Avis

Pros: Clean cars. Wide spread availability.
Cons: Reward system quirky. Minor issues with some employees.

Avis has plenty of cars and good coverage for travellers.

They have a points program, but don't take points from airlines or anywhere else to help you reduce rates.

Most of the employees in most locations have been helpful, efficient and polite. One woman at the MRY airport was self involved, impatient, etc. The other emp at MRY was great.

In OMA I was told they were out of my preferred car size, and I had to pay for the upgrade. They were polite about it though I felt a little rushed trying to decide on a vehicle type which I had no experience with. (I need alot of legroom).

Cars have always been clean and new.

Preferred/reward system is sort of wierd. There's a wizard number, and a worldwide discount number. You have to sign up for one, then the other, and tie them together. Sort of a pain.

The rates are usually really good.

Pros: Nice Alfa Romeo
Cons: Agent who bamboozled me on the insurance which costs more than the car rental

Rented a car from Avis Agency @ Malaga Spain Rail Station. Told the agent twice that I did not want insurance. Agent never went through contract or gave me a copy in English. Something about the whole rental experience seemed shady. After leaving Malaga found agent had charged insurance. Tried to straighten out over the phone in Spain with no luck. I've tried to straighten it out with Avis in the US with the same result. It appears I will have to dispute charge with my credit card company and if that is unsuccessful, I will retain consul to fight the charge.

Moral of the story:

Insist on contract in English
Insist agent goes through all charges with you
Don't rent car after traveling for 20+ hours

Pros: same cars lower price, drop off at airport ,no extra charge open on sundays
Cons: cab from airport. 30 dollars to save 100's

i am hoping this message gets to every traveler to SW FL. the new site is at the Edison mall inside sears auto shop. prices are 20% cheaper here than at the airport. store code E6D!! try it out you will be impressed. rent from them and drop of at airport no extra charges!! phone #239-275-0853
hope i helped save money.

Pros: none
Cons: costly and lousy service

Very unpleasant experience.
At the point of service in France the price increased from an initial quote of $679.48 to $1,206.50.
Had to take the car an leave. At this point had no other choice.
When came back to the US and tried to resolve it with Avis got no luck. They are pointing towards Avis France. Apparently when you make a reservation no one mentions that subdivision.
The service itself was lousy. I was forced to make a roundtrip to the hotel to get a passport that typically is not required to get a car. Driver license, a copy of reservation and a credit card was not enough ...

Pros: The car was very nice.
Cons: The charge for one day over was excessive!

I rented a car from Avis in Sophia, Bulgaria. I had purchased premium rental car insurance from American Express before I rented the car and paid in full for the rental in advance through Auto Europe. When I got to Sophia the Avis rep would not give me the keys until I signed the collision damage waiver - which is insurance that I didn't need. I returned the car one day late and Avis charged me $160 for the one day. I made an inquiry about the charge and they confirmed it was for being one day late, but said it was only $130. That was not the charge on my card. The average daily rate for the rental was only $36. So, $160 for one day was extremely excessive. Also, the Avis reps were not at the desk when I tried to return the car the day I was suppose to have returned it and they do not answer the phone. I recommend using another company.

Pros: LHR Avis is open 24/7, handy when picking up replacement cars at 2AM.
Cons: They rent lemons, and don't appear to understand what "We try harder" means.

I picked up a brand-new rental in London in June 05 and after half a day of driving the car broke down (it would not let me change out of neutral).

That would not be reason enough to criticise Avis...but then they took NINE HOURS to send a tow truck...by which time I'd missed the critical meeting at which I was due to sell my products. Did I mention that I'd flown in from the US for just that meeting?

When I got back to the USA, things did not improve:
- I wrote to their Parsipanny/NJ headquarters. No response.
- I filled out a customer service feedback form on their website. They passed it to Avis UK and said I'd get an answer in 14days. That was back in August.

What else?
- They never call/email me to tell me what's going on
- I have to spend MY TIME chasing them for information instead of them DOING THEIR JOB and telling me about developments.

"We try harder" - yeah, right.

I will continue to actively discourage people from using Avis until they learn to treat their customers with respect.

Pros: ?
Cons: Car selection
staff
price
Misleading

I was not given the free upgrade or discount promised when the car was reserved. I think it is a scam that "coupon discounts are NOT included in the estimated total, but will be calculated and applied at the time of rental". By the time the customers get to the counter they are not going to go somewhere else when they don't like the deal avis is giving. I was very uncomfortable in the car I was given. I rented a full size and was suppose to be given a free upgrade.
Also I asked the guy "what is the total price going to be out the door". He told me $128. When I come back with the car 3 days later I was charged $156. What a scam. I will never rent with Avis again. I am going to complain to USAA and anyone else who will listen. I was lied to by this rude agency operator. I wasn't given the upgrade or discount promised. "We try harder" really?

Pros: Car was clean.
Cons: Tremendously long wait
Absolutely unaccountable and unavailable after the sale.

I rented from Avis out of the Fort Lauderdale Airport, and I was scammed.  They provided discounts at the desk that were not reflected on the receipt at the airport on return.  A phone call to their billing dept. was frustrating and maddening.  They did not know anything, and they didn't care.  The basic math on the reseipt didn't add up - no reasoning, no excuses, they just didn't care - pay the bill.  Having spent over an hour waiting to talk to a billing representative lead me to believe that person would be able to do something, anything.  They read the exact line items I had on the receipt (which did not add up), and told me they needed more detail, detail which was not provided on their contract or receipt.

I rent cars quite a bit in my business, and I now see why my company does not deal with Avis.

Pros: I won't rent with this company again.
Cons: Avis is a dishonest company that does not value it's customers. 

I rented a car from Avis in April 2009 as I had the impression that they were a good company.  However, I had a bad experience and will definately not go back.

I rented the car and used half of a tank of gas touring around Victoria.  I filled the tank and showed my gas reciept to the guy at the counter when I returned the car.  A few days later I checked my visa statement and my credit card was subsequently charged $21 for not filling the car.  Avis refused to refund the charge, stating that I couldn't prove the car was full when it was returned.  I can't believe the blatant dishonesty of this company.  Don't rent with Avis! 

Pros: You get a car (at least)
Cons: Began charging people for minor damages not caused by the present driver.

Avis is a con. They are now trying to make extra money by making you pay for vehicle damage that I did not do. I wont be renting from them again. Their staff are so rude. I have rented from Avis for 5 years and I can definitely say that I wont be renting from them again.

Pros: Easy check-in and out
Cons: Avis doesn't train staff properly and won't correct staff errors.

Be wary of Avis promotions; when we rented a car through Priceline, we were told by the counter staff that we were eligible for a free two-day rental (this promotion was visible on a poster) which we could apply for online.

After searching on the internet, emailing and finally a phone call, I discovered that promotions are available only to full-price rentals and that you have to apply at the counter with the agent. Agents apparently have brochures with the terms and conditions.

When I called Avis to let them know we had been mislead by the counter agent, the only help they would offer was a coupon for a future rental.

Pros: plenty of cars, good prices
Cons: ...none...

I took a vacation with my family and I needed a rental car company who would be willing not only to pick us up, but allow me to leave the car at the train station when our vacation was over and we were to head back home.

I originally reserved a van with a company who promised that they could deliver on the above said circumstances. They did in fact "pick us up", but when we got to their office to go over the paperwork, they backed out on the promise that was made to me two times on the phone.

After getting over my initial anger, I pulled myself together and called the Omaha, NE Avis Car Rental office, the woman I talked to assured me that they could help me out, and that it was something they did often.

Not only did they have plenty of cars available, their prices were much better. I rented the car from Avis, then had my mom drive the other car back to the other car company.

Thank you Omaha Nebraska Avis office for definitely trying harder!

Pros: Like the Hyundai Sonata very much
Cons: Very busy counter at ATL. Could use more help

Picked up a car at ATL, drove it to Florida. Hated the airport in Atlanta, but loved the car. They offered me a choice of a Pontiac Grand Prix, or a Hyundai Sonata. I didn't know what the Hyundai Sonata was like, but I was willing to give it a try. I loved the car. I got between 28 & 31 miles per gallon on the highway, and it averaged around 24 mpg for the whole trip. The car performed well and had lots of power and plenty of options. Avis is very good at taking care of the customer. I now know that Hyundai makes a very good car and I will opt for that model in the future.

Pros:  They smile really big knowing they'll overcharge you later. 
Cons: Fraudulent charges - unresponsive company - poor feedback portal on website - jerky manager 

Rented from Avis in Ft. Lauderdale. Was charges $6.99/gal. for a full tank of gas but was given a car with only have a tank. One month after I had returned the car I was charged for unspecified "damage".  The manager failed to produce photos he said were his proof.  I am disputed the charges. Avis continued to stonewall, refusing to allow me to speak to anyone in customer service above the cubicle level.  After much demanding I spoke with someone who gave me the necessary contact information.  I later learned that this person was reprimanded for doing her job, so even the employees get the same bad treatment.  After speaking with the district manager he told me that he reviewed the photos and there seemed to be cigarette holes in the upholstery.  Funny since it was only my 7 and 10 year old daughters who were in the back seat and I assure you that they weren't smoking back there without me knowing it.   After weeks of fighting, they "promise" to reverse the charges, but we all know what the AVIS promise is worth. 

Pros: Convenience to Ft. Myers Airport
Cons: -Terrible Customer Service! -Car rented had over 27,000 miles on it! -No follow-up to complaint

1st Rental car-premium full-size- broke down. Told to drive 40 miles to nearest locale or be towed! After returning-no car waiting, as promised; waited 20 minutes in line for new car; left house key in 1st car- called location Lost/Found a dozen times. No one calls back! Will Never use again!