I had an incredibly frustrating experience with Avis after booking my rental through Costco Travel. My pickup time was 5:00 PM on Wednesday 3/11, and I arrived at 5:04 PM--just four minutes later--only to find the location already closed, and when I showed up the next morning at 7:56 AM, I was told I was considered a "no show." Apparently, a four-minute delay was enough for them to disregard my reservation entirely. To make matters worse, the agent then tried to downgrade me to a much smaller vehicle because they didn't have my vehicle, as it never showed up...I asked why they didn't call and tell me that, and the guy just shrugged his shoulders. Several 7-passenger vehicles were sitting right there, but he repeatedly insisted that I "didn't pay for that," claimed they weren't available, and said they were "going to the airport." Instead of trying to help or find a reasonable solution, I got nothing but excuses. The customer service was shockingly bad. The agent was rude, dismissive, and extremely condescending, with a completely uncaring demeanor. It felt like my reservation, my time, and my business meant absolutely nothing; he took others' calls and sipped his coffee. No name tags; told me to call customer service to see if they had another vehicle; no manager's name. When I asked for the manager's name, he threw a card on the counter and said, " Call customer service. I think that was offshore to Donald Duck & CO What should have been a simple car pickup turned into a stressful and unnecessarily frustrating experience. I strongly recommend avoiding this Avis location. If you need a rental, do yourself a favor and go around the corner to Enterprise on Magnolia --where they actually seem happy to rent cars to customers read more

Avis - Terrible service - Avoid at all cost. Go to enterprise on Magnolia instead - Car Rental Near Me - El Cajon, California

By far, the worst Avis experience I've had so far. I was dropped off to pick up my rental. Staff working...he said his name was Kevin (but not sure if it actually is his real name). First off, pick up should take a minute...everything is on my file as preferred already...although it ended up taking almost 10 minutes. He took my DL and CC and was on the computer not saying anything. He assigned me my car, then I went out to get it. It was a red SUV. COMPLETELY dirty. Inside seats were sticky as well. I walked back to the desk and demanded another car. He said he had no other cars available...then said someone should be out there cleaning the vehicles. I see the contractor working on another car and asks him to clean the vehicle. He did a brief wash on the outside. I had to call him back to clean the inside again since there was also a dead BEE on the drivers window. Absolutely pathetic to give one of these cars out to rent. I get in the car and I'm about to drive off then the car beeps, tire pressure low and I bring the car back to the person cleaning and he said the front desk should have a pump to pump it. I already do not want the car as if there is a nail in the tire, I did not want to be liable for it... I talk to "Kevin" again and he said he did not have a pump. I told him I was not going to accept the car. He then offers a random car available (although electric) and I refused as I needed flexibility with gas. I asked what other options there were...and he said that the car sensor is ok. Just buggy and I can ignore it. Pathetic excuse for customer service. I asked if taking it to the airport would be the only option and he said "Oh thats a good idea" I then drive 40 min to the airport, deal with the staff there for another half hour, then drive back to my original destination...ultimately taking 2-3 hours of my busy morning. This experience was truly unacceptable. Highly recommend AVOIDING this location at all costs. read more

How many stars does the Avis corporation get? ZERO! Avis never sends me a receipt. The people at the local office have no control over this. It is the Avis corporation that refuses to allow the local office to give receipts, and falsely claims that it sends receipts by email. read more

ProTip: When almost everyone who's done business with an establishment on Yelp says similar things and rates the same way, believe them. I had the typical experience with this vendor: bad service and dodgy pricing for a car that looked and smelled like some frat boys might have stolen it for a road trip, got drunk and nauseous, then returned the vehicle without the business manager finding out. Avoid! read more

If you are non trustworthy and have no idea what you are talking about this is the job for you. I call yesterday to reserve a car and ask them if they have it and they said yea. As Im getting ready to go pick up the car I ask them if they can move the reservation back and now all of a sudden there are no more cars. Avis is a pretty unreliable company but this location is for the idiots. Thanks for wasting my time you incompetent lazy ass employees. I hope this business goes under read more

Avis - My reservation these idiots booked for me. Assholes - Car Rental Near Me - El Cajon, California

DO NOT COME HERE. The guy working the counter is less than helpful to say the least. You can book your car with a debit card online. You have to have a physical CREDIT card but DONT EXPECT TO USE APPLE PAY! THEY WONT TAKE IT! Tried to use my Apple Card that doesn't expire for 5 more years and they said it was expired and "there is a glitch with Apple" right as I'm on the phone with them saying he's wrong. Tried to overcharge us AGAIN for the deposit when the guy is saying that it didn't go through when it charged immediately. Just trying to take all your money! Essentially, literally use TURO or anything other than this. I WILL NEVER use Avis to get this again. We spent two hours here, left with no car and I have to wait 7 days for my money to come back. We never even left the office and still not been charged. The Avis person working called in to the customer service and ended up speaking with a manager who was saying a conflicting open agreement vs a closed one with us. We never left with a car so we couldn't even get our money back to go and rent somewhere else! Leave AVIS in the past with blockbuster and everything else. read more

Although the fees were cheap... I made two attempts, two days in a row to return the vehicle and nobody was there. Both times, during business hours. I was charged for two extra days! Incredibly unprofessional! Had to call corporate and am still trying to get reimbursed. Careful! read more

Nick, good guy laid back. Go find him and he will get your experience going. As long as you communicate he will help you. Will use this location in the future read more

Avis - This Chevy Malibu I have rented in front of Avis storefront - Car Rental Near Me - El Cajon, California

Awful. Do not use this place. The guy "Kevin" flat out said they don't have customer service. The car I reserved was not available. Another car was but it was a piece of crap. Of course they leave me with no option because this was at 11:45am on a Saturday and all car rental places close at noon. He was the RUDEST person I have ever dealt with. read more

Trash company & management. I was hit by a semi truck a month & a half ago, car was totaled out. Made the MISTAKE of going through Avis as my rental car. I live in Descanso (which is past Alpine off the I-8 freeway) told them I was sorry but only day I could find a ride to drop it off didn't allow for me to clean it out. So I returned it with pet hair. Now they're trying to charge me $450, as if I didn't just lose my job after I got hit by that semi - bc I was a delivery driver. This company could care less about you, I was treated so much better by the Enterprise off of Magnolia in El Cajon. read more

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Rented a small SUV ,customer service rep. had no personality at all. Were told to wait while he got vehicle. Took a bottle of windex,got in car and pulled it up. No wipe down, no walk around vehicle to inspect. Keys were in ignition running. Got in car, had 1/4 tank of fuel. He told us it was full. Ist issue. Started drive to destination, front end of vehicle bouncing. Pulled over and both front tires were completely bald!!! Not low tread,BALD! Tried to call Avis location, no one picked up. Now will have to exchange car out in another city. Hire people with some training and customer service skills. You should do a walk around with customer and verify the gas,dents etc. Watch out for this guy,obviously doesnt care much about peoples personal safety. I will take this to corporate next., read more

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Never again will we try to rent from here ever! Twice they failed us telling us on the phone there's a car available to rent & when we arrived they say there's none available & that he Said they always say yes on the phone. What kind of B. S. Was that deal. What a freaking waste of time to spend our Thanksgiving:( ! read more

Love this place. The guys a character. The cars are somehow always the latest models read more

Do not rent a car from this local avis rental. They are unprofessional, rude. I had rented a vehicle for pick up at 9am when I arrived at about 9:45am they said they had rented the vehicle to someone else and had no more availability for any other vehicles. Rent your vehicle from corporate avis for a different experience. Stay away from this place. read more

Avis has gone down hill from the past. I wish I could leave less than one star. Avis is the worst of the worst. I only use Avis when Enterprise and other companies have no vehicles. These are the worst vehicles, dirty and old looking. Then, as noted by other reviewers, Avis tries to make money by charging extra fakes fees. Never Again! Beware! Don't get ripped off by these people. read more

We typically rent from Hertz but decided to go with Avis this time because we received a discount through AARP. We rented a large SUV for a few days because we had family in town. When we picked up the rental, there was an empty soda can and trash inside. It was not clean and it didn't have much gas. We made sure that was notated on the paperwork and they told us we can return it empty as well so we did. aside from being dirty when we got it that experience went fairly OK. So we decided to go ahead and use them again when we needed a car for two weeks for a long road trip. We got a large sedan this time and the tank was full. We returned, the rental with the tank almost full and because we had taken it on a road trip it was a little dirty, but not excessively. Shortly after returning the rental, they charged us $35 for gas. Then three weeks later we noticed a $450 fee on our credit card. After calling customer service they told us it was a cleaning fee. The customer service was not good and all of their supervisors "just happened" to be in a training meeting (convenient). We could've taken it to a local car wash and gotten it clean for 20 bucks. $450 is OUTRAGEOUS! One of the times we were in the office we saw somebody else there complaining about fees as well. Apparently we should've taken that as a sign and went somewhere else, but it was too late for that. YOU ABSOLUTELY DO NOT WANT TO RENT FROM THIS COMPANY! The reason their prices are lower is because they stick you with fees later! I will definitely be going back to her from now on! read more

Fuck this place. I rented out a car and already payed online and I came in the store and got scammed. Don't come here only if you want to burn your money for nothing. Horrible fucking costumer service. read more

Worst car rental experience of my life. No walk through at the time if pick up. No walk through at the time of return. They don't fill the fuel tanks so you have to guess hiw much fuel was in it when you picked up so you can match what you return it at cause if you don't they will charge you extra. Staff is arrogant and rude. Do yourself a favor and go across the street to Enterprise or Hertz. read more

The worst ran car rental agency I have ever known, the Tesla I rented the battery failed the car was towed and ALL MY BELONGINGS they literally stole it and refuse to give it back, I will be bringing the local police to get a report now it's two months since this happened. The employees that operate it should not be in customer service what so ever! Bad service and after care. I don't recommend this local to anyone. read more

An update from my oringinal review 10/13/22. Calls and a letter sent to Avis with a demand for credit for tires and late fees, with documantation. THEY did not respond - NOT one phone call or email in response up to this point. I filed a complant with Cosco Travel, and was able to recieve credit for the late fees, +$150 for my inconvience - but, NO CREDIT towards the tires, as Avis claimed the purchase was "unauthorized". Next step was to dispute the Citibank charges for the FULL AMOUNT to get Avis' attention, with all documentation (photos of worn tires, invoices for new tires). Citibank responded with a credit of $2335.96, against the orginal charges of $2900, and consideded my case closed in Dec., 2022. Now, here's the kicker - Avis has refered me to a COLLECTION AGENCY to recover the credit Citibank issued me! As my dad would say, "Wish in one hand, shit in the other..." Gee, one would THINK Avis would focus their efforts towards better training for their personel. There are no words to describe the CONTEMPT I have for Avis. read more

Always amazing service at this location. The manager is great and gave us a free upgrade, and the car was brand new. Highly recommend this Avis store, so much better then the airport. We will be back again for sure. read more

I reserved a rental for Friday at 12pm at the El Cajon location. When we arrived at the office the doors were locked and no one appeared at the doors after 45 minutes. Called customer service and they offered cars that were too far away. Never did tell me why they had an office with locked doors​ and why they could not contact the employees to resolve the problem. Ended up going to Hertz car rental. I had rented here before without any issues. There were other customers waiting and were not able to get any help from Avis customer service. How can a company be so unaware of their own employee's status and the location's problems? read more

Clueless. Different prices from different people. Hit me with a large "incidental" fee without my knowledge. The fella that was there when I returned the ride was slow as a snail and worthless. Go somewhere else. Seem like scam artists.... read more

The most unprofessional employees! After I left they charged my cc ! We paid with my brothers cc $1400, then they put a 7 day hold on mine! Never answer the phone!! Corporate lied and blamed my bank. My bank did research to find 7 day hold! Shady, questionable business practices! read more

Never again! This Budget/Avis location is awful! Horrible customer service. The only positive thing I can say is that they got our car to us very quickly. This, it turns out, was probably because they were getting ready to close. Luckily we got there a few minutes before our pick up time, which was 4, because they close at 4! We were given a Jetta quickly and got in to leave. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, we noticed it smelled a little like cigarette smoke. We looked around the car and my husband found a cigarette butt in the passenger door compartment. We called to let them know so that we wouldn't be charged a fee for smoking in the car, but they were already closed and not answering the phones. Later that same day a warning to service the car soon showed up on the dashboard. I couldn't call because they closed. We were heading to Phoenix from San Diego the next morning so I decided it was a short enough drive that the servicing could probably wait. We got an hour away from home when the check engine light came on and said that the oil needed to be serviced immediately. I called this Avis location but they weren't open yet so I was forwarded to the national Avis office. Fortunately, the person on the phone was extremely understanding and helpful I explained that we did not smoke in the car yet it smelled like smoke and there was a cigarette found inside. Also I explained about the oil issue. They found a car for me in Yuma Arizona so we stopped and switched out the car. We lost an hour due to our unplanned stop, but the car we got in Yuma was much better. When we dropped off the car in El cajon we explained all of the issues we had and how unhappy we were getting a car with a cigarette in it and that obviously had not been serviced in a while and they just stared at us with blank faces. The customer service in this location is awful. If I ever use Avis again I will definitely not be going back to the El Cajon location read more

I wish there was a zero star option. RUDE, unhelpful, unprofessional staff. Do not book your car through AVIS and, if you must, AVOID the Parkway Plaza location like the plague. I booked the rental through Costco (great price quoted, $446 for a Standard SUV for 11 days!!!). Was told to pick up the car at 4:00 at the Parkway Plaza AVIS location. Arrived at 4:02, yeah I know, 2 minutes late. Store closes at 4:00, doors locked, nobody around. Why do they allow you to schedule to pick up a car at closing? No call to see if I was on the way, nobody waited a few minutes, just closed. I called AVIS customer service and after waiting for 20 minutes talked to an individual who was very helpful. Told me I could pick up the car at the SD airport instead. The original terms would be honored, same price, same unlimited mileage, and that I could still drop the car off at the Parkway Plaza location. Awesome! The car I ended up getting was fantastic, my wife and I had a great trip and she liked the car so much she is now interested in possibly buying one. We arrived back from our trip a day early so I promptly filled the car up with gas and headed to Parkway Plaza to return the car. That's when the real fun begins. I was "helped" by Mike who grabbed my keys to get the current odometer reading. He returned, typed into the computer, then told me my charges would be more than $800. I said, no, and showed him the email I got from Costco with the $446 quote. He said there's nothing he can do, that was booked through a third party and his computer says $800. I told him I refused to pay that much and, since I returned the car a day early I should only be charged around $400. That's when another AVIS employee said they are there until 4:03. I replied B***S***, I was there at 4:02 and they were closed. That's when Mike ordered me to leave the store, I used vulgarity and had to leave. I refused at which point Mike told me he was going to call the police. I said, fine, call the police, I'm not leaving. Mike then asked who I talked to. I said I talked to AVIS customer service. He said there's no notes that said I spoke with anyone much less about the terms of the rental. He said I would need to get the recording of that conversation. He couldn't because he is an agent, not a customer service rep. He said the car was rented through the company I work for not Costco. He said he was very familiar with that company, he deals with them all the time, in fact, he was the Account Manager for that account. I know that's a lie as the company is more than 5,000 employees and is out of Missouri. Whatever. Mike then gave me the number for AVIS customer service which I called. After standing there on hold for a few minutes Mike said he now thinks he knows what happened. I used my corporate AVIS Wizard number when booking the trip and when it was redone they charged it under my corporate account. Mike was able to reverse the original charges and was able to charge me $447 ($1 more than the original cost) even though I returned the car a day early. So, Mike ended up "helping" me but it was THE WORST customer service experience I've ever had. This store is a complete mess. The employees I dealt with couldn't have been less helpful or less professional. I did end up calling customer service. They said they are unable to access the recording of the conversation. They said they see the charge now was $447. They did take my complaint on the call and that nobody from AVIS would be following up with me. read more

I've had less than stellar experiences in this location and haven't returned in quite some time for my work rentals even though this location is easiest for me. Today however I decided to give them another try hoping it would be an ok experience but not expecting much. I was impressed with the younger gentleman that opened the doors 5 minutes early and was nice, professional, and efficient through the process. The other customer who came in at 8:55 AM with me was also commenting on how surprised he was at the customer service. I wish I had gotten the gentleman's name this morning, Sunday 8/31/21, but I failed to do so. I hope someone can give him a little praise for me if this is read. I'll give this location another try. Thank you! read more

I rented a vehicle from here after my car was totaled the first car was dirty had trash in between seats and under passenger seat .During Covid you would hope they would make it clean and safe. I contacted corporate they suggested I exchange it so I did I was put in a nice Toyota 4 runner much cleaner from the inside dirty on the outside .I used them again recently for a truck rental for the day did it online and never received confirmation . I headed over there and Zaid said he couldn't find my reservation so I asked if he could help me anyway he said they were low on inventory and they were expecting a truck around 11 and he would call me . Zaid never called me . They have bad custom service Zaid was texting while talking to other guest didn't seem interested in being helpful to their needs. I would rather take my business elsewhere . I hope in the future this store treats thier customers better . Plenty of other places to rent from. read more

Just a quick review, Chris at the front counter is AMAZING!!! He was very helpful, knowledgeable and professional even with several customers in line. Thank you Chris for your OUTSTANDING customer service. read more

Terrible company! DO NOT RENT FROM THEM! Had multiple issues. First month they over charged me $1700. Then when returning the vehicle they accused me of keeping the car with out paying EVEN THOUGH I DID PAY! When I tried to get a new rental that was PRE PAID FOR they told me I was on the do not rent list for failing to return a vehicle that was ALREADY PAID FOR and was returning that day to get a new vehicle. They proceeded to call the police on me when I asked for a refund of my money trying to say that I was trying to keep the vehicle that I was returning! Terrible customer service! read more

Be careful don't Rent-A-Car from here. First of all there customer service is very bad and the guy in this time was terrible and and un respectful I came today at 12 PM on February 27 there was nobody to pick up the car. I had to wait 15 minute until they come back second when I did my reservation through Expedia I requested SUV and they give me a mini van instead they said there is no suv available !!! I had to take the car either way because I have no choice when I received the car it was very dirty and not clean at all .... No problem after all when I checked the rate online it showed the SUV is much expensive than the mini van read more

Talk about Third World. Avis equips the office with only one person on an extremely busy period: two days after Christmas. The cars are out in a shopping mall lot, so if someone returns a defective vehicle, as happened, the sole employee locks the storefront's doors at mid-day and doesn't leave a sign as to when she will return. Meanwhile, when we finally returned twenty minutes later, several others were ahead of us. By now an hour has clicked by with no service. Finally, after almost ninety minutes, the Avis printer was so bad she had to shred three runs of our rental contract. What finally came out was so light we couldn't even make a photocopy at home. Summary: this used to be an efficient location years back but now is a "numbers" outpost where customers grumble in pained protest. Avis no longer "tries harder" anywhere. read more

I made a reservation for a pathfinder or similar and when I went to pick up my rental (I was there outside waiting for them to open) they said it wasn't available because they just rented it to the person in front of me in line. They make multiple reservations for the same vehicle in case someone doesn't show up. Also they won't rent to you if you don't have a credit card. They say they accept debit cards but that's a lie. Enterprise charges a little more for the deposit but they are much better. I should've just reserved a car with enterprise, i would've avoided wasting time and money. I did end up getting a rental with enterprise that same morning and as usual I wasn't disappointed. read more

I don't know we're to start from the first phone call made to the direct El Cajon location to the time I walked in to pick up my rental car. This location needs a refresher class in customer service, cleaning ( meaning the appearance of the office and the rental cars itself). I thought I would use Avis over enterprise the worst mistake ever. Very unprofessional horrible service and very few cars to choose from. If anyone interested in renting a car go to enterprise in El Cajon , they have great customer service, they dress professional they walk they car with you and all there vehicles and they have plenty are cleaned and ready to go. After if returning the car the gentleman there was just as rude as the women who was there when I picked it up. read more

This location in the past has been helpful however this morning I dealt with an agent named Jazzmin. She was argumentative, combative & absolutely no help whatsoever. When I went to leave she in a condescending voice said have a nice day. The agent I'm used to working with there named Chris was not available but she said he would be in @ 1:30p. This was 9:00a & I was not going to wait 4 hours for him to show up. I went to an Enterprise location & took me 10 minutes to complete a rental. Stay away from this location. It has deteriorated in to a nightmare experience. read more

Just read the response from the lady at the desk and decided to let Yelp know that I have no idea who she is referring too... the friends of mine... she has me confused with someone else, but that makes the whole situation a bit more funny. Anyway, go to Enterprise or another location. What a rude response. read more

Omg what an amazing place. But what really made this Avis 5 stars was the man behind the counter, Chris. He is definitely an asset at this establishment and he is what will bring me back as a customer in the future. He was such a pleasure to do business with and incredibly efficient. I love it when you interact with someone who is not only personable but competent and efficient, because those characteristics are extremely rare these days ..... I hope Avis knows what an asset he is. Thanks again Chris! read more

If I could give a negative 5 I would. after taking a taxi and got to the location to pick up the rental, they said they did not have any available. worst customer service, do not go to that location. It is a waste of time and money. You'll thank me read more

Let me start off by saying Chris is absolutely amazing. I hope the company knows what a valuable, dedicated employee they have. Recently I have rented from avis/budget twice this month and Chris has been exceptional! I typically rent from a competitor but avis prices have been beating the competition. Great ride great value and great person. read more

My wife and I went to this location to look at a car we were interested in buying. The employee working the counter, Zaid, was rude, condescending and unprofessional. In fact, the way he spoke to my wife, leads me to think he has a problem with women. I will NEVER rent from or consider purchasing a car from Avis. Additionally, when I asked for Zaid's business card, I later realized he had provided a card for a different employee. read more