CAR RENTAL REVIEWS ON AVIS IN SAN FRANCISCO

Overall okay

After receiving the documents, they didn't assist immediately. The staff left the counter and returned only after about half an hour. They didn't provide a large car as per the rental agreement, instead gave a midsize SUV. After negotiating and finding another window, they finally agreed to change it. The entire pickup process took about four hours!

Friendly and convenient

They persuaded us to buy extra insurance when picking up the car, costing over $100. When returning the car, they tried to charge us an additional fee for returning at a different location, which was already included in the order. In total, they overcharged us by more than $200.

The queue was very long, and they tried to upsell too much.

Had to wait in line for almost an hour

Pretty good

We picked up the car at San Francisco Airport. They tried to upsell us on a vehicle upgrade but failed, and then kept pushing insurance. I blame myself for not explaining things clearly to my husband, which caused him to be harassed by the Avis clerk for a long time. They even got a Chinese-speaking employee to push the insurance. I finally managed to get away by firmly refusing all insurance options.

The counter staff was very friendly. When I picked up the car and had questions, the on-site staff came to help immediately.

Sometimes there's a queue, sometimes there isn't, depending on the location.

They didn't explain many specific issues clearly. They hurriedly made me sign, authorized my credit card, and just gave me a receipt.

There were quite a few people in line, and with only a few counters, I waited for more than half an hour. However, the crowd indicates that AVIS is quite popular.

Received a 100 yuan fee after returning

Good

It was okay. They tried to sell insurance.

I had prepaid the full amount and arrived at the store at around 12:30 am, only to be told there were no cars available in the reserved category. They insisted I pay an additional $100 per day to upgrade, or else I could only get a 12-seater van. Unacceptable! I tried contacting the rental company, but their phone line was always busy. Online customer service said the rental company needed to provide proof of no available cars, which the AVIS staff refused to issue. They kept trying to convince me to pay the $100 upgrade. After much argument and a dying phone battery, I left the counter to charge my phone at a nearby table. Only then did the staff call me back, saying they had a returned car available. It took an hour of wrangling to finally get the car at 1 am. Shame on AVIS!

We had a minor collision; the other car reversed quickly out of a parking spot and hit my rear side. We called the police and later spent an hour discussing the details with the insurance company. Luckily, with the accident report, we didn't pay anything. It seems American roads have high speeds, so buying comprehensive insurance is definitely worth it for long distances.

I encountered an unethical staff member at Avis who seemed to be a manager—an outright scammer. Here's the story for everyone to understand. Avis requires the tank to be full when returning the car, but due to heavy traffic, a 40-minute drive took two hours. Worried about the time, I decided to refuel near the return location. To my surprise, there was no gas station nearby (which is unreasonable because if you refuel far from the return spot, the tank will not be full by the time you get there). For everyone's information, the return location has a gas station, but the price is $10 per gallon instead of the normal $3 per gallon. So, we were fined $61. Isn't this a deliberate rip-off? That's not all, though. The worst part is yet to come. We tried explaining to the staff to avoid the extra charge, but if it didn’t work, we were ready to pay. The staff introduced us to an American man who seemed to be a manager to resolve the issue. However, this 'scammer' pretended to help us. He printed a receipt, intentionally showing a charge of 61 and then a -61, making us think the fee was waived. He also added a charge of 17, supposedly for the regular gas price. We trusted him without thoroughly checking the contract filled with English and technical terms, and thanked him repeatedly. Later, I found out I was charged on my credit card. Upon inspecting the receipt, it all became clear (I kept the receipt just in case). The $61 was not a big deal; we were ready to pay but just tried our luck. Who knew people in the U.S. could be so unethical? Even when we picked up the car, the front desk staff was unfriendly. Maybe it was due to the cheaper rental rates for Chinese customers through Zuzuche? On a positive note, the customer service at Zuzuche was excellent.

When picking up the car, they initially tried to sell me an extra insurance for $10 a day. I had already purchased full coverage in my home country and clearly declined their offer. However, the white male attendant insisted I buy road assistance insurance, claiming it wasn't included in my plan. Since the English description looked like third-party liability insurance and he said it was mandatory, I had no choice but to buy it. Later, the pre-authorization turned into an actual charge of over $400. Spent the New Year negotiating this with customer service. Very poor experience. If your English isn't good, just say 'No' and don't pay extra.

I told the rental company not to add any extra services, but they still upgraded the vehicle and added roadside assistance. I signed without checking closely and ended up with a lot of additional charges.