Avis Car Hire

Avis Car Hire
★☆☆☆☆
1.4
10.0% of users recommend this
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“No problems”

★★★★☆

written by Bristoll99 on 24/11/2014

Booked through B.A. own site , oddly cheaper than booking direct. No problem with car , no fuel scam , we took option of having a full tank and returning with full tank. There is a fuel station by Holiday Inn on Atticca avenue [ motorway going away from airport ] Car was marked with slight damage here and there but we were told it was no problem but took pics anyway. returned car , no problems at all. Having been scammed before with car hire Avis at Athens Airport were a pleasant surprise

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“exceptional service”

★★★★☆

written by Hancock1986 on 12/07/2014

This review is about exceptional customer service I received at the Newport news airport rental station . the lady on duty was friendly ,soft spoken very professional . I felt my transaction was private and between us . I had some problems with my card but she was patient and courteous.

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“As expected, no fuzz”

★★★★☆

written by kremm on 09/06/2014

Satisfied with my car hire from Avis Alicante Airport. Queue in the pick-up line, but it was still in the a/c part of the airport, so it was ok. I had hired a VW Passat or similar, ended up with a Skoda Octavia estate. When I made the clerk aware of this she said it was the same class... Not in my mind! But the car was ok, they did not push me too far on the extras when I said no. No fuzz (but some minor issues with the chile seat, which they fixed politely and fast) with picking up and leaving. Would recommend.

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“Avis Website”

★★★★☆

written by 51Ortega on 05/05/2014

I joined Avis Preferred last year, while I do hire 3 or 4 times a year I've just started going elsewhere because I can never get in to the account. I like Avis but really can't be bothered with the hassle of trying to look at my statement or book a car.. So beware if you want any privileges don't use Avis ..

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“Good First Experience”

★★★★☆

written by on 14/01/2014

I was a little apprehensive about the travel infrastructure because I was visiting Kenya after long time. One of my friends referred Avis Kenya Car rental service to me. From the time they picked me up from the airport and throughout the entire Kenya trip, I felt secured, happy and energetic thanks to the bespoke services of Avis. Now, I am not sure, why I like Kenya so much i.e. for beautiful location or great customer service? Avis Kenya is a name I recommend to all my customers visiting Kenya for business and pleasure tours.

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“OK car, so-so customer service”

★★★★☆

written by GeorgeClure on 26/12/2013

Rented a car in Istanbul for 2 days. The car was fine, a quite new Opel Corsa. They overcharged my card "by mistake" and I finally got my money refunded after 3 days. One lady at the desk was all smiles and helpful, but her colleague was rude. Maybe I was asking too many questions about what the insurance covers, but I am always terrified by the traffic in Istanbul. Use it or don't use it, I can not decide.

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“glad our latest experience with them was trouble free”

★★★★☆

written by Jeff_3 on 23/12/2013

a very good experience this time with avis. right from booking which was pretty easy to their customer service, efficiency as well as the car. In the past we have faced issues with their product when they got us the small car when we needed bigger and had to face trouble with luggage but are quite happy with them this time.

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“Impressive Service”

★★★★☆

written by on 08/11/2013

Avis Kenya offered us a flexible schedule by accommodating last minute changes in our plans. We were thoroughly impressed by the confidence and assertiveness portrayed by Avis driver and host

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“Premium Location fee Avis Car Hire”

★★★★☆

written by Vassenden on 01/11/2013

In general Avis were good," Birmingham Airport U K" but beware, If you pick up at an airport location they will charge you a 16%premium on top of your rental,and this applies also to any extras that you may puchase.It is not stated anywhere in their terms, or even do you get told when you pick the car up. It is just added to you bill at the end of the rental. Mine came to £60.!! A lot of money for just one rental, £9 per day They say they have extra costs because of the extra hours it has to be staffed and the higher rental that they pay for the site. Of course they do not take into account the terrific amount of rentals that they have at airports, against any other sites. Another company ripping off the customer. Im sure none of us mind paying a little extra for airport collection,providing it is notified to the customer prior to the rental, but certainly not £9 per day.

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“Excellent experience!”

★★★★☆

written by walsch on 17/09/2013

I am sure that People with good experiences do not bother to write Reviews. I am happy to be one of the few who do. Having had bad Service with Budget in Croatia last year, I was apprehensive about committing myself to Avis (or any hire car Company). I made a Point of phoning the local Avis representative in Siena (the first of the two hire Points in our journey through Italy)and in Milano, two days before the hire Dates. This is a procedure I highly recommend to prospective hirers. As a result we had absolutely nothing to complain about. I heartily recommend Avis!

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“Very positive experience”

★★★★☆

written by alex43 on 09/09/2013

We chose to hire a car to go away for a long weekend. Have only hired once before through another well known firm: service was fair but car was worryingly low on oil and engine rough. After reading reviews for Avis we were a little worried. However, all customer service was good and staff friendly enough. Car was brilliant, clean, and a joy to drive- it was a shame to give it back. We would certainly hire from them again and the only reason I gave a 4 star rating was because the Oxford office had moved after booking, and I only found out upon car pick up, luckily it was only a 5 min walk and there was a detailed map in old office window.

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“Had Amazing Kenya Safari”

★★★★☆

written by on 18/07/2013

Avis Kenya Car Rental Service providers made our journey to Kenya unforgettable and full of pleasant memories. Avis Kenya offers an unbeatable combo of services: Magnificent and proactive customer service, Feel at home style of Comfort and extremely economical per mile charges. Thank you Avis Kenya for giving us a amazing travel experience!

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“I am Happy with Avis”

★★★★☆

written by on 25/04/2013

My husband and I travel to Cyprus every year sometimes twice a year. Every time we get the offer from Monarch airlines to book with Avis and we are actually very happy with the service. The guy at Avis office is very useful and friendly. The only down site is that they do not keep the cars in the airport, they have a small mini bus that picks people up to drop them off to the closest Avis office which is of course very close by. We have experienced long delay last time to get the keys only because our flight arrived late at night and we had 3 people before us on the queue, apart from that we have never had any issue and we are hiring a car from them the last 3 years (at least)

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“New car, no-hassle hire and very good value”

★★★★☆

written by hornet320 on 13/10/2012

Car hired from Exeter Airport, UK. £60 for 4 days hire + we were upgraded from a medium to a large vehicle as they'd ran out of medium sized cars. Only 2,500 miles on the clock,, so car was almost new! Just watch out for the re-fuel charge if you don't fill up as otherwise it'll cost you more! Overall, in my opinion Avis tend to be one of the best car rental companies.

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“the booking process has lots of fees that you cannot...”

★★★★☆

written by andorkee on 26/06/2012

unless u search them good, because they are not included in the rental price...they have lots of partners everywhere and therefore the model cars they have on the website are not always the same. all in all, we received the car we wantd and it was good, the agent was very nice.

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“Avis had plenty of models to chose from”

★★★★☆

written by RyanMC on 26/06/2012

Went I fly out of town for a trip, I decided to go ahead and rent a car instead of using the taxi or shuttle. Avis was available with many models to choose from on the lot. The price was about right compared to my other option.

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“No smile with this service !”

★★★★☆

written by lilolil on 19/03/2012

Arriving at Gatwick I followed the signs for Car Rental, then followed a new set of directions. Out the door, down the ramp, turn right,walk about 100 yards to a non-descript building. I went inside to the Avis desk and came face to face with a sour faced woman who hardly spoke a dozen words to me in the time I was there. She went through the booking on her computer, lost the connection, went to her male colleague (who never spoke and had the same expression as her), swiped my credit card, phoned through for a small car to be brought from North Terminal and handed me the keys/paperwork with no change of expression at all. So much for customer service. Going into the yard, I found my car easily - an almost brand new Fiat Punto. Apart from minor scratches it was very clean and tidy. I asked one of the staff for directions to my B&B, he was not English and was very pleasant to talk to, had a smile on his face and gave perfect directions. What a difference from the office staff ! Driving the car I found that the brakes were far too sharp and the 'fuel saving' cut out at traffic lights, etc., did not always start up again straight away. Otherwise it was perfect for what I needed. I would use Avis again but would advise them to do some training for office staff on how to smile and converse with customers. After all we pay their wages.

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“You get what you pay for”

★★★★☆

written by trevecchi on 06/06/2011

Expensive but no problems whatsover.

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“Hired a car from Avis for my holiday. Arrived early to...”

★★★★☆

written by on 27/09/2010

Hired a car from Avis for my holiday. Arrived early to pick up the car with no problems. The staff were very helpful and friendly. I will be using Avis again!

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“I have never drove abroad before and reading these...”

★★★★☆

written by sh33na on 21/06/2010

I have never drove abroad before and reading these reviews made me feel even worse about AVIS, we got to the desk an although the staff wernt over friendly he spoke ok (minus personality) and was handed the keys to our 3 cars... We foiund our cars all Yaris type an was quite new and clean.
Full tank of petrol and very clean inside.
We were told to bring it back with full tank when dropping off as you would expect, perfectly fine all week no problems.
When we dropped off on departure day the guys were friendly and checked cars over and made us sign to say no damage or cost was made to us (receipt was given to each of us)..
So up to now I have no problem with them and would use them again.

Sh33Na's Response to sh33na's Review

Written on: 25/06/2010

also forgot to mention that when we dropped the cars off my niece left her nintendo DS in the car under one of the seats and we only realised in the airport around 15 mins after we dropped cars off... but when i went to phone AVIS i had already had 2 missed calls by them, so i rang it back and the man on AVIS reception had found the DS under the seat and kindly brought it back to where he had dropped us off...

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Asked by Raybuch on 19th June 2014 Report this content
Thanks guys for the responses looks like I won't be going with Avis. Do you recommend any that are in the airport? I've done goldcar before and the totally stung me, not only did the take more money out of my account but my car broke down one week into a two week holiday and customer service was awful, I had to call break down then go with him for a hour joinery to pick up a new car at the airport a whole day wasted.

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Answers (2)
Report this content 123ianmartin Written on: 20/06/2014
I would try europcar or enterprise if possible
Report this content Tjoiner Written on: 20/06/2014
Hi, I've heard that Europcar are good, but I haven't used them myself. The last time I was in Spain I found a local company at the airport, superb service on a six or seven year old car, 60 euros for the week. No problems with damage issues because the car wasn't perfect.
Asked by Raybuch on 19th June 2014 Report this content
I'm looking to hire a car for a week from Barcelona airport. The reviews for all of them aren't that good but was looking to book with Avis. Has anybody booked with them from Barcelona airport and do they push you for extras? Thanks

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Answers (8)
Report this content simfox Written on: 19/06/2014
Hi yes I have booked with Avis in Barcelona Airport I have also used Alamo that were very good, I personally wasn't asked to purchase extras and was told they expect to odd scrape and bump, just make sure you check over the car and mark on the sheet things they may have missed, in my experience I have not upgraded insurance and its been fine. I took a car back to Alamo with a big deep scratch down one side after a mad man in a truck cut me up and nothing was said they just marked on the sheet and didn't charge (might have been different if i had extra insurance to cover the cost). General driving in Barcelona can be a little mad at times but is the same in London but on the other side of the road.
Report this content todd123 Written on: 19/06/2014
Firstly, I would not go near this company, AVIS will try every trick in the book to cheat and overcharge you, then abuse your credit card after you have paid. It will take you months to recover the extras they attempt to steal from customers this way. After this, their arrogance won't stop because they'll think they are doing "YOU" a favour. My advice is to find another car rental company with a good reputation, that is certainly NOT AVIS. 
Report this content 123ianmartin Written on: 19/06/2014
I haven't used Avis at Barcelona but I have for other main airports, I booked in advance and then I was also charged further on return straight out my bank account as it was a premium location!!!!! Also they said there was damage to the car which there was not and that cost another £188 straight out my account also, even although I paid for the extra insurance cover to zero the excess. I would never recommend anyone to use Avis. Customer services were only interested in having all details on an email to which they took 6 weeks to reply. AVOID IF YOU CAN.
Report this content tobester76 Written on: 19/06/2014
Use Hertz. Avis will take your money given the slightest opportunity. Last summer they billed me £1,400 for a scratch on the car that they had previously told me would cost £384 to repair. I travel overseas frequently and have been using Hertz ever since with absolutely no problems.
Report this content Tjoiner Written on: 19/06/2014
Hi, I haven't used Avis at Barcelona. I won't use them again. Should you decide to do so, my advice is to be very clear about what they are selling you, and to insist on an English copy of the hire contract. Hope you have a great trip. Kind regards.
Report this content walsch Written on: 20/06/2014
All the car hiring companies have lousy reputations. I think all the locations are franchises and the franchisees are doing their own thing - good or bad. I hired from AVIS in Italy twice in different locations and did not have any problems at all.
Report this content kernaghan Written on: 20/06/2014
Don't use Avis I paid the extra full insurance and they froze my credit card, the terms and conditions are from the USA and they double dip, try a local rental like Centuora
Report this content nevercomplainedbefore Written on: 23/06/2014
I would only rent fro Avis using/through British Airways site or using their exec club members rate - BA will help you out with any problems incurred as they have close working relationship with top bods at Avis. Also useful to have your own excess insurance or use the one with a Natwest Black card account.
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Asked by jojo4444 on 3rd May 2014 Report this content
I am currently on holiday in Crete. Picked up my rental car at Heraklion airport. Paid in full in UK and then also added in UK the insurance for any scratches etc. When I picked the car up at the desk in the airport the Avis car rep told me the fuel gauge was faulty and it was full but only reading 3/4 full. He said you return it full. when filling the tank. Yesterday we saw the gauge went to full, so obviously it was not full when we collected the car. So if we return it 3/4 will we be charged the full tank? Also the rep marked on a sketch of the car 6 areas where there were scratches on the car. How did he know where the scratches were? We were inside the terminal when he told us. It was dark when we collected the car which was parked about 400 metres away. I have read so many horror stories about Avis on this website and am very concerned about returning the car at the airport after our holiday, and about charges made on my credit card. Any advice please? I will take a photo of the petrol gauge when it is full.

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Answers (6)
Report this content Soi_L Written on: 06/05/2014
Hi jojo4444, I would suggest you return the car with a full tank of fuel. It's not worth the hassle of saving 20 EUROS only for them to add charges made to your credit card for not returning with a full tank. However, you can make this known to the rep when returning your car, add comments to your receipt (it'll be a booklet), demand a refund and have both you and the rep sign it. If you have the added insurance please bear in mind that "If the rental car is damaged, this will cover the cost of repairs. You will, however, have to pay a fixed amount towards the repair costs. This is known as the excess. This applies regardless of whether you were at fault." (from Avis website). Next time you rent a car, on receiving it you and the rep should inspect the vehicle and agree on any existing damages to the car before you sign it.
Report this content FlukePlay Written on: 06/05/2014
You need to cover all bases with as much evidence as possible when hiring cars. When I collected a car from Avis (London Heathrow) their car sketch simply said no damage/scratches reported but when I inspected the car (to be thorough) I noticed scratches on every single panel and highlighted as many as possible on the sketch. I also wrote a comment that every panel was scratched and that their comments were completely unjustified to be sure. I asked the handover rep to confirm this and he did. So they are trying it on wherever possible. Highly unlikely that the fuel gauge is faulty, especially with a newer model but follow the advice of Soi_L with regards to this.
Report this content eh2006re Written on: 06/05/2014
never trust AVIS reps abroad. I had bad experience with AVIS rep at Faro, Portugal 2012. the fuel gauge was fault too. it never goes to full until I had the fuel overflow at the filling station when I returned. They also asked me to sign a contract without telling the hidden charge even though I told them that I had full insurance against excess.
Report this content poconnor23 Written on: 06/05/2014
I would agree with Soi L comments but just add that when you return to the UK you contact Avis car hire head office immediately and give them copies of all your paperwork and hopefully They will sort it out. I know it a pain and especially at night when you have arrived after a long flight but I always take photos on my mobile or ipad of the car's exterior when I pick it up and drop it off,especially if the car is scratched in any way.Enjoy your holiday.
Report this content moelygaer Written on: 06/05/2014
Avis are a bunch of Th*** I would suggest return the tank full, never use them again and put it down to experience
Report this content Tjoiner Written on: 06/05/2014
Hi, I have found Avis to be one of the most unpleasant organisations to deal with. I suggest that you do fill the car up before you return it. Keep a copy of the receipt, and take a photo on your camera phone of the fuel gauge. I found that Avis held a charge on my debit card for the full amount of the hire for almost a month after the hire, even though I had paid in full in the UK. Check your balances and get straight on to them if this happens to you. Be careful to obtain the English copy of your paperwork. In Portugal, paperwork is issued in English and in Portuguese, and I was given the Portuguese copies which made life difficult later. Finally, never ever use Avis again. They try harder... To cheat you
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