Avis Car Rental

To start this off, every person I worked with at the Avis counters was lovely. I was talking to them after 48 hours of travel and I was stressed out and exhausted. All the workers were patient, kind, and very personable. With that said, Im not disgusted with the staff or the rental itself, but the price. I was denied boarding on a flight at 10 pm from Philly to Harrisburg due to the airplane being overweight from luggage, and I couldnt take a flight the next morning due to academic obligations. Renting a car seemed best as I had to get to Harrisburg where my car was parked and it was getting relatively late. The rental, a Toyota Corolla (year unknown but older than 2023) was $388.01* for two hours. Id like to put emphasis on this. $388.01** for two hours $194.005 per hour The equivalent of buying approximately 68 Big Macs or 2.28 shares of apple stock. I had rented a 2023 Volvo with enterprise the day prior for 14 hours (also a last minute reservation) for $143*. I cannot stress how gut wrenchingly, obscenely expensive this was. For comparison purposes (that I desperately wish I had known at the time) a train ticket to Philly from Harrisburg is $35, a bus ticket $72, a plane ticket $111 (based on my refund from American Airlines), a rental from enterprise $100-$130, or an Uber $195. Avis budget really put the comical emphasis on budget by being the most expensive option. Im fairly certain the only more expensive option than Avis budget is if I had Taylor Swifted my way to Harrisburg, aka private plane. So if you value the money you make, consider quite literally any option besides Avis Budget. It was also just pouring salt in my fresh wound over my failed travel plans, that it was cheaper to rent a luxury car than a Toyota. *Apart of Aviss price was a $27 fee due to my 25th birthday being a few days away, Enterprise had also charged a $25 fee due to my age. So my prices were slightly higher due to the vast differences in my driving abilities from 24.99 years of age to 25 years of age. Which is still stupid but in all fairness not a problem with Avis, more so the industry as a whole. **Avis also has a $200 fee as a damage retainer at pick up, so I was initially charged $588.01 and the damage retainer was fully returned, so the price also had nothing to do with damage to the vehicle (it was returned in the condition given minus the odometer increasing 100 miles). Its also worth noting I did prepay for a full tank upon pickup ($57), so I wouldnt have to worry about filling up prior to drop off. Its absolutely not worth doing this, they market it as being cheaper, however I used less than half a tank of gas and was never refunded the difference (so if we do the math, and we will because Im a stem girly, I drove 111 miles, a Toyota corollas average mpg is around 33 miles, so I used {111/33} 3.63 gallons of 87 unleaded gasoline [approximately/normally $3.5 per gallon] I used {3.63*3.5} $11.77 of gas and paid $57 for it or {57/3.63} $15.7 per gallon, which is also just hella annoying) So in summation, Avis staff: Avis prices: (insert any crude/derogatory hand emojis expressing anger your heart desires to imagine here)
Apr 9th, 2024

Returned the car full of fuel, was charged $120 fuel fee. Called customer service and got nowhere. Ive been a loyal Avis customer but this location has made me avoid Avis at all costs. Do not rent from this location. If you do make sure you have receipts, photo and video evidence that you fueled before drop off.
Apr 6th, 2024

The people working were super friendly and helpful. Easy picking it up and easy dropping off. A shuttle service takes you to and from Avis.
Apr 6th, 2024

Specific to the Philadelphia airport location, I did a preferred pickup where I can skip the counter. While that sounds great, it's not when you rented a regular Full Size and they assign you a minivan. So I then have to go wait in a line at the rental counter and when I explain the situation, the Avis employee got an attitude and was rude with me. She did change my vehicle to the Full size I requested, however, this vehicle (back rear tire) had a low air warning throughout the trip, so I had to stop at a gas station every morning and top off the tire. If I have a choice of car rental companies in the future, Avis will not be at the top of the list.
Apr 6th, 2024

Had to wait an hour on a Saturday morning at 8am. Staff clearly not in a hurry for the line of customers.
Apr 4th, 2024