not waiting in line at the counter and walking straight to your car at the airport seems worth the extra money. Also, the times that I have returned the car, it is so organized, especially in Tampa and Orlando.... you follow the signs into the Avis area in the airport garage, the attendants check your car in as you are getting out. It honestly takes about 5 minutes... Once I even left some keys in the car and they fed-exed them back to me in New York the next day. I haven't had any problems with extra charges... JUST FYI, you normally don't need any extra insurance... if you have car insurance on a personal car, it sometimes covers a rental car, ALSO your credit card company automatically (most of the time) covers rental car insurance...

I've had very mixed experiences; over 3 years I rentered from them in the UK about 20 times. The price they quote sounds good but then they charge extra for picking it up at an airport, numerous insurances (sure they are optional but do you want to get hit for two hundred pounds until you are proved not at fault?), and now the ultimate insult extra for road tax - which I think should be included as in the UK it is illegal to have a car on the road without it! It's like charging extra for legal tyres and working headlights! Once there was damage to the car which was not noted and I didn't see as it was midnight, dark and raining. I had to pay the excess for the damage! Two more times after that I noticed damage which was not logged. I've had to call their customer relations people several times, they are very hard to get through to, and I have written twice: once I got a standard form reply which didn't address the points I raised, the second time no reply at all. On the other hand their office is bright, some of the people are helpful (or at least try sometimes) amd their desk at Terminal 4 is usually staffed.

Avis is so easy to do business with. I've used them four times while making trips back to N.D. The reservation process, pick-up and drop-off were all extremely easy. They're also the cheapest out of all the rental car companies I checked with. At one point I needed to add a driver to be covered under the rental agreement, I called and they did this in about two minutes, with no hassles. The workers are also very friendly. They helped me install my car seat for my infant and put my luggage in the car. I'll definitley use them in the future!

These S.O.B went back and charged me for a dent that was on the car that I rented. However, it was there at the time of rental. Not to mention, it was the second car I got from them that day, because the first one hadn't had an oil change in 10,000 miles and the engine locked down. The second car (dented) only had 3/4 of a tank. Then I drop the keys in the drop box, and they bill me for an extra day after I correctly note the odometer reading and fuel level. Avis - They try harder? Yeah, to rip you in the (*) harder!!!

Incredible, refreshingly awesome customer service. Although, without a coupon or other random deal they may be a tad more $, but even then it's way, way worth the extra pennies.

I used to use Avis all the time and never had a bad experience but recently I've been using a variety of different rental companies, not as a sleight to them but just for informational purposes and I gotta say I still think I was happiest with Avis. Though not as cheap as some others very good service.

Large variety to choose from, and the shuttle service is top-notch. As far as checking your car back in, I believe they are the best.

Sometimes it's worth it to go with the best. I recently booked a trip to LA through LowestFare.com. After a made my flight reservation, I checked into getting a rental car through the service. Lowestfare gave me a number of options including a company called "RentRite" which was by far the cheapest, and which I ended up selecting. When I arrived in LA, I waited for 30 minutes for a "RentRite" shuttle bus, to no avail. I called information who told me that no RentRite existed in LA. I ended up getting on an air-conditioned Avis bus, which were passing every 3 minutes or so, and renting an Avis Car. While the rates were more than a little more expensive, everything about their service screamed "WE ARE A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION AND TAKE PRIDE IN OUR JOB." My car was new and clean, the agents were polite and professional, and the overall experience was very positive. Never again will I choose "Rent Rite."

I've always been quite pleased with Avis whenever I've used them. They've always had the car I requested or better, never had to wait excessively, and always thought their prices were very competetive.