After riding around DC with Uber, I needed a car to get to NJ, so I just too Uber to this nearby Avis location. Everything was fine at this location. It took longer to get the paperwork done than usual at an airport location, but what the heck. They pull the rental car out of the parking garage and park it right next to the office. They go over the exterior of the car with you for dents just like at Enterprise. Funny, Avis doesn't do that with me when I rent at an airport. Airport locations must be too busy. read more

Don't come here! This place is horrible. I wish I had read the reviews before I reserved here. The customer service is horrible. I was an hour late for my pickup. They tripled the price and said they couldn't do anything about it. And I'm a Preferred member. Imagine how they treat "regular" customers? I had a great experience with Zipcar. I think I'm done with Avis! read more

The convenient downtown location doesn't make up for the serious flaws of this operation: (1) wait time: this location is always understaffed on the weekend--45 minute wait and 20 people in the small lobby is not acceptable (2) cars are usually dirty: when mentioned it to the manager he said not to worry about it. I wasn't worried about being charged. It was disgusting crumbs everywhere and stains all over the seats. No monetary accommodation was offered or made. (3) requires renters to drive the cars down to the parking garage then back up to the office. the elevator is broken so we need to go up a set of stairs then walk up 2 ramps. Luckily i had no luggage. cars should be left up top as with every other rental location. read more

The car was fine, somewhat surprising based on all the other reviews. The service was beyond horrible--actually antagonistic. I had made a reservation online, simply wanted to make it for a day earlier when I went to the location. The woman at the counter told me it would have to be a completely new reservation, and, what's more, she couldn't change or cancel the existing one. I'd have to call a number (which she didn't have handy) to do that. As I was standing in an Avis building and she was wearing an Avis badge, I asked her if she couldn't do that? No. Are you an Avis employee? "I can be anybody you want me to be." Lovely lady, urban DC service at it's finest. Remember "We try harder?" Avis, just try. read more

I've rented here a few times. First time was very crowded and i actually had to wait for them to have a car returned so I could go out. After 20 minutes they said they had one with no radio if I wanted it. I needed a car, so what could I do? Other times it's been okay. But look over your receipt. They'll try to sneak a $13 convenience fee... I'm not sure what it's for, except it's for their convenience. I'm still giving them 3 stars because they take it off if you ask. But that's kind of cheesy. read more

If you're considering renting a car from this location, please take my advice: don't. I rented a car through Expedia, with a pick-up location at Avis at 1722 M Street NW. I bought a $30 insurance waiver through Expedia, but when I arrived at Avis the attendant convinced me to purchase an insurance waiver through them. She informed me that the insurance waiver was $60 TOTAL. I cancelled the waiver through Expedia and purchased the waiver through Avis, with the understanding that the cost was $60 for the entire period that I rented the car. I was worried that the Expedia waiver did not cover liability insurance, whereas the Avis waiver did. However, when I returned to car and started to check out, I discovered that I had been charged $60 A DAY for the waiver. To be fair, I was given a receipt with the charges, which I signed. I should have paid closer attention to the final amount. However, I did ask the attendant to confirm that the waiver was for the entire time, and I was assured that it was. I also had to call to cancel my Expedia waiver before purchasing the new one, so this was not a simple transaction - she should have made it clear that the waiver was PER DAY. Given that I ended up paying double what I expected to, it's difficult not to feel like renting from Avis is a racket. Especially when the insurance waiver ended up costing more per day than the car! This was my first experience with Avis, and it contrasts sharply with my experience with the company I normally rent cars through - Zip Car. I was a very happy Zip Car customer last year. I decided not to renew my membership this year because I thought renting through Avis or similar companies would be more economical. As it turns out, Zip Car is much, much cheaper - the difference is that Zip Car includes all of the "extras" in one, up front price, whereas Avis has a list of charges and fees. If I had rented through Zip Car, the total cost with insurance would have been around $220. With Avis, I paid over $300, and I left feeling disappointed and cheated. I will say this - the second woman I talked to, Lucia, was very helpful. But she was unable to remedy the damage that the first person did, and her manager, David, refused to change the charges. I don't leave bad reviews often, so please take this one seriously. Don't rent from this company. read more

This Avis Budget rental office at 1722 M St. NW is a nightmare. Fridays and Saturdays plan on a wait time of 1 hour but as long as 2 hours. This is apparently the norm at this location. I waited just over an hour on Saturday morning. The staff could not have been more indifferent. Maybe it was the merger but the words "customer service" is a language they do not speak. Renter beware. read more

Don't do it!!! I only made this Yelp account to warn folks against this company. I rented a van from the Union Station location a week in advance of my trip. Called the night before to check on the opening time & review my reservation. The morning of, the van I rented was not available. It had to be cleaned and then transported from another location. When I asked what I could have done to prevent this in the future, the desk clerk essentially said that calling to double-check the presence of the van would have been futile, because the locations and/or employees don't communicate those requests. When I asked about renting two cars instead of a van (to transport my group) the desk clerk said I would have to pay full price for the second car. At the end of the night, I returned the van and checked out. The clerk asked for my credit card. I handed it over thinking it was a standard procedure for checking out (we had already paid in advance of renting). Instead, they charged my credit card for insurance. When I pointed out that i had declined insurance in the morning, they were confused. I pulled out my paperwork and showed them. To make up for the mis-charge, they gave me a 5% discount coupon to be used in a month. I really tried to be polite the whole time (I've worked in public service!) but this was an incredible display of incompetency and apathy for customer satisfaction. And I won't be using that coupon! Don't rent from them. They also won't take me off their e-mailing list, even after 3 attempts (and corporate messages indicating successful removal), which is what prompted me to finally write this review. read more

If I would have known what we were in for, I would have paid the taxi fare to go back to the airport and rent a car from there. We were staying in a hotel nearby, and decided to rent a car from this location. The service was terrible. We had a reservation, showed up on time, and It took us an hour to get our car. It was filthy. We rented a luxury model, and were astonished at the condition of the vehicle. There was literally a handful of dirt (yes, soil) dumped into the driver's door pocket. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and didn't want to sit on the passenger seat. I would defintely not recommend this rental location to anyone. They need to get their act together. read more

Avis Preferred is just a joke. They have your car ready 50% of the time and the guys and gals behind the counter act like you have all day when you are just trying to pick up a car and get to your destination. The customary "sorry for the wait" is disingenuous and candidly pretty agrivating while they move in slow mo. I have been a customer for 10 years and this is enough. Hello Hertz. John read more

The rudest person on Earth, a big scary-looking guy called Darren, tricked me into paying double for my rental. I came there early on July 4th, as they were closing earlier that day. Darren gave me the rental contract and rushed me into signing it without having time to see that he was to charge me the whole day rental for the 90 minutes I was there earlier. The customer service was not helpful at all, and basically they allow this kind of trickery to happen. Never again with AVIS. read more

Don't pick up on Saturday morning! With a reservation we've been waiting an hour and a half so far. They also didn't have the size car we reserved available. What is the point of the reservation? The staff was extremely overwhelmed by the number of customers. They need additional staff for Saturday mornings. Terrible. read more

Wring location. Its L street. Shares a location with budget. Customer service team are not proactive and obviously don't work for AVIS or budget and are contractors and it shows. read more

Huge improvement and that always impresses, any business that takes feedback is good. Have seen a big positive difference at this location

Check your receipt carefully if you have to rent from this location. I have rented from this location a few times and have been overcharged (by a lot) every single time. For my most recent rental we extended by a day and were told over the phone would be $39 extra. Instead, we were charged $140 over the original estimated cost. I asked to speak to a manager when the employee said she could not do anything about it. The manager came out, saw me, turned around and chatted with an employee for 15 minutes before coming over (annoying but not even the worst part). He refused to even look at the receipt and was extremely rude. I called the 800 number and they adjusted the final cost very quickly by over $100 - among the extraneous fees the employee charged me was a refueling fee even though I returned the car with a full tank of gas and handed them a receipt timestamped within 15 minutes of the return. I have encountered the same three employees in my rentals over the past year. It's very confusing to me that Avis Corporate has not done anything about the manager allowing his employees to consistently overcharge customers. Seems a little too consistent for it to be chalked up to mistakes. read more

This location is awful. I did a one-day rental and brought the vehicle back just 25 minutes late and they charged me for a whole extra day in addition to late fees! How can they charge me for both an extra day and late fees as well? I disputed it but they were very rude and said too bad. I ended up having to pay $85 extra which really made me mad. I rent cars all the time from Hertz and Enterprise and they were never this strict or so rude about it. In addition to this, like other reviewers have said, they are ridiculously slow--it took me over 40 minutes to finally get my car even though I had a reservation. Maybe I should charge them late fees for getting me my car 40 minutes after my reservation time??? Anyway, I will never rent from this place again. I wish I could give them 0 stars. Go somewhere else like Hertz or Enterprise, they are much better people to deal with. read more

FORGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PREFER AN ANOTHER RENTCAR At the beginning , all seems OK but when you'll retry the car the probleme are going to begin. Be carefull , READ THE AGREEMENT before to sign it. AFTER IT WILL BE TO LATE. read more

Worst Avis in the country! Well-worth the one star reviews. The staff are actually nice but it's such a disorganized mess that it's a disgrace to the brand. Went there on a Friday morning and waited for 30 minutes for a car along with half a dozen other people. When my car was delivered from the basement, it had a dent and 3/4 tank of gas. Returning the car, I had to walk up three floors because the elevator was broken. What if I was older or disabled? read more

I had a very bad experience here. It took me a full half an hour to get my car from the time I walked in the door. While their system had gone down earlier in the day, the service remained poor and inept, and lousy customer service. read more

Do not rent from Avis. Any avis!! The price they quote when booking online jumps up when you pick up the car. That's nothing like the jump when you get your credit card statement a month later. When I called to complain I was hung up on. I have always rented with Hertz in the past but tried Avis because I thought I was getting a better price. Boy was I wrong!!! Don't rent from any Avis. Deceptive hidden fees and horrible customer service. Amazing to me that they would be willing to lose a lifetime customer to what would be very little money to this huge company. Rent Hertz!! read more

Worst service ever. I had a reservation to pick up a car at 9am. I finally got out o there at 11:45. Associates were very unsympathetic. And for all my wasted time I'm getting $25 to rent from Avis again. No thank you! Don't rent here! read more

I did not have a problem with waiting in line, but I did have a disagreeable experience. I made my reservation on-line and declined the insurance coverage. When I initialed the agreement I did not notice that they added an insurance coverage anyway. So you really need to scrutinize the agreement. I have generally found with rental agreements here and elsewhere, the print is faded out, and in a uniform hard-to-read font. Since the insurance is a big part of the cost, this amounts to a substantial increase over the estimated cost you get on-line. read more

I will never use Avis again, and definitely caution against anyone else using them as well. As I've read in other reviews as well, Avis tacks on so many "fees" that the total bill I received as nearly double the original estimate. The customer service at this particular shop is neither here nor there - so I'd recommend them for budget rentals (which they also offer). My complaint is directed at the Avis company itself, whose phone customer service representatives are unhelp and rude in general. read more

While I have rented from this Avis location for years, several weeks ago when I showed up 4 minutes before my car pick up time of 3pm (also when they close), the woman at the counter had locked the door. She ignored my knocking and calling out from a few feet away, and then she and her colleagues proceeded to disappear, pretending I did not exist, and ruining my weekend plans with the car. Had I been a manager there I would have fired her on the spot. However, the "manager" of that location did not pick up the phone, and the national office had never heard of him, leaving the impression that this place is a drug laundering establishment!! I recommend we let this branch go out of business....asap! read more

This is the worst car rental experience ever! The staff could not have been more unprofessional.

I got a good deal through my employer, which is why I went with them. The experience was relatively OK until I found out i left few things in the car which i drove for a couple of weeks. I went back to this location the next day. I've been told the car was already given away. They actually made me come back next day because the car would've been returned the next day. Alas, there wasn't anything in the car. I find it highly abnormal that they don't even have a lost &found in this particular location. I wouldn't probably go back to this place again. read more

Did not have car ready 40 minutes after scheduled pickup. Refused to offer us the available cars for the same rate, as they were in a different class. The lady who worked this desk was beyond miserable. I left and went to the next kiosk to get a car that actually turned out cheaper. Way to take care of your customers and really hire "A players" Avis. read more

Terrible place-- terrible service, dishonest practices. They tried to charge me for a pre-existing dent on a car to the tune of $600, which took me months to fight. Plus, they overcharged me for the return fill-up at their site. Avoid this place at all costs. read more

I rented a car and got a ticket for parking. I tried to pay it through AVIS and they had another account linked with my ticket so not only could I not pay my ticket but I saw another customer's address and information! I contacted AVIS several times regarding both my inability to pay and my ability to see another customer's information and never heard back. I recently got a collections notice and FINALLY was able to pay for the ticket online, with an added fee of course. I will never be using AVIS again and wish I could somehow delete my personal information from their records as they are not able to manage customer information properly nor do they respond to repeated inquiries and requests to correct the issues. read more

Is there such a thing as negative stars? Waited over one hour to get the keys for a one day rental. Had reserved on line and confirmed via phone the day before. Standard, one-day rental. Nothing special. Understaffed and appeared disorganized. Staff did not seem to have the computer equipment they needed. Disappointing. read more

I actually signed up for a Yelp account to give a review to this place. I'm a frequent business traveler and I rent cars often. Usually it takes about 3 minutes for someone at Hertz (where I usually go) to pull up my reservation and send me on my way. I'm standing here now after an hour waiting here with a clueless customer service rep. They do not have a manager available to deal with what seems to be a routine situation--a rental for a month or so. read more

The worst customer service experience I have ever had. If giving negative 5 stars was a possibility, then I would have happily done that instead of 1 star. I booked a trip to Washington DC with the plans to stay for a few days then rent a car and drive to see friends in Virginia Beach. My plans changed kind of last minute, so I panicked that I would not be able to get a rental car seeing as how I'm under 25. I was happy to see that Avis had cheaper rates and appeared to be okay with the fact that I was under 25. I booked the car online, put this location as my pickup spot, and said that I was in the 21-24 age bracket, and was charged for the rental immediately. Done! Or so I thought. I showed up to this location on a very rainy Friday morning. All of the customers looked disheveled, which I thought was due to the downpour but now I believe was due to the horrific customer service. I got up to the counter, gave the woman in reservation information, and was told "yeah, we don't rent to people under 25 in D.C. No one does." I was baffled. "Even though I put this as my pickup location, said I was under 25, and was ALREADY CHARGED you are now telling me that you won't rent to me?" "Yeah. Here's a number you can call and try to get your money back." Try. TRY. I stood there literally staring at her. She told me I could go outside the city to another location in Virginia, but I couldn't book it with my debit card (it had to be credit) and they would put an extra $200 charge on it until I returned the car. I was crunched for time and didn't have the wiggle room to take public transit out to Virginia, and even if I did I would NEVER give them my business. Why? Well, the unapologetic, nonchalant, "oh well" attitude that the employees gave me was enough to make me call Enterprise, walk a few blocks in the pouring rain, and pay a lot more money for a car. Gee, it turns out that car company's DO rent to people under 25 in D.C. I was able to get my money fully refunded, but it took a few days. I sent a complaint email to the customer service center, to which they responded that the "no one under 25 can rent in D.C." rule was buried deep in their website. Okay, those were not their words, but that's the truth. Not only is it absurd that they allow people to book online and be charged under circumstances they KNOW will not fly when they show up, but to have unapologetic and unhelpful employees brush off the situation like it's no big deal is even worse. Never. Again. Thank you for saving the day, Enterprise. read more

I've rented many times fom many companies but I have never seen the horrific customer service I received from this location. The young lady behind the desk was a bit of a 'soup nazi' but got the job done. The lady who viewed the car with you was a joke. She didn't give a crap if there were dings, door bangs or anything on the car when you were checking out - all she wanted was her pen back and a signature. Watch the gas gauge, get it topped off. The cheap bastards charge you $8 per gallon if not on full when you return it but they try to rip you off when you take the car out. WHO IS MANAGING THIS PLACE and why would Avis put their name behind it? read more

There is an Avis location at 1908 L Street which is not listed as an option in Yelp for review. on 09/18/2016, I had a reservation for a one-day rental (quoted at $77.99) from this location. I did not get friendly service and believe I was falsely added a charge that I did not request. Because I arrived before my scheduled pick-up time, I was charged an additional $58.50 for an extra hour. There was no communication from the staff of this additional charge, or the option to wait or return early. In all the times I have picked up a rental car, many times early, they have never charged extra without discussing. If I had been told I was being charged the extra hour, I would changed my schedule. BUYER BEWARE--The copy print out to me was very light and hard to read. I normally would look over what I sign, but when the representative (who refused to give his name when I called, but I found his name - Darren-on the contract) said my clock had already started, in a non-friendly way, when I was at the counter. Insult to injury, I did not have access to the car for the time I was being charged. Avis was dismissive when I followed up. Bottom line, based on the service and lack of an adequate response, we will not rent from AVIS again. read more

Wish I could give this place zero stars. Totally unhelpful and added surprise charges at the end. Worst car rental experience I've ever had.

Since the M St location is closed, I am assuming the comments reference the L Street location. I am writing about the L Street location. I made a reservation for 8:00 AM on Saturday. I arrived late at the store and the small lobby was filled with about 10 customers all who were waiting to pick up their car. When I went to the desk, I was told there would be a wait but not why. A customer who came after me (around 9:00 AM) asked whether Avis would be able to provide a car in time to make an appointment at 11:00 AM and the customer service person could not guarantee it. I should note the customer had a reservation to avoid such an issue. At this point, I cancelled my reservation. I wouldn't use their service again. Although it is a bit more expensive, I will probably consider Zip car for my next trip. I would also give 0 stars if possible. read more

This branch of Avis, quite frankly, just plain sucks. Their reps are abysmally slow, there is always an atrocious line, and there's little to no customer service. The place just seethes with angry customers. I've rented from this Avis a few times when I needed more than a Zipcar, and each time I've had to wait at least an hour to pick up...and return!!! Plus, each time, they've tried to bill me for erroneous charges (such as not refilling my tank when I actually brought it back full). I felt compelled to finally write this review after deciding to try the Enterprise Rent-A-Car on Georgia Ave. instead. What a difference!!! I was in and out in minutes, staff were friendly and professional and the price was cheaper too. Heed the negative reviews here and don't get too swayed by the convenient location of this Avis on M. For the hour you will spend in line here, you could have just taken a cab up to the Enterprise on Georgia and be halfway out of town, while paying far less for your car, too. read more

Had reserved a car for noon pickup on a recent Sat. Arrived to find a lobby full of people who had been waiting hours to pick up their car, literally 3 hours. I waited 2 hours before getting a car, but the worst part was the attitude of the agents there who couldn't be bothered to explain what was going on, and had all sorts of excuses about it was graduation weekend, ran out of cars, blah blah. I had to practically beg to be put on a waiting list so that they knew what order people had come in to wait. The service here is HORRIBLE. Their attitude is beyond belief. I only come here because it's in the city and I can walk here from my apt. when I have to rent a car. Oh, and I also noticed on my bank statement that they overcharged me too. SO now I have to try and get someone on the phone to make that right, but I'm not holding out hope on actually getting ahold of anyone. I keep calling the number and it rings and rings and then goes silent. read more