Rent A Dirty Car With No Gas
By Sparkle333 on - Updated Oct 15, 2011Yes, it was as bad as it sounds! On a recent business trip to Jacksonville, Florida, we were glad to know that we could rent a car for me, from our hotel lobby. My husband's secretary had made the reservations well in advance, but when we arrived in town, and went to the hotel, we could sense there was a problem. The lady indicated that it had been reserved for around noon. We could not believe that would be the case, as there was no way we could possibly make the drive from our house to Jacksonville in that short time, without leaving a lot earlier than we had planned to. (We would never have asked for the car at noon.) We suspected that our car had been rented already, and the lady was just making an excuse-though we had no proof. Finally she said, "We do have a compact car available, but it only has 1/8 of a tank of gas. If you return it with a full tank, we'll give you $50.00 credit." (My husband later reminded me that with the price of gas these days, we'd barely break even.)
But beggars can't be choosers, so we took it. She practically shoved the keys at us, and then looked quite perturbed when we asked for directions to the nearest Walmart. She drew some hasty lines on a map, and quickly dismissed us. We were left to search for a car we'd never seen, in the vast front hotel parking lot, (with little description, other than being told that it was white and a Chevrolet.) When we finally found it, (by comparing the tag number with what was on our receipt), it was apparent that the car had not even been cleaned, as there was sand all over the floor mats. Someone had obviously just returned it.
I've read that the Avis slogan is, "We try harder." Well this one surely didn't!!!
Update On Jun 02, 2008: Oh, I forgot to say that the rental car absolutely reeked of cigarette smoke, and I don't smoke and hate the smell!
Ah, I'm sorry you had such an awful experience! This must be why my often-traveling sister (the doctor) always chooses Hertz (plus she gets reimbursed when traveling for business). I'd write a letter to the Avis headquarters and complain -- including some complaints about the not-so-helpful woman who assigned that car to you, and see if they give you either a refund or a coupon for your next rental. Good luck on the next one!
I agree with Laurel. you really should contact the higher ups and complain. I would almost recomend the service, but that was years ago that we rented a car. Hope you have better luck next time. Hertz is a good option, I would second that suggestion!
I also had a horrendous experience with Avis! I called 10 minutes before arrival to be sure they had my car ready, was assured they did, and then when I got there, they suddenly didn't have a car! I waited for over an hour for a car to show up and when it did, there was something wrong with it and it couldn't go out. I ended up refusing to rent a car, but then contacted customer service online. I was given a coupon for 20% off my next rental....like I was EVER going back there! So sorry to hear your experience was just as bad!!
Well this sounds like a good warning to consumers .
oh wow sounds like the lady is having a bad day? that's too bad that your experience wasn't great. can't believe she didn't show you your car!
Thanks for the warning I will definitely stay away from Avis.
What a horrible rental experience! Definitely send off an email or letter to Avis and see if they will stand by their name and make this right by you.
I felt your pain as I was reading this kiddo!
Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with this car rental agency. Thanks for sharing.
What a nightmare, but next time i bet you go to a different rental..