Avis Car Rental — Local services in Kansas City

I landed at MCI around 11pm after experiencing multiple flight delays. I did not anticipate needing a rental car for my trip, so I did not have a reservation. Once I realized a vehicle was needed, I took the airport shuttle over to the car rental lot. Due to the time, many of the competitor desks were closed for the evening, so I made my way over to Avis, as it was the closest to the entrance.

When I initially approached the rental counter, the representative quoted a daily rate substantially higher than typical rental rates. When I asked why it was so high, she replied “because we have cars and they don’t, so we can” (regarding the competitors in the airport lot). There was no attempt to suggest alternative options, etc, and her tone was very snarky and condescending. I fully understand the concept of supply and demand, but $200+ for a 1-day compact car rental is a bit ridiculous, and honestly comes off as greedy and predatory.

I stepped away from the counter and booked my reservation through a third-party booking site. The total was less than 1/3 of the price I was quoted at the counter for a very nice 2023 Tahoe, so I decided to go ahead and make the reservation for my entire 8-day stay rather than my original plan of switching out with one of my preferred companies the next morning.

A different representative completed my booking when I returned to the counter. She was great! Very friendly, quick service, smiled and made small talk during the process. The vehicle itself was nice, but the interior definitely needed a good wipe down. There were crumbs, sticky drips (beverages maybe?) throughout the cab, smudges on the windows, etc, presumably from the previous customer. At that point, it was past midnight, and my family and I decided to just overlook it so we could get to our rental and go to bed. The dash was flashing a notification indicating that an oil change was due during my entire rental. I registered on the app, but after several attempts, I was never able to load my reservation into the app. I contacted customer service who said they fixed the issue, but I still could not load my reservation data, and was unable to access any of the app features or reservation details outside of the very basic confirmation email I received during initial booking. When I clicked the hyperlink in the email and manually entered my reservation #, the system was unable to locate my record. Even the hyperlink within the return confirmation email to retrieve my final summary gives an error message indicating that my reservation cannot be located.

The vehicle itself drove well, and aside from the oil change notification, we did not experience any issues during the rental.

Unfortunately, I experienced a minor delay on return day which resulted in returning the vehicle about 40 minutes past the reservation expiration. Since I could not access the app, I attempted to call the customer service line, but was put in queue for over 30 minutes. Upon arrival, I was checked in by an attendant, but there was no mention of extra fees, nothing to sign, etc. He simply said “You’re good to go! Please be sure to leave the keys in the car and have a great day!”

I noticed today that I was charged an additional $101 for less than one hour of “overage”. Again, I do understand there is a business to run, but considering I was charged a full-day rate even though I picked up the vehicle about 10 minutes before midnight on day 1, then returned it at 3pm on my final day, I feel the overage fee is unreasonably excessive. My total for 8 full days was only $513 after all taxes and fees! At the VERY least, some sort of verbal communication from the drop off attendant would have been appreciated, though still would not excuse the exuberant charges.

This was my first time renting with Avis, and based on my experience, it will likely be my last. I’ve traveled extensively with work and rented from many competitors. I’ve never had this type of experience with a...

Really nice people but was told incorrect information the first night and wasted $90 in Ubers just to be told the next day that I was told incorrectly and was able to rent a car finally..still lost $90 when I didn't have it to lose and don't know what to do to get the $ back.. HELP?? In your response, you failed to mention or acknowledge that your employee caused me to waste a total of $90 in Ubers to not only leave Avis on the 21st because I was told my credit card wasn't taken to then come back again on the 22nd and be told by the manager on duty, Kade, that they indeed recently changed their policy and my credit card was taken. Kade was awesome but the fact remains that your website and the first Avis employee I encountered, cost me a lot of money and I should be reimbursed for you guysmistake as I didn't make any mistakes at all as it was not posted anywhere on the Avis site or on Priceline that my cc wasn't taken because I obviously wouldn't have scheduled the rental at all if that information was made available to me so it would be really nice if you knocked $90 off my current rental or on my next rental. Please let me know as I'm a victim of domestic assault a couple weeks ago and like I said, I didn't have that money to lose as I have to move. Please let me know.

Updated as of 8/1/25-I returned this rental on 7/28/25 and of course I'd not heard anything back about the money that they made me lose and I was wondering why I was getting nasty looks from some of the employees at this location and then I remembered this review and that this review obviously must've been discussed with them. The manager, Kade, not so nice anymore and completely unwilling to help in any shape, fashion, or form. I was explaining that there should be a credit on the account and he wasn't willing to even look at it just said that corporate does what they do and there was nothing he could do about it and then on top of that, here again, I was given the wrong information as I asked a older female employee how long it took to get my security deposit back and she told me it would only be 24 to 48 hours but when I called customer service 2 days ago, I was told that after your account is processed, which can take two days, that It then takes an additional 3 to 5 days for you to get your security deposit back and I wasn't told this and here it is, 8/1/25, 4 days later and I've yet to receive my $250 security deposit back which is, of course, causing me additional problems because I obviously need my money. Then the the male employee who originally gave the incorrect information, treated me beyond ridiculous, not even allowing me to watch their television. I watched him give the remote to a couple just a hour earlier but mere seconds after I grab the remote I was told I couldn't use the remote and had to give it back to him. This branch of Avis is a trip and I would not recommend them at all because if I had these problems then other people are having these problems or they're just causing me extra problems because of this review and that I'm telling the truth about their actions and they're willingness to give the incorrect information and not having a problem with it at all because as today, I've yet to receive an apology. I will say that, Kade, the manager did apologize that very first day but the actual male employee that caused all of this to begin, has not apologized and if he did speak anything near the sort, he was saying it facetiously and has continued to try and be bothersome who I want to say his last name was Davis first name Pete or something like that. Either way whether the rest of the employees can help you efficiently or not that is the question whereas this specific employee cannot and should be fired for the things he's done because I've never, ever been treated such a way from a business. Btw, this is the Avis location in Kansas City Missouri at 1 Nassau circle at...

This was my first time renting from Avis, and unfortunately, it was a terrible experience from start to finish.

I reserved and prepaid for a car from the Kansas City Airport for a short trip. At pickup, the counter agent was indifferent and dismissive, but we were on a tight schedule, so I let it slide. The car they gave us had multiple cosmetic issues (mirror cap missing, rear bumper popped out, dirty interior), but worse – I later discovered that both front tires were completely bald, down to the wear lines. This car should have never been rented out. It was unsafe to drive.

I called Avis customer service, who told me to exchange it at the nearest open location. That was the Omaha airport. The staff there were friendly, but it still took over an hour out of our already short trip to sort out the exchange.

Unfortunately, the second vehicle wasn’t much better. The tires were also worn (though not quite as bad), and the alignment was so off that I had to hold the steering wheel at a 45-degree angle just to drive straight. Again – not acceptable.

We returned the second car to Kansas City as scheduled. Now, days later, I’ve been charged a second time—despite already prepaying for the rental. I’ve received zero communication explaining why, and I’ve now had to spend even more time chasing this down.

To recap: • I was given two unsafe vehicles on a single prepaid rental. • I lost valuable time during my vacation dealing with vehicle swaps. • I’ve now been charged twice for one rental. • I’ve received no explanation or follow-up.

At minimum, I should be refunded the duplicate charge. Realistically, Avis should also refund the original rental fee for putting my safety at risk and wasting my time.

I’m reaching out through this review because I want someone at Avis to call me directly and make this right. If this doesn’t get resolved soon, I’ll have to escalate further, including filing a dispute with my credit card company and contacting the relevant consumer protection agencies.

I’ll update this review with the outcome. Update 7/24: The customer service is courteous even if you don’t really get anywhere. They claimed my second charge was for extras and that I signed for them. I was never told and was not aware I was agreeing to any extras at any time. I was eventually able to get them to refund me 50% of the extras charge and one day refund off the original rental charge. It’s not enough, but I didn’t want to continue to waste my time with this. I will NEVER rent...