Avis

Congrats Avis you have earned yourself a very disappointed customer. Would not recommend Avis to anybody.
I chose Avis for they gave me decent deal when I used my Aeroplan Discount. However, little did I know I was heading into a scam. I was given an online quote while booking and I ended up pre paying the whole amount. The email confirmation stated that the amount I paid was full and final and that there was no balance due.
Now, the day I reached the airport for picking the car up, I was in a rush, and quickly signed the paperwork. At this point, (when I am signing the paperwork) I would expect the Avis rep to disclose any balance due on my account. Obviously, he did not and I assumed there are no charges. Being someone who shops online frequently, I made the mistake of trusting Avis and not reading the paperwork in detail.
I took the car for a week and when I came back for returning, I was told there are additional charges due to some sort of system error that the Aeroplan discount coupon I used online was not applicable anymore. This is what the Avis Rep told me. It took him more than half an hour to figure it out and guess what in the mean time I missed my flight. Great way of doing Business Avis. This rep gave me a $ 25 discount to compensate however, the charges on the account were off course more than $ 25. The point I am trying to make is AVIS will not respect the prepaid amount when you book online. If you can stay away from renting through them, please do.
And story doesn’t end there. As I explained above, there were additional charges on the booking even after a full and final payment online. So I called the customer service for clarification after the contact was closed with said charges. And I must share that I haven’t spoken to a worse customer service rep ever. The lady was very rude and did not care to hear what I had to say. It was like she had already made up her mind that she will not help me. She was very unapologetic and un-​empathetic.
She explicitly said —
«Avis is not responsible for disclosing any charges (verbally) as long as they have mentioned the same in paperwork. And, if I sign the paperwork, I am obviously liable to pay the said amount.»
Also, the customer service lady said the guy at counter did not know what he was talking about. Apparently the charge was due to the fact that I was picking the car up 2 hours later than the scheduled time and not because of any problems with discount. No where on the email it was mentioned that I will have to pay extra money if I arrive to pick the car up a little late. I thought I have booked for the whole day so it should not matter when I pick it up. However, the worst part is not making your customer aware about these charges at the time of pick up. This is clearly not the right way of doing business. Two of their reps telling completely different stories.
My advice, avoid dealing with Avis online or if possible avoid dealing with Avis at all.

I typically love Avis and use them corporately thru my company, Nestle at least once a month-​never had a problem, AT ALL. This rental location was a shock to me and rather scandalous.
1) Show up with my elderly mother, had reserved a medium size car — agent asks me how many people will be in car, I say two (why asking me that? I may drive my brother and his wife too when they get in, do they need to know my whole schedule – thought it was a strange question?) — then agent says they are «upgrading» me, and now I’ll have gps. ok? – go out to the number assigned, it’s a nice jeep — ok, but the clicker is working on a another car, a bright orange little 2 door car (what?!)-hence asking how many people will be in the car. My mom goes and tries to get in, the car was so low, she get barely get in it and out of it, no room for our luggage. there is just no way this will work… go back in-​I ask for the most conservative car they have– they give me a VW Jetta with some damage, but agent marked all the damage on the little card for me — ha! That is where the scandal starts! I didn’t see any damage on the car, but agent noted on the card there were 3 small dots on the windshield. ok whatever. BTW, car didn’t even seem washed – dirt on the floor.
Go to return the car-​they are trying to tell me there is a divot in the windshield. I could barely see it, I thought it had to be a joke. On the rental agreement card the agent had written 3 damage dots on the windshield, and manager said, if it was for a divot on the windshield, that the agent would have written a «C» instead of a dot… SCANDALOUS. I said there is no way that is legit, and I am not paying it. I tried to take a picture of the divot but it didn’t even show up on camera. After some back & forth, they said they wouldn’t charge me for it because I’m a Preferred customer. Can’t get over how desperate this seemed that Avis would even try to collect on this divot. Shame on you Avis!!!

Staff, from the counter to the parking lot attendants, are generally very friendly. They’ve greeted me with big smiles and called me by my first name. I appreciate that they try to get me in and out as quickly as possible. I also like the fact that they always make sure I was comfortable driving rear wheel drives under icy conditions before handing over the keys. Safety is number 1 for me, so I really appreciate their concerns.
One would just have to be wary of the vehicles themselves. Yesterday, I was «upgraded» to a vehicle that had a flat tire. I went back to the counter to exchange it for another vehicle and they happily gave me one that supposedly had no damage as indicated in the yellow slip. When I did a quick inspection, I found a dent on the passenger side. Went back to get that recorded. Might have been the freezing weather or the large amount of vehicles they have to deal with that kept them from catching these things. Lesson learned: be your inspector and make sure to check your vehicle before driving away — for your own safety and peace of mind!

One thing I usually dread when travelling to random cities is the car rental experience. Most of mine aren’t good. So I was a bit edgy when approaching this place.
The rental area is outside the airport terminal, on the other side of the arrival/​departure lanes.
When I got here, sure enough, the Dodge Caliber I had been promised was «not available». I could feel my stress level rising. It edged even higher when the guy (if he was joking, I didn’t get it) offered a Ford Mustang instead (our group had 4 – 5 people). Fortunately, at my insistence, he was able to find me a Chrysler 200. Phew.
The car was in decent condition, and everything worked properly.
When I returned it, a guy in the parking lot gave me a Post-​It note with a bunch of numbers. Just a tip: you DO have to go back to the booth to finalize the paperwork. I almost didn’t, because the guy didn’t tell me too. Good thing I did though, or I would’ve racked up who knows what, just because they would’ve thought I didn’t return the car yet.