Avis Car Rental Reviews 4,700

They charged extra after we delivered the car, we paid telepass 80€ instead of 60€ because lady at the counter said it’s only 60€ and at the final the charged us 25€ on winter chains, in march. Very bad service don’t rent from them.

Briefly, we were told the car we were being given was Four Wheel Drive but 4 days later in the snow, realized it was Front Wheel Drive (should have read the paperwork fully) and should have been serviced over 1000 miles before we picked it up. Had to drive over 2 hours each way in the snow to the nearest Avis location to replace with a suitable alternative. Was forced to take a car in a lower category than initially paid for - which absolutely stunk of cannabis. Was told (verbally) we'd get $150 in compensation - never happened. At the end of the rental we returned it with a full tank (acknowledged by Avis on the e-receipt) and asked our booking agent to open a claim for the promised $150. After many weeks, we were told that there were $106 of unpaid excess fuel charges so they couldn't give the $150 refund! They never provided any documentation of this at all and wouldn't accept our official electronic fuel receipt from the morning of the return.
The customer service was abysmal from start to finish. Giving two stars because the replacement vehicle was good.

I recently had a very poor experience with Avis Car Rental that is still not resolved as I write this. I rented a car from Avis in Bellingham , WA when I got to the car after checking in at the counter, my son we both immediately noticed a rather large dent in the hatchback of the car. I proceeded to take a video of the car to document the damage. At turn in I showed the person at the counter the video and he assured me that they already had noted the damage, that was caused by the customer before me, in the cars record and I was cleared and would not be held responsible for anything. Fast forward to almost 6 weeks after I turned the car in I get a letter from a company representing Avis that I owe almost $3000 for the damage that was done to the rental car. I called customer service several times but for the most part they were not helpful except for one that told me that there is documentation, a accident report that clearly showed the other renters name and the date of the accident which was the day before I rented the car. Which I also find very upsetting because I was handed a car that was rear ended and was never checked out by a mechanic to make sure it was save to drive. That customer service rep also told me that it looks like the other renter was also charged for the damage. I have have tried several times to get this resolved with customer service and have gotten no help. My daughter-in-law went out of her way several times to go to Bellingham and speak to the manager there but again there has been no resolve. This has costed me several hours and aggravation and Avis does not seem to care. I guess it might be time to consult a lawyer.

Avis Car Rental at Split Airport: A Scam

Avis Car Rental at Split Airport is an organized scam, but unfortunately, this company is apparently known for overcharging and engaging in the shameful practice of misusing security deposits.
In my case, there was a fraudulent charge of 604 euros, a missing GPS antenna upon arrival that was also missing upon departure—with photos and video as proof—plus a scratch on a plastic part under the car; truly very underhanded.

I agreed with many reviews: Avis Car Rental was very bad. I hate Avis Car Rental. I rent an Avis car from Priceline at $180. It ended up $312. Why I hate them? I think Avis fooled me to get more money. First, Avis agent said, "The car you rent is not available. You want to upgrade or wait?". Since I already waited one hour in a long waiting line, I quickly agreed to upgrade. That meant I paid more. Second, the agent asked, "You want Loss Damage Waiver, right?". Initially, I replied, "No!". She asked, "Really???! You really don't want it?". She acted like I was a crazy person. I politely asked her to explain more about it. Instead to explain, she simply added it into my contract without my knowledge. That meant I paid more. She never asked me about gas filling option. She simply charged me full tank price while I filled up when returning a car. That meant I paid more. She didn't give me a contract paper. I didn't review the contract carefully because she pressured me by saying, "Just touch 4 times 'agree' then sign". There was a long waiting line behind me, I felt pressure and so I quickly did it. In short, I was very upset when I ended up to pay $132 in addition to $180, original fee that I agreed to pay. It was almost double. In short, I hate Avis Car Rental. I will never rent a car from Avis again. I hate them

Worst experience with a rental car service. I rented from them in SJO airport Costa Rica. Never again!

Seems to be employees make errors on purpose on your documents, don't fix it, then charge you for things and services you did not use once you have already returned the car. Also too many hidden charges and you end up paying three times what you “reserved for” online.

Their customer service phone automatic options don't work and you can never communicate with their personal by phone and they are extremely slow to reply through email or whats app messages. Also no way to communicate with their insurer if you have a problem on the road as the number provided was always “unavailable”.

Gave me the car without windshield fluid! Overall horrible customer service and no fixing their own errors.

Terrible. DO NOT USE AVIS in LAS VEGAS. They change the rates without clarifying and they give you filthy garbage filled car with damage and try and hide this by not inspecting the cars when handing them over to you. The service is appalling, they lie and deceive you. Go anywhere else but be warned if you use AVIS be prepared to be ripped off. We attempted several times to reach out to have the correct rates applied and they refused to locate the paperwork again lying about this even though we had copies which we provided. We also reached out to AVIS and notified them that unless they review our case we will leave a negative review, they did not respond, nor did they apologise for lying or deceiving us so take this review as an honest and sincere review...., DO NOT USE THEM AT ALL.....

I rented a vehicle for three days had to extend it called in to get the pricing for the extended days. She told me how much the extended days where it’s gonna be. I returned the car on the sixth day received a bill for 800 and something dollars they charge me a bunch of extra charges in the amount of 300 almost 400 $ worth of extra charges in which none of this was explained to me it seems like there’s always an issue when I rent from Avis. I don’t have any problems with all of the other rental companies. There’s no way I should’ve spent 800 and something dollars. For this rental, it’s already bad enough that the customer service is horrible and the people are so rude, but to get the bill and it being this high with no damages, clean car, gas fuel back to where it was when I got it. I truly believe I have been overcharged by $300. . my rate was supposed to been $59 a day. I have Vehicle for eight dayswhich I understood. I didn’t understand the extra 300 charges. This makes me not want to rent from them again. The charges are extremely too high compared to the other car places at the airport..

Every time we return a car we get hit with undisclosed fees. Concession recovery fee. Parking fee. Emergency recovery fee. I am done with this company

I rented a car at Washington IAD location on the 24th of March and my experience was exceptional because of the check in service provided by Kathy and Atif. Being a preferred customer of Avis they always go out of the way to ensure that my experience is always top notch asking how the services provided ( excellent choice for the type car, clean and ready for p/u with no wait. I always look forward to heading to Dulles for the car p/u and the experience. Would highly recommend those two if any of my co-workers are renting from the Avis IAD location.

I am writing this to formally record a series of events involving Avis that began with predatory sales tactics and concluded with a gross disregard for passenger safety and documented mechanical negligence.
1. Professional Misconduct and Predatory Sales (Virginia)

The experience was compromised from the outset at the Virginia pickup location. Upon declining Avis’s internal insurance in favor of my third-party provider, the agent engaged in unprofessional fear-mongering, disparaging my coverage in a transparent attempt to pressure me into an upsell. A reputable company should rely on the merits of its service rather than the disparagement of established third-party providers.
2. Logistical Incompetence and Lack of Cross-Border Support

While driving in Canada, the vehicle’s oil/maintenance light began activating. Despite contacting customer service and being instructed to swap the vehicle at a Canadian Avis branch, I was turned away upon arrival. I was told that because the vehicle had U.S. plates, I would have to drive a mechanically compromised car back across the border to the U.S. to resolve the issue. This is a staggering failure of logistics and a massive liability risk.
3. Documented Safety Negligence and Hostile Conduct (Buffalo Airport)

The situation reached a breaking point at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF). Despite this being a major hub, the counter staff—specifically the agents "Karen" and her colleague—exhibited a shocking level of apathy.

The Maintenance Discrepancy: The agents insisted the vehicle was "due for a change at 29,400 miles" and was safe to drive. I presented photographic evidence that the odometer was already at 29,600 miles.

The Refusal: Even when confronted with proof that the vehicle was overdue for maintenance and that I faced a 600-mile return journey, the agents flatly refused a swap, claiming no cars were available—an improbable excuse for an international airport—and instructed me to "drive it anyway."

4. Corporate Apathy and Impending Legal Review

Subsequent calls to customer service were met with identical indifference. It is clear that Avis prioritizes fleet turnover over the lives of its customers. I was forced to drive 600 miles with an active mechanical warning because Avis refused to honor its basic maintenance and safety obligations.

Be advised: I have meticulously recorded every interaction, every mileage discrepancy, and every refusal of service throughout this ordeal. I am currently in the process of sharing this documentation with legal counsel to determine the extent of Avis’s liability in knowingly forcing a customer to operate a poorly maintained vehicle. This was not a mere service lapse; it was a calculated scam. Avis will regret this level of negligence.

A year ago today, I was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident with a rented vehicle from Avis. I am extremely aggravated with the company, because till this day there demanding money for damages to a rental that was not my fault. They have now put me on a list that i cannot rent a motor vehicle ever again. This company continues to attempt to charge my Credit Card. I absolutely don't recommend using this company. I am actually in a lawsuite with them

I had a very disappointing experience with Avis at BWI Airport. The pickup process was extremely slow, even with a reservation, and the staff seemed disorganized and unresponsive to customer concerns. The front desk staff was unprofessional and rude. Also I got a $ 969.09 bill against a $248.16 during my reservation which I had to correct after calling their customer swervices.

At drop-off, there was no clear guidance, and the overall process felt inefficient and frustrating. For a major airport location, I expected a much higher level of professionalism and service quality.

Overall, this experience fell well below expectations. I would not recommend this location based on my experience.

When I started renting from Avis 40 or so years ago, they were terrific – friendly service, fair pricing, good cars. Everything has gone downhill. I use Enterprise whenever possible for the reasons that once made Avis preferred. Latest example, had a five day reservation in San Diego. Called to move the pick up back by a couple hours, so shorter rental. They insisted the car would be unavailable at that time and I had to do a new rental for $200 more. Of course that’s transparent nonsense, that car did not evaporate. Yes their policy can be to gouge you. But guess what, customers also have policies. Avoid.

I can't give them zero stars are I would, they book cars constantly that they do not have leaving you stuck in the airport without any options, leaving you stranded and costly to say the least (

Disappointing Experience with Avis – Poor Service and Surprise Charges
Rented from Avis recently and the entire process was frustrating from start to finish. There were very long lines at the counter, and their computer system was painfully slow. What should have been a quick pickup ended up taking way too long. Employees on site were pleasant, but systems and policies need attention.

Several weeks after I returned the car, Avis hit me with a $125 cleaning fee out of nowhere. When I called customer service, they simply said there was “dirt in the car”. It felt like a blatant money grab.

I’ve rented cars many times and expect better from a major company like Avis.

Will never rent from Avis again. I hope the one-time $125 fee was worth losing a customer of 20+ years.

The car I received was in unacceptable condition: damaged bodywork and heavily worn interiors, with compromised instrumentation. This is not the level of quality one expects from Avis.

I booked through Booking.com specifically because of the clarity of the terms, including the option to pay with a digital credit card. However, upon arrival at the branch, I was told this was not possible due to the lack of a suitable POS system. I was therefore forced to use a different credit card in another person’s name, which resulted in the unnecessary addition of an extra driver.

Despite having already paid online through Booking.com, I was charged additional costs that were neither expected nor clearly communicated at the time of booking.

I frequently rent cars around the world, but I have rarely encountered such a low level of transparency. From Avis and especially when booking through a reliable platform like Booking.com, I expected something completely different.

In light of the above, I believe the conditions applied were neither transparent nor consistent with what was communicated at the time of booking. I expected greater clarity and fairness from Avis, particularly in collaboration with a platform like Booking.com.

I reserved a premium SUV for the week of spring break months in advance. I contacted them 3 days before pickup to see anbout early pickup and I was told they likely wouldn’t have a vehicle for me and there was a known issue receiving this type of vehicle for 3+ months. Again, the only reason I knew was because I contacted them, this is after I have received confirmation emails. They finally reached out to me the day before pickup and advised the would not have the vehicle I reserved. I was still receiving confirmation emails day of pickup advising what time to pick up even though there was no vehicle. If I could give zero stars I would.

Made a reservation in December last year and paid the full amount of £534 at the time of booking online. The total price clearly included:

Car rental: £373
Vehicle cover plus insurance: £161
Total paid: £534 for 7 days

when arrived in Iceland to collect the car, I was informed at the counter that the £534 I paid only covers the car rental and that the Vehicle cover plus insurance was not included. I was further told that I would need to pay again for the Vehicle cover plus insurance when returning the vehicle. Showed them the confirmation email they said insurance is included, but havent been paid for.

It was too late to cancel or rebook, this is scam. DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY.

Avis Car Rental’s entire IT system was down across the UK on 22 March 2026, yet they provided no proper communication to customers and seemed to have no effective recovery or contingency plan in place. We needed a rental car urgently to attend a wedding, but there was no clear next step, no alternative arrangement offered, and even the timeframe they had communicated had already passed.

This is completely unacceptable from a company providing an essential service. Businesses like this should be required to have an immediate disaster recovery and continuity plan in place, not only to offer compensation afterwards, but to protect customers from being left stranded when their systems fail.