Avis Rent A Car

Very helpful and easy to work with! Originally had a reservation at another location, but really needed a vehicle sooner than my reservation. I called and they were able to accommodate me, and everything was a complete breeze after. The car was in excellent condition and it was just as simple to return as it was to rent. Overall excellent service and experience.

I rented a car from this location for an out-​of-​state drive because my car needed some repair work. Apparently, so did the car I rented from this Avis.
At first I was very understanding, as rental cars can have problems just like one’s own car, and this problem may not have been immediately apparent. When I had to spend hours exchanging the car and staying overnight off my route I remained patient and just took it as no big deal.
That said, when I tried to reach the office about this problem, so as to avoid being charged an extra day due to the delay caused by the lemon they rented me, no one would talk to me. Which isn’t to say no one was there; they would answer the phone and put me on hold indefinitely. They would let the phone ring to voicemail. They would pick up and hang up. I assume they saw my number and knew they had rented me a busted up vehicle.
I was able to get Avis national customer service on the line but they were rude, unhelpful and evasive. One person would refuse to answer questions, the next would say one thing, then another, then back the other way, just fencing the whole time. This was for a simple issue that should have required a couple minutes to resolve.
Not surprisingly, when I exchanged the car at a location at the Pittsburgh airport, two other people in line were shocked at their charges and said they had been lied to by their agent at another location. The guy behind the desk yelled about how they had not been lied to, and ignored my issue while spending minutes lecturing them with no personal knowledge of the issue. Someone even commented about how «feisty» it was getting at the Avis counter. Everyone was unhappy and at least a little bit lied to.
I have not had any of these experiences with any other rental agency. Suffice it to say, Avis failed that try out and will get zero business from me in the future.

Thee worst! So I made an online reservation and arrived in a timely manner to pick up. There were only two guys there (one young cocky guy and some other guy that seemed lost). The young guy tried to upsell me to a mustang for an out of town trip saying how great that car is– um, you idiot, I’m going out of town for the weekend not down the street! So I choose to rent one car class above my online reservation at an upsell price only b/​c the only car they had in the intermediate class was red (easy car to catch the police eye). I settled on a black Hyundai Sonata. When I sat in the vehicle, I immediately smelled a heavy smoke smell. I mentioned it to the young associate and he quickly denies any smoke smell and that I am clearly wrong. He sends his flunky (the older guy) out to investigate the car and surprisingly the older guy denies any smoke smell too! The young man tells me the only thing they could offer me was a car freshener. So I rent the vehicle and pay the price with XM radio (limited channels). I return the car on Monday as agreed but an hour later due to a meeting. It was late at night and me being a young women asked the associate if he could drive me home (to avoid walking home by myself). The same young cocky guy tells me no and goodnight. Doesn’t ask any questions as to why I would need a ride or offer any assistance in getting me alternative transportation. Short story long– no customer service skills, greedy for money, terrible selection, cold and impersonal, wtf?

Ali, the owner was nice to work with, he talked me into an upgrade to a 2013 c-​max hybrid. After the long trip I took across several state lines it was a great ride and an even better suggestion. Ali took his time to help me with the the process and took care of a minor payment issue towards the end of my rental. I almost gave up on renting from independently owned budget/​avis locations. Ali was great and so were the staff members. I wish you the best of luck at this location, my experience was nice and worth writing home about so, there you have. Best of luck with your rental.

Having a car rental service in White Oak is a good idea. A car rental service with a recognizable name is a better idea. Avis beats Enterprise & Hertz in Silver Spring because they are in a good location. Alas not all good ideas make it to the same place. For all that is in their favor Avis is behind in attracting a more compelling staff. They have enough interest to clean the cars and keep a decent fleet of new and appealing vehicles in stock but not enough interest where you wouldn’t feel encouraged to write a review and say you can do better. And by that I mean don’t drive.