Avis Reviews 

Terrible experience—my car had a flat tire. It was a nightmare trying to contact someone in customer service, had to hold over 30 minutes. They towed the car but told me I’d have to go to Siena—an hour away to get a replacement. Ruined a short holiday break not having a car. Now fighting for a refund 😡

I rented a car with full coverage and cross-border option at the Avis office in Trieste Airport. On the second day at 15:45, the car broke down in the middle of rural Slovenia. The international roadside assistance was terrible—nobody spoke English, loads of calls and every time we were left on hold for over 30 minutes. Desperate, stuck in the forest with no food, no water, and no shelter, we called the Avis office directly. The operator was completely unhelpful, repeating things like “Call roadside assistance, I can’t do anything, it’s not my job, it’s not my problem…”

We eventually had to call the Slovenian police to rescue us from the forest at 23:00. The next day we returned to the Trieste office for a replacement car. The same Avis employee, extremely rude and disrespectful, once again told us it was not his problem. No apology, no professionalism, no support. They simply abandoned us without the slightest concern.

We had to spend over €300 on taxis. When I asked to file a complaint, the same employee told me to “check the Avis website” because it was not his job. Once again, zero help.

Without any doubt, this is the worst service I have ever received from a car rental company.

We hired a car from Avis via a 3rd party so paid for everything inc insurances up front. We refused their add ons on arrival. When we return the cars we were told no charges and then they had a small screen for us to sign on. Anyway upon returning home we were had a charge on each car - both totally different prices. We were then told that it was for loss damage waiver, location fees and VAT and we had signed the agreement. So they lied to get us to sign. We should have checked the paperwork before we left the desk but they take advantage of the fact you are focusing on getting your flight and we took them at their word. One car chatge was £25 and the other £108. Tried to argue to as why would we agree to pay for something we already paid for but we havent been successful. Please double check your paperwork and dont trust them.

Used AVIS for the first time at Malpensa, Italy. I’m always a bit apprehensive about using car hire companies for the first time as I have been stung before (BTW never use Goldcar!). Pleasantly surprised, no issues whatsoever. Veronica on the desk was fantastic. Our flight was delayed, but they emailed me not to worry and they would keep our booking and have the car available until 2:00am, not that was necessary. Car pick up was really easy and again no issues on return. Happy customer.

The absolutely worst experience ever. The rules and regulations are so complicated, but they always seem to translate into more money is needed. None of Avis‘s offices in Italy work in concert. If you make a contract in Rome and have a problem in Naples, you are entirely screwed. The fact that Avis has a very limited variety of cars available is annoying, but pales in comparison with the tricky way they handle insurance. Do not get insurance from Avis. If you have the misfortune to use Avis as your car rental company, do it through Expedia and get insurance through Expedia. But I would just advise to avoid Avis entirely and use Europcar instead. They may seem to charge more upfront, but when all is said and done, Avis will pull a fortune out of you before your trip is over.

I reserved a 7 passenger van for 6 days through Expedia. Pick up at the Rome airport and drop off at the Venice airport. They would not honor the Expedia price and said I needed another $1000 worth of insurance. I argued it down to $700 more and they said to call in later to resolve. This was after flying all night and 6 of us with luggage sitting in a parking garage. Rome Avis pick up was a cluster F. They gave me a van with the tire light on and adding air did not help. 2 hours later they brought a second van. As we drove out the DEF fluid light came on flashing. It took another hour to bring back for fluid. I returned it 45 minutes past the original rental time and they charged an extra day even though they delayed us 3 hours. It has been 3 months of calling and them saying it is under review. Do not rent Avis in Italy.

Oh my god! How horrible it was! We waited about 1.5 hours in Marco Polo Airport in Venice to collect a pre-booked car. The procedure was extremely slow, and they lack staff.

Avis Venice is a scam operation, pure mafia. Once they have your credit card they steal your money. Do not!!!!! Do not!!!! use this company

I booked the car on trip.com for $546. As soon as I arrived in LA, the agent pushed a whole series of unwanted upgrades and rushed me into signing the contract without explaining the costs. In the end, I was scammed because the reservation went up to $1220. Terrible service… I will never book with Avis again and I’ll make sure to warn all my friends.

We had made a reservation for a mini car for 6 days at a total cost of €266. Prior to pickup, we received a phone call in which we were offered full coverage insurance for €32 (including all taxes and fees), which we accepted.

However, upon arriving at the rental office, we were informed that the total charge would be €722. When we questioned the discrepancy, we were told that insurance was €52 per day. We attempted to show our original reservation and explain the prior offer we received, but the staff member refused to look at the documents and responded in an aggressive and dismissive manner.

We asked for clarification about the charges and whether there were additional items we could opt out of. She refused to explain further, stating only that she had applied a discount and that €638 was the final amount and that taxes are 42%. The agreement included items such as a damage waiver, windshield protection, and other extras that were never explained to us or agreed upon in advance.

Given that we were already behind schedule and unable to get a clear explanation, we felt pressured to proceed with the rental. To add to our frustration, the vehicle we were given was not clean and was not fully fueled.

And just to add to the bad experience, upon returning the car, we fueled the car up to the same level as we received it and found out that they charged us another €55

Awful experience when we rented a car from Palermo airport. Four days into the holiday and the car had a fault. We reported it and were told it would be picked up. Then we were to go to Sciacca the nearest town in a taxi( which would be reimbursed) and pick up our new car from the Avis office there. There isn't an Avis office in Sciacca! We were left with no other solution than to hire from a different company as Avis Budget would not answer calls especially when we spoke English. The calls were dropped. They took the money for 2 weeks car hire and only supplied a car for 4 days. They have not reimbursed the taxi fare. They should not be in business!

Absolutely terrible. We arrive late at Marco Poli airport and this added over 2 hours to our journey , the staff were slow - which almost seemed to be on purpose, they were rude, didn’t offer updates, let any one who wandered up and said they held a premium card walk in front of families who were waiting long times late at night- avoid this completely

Avis absolutely horrible. Never again. Waited (at Nice France airport) in a queue of 5 for over an hour to get "pre-booked" car. 2 others in the queue had found major problems with cars rented the previous day. We (so called "Preferred"!!) had asked for BMWX3 (or similar vehicle), we wanted height so as to "see" "foreign" roads/traffic more easily and also didn't want wide car. After an hours wait we were told that there was nothing available other than a huge (wide & long) Volvo [V60 84]. The NAV didn't work properly. There were many other issues with the car. Avis ruined our holiday.

Siena Italy. I was given a damaged vehicle. I took pictures, video and tried to document it on the contract. The agent ripped it up. I have a video of that too.
I even took the car in the day before drop off to show the video to Perugia Airport and he assured me all was fine, and updated the information. Sure enough, as with all the other reviews, I was charged for damage. Avis is now 'dealing with it'.

Horrible experience at the Avis counter in Milano. Showed up on time with all required documents (license, passport, credit card). But was denied the rental because I didn’t have international driving permit (IDP). The staff refused to provide anything in writing and instead falsely marked me as “no-show”. I spoke to 3 different people including Barbara who seemed to be in charge at the time and ultimate told me they will not release the rental. They show no empathy, even though I was traveling with an infant in the heat. I had no choice but to book a new car from Hertz (around the corner) who accepted my documents with no issue.

Worth noting: the area right outside felt unsafe with people loitering making the experience even more stressful.

Avoid this location if you are a US traveler without an IDP. Customer service was unacceptable.

Incompetente customer service/system 20 min per customer to check in and pick up a car rental, over 1 + line! Absolute joke!! Zero starts!!!!

I had to wait 40 minutes to get the car, but my complaint is that when the Peugot was returned, a scratch on the side mirror was pointed to. I explained that the scratch had been there from the start and I had a photo to prove it. Regardless, three days later I noticed that AUD $ 606 had been deducted from my account. It took me seven weeks of working with my bank and travel agent to get the money refunded. Avis never consulted, informed, or explained the charge. I've still had no communication with Palermo Airport Avis. I would advise against hiring a car from them.

Naples Airport. Arrived one hour early for pickup. Was told to wait for the exact time or they can give me a more expensive car. Yeah, right…

Awful experience
Unduly charged for a serious defect of the car that left me in the middle of the street for few hours, no car change. Impossible to get someone on the phone at rent office in Olbia nor in other locations. Then discovered the rent contract was done by a local company so several tiers... who's responsible and assisting customers?!? 4 days vacation turned into more than a month nightmare to recover the money. I'm certain if worked because I speak italian, can't immagine if it was a poor foreign tourist! I strongly discourage from renting at Avis Olbia.

0 stars if I could. I hired an electric car in Naples that was 66% charged on collection. I returned it with 65% and charged nearly £30 for a "recharge". Also charged £300 for additional cover that I had declined.
Have been an AVIS Preferred member for 25 years but will never use them again. Operating as a cowboy outfit nowadays.