Avis Car Rental Reviews 46

I booked rental car early for a good price, but when I called to let Avis know I’d be arriving late, they changed my rate to the current market price. They later promised in writing to honor the original price and refund the difference, but that refund never happened. Instead, they added extra charges, including a $258 fee labeled as a wrong drop‑off charge that was never communicated to me.

It has now been over a month with no resolution, and all my attempts to follow up have been ignored. This has been extremely frustrating and reflects unacceptable customer service. Very disappointed with my experience.

I rented a vehicle and had to return it within 12 hours due to the snowstorm and road conditions. Instead of charging me for the time I had the vehicle ,they charged me for the 3 days and had the opportunity to rent the vehicle again. Their customer service is terrible and their business practices are unethical. Last time we use this service, I hope it was worth ripping us off.

I had a reservation one month before. When I arrived there, there was no car for me. Could they help me? NO, they say. Do anything online. No empathy. But they keep sending you all sort of emails. Terrible service. Avoid if you can.

If I could give zero stars, I would. This was our first trip to Canada — and our honeymoon — and Avis managed to turn what should have been a special experience into a nightmare.

From the time we joined the queue to finally receiving the keys, we waited two full hours — a full hour later than my reserved pickup time. When we asked how long it would be, we were told 15–20 minutes, but it dragged on for over an hour.

The worst part, however, was the attitude of the staff. When I asked one particularly rude staff member how long it would take, he simply said, “She has them” (referring to the woman who served us). She had apparently been holding our keys for ten minutes but never bothered to call us up. When I asked if he could request that she serve us, he snapped back, “No, you ask her.” The level of unprofessionalism and disrespect was staggering.

To make matters worse, the chaos wasn’t just affecting us — I have also included a picture showing dozens of Avis customers waiting endlessly for their keys. Clearly, this is not a one-off issue but a complete failure in how this branch operates.

I don’t remember if Avis was cheaper than other rental companies, but even if it was, it’s absolutely not worth the stress, wasted time, and shocking service. Avoid Avis at all costs.

Avoid AVIS especially in Quebec. I declined extra insurance as I have a global insurance. After I returned the car, they charged me extra after I already left the counter. I wrote an email and they said it was for the insurance (which I declined)! This is fraudulent and I think Consumer Bureau should be investigating such companies.

I was supposed to rent a car from Avis Dufferin three weeks ago. Not only did I reserve a car online well in advance, but I also made a reservation via their general US service (on the phone). But to be absolutely sure, I tried to phone the branch (no one answered) and the branch manager (his mail-box was full). When I arrived for pick-up, no cars were available. And when I tried to complain via their online form, this too didn't work. I phoned their central service to post my complaint (my trip was over and thank goodness I was able to rent from Enterprise), and was told that someone would get back to me. It's been 2 weeks, and no one has. The company is dying. Don't trust them and rent with someone else.

Unexpected Extra Charges After Prepaid Booking

I prepaid my 14-day rental with CDW on April 20th, 2025, for a July 1st pickup in Toronto. At the counter, I added the RSN for CAD $172. The rental went smoothly, and I returned the car on July 14th. However, three days later, Avis charged my credit card an extra CAD $480.

When I contacted them, I was told they “didn’t charge enough” initially and had to adjust the cost based on location and how busy it was. This is completely unacceptable — I had a confirmed, prepaid booking, and any pricing discrepancies are their responsibility, not mine.

I expected more from a major rental company. I won’t be using Avis again! JUST AVOID THEM!

We rented car from Banff Avis in our Canada trip to drive from Banff to Jasper and driving around this area for sight-seeing. Collecting the car at the start of our rent was smooth. We were served by Deep. He was professional, friendly and talked through the important information related to car rental. While we parked our car in designated parking lot in Jasper Skytram car park an RV had hit the front side of the car as it was reversing. We were not present in the spot at the time of this non-fault incident. Upon arrival at the car park to leave the spot we had met the RV driver. Did all the necessary formalities. A friend of the RV driver had tied a plastic zip to the broken part to attach it somehow to the main body of the car. I called Avis support helpline and was advised to report the incident to police and thereafter only Avis can proceed with the incident. After the police came and gave us the case reference number the officer advised us to visit Jasper Avis in the town. After visiting Jasper Avis, the staff mentioned that they are just a franchise of Avis and can’t do anything to replace the car or arrange any mechanic to fix the car. The staff only handed us some paperwork and said that I can try to drive the car from Jasper to Banff which is very close to 300 km. Next day, very early morning I drove the car from Jasper to Banff. At the drop off desk I was served by the Banff Avis store manager who unfortunately didn’t show any empathy. Even, cut me off right after I was trying to brief him about the incident saying, “the car was in your possession so you’re liable for everything.” I was given the paperwork to fill in. While I was submitting the paperwork, we were served by Deep who talked through about the timescale, and the information I had asked.
My overall experience of using Avis for car rental isn’t good at all. In the event of an incident Avis failed to facilitate with integrity between different stores which are Avis franchises and on top of that rude, unempathetic behaviour from Banff store manager has completely put me off.

Ask yourself how important it is to have a smooth experience with your rental company and how much time you are willing to use if an issue appears. Would you like your rental company to support and take responsibility even after you picked up and paid for your rental?

I have rented through Avis 5-6 times in US and Canada since March 2024 for both business and leisure. This recent one is by far the worst. Going forward, I will do my best to avoid them and make sure my company uses another option.

Was given a car with a mechanical issue I needed to replace. Took them 2 days, numerous calls, 2 times back and forth to their office, (60 min. each way) and staff that could not care less.

Big shout out to the agent Jason at YVR which was the first Avis employee to apologize and offered to see what he could do to help to mitigate. Before him, I had spoken to at least 5-7 other agents that suggested me to call another office or try and call back later.

You should choose carefully how you spent your money on car rental.

Booked a car for trip to the UK , Avis quoted $900 Canadian .Picked up the car at Heathrow, when I returned the car at Heathrow Avis changed the original Canadian booking confirmation number to a new booking number in UK currency . I have been a AVIS preferred member since 2005 Not booking another vehicle with them . They do not honor the quoted price .

Don't have cars they say they do and charged extra after accepting booking and payment. Over 2hr wait at Calgary airport to pick up. Awful customer service.

Was charged a No-Show fee even though I arrived for my reservation. Was refused service because the service desk agent didn't recognize my card. Had to rent from another service desk (with the same card) the next day because no other company in the building had cars in my price range at 1am in the morning.
The Service agent told me that I wouldn't be charged, but left no note on my reservation so when I tried to dispute the charge the Customer Service agents wouldn't help me.
Called to talk to a manager, was told I would be contacted but never heard back.
I was on a very tight budget this trip, and the no show fee was an unwelcome expense, very disappointed and will avoid dealing with Avis in the future.

Horrible experience. There’s no car stand at the Manila International Airport. You need a ride to Avis office. Traffic is brutal. Same scenario when you return the car. They don’t seem to care one way or another. I’m still waiting for my deposit back, it’s been over 2 weeks now.

I had a terrible experience with Avis customer service during my recent rental in Calgary Canada. I booked a Standard SUV for a 9-day road trip, but I was given a lower-category vehicle instead. Avis had promised that "if we do not have your reserved vehicle class available, we will upgrade you at no additional fee," but this promise was not honored. Instead, I was downgraded without any compensation.

The email communication was a complete disaster. I had to explain the situation over 20 emails, and every response came from a different representative who seemed completely unaware of the previous conversations. I requested escalation twice, yet nothing happened. It felt like no one took responsibility for resolving the issue or even reviewing the reservation properly.

In the end, Avis offered a 100 CAD refund, which is ridiculous given that the actual price difference is over 300 CAD, as I showed with clear evidence. This refund only proves they made the mistake, but it took me 15 emails to get them to acknowledge the downgrade. At one point, I was even told that the vehicle I was given was a higher category, which was a complete lie. They stopped answering to my emails.

To make matters worse, Avis incorrectly charged me 850 CAD after the rental without any explanation. Despite having full insurance and returning the car with the empty fuel option as per my package, this charge was deducted without notice. Although I eventually got this amount refunded, it had nothing to do with the downgrade issue, and I never received an explanation for why it was charged in the first place.

Unlike other rental companies like Sixt, which actually care about their customers and follow up after pickup to ensure everything was satisfactory, Avis shows no interest once they have your payment. If you’re a tourist considering Avis, I strongly recommend looking elsewhere. They clearly don’t value customer feedback or provide fair resolutions.

Case Number: 67884096—in case anyone from Avis actually wants to take responsibility and fix this.

Avis is the worst car rental company I ever dealt with …
I rented a car with my wife from them in Switzerland and Austria and return it without problem after weeks . Except from being a little dirty , everything was perfect . I was still in the terminal at the Vienna airport and I saw a charge of over 1500$ for damage to the Car !!! Completely false and irrelevant!! Pictures they send me were dirt marks !!
A complete scam !! I try to have them removed the extra charge and after 10 days to get a response , they refused !
I will never rent from Avis again in my life !! 😡😡😡

Booked through easyterra.com and confirmed the car model to fit our suitcases (Corolla, Volt Sedan, or similar). At the desk, they had a Kia Rio hatchback ready, which was not comparable in size or cost. After a long wait, the employee claimed our luggage wouldn't fit and offered a BMW X3 for an additional $1190 per day, doubling the rental price. We declined, and he argued that the Rio was suitable because it was listed as fitting one suitcase in the data. After further discussion, he offered a Camry at a 60% higher cost ($650), even though we later saw available Corollas—clearly a trick.

I expect a rental car to be in good condition, with a low risk of breakdowns, and for the company to handle repairs or replacements as needed. Instead, they tried to upsell us a road service for an extra $400. The Camry we received was in poor condition, with "maintenance required" displayed throughout the rental. We were frustrated, but couldn't inspect the damage thoroughly in the dark parking lot.

he Camry was heavily damaged. For such a high price, we expected a well-maintained vehicle, but instead received one that was recklessly driven. We were frustrated but couldn’t inspect the damage thoroughly in the dark parking lot.

Wouldn't use again. I organised to rent a hatchback and was told that I am getting a Tesla. I had never driven a Tesla before so asked how many miles does a full charge last and how long does it take to charge the car. The staff had little to no knowledge about this. I was told that a "Supercharger" charges it super quickly and won't impact my journey at all. After having to use a supercharger three times during my rental period with each time taking approximately 50 minutes- I beg to differ! When I told the staff this on drop off of the car, I was met with "well you must have been doing it wrong as I have a Tesla and it doesn't take that long". Thanks for gaslighting me sir. On pick up of the vehicle, I wasn't shown to the car, wasn't given any instructions on how to even open the car (which is very different for a Tesla as you have to wave the card between the doors) and wasn't told how to operate the car- the car doesn't have a visible handbrake! I was told to sign a document that said the car had no scratches/damage on it before even seeing the car. I asked well what if there is damage and they said oh, just come back and we will rectify it. There was damage so I went back, had to wait in a 10 minute queue again and was met with an employee saying "well that doesn't count does it" even though the scratches were longer than their required 7cm. Check in overall took about an hour. At least I got a car fairly quickly as many other customers were told that it was a two hour wait! The employees weren't knowledgeable and were frankly very rude. I've worked in customer service for many years and never would have spoken to a customer the way I was spoken to. The location was handy however, with it being in downtown, it means having to get into a new car and drive it in downtown Vancouver which in itself is tricky driving and quite daunting. OK if you have done this before but wouldn't advise if you haven't done this prior. Also, care, they charge you extra if you have been to the airport within 36 hours of pick up- this wasn't listed on AVIS' website.

BEWARE - we travelled from Australia to Vancouver with a pre-booked car through AVIS direct. Had read the terms regarding credit car requirements but thought because we had a Visa/Mastercard Debit, wouldn’t be an issue. Unfortunately the day we arrived was incredibly busy and we had to wait nearly 3 hours before getting to the front of the line to speak with someone. Once at the desk, the man (and also manager on duty) explained that because we didn’t have an actual credit card, we were not allowed to hire a car. My husband offered to pay the entire cost up front (damage deposit included) but they refused to budge. We also had a Canadian credit card number and photo ID to use (from my parents), but because the person and card were not physically there with us, they refused to accept it. Our card has the ability to hold funds and previous manager was able to honor our booking so unsure what the problem was this time. I understand it was busy but staff was incredibly abrupt and unwilling to try and help us in anyway. Ended up walking to the next desk over and got a car in under ten minutes. No credit card required. Will not be renting from AVIS in the future!

I rented a car in Vancouver from 6th to the 11th of June. (49084300GB6I did not realise that my drivers license was never given back to me by the person at the counter. First I waited hours as there was only 1 person at the check-in counter, after an hour 2 and 50 people waiting. some lady said that the computer is down and all had TO BE done by hand. I realised only in San Francisco when I arrived that I never got my driver's licence back. this had the consequence that I could not get the next AVIS car. It was impossible to reach anyone at Avis. I needed to rent a new car by my 22-year-old daughter or we would have no car. Avis took 2 of my phone numbers and could have called me back to let me know about my drivers license. This way I could have picked it up before leaving to SF.No one ever responded when calling Avis a million times. . A friend of my daughter in Vancouver went to AVIS to report my complaint. They had my driver's license but could not give it to her. I then sent an email to lost and found with my address. They only responded after a week and I just found out that they have sent it to the wrong address and so I am not sure what will happen to my license. A disaster company. I will take this to the head of AVIS in Canada.

The most awful service I have ever experienced with a car rental company at Avis, Hornby St Vancouver. Booked for 09.30am. Arrived at 09.20 on June 5th, greeted by a long queue, ok, processed at 09.50 and then waited an hour for the car. Supercilious manager assisted by supacillious rude and arrogant staff. Totally appalling and zero level of service. The only line they could muster was we’re doing our best. Like pulling a string on the back of a toy doll. 0/10