Renting a car can be complex and difficult. Avis in Crystal Lake with Jay and Linda makes it clear and simple. Have been renting from this business for years and will be again. read more

First off, the main thing you need to know that this is *not* a legitimate, company owned Avis/Budget location. This appears to be a privately operated "agency" location run by a shady character ("Jay???") in a well-worn, seedy looking strip mall off the main highway. I had a week-long business rental reserved with this Budget location scheduled for pickup at 8AM. Upon arrival at 8AM, the lights were off and the doors locked. Once he did finally decide to open the doors, the agent, who also calls himself "the owner," did not like my reserved rate and refused to honor it. I work for a large transportation company that does a huge amount of business with Avis/Budget. He adjusted my reservation to nearly SEVEN TIMES the booked rate and then wanted to run my credit card without even discussing it, other than to say it costs him more to have the car on his lot, whatever that means. I refused and called customer relations. As this is a private, non-Avis/Budget Group location, there was nothing that customer relations could do other than apologize. There appeared to be nearly no rental cars parked in the lot that I was able to identify. From reading other reviews (and you should too), it seems that this is pretty standard practice for this location...denial of rentals, adjustment of rates, not having cars available, etc. The office is run down and dirty. All the 4-5 star reviews appear to be years old. Most recent reviews are 1-star and it is obvious why. If you need a rental car in the northwest suburbs, you would be well advised to choose a different location, or perhaps a different company all together. Avis/Budget lost a customer this morning and I am going to have a lengthy conversation with our corporate travel department about removing Avis/Budget as a rental car vendor for our entire company of 130,000+ employees. read more

Jay was great. He happened to be there for pickup and drop off. The process was smooth and there was no pressure tactics to add insurance coverage, tank refills, or other add-ons. Quick note, this Avis also doubles as a Budget rental facility, so check the prices for both. I utilized the Budget service. We got a 2024 Hyundai Tucson and it was a nice ride with decent mpg. We liked the cruise control assist and the trunk space was perfect for our needs. They even gave us an ice scraper just in case and it did come in handy. The drop off process was seamless, as Jay had an app with the mileage and the gas tank info all ready to go. I was in and out in less than 3min. Lastly, the rate I had here was the best of the brands (Enterprise, Hertz, Avis), so it was an easy decision for the price. I would highly recommend this location for its quick and professional service and low rates. read more

I was treated great. Linda went out of her way to make sure I was satisfied. Thank you!

Avoid this company at all cost. wife and i rented a car for a day, a week after we returned it we got a bill for a cracked windshield and cleaning do to smoking in the car. well neither of us smoke and the windshield wasn't cracked when we returned it. yet I have a bill for $900 for that. tried calling many times and told to go pound sand. they can fuck off with there scammy business practices and upon further investigation I found this is their normal business practices with many complaints of the same. wife and I both rent multiple times a month for work and my company has 500 employees that rent daily. they just lost a ton of money. $800 today will cost them tens of thousands over the next year alone. read more

Horrible location. They take your reservation, take your money, and then tell you they have no cars. Not they they do not have a car in the rental class you reserved...NO CARS AT ALL. Avis with no rental cars. What a joke. "Jay" could care less. Offered ZERO solutions or alternatives...only stated that we "have no cars tomorrow either". He could not even cancel or refund...just pass you off to the "800" number where you have to sit on hold and wait 10 days to get your money back. Shut this location down or do not allow the system to take a reservation for a location that has no cars. AVOID THIS PLACE and stay away from Avis altogether. They are #2 not because they try harder, but because they do not try at all. read more

Pre-paid a rental. First place called back an hour later, sorry we don't have any cars, you have to move to a different store. Move it to a different store. Second place sends a text message an hour later, we don't have any cars. Move the reservation to the third place. 9 am arrive at third place, sorry your card is declined for the $250 deposit, and we can't run it again for 24 hours and we need a physical card to run. My Pre-paid amount of $226.00 is no refund. Never again will I give a single penny to these scammers!! It was PRE PAID read more

I rent cars annually in 10-20 cities. When I fly into chicago I go out of my way to go to this location. Why? Jay is meticulous in his job. Never a problem; whether there is low inventory or the constant changes in my stay Jay always takes care of it. I've been renting from this Avis location since 2009 and I've had nothing but amazing experiences. I've rented at least 20-30 cars from here. Simply, the best Avis location in the United States. read more

Doesn't matter if you book months in advance. They will call you the day before pick up to tell you they don't have the vehicle you reserved but still have the listing posted online. Stay away. read more

I cannot say enough about the service here. They are always so pleasant to deal with and willing to go the extra mile to make things easier and less costly. Jay was soooo helpful with my last car rental. Absolutely recommend this place! read more

I have rented cars from Jay and Linda in Crystal Lake for over 10 years and they are great! I have aways been impressed with the friendly customer service and they always find a car that I like. I probably rent cars 50+ days a year and unless I am out of town, Jay and Linda gets my business. While Avis is a good competitive rental car company, it is Crystal Lake's service that keeps me coming back. Way to go my friends! Richard read more

Jay is the man - went out of his way to make sure I was taken care of even with low inventory. Super respectful super helpful . Thanks jay

I rent vehicles quite often for road trips, or just a weekend to make my car available for the kids to use. I have rented frrom all the local places depending on who has the best rates. Well, I used to anyway. My experiences have ranged from awful to average elsewhere, but convenience, flexability, and just plain personality & friendliness sets Avis-Crystal Lake far above. I am now to the point where even if they are not the lowest rate I will pay the extra dollar or two a day for their accommodating & friendly service. Jay & Linda are awesome! read more

The gentleman that runs this location is so helpful and always looking out for the customers best interest. He has save me thousands of dollars on my rentals over the years. He makes everything easy. read more

I have been renting cars on a frequent basis for more than thirty years for business and leisure travel. All over the U.S. and Canada, as well as in Europe, and from all the major rental car companies I can honestly say the consistently best experiences I've had have been right here right here in my home town of Crystal Lake. Jay and Linda "bend over backwards" to meet customers' needs and provide complete satisfaction. I never hesitate to recommend them. Their rates are competitive, too. But for me, the outstanding service and peace of mind are the main reasons for Choosing Avis of Crystal Lake read more

I have been renting cars here for several years. The proprietors, Jay and Linda, are accommodating and pleasant. Living out in the NW suburbs, it's a pain to have to go out to the airport to rent a car. I have rented cars from the other guys, not mentioning any names starts with an E, and even though they were mostly professional, they had no personality and service was SLOW. The CL Avis will get you in and out. with a smile :-) read more

While the rental car was great, what I had an issue with was the rudeness of the "owner", Jay. There was an extra charge put onto my card after I had turned in the car - I called to find out why - he said they wouldn't have put on a charge and sent me to the toll number - it wasn't them. I called him back and asked if he could just pull up my account and see what the charge was for. He explained what the charge was for - and then got very rude when I explained why the car looked late to them. He said, "What do you want me to do? I'm locked in after 48 hrs." Granted - the late fee was my fault - but my gripe is how rude Jay got with me. This wasn't his only rude comment, but the point is how horrible the customer service was to be "bullied" by a store "owner". There are better ways to handle questions. read more

We've been renting cars for a while and very often as my husband runs marathons to different states. This is my first time in this location. I can say that the customer service was very poor. First I asked if we could reserve a Chrysler town and country since it has a DVD player in it and the man I talked to said that they can't guarantee it since it is a busy time. I understood that part. So then I said can you put a little note on my reservation so maybe if you have that available mini van you can give it to me. He said he can't promise that. So I was just clarifying with him if he can't promise to give me that particular car or he can't promise to make that note in my reservation. He answered me very rudely which was uncalled for. When I picked up the car, I asked if they have a Chrysler available and the lady said no. I asked if there's a note in my reservation that I requested for it and she said no. The man (who sounded like the same man I talked to on the phone) started saying to me "if you want a car with a DVD do you want me to give you a quote how much it is per day?" I was surprised because first, I thought that they don't have it available and secondly, now he wants to charge me extra for it! Anyway, so I didn't took it since I didn't want the extra charges. I reserved the car until monday but I was thinking we will be able to return it sunday morning. So I asked the lady if I return it sunday do I get a refund back? She said, in her exact words, "if you return it sunday before 1:00pm you'll get a refund back". So then I returned it at 11:22 sunday morning and asked if I will get a refund and she said no. I told her about what she told me before (to return t before 1pm) and she simply said that she doesn't remember our conversation and that there's nothing she can do about it. I know they have some happy customers ( judging from the reviews that were written on this site) so I don't know if it's because of the color of my skin thats why I was treated the way I was. One thing for sure, I will NEVER again use their services. read more