Avis Reviews 

Great car. Great staff

If I could give no stars I would! Firstly we did the “fast check in” prior to collecting our rented car. We stood in a queue for half hour to note everything was in order (took all of 5 mins) then reached our car. To our suprise it was a nicer car than expected, excitedly we left to head out of the airport onto our journey. Again we waited half an hour for the guard to return to his post then to ask us for a printed contract to which we noted we did not get one. My husband hurries out back to the lady to get said contract and returns again to the boom… now no it’s not the right car as what was booked… again we have to head back to the office for the staff to then blame us for taking the wrong car despite very clearly giving us the bay number. Close to an hour of our time was wasted. Fast forward to drop off… we arrive at the airport and get hurried to the bay (no check no one to say what to do… very unlike any other country where we have rented cars from..) to then go stand in the queue again for another half hour to be told no the guys at the front need to check and take the key… absolute waste of time and will NEVER BOOK through this again

They charged me 385 pounds for a missing parcel shelf. This was not mentioned that it existed on the rental agreement and they accused us of losing it, even though we never even used the car boot. Absolute scammers. Do not use the Florence Airport branch of Avis.

If I could give no stars I would! We picked up an Avis car from Rome airport prebooked for a weeks family holiday. On the way to our destination the car went into ‘limp’ mode. We just made it to our villa. Avis sent a tow truck the next day and removed the car. Two days later and numerous calls we are no nearer to a replacement car! We have been told we maybe able to get a replacement from Florence airport but would have to make our own way there which is a two hour car journey. Our holiday is becoming a disaster as we can go nowhere. We are in a beautiful location but need a car to get anywhere. If one car can be removed so quickly why is delivering a replacement one an impossibility? Or from a location that is a sensible distance away?

I had the worst experiences renting a car from this company! They stole 130 euros from us! they made us insurance without our consent, when we returned the car they told us to pay 130 euros for the insurance that we didn't ask for, because we already had it from the booking! very arrogant, upon returning they presented us with a contract that did not correspond to the one they gave us when we took the car! so, I do not recommend! you will enjoy a low price but they will steal you as they know best!!!

Terrible service. Booked and paid for a car rental on 9th May. When our family arrived at the airport, we were told there was no car available and the booking was cancelled. No reason given. I phoned Avis and was told it must be an error on their system but the rental could not take place. No refund was given although it was paid in full months ago.

Had to rent a car with another company and now doing a small claims court case against Avis to recover the paid funds and consequential loss. If you rent with Avis be aware you can turn up and find there is no car for you.

DO NOT rent from Avis/Budget in Italy. It's the worst car and the worst customer services and the worst bunch of scammers. They will change the contract to charge customers more. Read the Yelp, Google reviews etc. The good ones are fake. The bad ones are real people reviews. If you decide to rent from them, be prepared to pay a lot more for what your original contract says and be ready to be scammed!!!

We booked and fully paid for the car in Aug 2023 upon booking online for $1000. At the airport FCO picked up, I was charged $600 more while the guy at the counter telling me it was "security hold" which will be refunded upon returned of the car. I looked at the receipts and it says " waivers" and "windows" protection etc. I trusted the guy anyway since it was already 11:50pm and we had already been flying, delayed and transferred for more than 30 hours...

On Jan 6, 2024 we returned the car with no instructions given. We circled around the FCO airport for more than 2 hours in the rain before someone nice from Hertz told us where to return. We DID NOT get our "Security Deposits" back!!!. Been at phone calls with credit card and Avis HQ for more than 3 months and finally they told me that I signed an agreement to say I waived all the waivers I paid for!!!!!!!

After 3 months in later March 2024, Avis tried to charge my credit card again for another $200+ for no reason. I had to close my credit card account just to avoid the scam charges. DO NOT EVER rent from them. They are unbelievable and I wonder why they are still in business with all the scams they run...

I’ve been trying to reach out Avis customer service representatives for last 2 days through the phone. I wanted to modify my reservation, first tried with Palermo/Italy numbers as I rented the car in Palermo. Then after tens of attempts I finally reached out someone who led me to the Netherlands number as I made my reservation through Netherlands. Then I called Netherlands number, a very helpful lady tried to make changes but it didn’t work out, she then guided me to contact with Italy office. Then I called the Italian number again for almost ten times and finally reached out a customer service personnel who couldn’t do the changes either. I spent almost two days to reach out someone who can support me on this issue! And in the end I had to cancel my reservation. The worst customer service experience I received ever. When you think the name of Avis you would expect professional service but you can get much better service from a noname rental company.

Scammers! Avoid, our you will be paying them for months. First, they charge more when you return it, even when prepaid, then they charge your credit card bogus charges that I am convinced they make up (read about it on Reddit for other horror stories).

They gave me a car with 3/4 tank of gas but claimed full and there is no one to verify with before you take car like most places. Pick up was second story of large building, cars were parking lot away from it. No one works the counter, we and other customers waited almost an hour for staff to show up, even though we had it booked for this time, and called ahead to confirm that morning.

Car was in terrible condition. Rearview mirror literally came off in my hand as I went to adjust it before even leaving lot.

The price was already expensive, but with the extra they are still charging my card it is absolutely ridiculous. I am at over $500 for a 26 hour rental.

Don't get caught by them, avoid!!

We paid for the road side assistance for our trip around Milan. Thieves knifed our tire and robbed us in Milan, afterwards we called the road side assist who said they could not help us on a Sunday and because the car (rented from Avis Italy) had Germany plates they would not be able to do anything for us. When we eventually got the car back to Avis they just told us to email customer service - no apology or refund was offered.

Can’t give no stars so they get one. Apparently a free car rental coupon means the car actually costs $112. 10 cars at my location but no one picked up the phone the day of my reservation so I drove an extra 10 miles to the next one. Tried to charge me for gas after I filled up the tank a block away. Spent 10 minutes emptying the car in the lot and the jac**ss tried to tell me I was 5 minutes late and he was charging me for another hour. Absolutely THE WORST CAR RENTAL EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE. F’ing clowns.

FRAUD!!
I have booked a car at AVIS, Catania airport for a long term, they split bill into 2 months and charged me twice. Was agreed 45€ per day, charged me 88€. In the invoice I found Airport taxes 400€ per month (800€ 2 months) and 105€ Road assistance (never needed assistance). I reported to Police. Looking for the lawyer.

A lot of hire companies in Italy have bad reviews but I needed a car. I booked online, paid for all the insurance (I normally don’t) and filmed the refuelling at the airport thinking nothing could possibly go wrong.
Err, nope! It turns out the price I paid upfront was just an ‘estimate’ and the actual price would be decided after I returned it and the difference taken from my card the next week. Totally bonkers and nothing on the website says they can decide the rental price after return.

Terrible service. Picked up vehicle and it was dirty - gate personnel noted on file. I drive to my hometown late in day. Next morning thru the dirt I could see wheels are all scratched up. I didnt think nothing of it at the time - thinking for scratches on rims they would not care. Upon return, agent blames one of the wheels on me! the other wheels were noted from previous rentals! I disputed it as clearly it was evident that they simply forgot to include this wheel with the rest of the scratched wheels from previous rental. Plus, they said there was a rip on wheel wall! Great I drove on autostrada at highway speeds with a damaged wheel right from beginning of rental!. I kept calling the complaint customer service and this kept going in circles. That was the first time I used AVIS in Italy and wil be my last time. I go to Italy often, STAY AWAY from AVIS Italy - they are a complete JOKE. Schifo! Vergogna! way to milk $1200

Horrible company in Italy!! They give you different car as you expect. After sign agreement they call me 2 hours befor pick up the car that I need buy extra insurance because if not I won’t be protected! They manipulate conversation to buy some extra things!
Rent is cheap but be careful on details.
They took more deposit than was wrote on agreement! When I gave them back the car I asked when my deposit will be returned and they said straight away. It’s 3 days after my holiday and deposit is still in hold. Ridiculous!
Car was in good condition but others things very frustrated.
When I gave them this car they charged for extra driver but never mentioned about this extra charge before.

In July 2023, I rented a car from Avis in Rome Italy and returned the car at the airport in Venice. Everything went well with Avis. No problems.

Without knowing I received a traffic violation in Rome. I guess it was through the street cameras they have.
In December 2023, Avis informed me about the violation and Avis Italy imposed $48 USD administrative fee for each violation. This fee is separate from the actual violation fine, which the Italian police will separately collect. I said OK, and I tried to pay to Avis the administrative fee to Avis using my credit card. Three attempts to pay with my credit card were not accepted by Avis even though my credit card approved the payment. Avis asked a bank transfer form of payment as they claim that there is an issue with the credit card payments at Avis. The bank charges extra fees for bank transfer payments. I was ok with the car rental in Italy, but after this problem bad experience, I decided never to rent from Avis again. I suggest read rental car reviews for country before renting a car.

We returned a Peugeot2008 with said "scratches" on the right side. They were neither visible nor you could feel them with your finger/nail. Two questionable employees instisted we made a damage that required "replacing the entire right side" for a cost of €1.040 (later become €1.600 due to some addt'l taxes etc).

When we requested evidence of the repair cost they provided a very shady quote for "Polish and Wax" of the left and right side (note: quote dated on the day of the request, 2.5 months after the "incident") for an outrageous cost of €1.125.
So it also turns out the parts didn't need to be replaced, but a polish job was enough?

If you go to any auto body shops (I have gone to 2 for comparison) it would cost €200 or €300 at best to polish and wax both sides of a car. "That's a scam" were the words of the body shops.

Luckily, in the haste of the Scam, these two 'masterminds' included both right and left side in the quote, which the European Car Rental Conciliation Service flagged as wrong doing and reimbursed a substantial portion of the charges.

I always thought that Avis -while more expensive than low cost rentals- had good integrity and customer service. I'm sorry to say this is not the case. If Avis wants to show its committment to the values it stands by, the two employees that jointly worked on case should be fired.
For reference: R.A.E. 889672943 date 29/07/2023

Conclusions: Stay away from Avis. I had good experiences with low-cost rentals such as Wheego or Keddy. Also, Hertz and Europecar do not qualify a damage a scratch that you cannot feel with your nails, so consider their policy before renting.

We inspected and picked up the car in good order; after a few kms an alarm indicated a loss of pressure in one of the tires. We stopped at our accommodation (30 mins from the airport) and inspected the tires; all seemed ok. Our holiday was cut short because our son got ill and ended up spending a few days in the hospital; so, we booked an emergency return flight once our son was discharged from the hospital, and returned the car to avis. In those stressful moments we were accused by the guy doing the inspection that we stolen the "original" tire and replaced it with another one (he said this happens all the time for them..), which we did NOT; the wheel looked exactly the same, but apparently the tire with lower pressure was another brand than the other 3. So, he completely dismissed our explanation (incl. the situation we were in) and the lady at the front desk did the same. We send multiple complaints to the address we were asked to contact (and to the dutch branch, where we are based in) but we did not get any reaction; instead, when we were in our darkest moments these greedy bstards took advantage and billed ±500 EUR for a tire we could't even took off the wheel or replace it another one, or sell/exchange it while visiting a foreign country....this is insane, i recommend you not to use avis !!!

Do not use Avis/Budget at Pescara Airport.
They tried to rip me off by claiming I had damaged a wheel trim which was going to cost 150 euros to repair! Luckily I had taken a full set of photos when I collected the vehicle so was able to prove the marks were already there when I picked it up. I think they just try their luck with everyone. Make sure you take a full set of pictures before and after on your phone (so you can prove the date they were taken).

My wife and I hired a Mitsubishi Space in late September at Sicily’s Palermo airport.
When we picked the car up I noticed that it had a few minor marks and scratches and started taking pictures of the (white) bodywork. An Avis employee came up and told me I didn’t need to take pictures because “we know this car”.

I carried on photographing anyway but I guess his comment must have distracted me because I ended up missing a few places. In retrospect, a red flag should have gone up and I should have done a video, because when we returned the car a week later to Catania airport, the guy on the reception desk took a full set of pictures. He claimed that several marks – all tiny ones and including one that he claimed was a dent and that I maintain was part of the contour of the bodywork – had been added to the car during our hire period. To the best of my knowledge, only one mark was new, a small scuff mark on the back bumper right next to a virtually identical mark that was there already – and was photographed by me- when we picked the car up.

In other words, Avis is happy to hire out the car with small marks and indentations on the bodywork, but still charged me nearly £1,300 – including a fee for the reception guy taking photos of the car - for damage when I returned it.

So I would bet another £1,300 that none of my money will actually be spent on repairs, and would challenge Avis to prove otherwise – or that their outfit on Sicily isn’t operating what my experience suggests is essentially a scam. I would also argue that the car was not serviced properly before I picked it up as the brakes started making a loud noise – worn pads? - several days into our hire period.

On this basis I have I have instructed my credit card company to contest the charge and, since I have had no response from Avis several days after emailing them a letter of complaint, will also be referring the matter to the industry ombudsman.

For me, this has been an expensive lesson learnt, and I would strongly recommend avoiding Avis in Italy