Avis and Budget rental car service. I rented a car for a one way rental from Thousand Oaks to Lake Forest and the experience was perfectly smooth and easy. I returned the car to Bassem in Lake Forest and he was kind and professional, providing stellar customer service. The return process was smooth and easy just as the initial rental in Thousand Oaks was. Great car, pricing and service. Highly recommended. Update 11/4/2025 I stopped by this morning after returning the rent a car yesterday as I believed I had left my Armani glasses in the car. I spoke with Danny, what a true professional and caring person. Danny immediately unlocked the car and I searched with no success. He also checked lost and found and no luck. I gave Danny my card and asked him to call me if in fact they showed up. As I exited the parking lot Danny came running out with the glasses and said that he found them in the back. What a terrific individual who truly cared and put forth extra effort to help me out. Truly appreciated and definently worth rewarding. Highly recommended. read more

They had the vehicle I wanted at a price that was better than other Rental Agencies in the area. Also, when Danny, who was at the counter at the time, saw my on-line rental request show on his screen, he immediately called to remind me their location was closing in less than 30-minutes. Because I couldn't get there within that time frame, he was kind enough for wait a few minutes AFTER their posted closing time so that I could arrive to rent my selected vehicle. You don't normally get that level of personal service from people who sit behind a counter. I will definitely be considering this location the next time I need to rent a vehicle. read more

Arrived late to my pick-up appointment, office was supposed to be closed but Mr. Dani Gelito was there to help me and saved my day. Very kind and professional individual, he processed all the paperwork very fast and gave me the car right away. Would recommend!!! A read more

I strongly recommend staying away from this location. The office was very dirty, and the customer service was extremely poor. We were given a defective car with a nail in the tire. We discovered the issue about two hours after picking up the vehicle and contacted the office immediately to request a replacement. Unfortunately, the staff declined to swap the car and handled the situation in a very rude manner. They also stopped responding to our messages afterward. This was a very disappointing and frustrating experience. read more

worst car rental experience. i was literally told to get out because they were about to close . the guy at the desk was rushing the whole interaction, and seemed to be agitated as soon as i walked in the door. read more

I rent from this location everytime I take a road trip! The selection of cars is amazing! I got upgraded to this jeep compass this time with only 23k miles - love the fresh new cars here! The service is great too! They are better than Enterprise ever has been or the service they gave me- thanks guys you rock read more

I'm a president club member and I've experienced the best service at Avis with Danny and we left some of my child important items and it was returned by Danny. This is why I always go back read more

Avis - Thank you letter - Car Rental Near Me - Lake Forest, California

Booked car in advance also paid in full and they told me there's no car for me. What A JOKE

Avis provided me a rental vehicle that broke down on me, then charged $102 to jump start even though I ended up going through my own insurance. No idea how this is ethical or legal. read more

Avis - Car Rental Near Me - Lake Forest, California

See all

Beware of this establishment!!! Do not rent a vehicle from this business! We made a reservation through Costco travel for a minivan with a pick up time at 12:00 PM. Admittedly, we did arrive after 12:00. When we arrived, a man who identified himself as the owner told us that he had "given our van away 15 minutes ago". He said he was closing for the day and there was "nothing he could do." We then asked if we could pick up a van the following day and he said that he would not have one. We were shocked! He then proceeded to walk away from us and get in his car. He "gave away " our reserved vehicle and was getting in his car to drive away! He had zero regard for our reservation, confirmation, etc. The lack of customer service was truly horrifying. He left us standing in front of his front door, without our reserved vehicle, and he drove away. I'm appalled by the utter lack of respect and customer service. We had a reservation and a confirmation number through Costco Travel. We were set to leave on a road trip the following morning. This man couldn't have been less helpful, polite, honest, honorable, or professional. In speaking to a representative from Costco Travel immediately following the Avis owner's departure, the Costco rep stated that they didn't think this man ever even had the van on property to rent to us. The rep from Costco felt that this owner was lying about ever having the van for us. We were fortunate to be able to drive to John Wayne Airport and rent a minivan from Enterprise. They couldn't have been more lovely. Save yourself a lot of stress and heartache and AVOID THIS BUSINESS. I intend to report the owner to the BBB, too. My experience with the owner of this company was absolutely a nightmare. read more

Flew to Baltimore, rented a car from Avis to drive back to California, don't ask why. Landed Baltimore at 8:30am, caught a bus to the car rental place, it was deserted. The Avis man was very friendly and helpful, except there was no paperwork. He said he'd email it to me. I was supposed to get a Toyota Camry. While I was waiting, I was freezing my ass off, the car never came. I began to think I wanted an SUV or something a little higher off the ground anyway. The outside counter woman a Phillipino lady was equally as helpful. With a snap of her fingers, she pointed out a Nissan Rogue and said, take this instead. I jumped it it, started it and cranked the heat. It was warm within 2 minutes. There were 2500 miles on the car. On my way across the country, I actually had to stop more times to clean the windshield then gas up. Also it's difficult to speed because the limit is so high as it is. The car, I discovered was a turbo charged 4 cylinder with an 8 speed automatic transmission. IT HAULED ASS!! The car made short work of all the mountain passes I had to climb. It was new, comfortable and clean. So I arrived sooner than expected, initially the car was supposed to be $1300.00 and I noticed it had changed to $1700.00 when I looked at the email. I printed it and took it with me when I turned in the car. The man behind the counter in Lake Forest adjusted the bill to $1,100.00 I was and still am very happy. I was nice starting at the Atlantic one morning, then ending the trip at the Pacific Ocean 4 days later. It was a blast read more

See all

I had a great experience at this Avis store (reserved through Costco Travel). Dani helped me at pickup and return as was very kind and professional. The day that I picked up, it was very busy and he took care of everyone very calmly and efficiently. I will definitely use this store again for my rental needs. Great job! Thanks! read more

Perfect store Danny is very professional and courteous. He is very patient with clients and has the helpful attitude and mentality He takes it on step beyond and I appreciate it Good job and thanks read more

Another great experience at Avis. Bassem helped me, and he is just the nicest guy. Car was ready for me when I arrived, which made the process pretty quick. So glad I found this place whenever I need a rental car. read more

If I could give one star, I would. This establishment is a complete fraud. DO NOT GO HERE!! Avoid at all costs. The man who identified himself as the owner, Bassem, was insanely rude. He refused to give his last name. He claimed to have a van for us, that he did not. Complete fraud. Said he sold it 15 minutes before we arrived because we were late, which could not be true at all. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. FRAUDULENT BUSINESS! read more

This is the 3rd time renting a car from here! Danny actually helped me all 3 times! Danny was amazing and very helpful!!

5 STARS FOR A CAR RENTAL PLACE? Yeah you're probably thinking what the heck she's weird. I've rented more than 5x in the past 6 months at this very place before writing this review. But it really deserves all that and more because of their rental agent, Phillip. He just goes above and beyond to really make every rental experience here stress free and quick. Not sure why Avis is still running on an old school dot matrix printing system while most of the other car rentals have turned over to iPads, paperless and electronic contract & e-mailed receipts but Phillip always makes sure I'm in and out of there quick. He does not make you feel uneasy trying to upsell anything or purchase any more coverage than necessary. This location is sort of hidden, tucked behind the plaza where THE HAT is at. All the cars I've rented here are all in good shape. Very clean and no weird odors or pet hair. Likewise, with returns - as long as you stick to the contract, bring it back with no damages and the same amount of gas upon pick up, it's a breeze. I've recommended this place to friends already. Thanks Phillip! TIP: Sign up for Avis Preferred, get your wizard number and this will cut your time in half. They will already have all your information and credit card on file already so you really only have to show up and sign your contract and go. Also very useful for those long car rental pick up lines at the airports. You get an email with your car and location and just skip it all. read more

After a run around with other rental agencies, (friends traveling without a credit card) we tried this location. They rented the car with a deposit held with a debit card. The customer service rep was very friendly as were the employees at the location. The process was super easy and will definitely recommend them for use again. read more

1. The option of car is very limited in this location. 2. Lacking of basic car maintenance of the rental vehicles. 3. No one answer calls at this location while dialing the number which listed on the rental agreement. Call got routed to general customer service. The most recent rental had below issues after rental car has been used for less than 24 hours 1. Low car key battery - it resulted I needed to replace the battery with my expense. 2. Low tire pressure 3. Oil change light was on - required to exchange the car and costed additional non-usable time on the rental car 4. Malfunction light was on at the time picked up the car and I was told 'it was ok, just click the ok button'. read more

I prepaid for a Budget car rental for June 23-24, 2021, reservation # 41715340US2 for $276.76. I picked up the on June 23rd and returned it on June 24. Bassem Asmar checked the car in on June 24th. I gave the keys to Bassem, he inspected the car, the gas was at the same level as when I got the car. The car did not have any damage to the exterior or interior. He finished the return, and I was on my way. On August 9, 2021, I got a charge on my credit card for $946.43 from Budget car rental. A month goes by, and I forget about it. On October 11, 2021, I was checking my credit card and see another charge on Sept 30, 2021, for $720.43 from Budget again. FOR WHAT!. It was a one-day rental. Now, I'm even more upset and irritated. I have never received any explanation from Budget as to why these illegal charges. Now we are talking 4 months later, and Budget car rental is fraudulently charging my card. If I had damaged the car: 1. I would have known and noticed it. 2. Bassem would have noticed when I returned the car. The car was damage-free! My $276.76 car rental for one day, has now turned into $1943.62, 4 months later! Really, Why? The car was not damaged, I returned the car in the same condition I got it. If I don't check my statement, Budget is going to keep on charging my card fraudulently. I demand a refund minus my initial car rental and Budget car rental to stop fraudulently charging my card. WORST CAR RENTAL COMPANY EVER.....I WILL NEVER MAKE THE MISTAKE OF RENTING FROM BUDGET AND ESPECIALLY THIS LOCATION EVER AGAIN. I WILL MAKE SURE EVERYONE I KNOW DOES THE SAME. THIS LOCATION ARE THIEVES. This location is not BBB accredited, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND STAY AWAY. read more

My husband made reservations for a car since ours was in need of repairs. He prepaid and when we showed up, the employee rudely stated they had no cars. There must have been 7 or 8 people with reservations coming to get their reserved car and receiving nothing. I understand things happen but why would this many reservations be made with no cars? Also the person at the counter may have been overwhelmed but his rudeness and lack of help (call the 800 number) made the unfortunate situation even worse. I will never utilize this location again and would recommend anyone who does to do so with caution. Very disappointed and feel bad for those who showed up to rent a car for a vacation! read more

Their customer service is the worst. They do not even know the locations. I had a reservation number and had to Uber here from Dealer as are other people and there are no cars. People are coming in saying cars had problems and again no cars Their web site is also screwed up and brings one into foreign countries even though US has been put down I am at the Lake Forest California location and. could not get a local number after two hours online and on phone with them. There should be cars at John Wayne but there is no coordination. It is quite evident they simply do not cars. Someone should bring a class action lawsuit against them. I am now trying to get my credit card reimbursed. read more

Service was a bit strange and the first car they wanted to give us had stained seats and was in horrible shape. We did get an upgrade and the next car was much better. Prices are fair, we were in and out quickly, would still shop other options first, as this could have gone smoother. read more

I've rented from this Avis branch twice. The first time, I showed up on an early morning and was given a Kia Optima. The vehicle was not even cleaned inside or outside before I was given the keys. As you can see in the photo, the rear seat floor mats had not been vacuumed and are covered with debris. Not photographed are personal belongings left behind in the backseat of the vehicle by the previous renter. There was also dirt covering the hood, front bumper, and fenders of the vehicle that was apparently not washed, so much that it's likely the vehicle had been driven off-road. It's surprising to me that the fleet at this branch are not sent to the car wash located down the street following the completion of each rental. My second visit was a slightly better experience. I had a Hyundai Elantra. Again, the interior was a bit sticky around the center console area and all the windows were not wiped clean. It wasn't raining the day before and the vehicle was not parked next to a sprinkler, so the vehicle given to me must have been left in the same state as it was when it was returned by the renter before. All the negatives aside, this Avis branch outperforms the local Enterprise offices because their cars at Avis are driven less frequently. All the vehicles in the lot are manufactured in 2014 driven 15,000 miles or less, whereas at the two Enterprise branches nearby, I've received 2013 vehicles with over 30,000 miles on the car on a regular basis. This branch is also very upfront when you call about which vehicles are available in the lot. You can also call them to request a particular vehicle model, and they will try their best to hold it for you, although with no guarantees. On the other hand, at Enterprise, they are unable to hold vehicles or even honor specific requests. Some Enterprise offices won't even disclose what's in their lot when you call, so you never know what vehicle to expect. You only find out at the time you arrive, which sucks if you have a preference for certain types of vehicles but they try to give you a Kia Soul or minivan. Renting cars can sometimes be a pain because of the lengthy waiting process. That is not a problem at this branch. You can easily walk out with keys within 5 to 10 minutes, assuming you made a reservation. The clerk doesn't even walk out to perform a pre-trip inspection or hard-sell you on unnecessary insurance. Just exchange DL and CC info for the keys and you're on your way. read more

See all

Misleading information. Charged an additional whole day fare for picking up the car 1 hour early after getting the okay from the employees AND after waiting 45+ minutes for someone even to show up. I was charged even after returning it on time as specified on the contract. Owner does not seem to care about customer satisfaction nor does he convey accurate information about the rental. Will never rent from this location again. I rent cars very frequently from Avis and all other previous experiences have been fine. This location has been a terrible experience. read more

So I've been coming here the last 4 years because it's so close to my house. Never had an issue with these guys until the last two times I've been here. They aren't very clean with their vehicles. At least don't pay attention to detail. However, the fuel. They are dead on. If the needle on the fuel gauge is just a millimeter below they will charge you $10 extra to fill up. They hassled me for that until I decided just to go fill up my self. Make sure to take pictures of anything and everything you see wrong with the vehicle before you sign paperwork or drive off. They will try to hassle you with particular "damages as well". The guy who runs the place is a decent person but I'm sure they won't care that they lost a loyal customer. Oh well. read more

The owner is about as unprofessional and rude as you can get. He was out taking a smoke when we arrived, made underhanded comments, gave us a dirty ass car that was very clearly not cleaned, and forgot to give us the key after the inspection. I had to go back in to ask for him to give us our keys and he all but threw them at me. I felt extremely disrespected and it made me start my vacation off on a bad foot. But, lesson learned, will not be coming here again for a rental. read more

Your reservation will not get you a car with this place. Do not even waste your time. What is the point of making a reservation hoping to beat the crowd, only to hear the staff saying "We do not have any cars available."? I highly suggest looking elsewhere if you are interested in saving time from bs like this. read more

This AVIS has the worst ownership possible. I've never been treated or experience anything like this and I have been a long time AVIS customer. This place is not reflective of the AVIS company. After 2 hours of issues with this company, i was finally given the keys to a mini van with vomit inside that wouldn't even start. DEFINITELY RENT FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY AIRPORT LOCATION. STAY AWAY FROM THIS LOCATION!!!! read more

This review is based on not one, not two, but THREE separate experiences. When you have THREE consecutive terrible experiences, it's most certainly a one star review. I require a rental car for work from time to time, and I've attempted to rent from this location three times. Each time it has been one absolute nightmare followed by another. The worst part is Bassom, the manager, is totally unwilling to be helpful- at all. It's really quite hard to believe actually. Customer service? No. "Just shut up and give me your money is what you'll get here." First time they tried to charge me $3,000 for some minor damage that was ALREADY THERE, and noted on the contract. Thankfully I videoed the damage when I picked it up. Otherwise I'd be on the hook for $3,000. Bassom the manager orchestrated the whole thing from the get-go. Bunch of crooks. Last time I had to wait 1 hour and 45 minutes, at 3:00pm, for someone to SHOW UP. The sign on the door said "be back in 15 minutes (2:00)" by 3:45 there was still no one there, and I called 10 times to corporate, each time it was the same; "he's almost there". This morning I had a reservation for 8:30, got a call at 8:00 saying they didn't have any cars in my class left. The soonest they could get one was 11:00. I needed to be on the road by 9:00. I asked the obvious question if they were willing to give a different class car and honor the rate on my reservation. She said she had to call the manager (Bassom) to ask. Unsurprisingly, Bassom said no. So there I am, scrambling to get a car from another agency in 30 minutes. There's no exaggeration here. It's really THAT horrible. Don't bother. read more

I was able to rent a car online and even check in for a faster process and received an email confirmation. I pay for an Uber ride there and when I got there, they notified me that there were no cars available, nothing. I'm not sure why their system wasn't updated or why they wouldn't pick up the phone to call and notify me. They offered so solution other than cancel my order. Crap service. read more

This location not reliable doesn't have cars if you have somewhere important to be don't book here you won't make it ,cars aren't garenteed this has happened twice to me and today , they false advertise saying they have cars available and they didn't reach out to me either time the day before or the day of pickup, the service you paid for isn't there so don't waste time or money, you will have to contact customer service on your own because the representative at this location won't help you like he did to me and my handicap mother. read more

I've rented from this location four times in the past year - all experiences have been "5-Star". The owner (I believe) helped me when I picked up my Jeep last week, Josh helped me when I dropped it off. Both associates were friendly and expeditious; the owner didn't hassle me for paying with a debit card (steer clear of the Enterprise across the street - they have some wacky policies) and Josh really goes out of his way to make sure you leave satisfied. When I picked up, the car had some dead bugs on the front bumper but I didn't mind since I was heading to Vegas anyway! read more

Great service and super clean car. We grew up in California but moved to another state and came back home to visit and needed a car. The customer service here was amazing and the car was clean. We had zero issues and rented our car for a week. Would definitely recommend this Avis. I've had some Avis rentals that were horrible and this was the complete opposite experience. Getting the rental and returning was a quick and easy process. Will definitely use this Avis again in the future. Thank you! read more

Attempted to rent a car for business to drive up to LA. I reserved a luxury vehicle and was told that the only car that they had was a Nissan Altima which is not a luxury car. I was understanding and simply asked if Bassom, the store manager would refund me the difference between what I paid for luxury and the standard car that I was being offered. The man became very irate with me and said that he would not rent any car to me. So I had to Uber to Enterprise where they quickly had me in a car and on my way. With all of the choices for rental car companies, I will not be using this Avis location ever again. read more

They don't clean the car before renting it (at least not mine). Make sure you take a picture of the gas gauge with the mileage before driving away. They will claim there was more gas in it at time of rental and tell you to put more gas in it or they'll charge you. I know exactly how much gas was in it because I went straight to a gas station and checked to see how much I needed to fill the tank. read more

Have only used budget here but so professional and quick. Compared to enterprise down the street which is a long wait. I'm so happy and will always use them. No hassle and very friendly team! read more

I went in to there office made a reservation, was quoted 35.00 a day + insurance and tax. When I showed up a week later they said sorry there's no reservation for me. that they had a car I could rent for 85.00 a day + twice the insurance I was quoted before. This all went on while they were helping other people.the 4 that they helped while I was there all complained how dirty the cars were read more

I have rented here close to ten different occasions over the last couple of years and have always had a great experience! Bassem is quick and efficient and a pleasure to work with, which keeps me coming back! My cars have always been ready, and when different car options were available, I was given the opportunity to choose. It is also very helpful that they are open on the weekends! read more

The WORST customer service that I've ever experienced at an Avis!! I rented a car for a day because my car was being serviced nearby and I didn't want to walk home in 100+ degrees temperatures. Even though I only drove a few miles, they tried to charge me a $15 fee upon returning the vehicle because I didn't have a receipt for gas. The service agent didn't even tell me about the $15 fee, he just added it to the bill. He said that even if I just drove the car off of the lot and immediately returned the vehicle, he would have to charge me a $15 gas fee. This is insane. I then put $1 worth of gas in the car just to get a receipt in order to avoid the $15 fee. I hope that $1 was worth loss of my future business. The personnel here really needs to be trained in customer service. read more