Worst experience ever picking up a vehicle. Seemed like I was interrupting the staff visiting with each other. Then I receive a phone call because she did not fully process the transaction properly. It became my problem that she did not wish to do her job. read more

I reserved a Chrysler 300, which was almost certainly going to turn into "or similar" as everyone likes the 300. Well, my "or similar" turned out to be an SUV. When I asked how that was similar to a luxury Chrysler 300, she responded with "i don't have anything similar", proving that this is just a built in method for the rental car companies to treat you any way they want. Notice that when they don't have similar they don't upgrade the car, they down grade it and because I pre-paid they are less likely to do anything in the customer's favor. when I realized the rental did not have unlimited miles and I was driving to California and back, this would not work. Because I pre-paid they would not even change my reservation (although they had no issue changing it because they did not have the car I reserved and already paid for. I had to step away from the Avis counter and call the Avis corporate office to have my reservation changed so I could get a car with unlimited miles. They gave me a lower grade SUV with 1 tire at 15psi and a steady leak and 3 ties over inflated to 50 psi. After filling the tire each morning I finally made it to California. The Avis rep at Des Moines airport told me I could take the car to an Avis in California to swap it for a Chrysler 300 and as the tires were bad I swapped the vehicle, but when I inquired about a Chrysler 300, the horrible woman at the counter blurted out in about as rude a tone as she could have, "I'm not giving you a 300." You see, only the elite of Orange County deserve a nice car, not scum from Iowa. The new car was a Nissan Altima, which I drove to the office and it sat all day. At the end of the day when I parked at the hotel and closed the door, THE FRONT BUMPER FELL OFF! seriously. when I took the car back the next day to get another car for my 3 week rental, they acted like I probably ran into something, but fortunately for me there was a maintenance report that must have said something like (Avis mechanics are incompetent morons and did not fix the bumper). I then got a Toyota Camery, which might be a reliable car but it is the most uncomfortable piece of garbage I've ever driven. when I did return the car I reported to the dunce behind the counter all my troubles which did not garner a "so sorry" or " how about a discount because Avis did such a terrible job" and when I asked about "no discount huh?" The very disrespectful witless child behind the counter actually laughed out loud. If you rent from Avis you are going to regret it. I know that there is no chance I would ever rent an Avis car again in my lifetime. read more

I picked up a car for one-way rental to drop off at DSM Avis. Picking up took a bit of time but it was OK. Returning the car to DSM is problematic. One has to park the car, check the mileage and bring the key to the counter. I had never been to DSM airport , and there was no signage pointing to the car rental counters from the parking lot. So it was quite a search for me to find the counter (after asking a policeman, going up and down the floors, and then asking the staff at the visitor information counter). There was also a wait to get to the Avis staff, and then there was some trouble in producing the receipt, then at the end the considered all the picking up and dropping off processing time in the rental period, making my rental about 30 minutes over the 24-hour period. They then counted the 30 minutes as one additional day, for which they charge me 50 dollars (more than my original daily rate) ! Worse yet, the staff handling the case was rude and not helpful. When I wanted the name of the manager, she did not want to give citing that I wanted the name to file a complaint. Then, they said the manager was downtown and could not be reached. Perhaps these Avis locations in small airports (vs say LAX, ATL, or ORD) are NOT a corporate location and they are run like a small private low-end car rental companies that try to rip off the customers who are travelers and cannot afford the time to reason with them. Should avoid this Avis. read more

My go-to rental car company is usually Enterprise because rental is so cheap. However, when I was looking at reserving, I couldn't get an estimate on additional insurance since I no longer have American auto insurance. They also seemed to be out of the smaller cars for the weekend I was looking at. So I thought I would try Avis... not to mention I can earn airline miles. Their online booking is very easy to use and if you are not using a program like AAdvantage, then you have an option to 'pay now' which means you can secure a cheaper rental rate. It also allows you to choose extras to add on... GPS rental, seats for children, and of course various insurance options. You don't have to print anything out, just show up and give them the name you booked under. Avis is paired with the Budget Car Rental desk, however, it looks like both employees behind the desk can assist customers with bookings for either company. It took about 10-15 minutes to get the paperwork done. Some initials, signatures, etc. They do not go out with you to inspect the car, so you do need to give it a once over before you drive off and can head back in to report any damage you would like noted so you do not incur charges. They explained where the car was, etc. but didn't mention the return process. The employees were nice, except the lady that answered the phone when I called to say that I was running an hour late. She was quite short with me, but I just wanted to check whether I would be charged extra and also just to give them a heads up. Upon return, I tried to park the car in the same spot it was parked in when I picked it up, but it was occupied, so I just found one in their area, and noted what spot it was in. I took the key inside the terminal and it took about 3-5 minutes to return as they have some paperwork they need to complete. The staff member did ask me for the odometer reading, but I hadn't noted it because I didn't realize I was supposed to provide that. He was understanding about it though. If you are waiting on a ride, the nearest exit is at baggage claim, or you can hail a taxi through an exit a bit further along that heads out to the rental car lot. Overall, it was a pretty easy process! read more

You'd better bring a printout of your reservation and be very sure of what you were promised, because these guys are going to try and change things on you. Reserved a Compact Car, which was described as a Ford Focus or similar. The guy tried put me in a soccer ball-sized Ford Fiesta when I had reserved a larger category. I called him out on it and he claimed that "uh .. the Fiesta is a compact car too." I pulled up the Avis website on my phone showing that the little car he was trying to pawn off on me was in the cheapest Economy Car category (and a lower price), he still insisted that he was in the right. It took 10 minutes of arguing just to get what I had reserved. Also, if you put less than 75 miles on the car and don't bring them a receipt showing that you filled up the car at a station within 10 miles of the airport, they charge a $13.99 "convenience fee" to top off the gas tank. read more

After being assured WEEKS ago that I could reserve a car and pick it up after hours because I'm a FastTrack member, I was called this morning before my flight to tell me there was a credit card issue, and they couldn't do it. What? Didn't I prepay this? Ok, you are thinking, this is easily fixed, just like I was thinking. WRONG! I could easily provide a different card, but no, I was told it's too late. So 1 star for at least calling me to tell me I'd have no car..I did appreciate that. But I didn't appreciate them looking at this at the last possible moment, before anything could be done about it. read more

I was in town for a funeral on Saturday and reserved an Economy sized car at Avis' website. The forecast predicted a winter storm during my stay. Since I'm from California and somewhat unfamiliar with driving in/on snow, at the counter Emily looked for a larger car that would be more stable (none available). No one went out to the car with me. I was told to call back and let Emily know if I noticed any damage to the car. No one was at the return curb to check the car in. At the counter I didn't need to produce a gasoline receipt - I offered one, Jeremy declined. Staff was easy going and very friendly. This is my first experience with Avis. read more

I received a charge on my credit card for $115.00 from VMS. I have NO CLUE who is VMS. I look on line I realize they are associated with car rental. I call VMS they cannot assist me I have no violation number. I contact AVIS they cannot assist me they didn't charge me the $115.00. I had to have my credit card company investigate this for me. AVIS releases your credit card information to VMS without notifying you. VMS charges your credit card without notifying you. I never received any paperwork from AVIS or VMS what I was I being charged for. 4 months later they are charging me $75 for speeding (no photo) and a $40 VMS processing fee. I never received any official paperwork from the City of Cedar Rapids or Iowa if this is legit or just a SCAM between AVIS and VMS. read more