I rented a car with Avis at Gare De Lyon in Paris station location. We waited an hour for them to provide a rental, as they could not provide the car we rented and were looking for an alternative. I could tell it was a big deal, as they were searching for a car that was to be returned to another location (Fiumicino Airport in Rome). The Avis employee was nice enough, but kept telling me I was getting a certain vehicle, then said, "wait no" and told me I was getting something else - by the way, MUCH bigger than what we requested, which is not great for small European towns. Once he figured it out, we were running late for a tour in Normandy and had to quickly get out of there. My insurance was provided through a 3rd party provider.
As I drove the vehicle in the first couple days, I noticed more and more issues. At 40,000 miles on the odometer, it had been pretty beaten up. Tires were almost bald and slipped even on dry pavement. Rim smacked up. No rear wiper - just scraped plastic on the back window. Interior components missing. Dirty to the point we had to clean the inside of the windscreen as the sun made it impossible to see out. Brakes were chattering when braking at higher speeds. We were well into our multi-country trip, so I was planning on complaining about the poor condition when we dropped it off in Rome.
Fast forward to Rome. When returning the car, the Avis agent told me we have a problem, as the front wheel and tire were scratched with a chunk of out of the tire wall. I told him the state of the car and that I didn't hit anything. I also pointed out the rust on the same wheel damage, clearly showing this had been there for some time. He ignored the fact and submitted the damage report anyway.
After receiving the damage report, they went ahead and charged me $2,200 CAD for the damage. I launched a complaint with Avis, providing full breakdown of the issues with the car, its poor condition and images showing the state of the wheel with rust, etc...
This happened October 16, 2025. After 5 emails and follow-ups to Avis NOT ONE response was provided, even though their automated system provided a support ticket number. I had to proceed with a claim through RentalCover.com, which they processed within 24 hours.
I have never had an issue like this or had to submit a claim in my MANY rental experiences. I have personally, and through my companies I founded, been using Avis for over 10 years as a loyal customer. I will NEVER be using Avis again and will gladly move all corporate and personal loyalty to their competitors. I will also be letting my friends and colleagues know about my first hand experience. Avis clearly does not care about customer loyalty. read more