Avis Car Rental — Attraction in Boston

Rented car upfront from Avis via the Priceline app at a heavy discount for my NANA who was trying to get a 3 week rental paid over $400 for just the rental for 3 weeks and because we use the Priceline even 400.00 was way cheaper then the almost grand Avis wanted direct thru them but anyways that was paid for upfront for almost 3 days before we went to pick up this car my grandmother is 76 years old STRAIGHT UP PERFECT CREDIT NEVER HAD A TICKET or AN ACCIDENT IN HER 50 YEARS + DRIVING AND NEVER EVER HAD RENTED A CAR FROM ANY COMPANY IN HER LIFE This location is in the airport in Boston and we had to use that one bc when you use the Priceline to get the discount prices they pick the company and location of the rental...so we ended up here at the Logan airport location we get there at 7pm on a Tuesday to pick it up THERE IS ZERO PARKING THAT WE COULD FIND THAT WASNT GOING TO COST US A FORTUNE WHEN WERE HERE TO GET A RENTAL NOT TAKE A PLANE OR PICK SOMEONE UP then good luck finding the actual car rental companies counter no real helpful signs and there's a ton of them spread out.there isn't a single person in line at any of the other companies but go figure Avis and budget WHO ARE OWNED BY THE SAME COMPANY BUT HAD 2 DIFFERENT COUNTERS NEXT TO EACH OTHER ARE USING ONE EMPLOYEE TO CHECK OUT BOTH LINES AND ITS 15 GROUPS OF PEOPLE DEEP AND AFTER WE GOT IN LINE THE DIDNT MOVE FOR OVER 30 MINS AND THEN IT TOOK US ANOTHER HOUR AND HALF TO GET TO OUR TURN AND DURING THIS I WITNESSED THE LITERAL WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE IVE EVER EVER EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE TELLING PEOPLE HERE VISITING THAT THEY DONT HAVE THE CAR THEY RENTED IN STOCK AND IN FACT THE ONLY CARS LEFT WERE EITHER HUGE PICK UP TRUCKS OR MINI VANS OR THEIR SUPER PRICEY "SPECIALTY CARS" WHO WANTS A PICK UP TRUCK TO DRIVE IN THIS CITY AND PARK IN THIS CITY ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU PER ORDERED AND PAID FOR ANOTHER RENTAL TYPE VEHICLE THEN GETTING TOLD YOU GOTTA PAY ALL THE EXTRA COSTS OF TRUCK MINI VA. OR SPECIALTY RENTALS OH AND GUESS WHAT?? TO RENT THOSE KIND OF VEHICLES THAT COST EXTRA & EXTRA STEPS I WATCHED A GENTLEMAN THAT WAS HERE TO VISIT GO FROM SPENDING ALREADY $1,000 TO RENT A CAR A REGULAR CAR TO HAVING TO RENT A PICKUP TRUCK THAT HE DID NOT WANT THAT HE'S NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE PROPERLY OR PARK IN OUR CITY AND THAT COST THEM AN EXTRA LIKE $450 I WISH I WAS MAKING THAT UP... BUT THEN HE WAS DEMANDED TO PRESENT ALL THESE DOCUMENTS THAT HE DID NOT HAVE BC HE WASN'T PLANNING ON RENTING A VEHICLE THAT REQUIRED EXTRA DOCUMENTS AND THE WORKER WAS SO RUDE I WANTED TO SCREAM FOR THIS DUDE...WE FINALLY GET UP TO THE COUNTER LADIES CHECKING US IN AND ALL OF A SUDDEN TELLS US MY GRANDMOTHER WHOSE NEVER RENTED A CAR IN HER LIFE OWES MONEY NO WHERE HAS PERFECT CREDIT PREPAID FOR THIS RENTAL DAYS PRIOR IS BANNED FROM RENTING FROM THEIR COMPANY BC SHE HAD SUPPOSEDLY RENTED PRIOR AND RETURNED LATE AND NEVER PAID ...WE EXPLAINED THAT ISNT POSSIBLE...SHE SHOWED THE COMPUTER AND IT SAYS HER NAME HAS A TOTALLY MADE UP LICENSE NUMBER THAT'S NOT HERS THE DATE OF BIRTH THEY HAD IS NOT HERS NOR ONE SHE RECOGNIZED AND THE ADDRESS THEY HAD FOR HER WAS NOT 100% ACCURATE SO OBVIOUSLY YALL AT SOME POINT RENTED A CAR TO SOMEONE BUT ABSOLUTELY NOT HER AND SOMEHOW EVEN THOUGH USUALLY THEY HUNT YOU DOWN AND SEND LETTERS ASKING YOU TO PAY YOUR DEBT AND THEN IT GOES TO COLLECTIONS...I CHECK HER CREDIT REPORT AND NOTHINGS ON THERE....SO YOUD THINK IN THIS SITUATION THEY'D HAVE A PROTOCOL OR A NUMBER RO CALL AND GIVEN ITS A 24/7 AIRPORT LOCATION THAT THEY'D HAVE 24/7 CUSTOMER SERVICE BUT NO...SO THEY TELL US TOO BAD YOU CANT RENT AND NOW YOU HAVE TO CALL THIS PLACE TOMORROW MORNING AND BEG FOR YOUR MONEY BACK BECAUSE THAT'S THE KICKER HERE THEY SAID AHE HAD 24 HOURS TO FIGURE IT OUT OR LOSE THE $400 + WE UPFRONT PAID IF WE DIDN'T TAKE OUR RENTAL THEY WONT LET US HAVE took TWO DAYS ON THE PHONE HOURS AND HOURS BEGGING FOR $ BACK TRYING TO GET THIS BLOCK TAKEN OFF...FINALLY GOT MONEY BACK GOT THE BLOCK TAKEN OFF OF HER NAME FORGET THIS COMPANY...

Summary: Avis delivered a vehicle to me an UNSAFE and DANGEROUS condition, refused to provide any type of adequate solution for a replacement, so I was forced to pay over $1000 for new tires out of pocket so that I wasn't stranded, and then they refused to reimburse me.

Full Review: I rented a Ford Expedition for a one-way rental from Boston, MA to Orlando, FL for a personal relocation from Thursday, 8/22 at 6 PM to Sunday, 8/25 at 6 PM. I picked up the car Friday early morning of 8/23/24, packed up the car with some friends, and departed Boston on Friday morning of 8/24/24. I found the vehicle was vibrating on the road, but I thought perhaps it was just bumpy roads or the larger suspension. After traffic thinned out in New Jersey, and I reached highway speeds, I noticed the vehicle was vibrating pretty significantly, at one point violently vibrating. Fearing a tire blow out and the desperate need for a tire balance, I called Emergency Roadside Assistance and they confirmed they’d reimburse me for a tire balance.

I immediately took the vehicle to a Mavis Discount Tire. Upon inspection, they informed me the vehicle was VERY UNSAFE and DANGEROUS to drive given the condition of all four tires: tires worn down to the wear bars, gashes in all four tires showing cords, and choppy and uneven wear. They also said the front suspension needed replacement. They were shocked any rental company would provide a vehicle in that condition.

I called back Avis and wanted to confirm they would reimburse me for replacing the tires. I was bounced back and forth between Customer Service and Emergency Roadside Assistance for more than two hours, talked to at least 6 different reps, and was told multiple different things. At one point, they said they would NOT reimburse the tire replacement and said the only solution would be to replace the vehicle via two options. Option 1 was to drive the vehicle in an unsafe condition to the closest open Avis with a suitable replacement on a Saturday afternoon (the closest location with the same size vehicle was 2 hours away in Philadelphia). Option 2 was to unload all my belongings outside, have the car towed (which I would be responsible of paying for), get a replacement vehicle in another location, and self manage transferring of all items once I drove it back.

Option 1 was unsafe and unfortunately not a real option (Mavis Discount Tire strongly advised against it saying a tire could blow at any moment). Option 2 was also not an option because the return site and replacement site were two different locations. One rep said the best solution would be to call the police or fire department, have them help me unload the items (including my mattress) outside on the ground, leave all my personal belongings unattended, take an Uber to the replacement vehicle (again, closest location with same size was found to be Philadelphia), and then drive back and reload. How was this the best option anyone could offer???

In the end, I felt my only option was to pay for the tire replacement out of pocket, seek a reimbursement, and pursue legal action if needed, especially since I needed to be in Florida by Sunday afternoon for a departing flight. The experience was extremely infuriating and I was shocked at Avis’ response.

I plan to sue if they they do not at bare minimum reimburse me for the necessary tire replacement they neglected. Based on this experience, I will also share this story of poor service recovery with friends and colleagues to help them avoid a poor experience.

For proof, please see the condition of all 4 tires as well as the report from Mavis...

Inept, poorly-managed, under-staffed, apathetic, foul-mouthed rental desk at Boston Logan was one of the most ridiculous travel experiences we've ever encountered. Arriving on an 11 p.m. flight, we had to wait about 10 minutes for a shuttle to the rental center. There we were greeted with a long, slow-moving line where everyone renting from every agency stood in one line to be helped by ONE employee! She worked painstakingly slowly, and left her 2-way radio on high volume. We heard guys yelling and cussing about "F'd up orders" and "F'd up workers in the garage" and on and on. The one gal working the desk was eventually joined by a second employee (her total apathy makes it impossible to call her a "worker"), who proclaimed that she'd been on break. She proceeded to spend 10 minutes helping the next customer, then she stood up and walked away for another break. About 5 minutes later she wandered back in with a drink in her hand, sat down, and started talking to her coworker at length about another person and her relationship drama. Eventually, she called over another potential renter, and spent 10 to 15 minutes helping them, before promptly standing up and walking away for another break, simply sauntering off and leaving people waiting on her. She did this time and again, and it became a running joke for many of us standing in line. A guy behind me sarcastically began a betting pool for how long she'd stay in her seat working! I stood in line for 75 minutes before I could get up to the counter. Wave after wave of shuttles would arrive and drop off another 5 to 10 people who joined the lengthy line to wait on inept, inconsiderate, apathetic employees who did little to help anyone or address the ridiculous situation. All the while, we got to listen in on the drama in back about cars not getting clean, orders processed incorrectly, and a number of other problems. I finally did get to go to the garage to get our vehicle, but there I had to join another line that was slowly being helped by one employee who was trying to distribute vehicles to everyone. Some of the people refused the car they were offered because it was the wrong size, or not clean, or other reasons. In total, we spent more than 2 hours waiting to get our pre-ordered vehicle. Finally, when I got to the car, the garage worker told me the keys were in it. I searched and searched and couldn't find them, and assumed I was just a fool for not seeing the obvious. I did try to start the push button motor, and it came to life, so I knew the keys had to be nearby. Eventually, I waved over the worker who disgustingly shook his head at me for being an idiot who couldn't find the keys. But then after he spent a solid 5 minutes searching the vehicle for the keys, I didn't feel so bad. My wife finally found them when she moved the passenger seat far enough forward to notice the keys under the rug under the passenger seat. Just brilliant! This was a...