Since Budget has merged with AVIS, I'll address both in my feedback. First segment of the trip: I rented a car in Dallas and returned it in Houston with Budget, booking a Ford Edge, a midsize SUV, through Zuzuche. However, the staff gave me a Honda compact car instead, which was incredibly frustrating. After communicating with the staff, I swapped for the originally booked Ford Edge, as shown in the pictures provided. So, the store actually had the Ford Edge available but didn’t give it to me right away. One key issue to note is that due to the time difference, Zuzuche’s customer service was unavailable when I tried to report the issue. Even when they responded later during business hours, it was meaningless by then. Second segment of the trip: I rented a car in Los Angeles through AVIS. Upon arrival, I waited nearly 40 minutes for vehicle coordination. In the past, if the reserved model wasn’t available, they would upgrade free of charge; now, you're lucky if they don't downgrade you. During the return, they charged me for roadside assistance insurance, miscellaneous fees, and fuel costs—around 70 dollars. Although I refueled the car completely, I unfortunately lost the receipt, and the credit card charge's posting date was after the payment date, hence unusable for filing a dispute. Imagine if all tourists went through this—they could refund the ones who successfully disputed and profit from those who didn’t keep their fuel receipts. This could amount to considerable earnings for them. In summary, think carefully before choosing these two rental car companies, as this likely stems from management-level policies.
Despite paying in full and confirming the reservation, the entire pickup process took 3.5 hours. First, there was a two-hour wait in line, then the car was not ready, and finally we received a car that was dirty and smelled terrible.
The service of AVIS entirely depends on the staff at the specific location. The service at the New York City downtown location is quite good, but the Boston downtown location is much worse. When the reserved car model is unavailable, they claim to contact an emergency service specialist, but in reality, no one reaches out. The reserved minivan model is often not available in most cases, even if you prepaid the full amount and showed up at the designated time. The front desk will reject you with reasons such as 'the car is under a safety recall,' and then they'll offer you an SUV. However, an SUV cannot compare in terms of passenger comfort and luggage capacity.
During our car rental experience at San Francisco Airport, we encountered a male staff member with a very poor attitude. The vehicle provided was smaller than expected. We needed to add two additional drivers—one of whom had already been prepaid, and we only needed to pay for the other on-site. However, the staff insisted on charging fees for two additional drivers. Furthermore, he refused to communicate with us over the phone or involve the customer service of the rental platform. After an hour of back-and-forth, the bill was finally corrected.
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