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Very poor experience with Avis in Lanzarote this/ last week.
Depot is off site and pick up not well signposted -we hung around for 30 mins with another traveler waiting for the shuttle to the depot.
Car allocated on arrival had to be returned the following day because of a terrible burning smell coming from engine. Depot not very helpful, much shrugging of shoulders from the staff but eventually replaced the car for another (after calling their mechanic to view).
Car returned to airport on Tuesday and filled up at a service station about a mile from depot (my profile clearly indicates full to full fuel option). Online invoice received after landing back home with a charge of 47 € for ‘refueling‘. I always photograph gauges and fuel receipts so contacted Avis CS and spoke to a very helpful agent (who said they’d had several issues with the ACE depot recently ). Email sent to them attaching said photos. Today I’ve had an email from Avis apologizing that the charge had been ‘applied in error’ and had been removed. I’m not how it was applied in error ?
My first less than stellar experience with Avis and glad I always check the return invoice.On the flip side I found Avis SDR to be excellent, friendly efficient staff at both start and end, and no problems.
Further, I’ve just returned to Avis GLA and been billed for an extra day for apparently returning an hour late. In fact I was an hour early, no return staff were on duty so I was told to drop key in drop-box. I’ll have to contact them to have this charge removed. Used them at GLA before and had great service, so probably a genuine mistake.
Sorry you had that experience but looking at reviews would have told you that Avis at ACE are shocking. 2.8/5 on Google Maps tells its own story.
Topcar at Ace are excellent, right across from the terminal with the majority of the rental agencies. Autos Cabrera Medina are good too. Sometimes it’s just not worth sticking with the major brands
@davefl-I generally don’t read reviews (maybe I should !) and my very recent Avis rentals have been very positive (combined with Presidents Club benefits ).Looks like our daughter is signing up for Ironman again next year ( crazy girl ) so I’ll bear the smaller suppliers in mind as no doubt her support crew will be there again :).
@davefl-I generally don’t read reviews (maybe I should !) and my very recent Avis rentals have been very positive (combined with Presidents Club benefits ).Looks like our daughter is signing up for Ironman again next year ( crazy girl ) so I’ll bear the smaller suppliers in mind as no doubt her support crew will be there again :).
Honestly you should. Any hotel/rental location/restaurant that has a rating of under 4/5 or 8/10 and I walk away. To achieve under 3/5 you have to have “form”.
I made the mistake of renting from Avis in Miami where all the reviews are apalling (my own fault because I procrastinated and Sixt’s rates went through the roof). My wait to collect a pre-booked, pre paid rental with status cost me nearly 3 hours in the queue.
Avis are my rental agency of choice, particularly in the US, but I do check the location reviews 1st before I make a decision. For example Budget at Nashville airport has consistently abysmal reviews.
Autoreisen on the canaries islands have always been excellent for me. Well priced as well.
@Peter-K Yes sorry I forgot, they’re the best. In order at Ace, people should look at the following and forget the rest
Autoreisen
Autos Cabrera Medina
TopcarUgh, I think we have booked Avis for a BAH to ACE later this year. I kind of assume that because they are such a big company their standards of service will be, well, standardised!
At least we’re collecting the car a couple of days after we arrive and not late at night after a long flight, so should have the mental strength to challenge any issues at the rental office, lol.
@Dragonlady, how did the Iron man/woman go?!I rented with Autos Cabrera Medina on one of the non-airport offices (and returned at airport) and was all good. I think they even have a €0 deductible on their insurance?
The only issue we had renting a car with Avis at ACE was with catching the shuttle bus from what appeared to be a random location in the car park where multiple mini busses picked up. The first bus filled up and he promised to come back but by the time he returned another group of people arrived and without any queue they all crowded around and once again we failed to get on the bus. We did manage to get on the third bus.
The bus was collecting for other companies as well as Avis!
@QC Which is why it’s far better to just walk across the pededtrian crossing into the garage where all the on airport rentals companies are located.
@NorthernLass- she was awesome and set a PB. She’s completed Ironman Wales ( aka Tenby) twice which is hard enough but Lanza had heat , wind and even more elevation. The other two from her club also completed which was fabulous for all us supporting crew 👍👍. Ironman Tenby isn’t full ( end of September ) so she’s now muttering about entering that (one of the other two signed up the next day much to his wife’s horror 🤣🤣).Entering Lanza next year is also on the cards..
Re Avis – I thought being Avis they’d have a standard service level but sadly it appears that the franchise depots do pretty much what they want.
FWIW the pick up point is in the car park across the road from the terminal area A11. The (singular) shuttle bus operating was tatty ( no exterior handle on the passenger door ) and rammed to absolute capacity on the return journey.If you’re collecting the car the next day just go straight to the depot.She does sound awesome!
Thanks for the tip – we’re spending a couple of days in Arrecife at the start of the trip so will probably get a taxi to the Avis depot from there.
She does sound awesome!
Thanks for the tip – we’re spending a couple of days in Arrecife at the start of the trip so will probably get a taxi to the Avis depot from there.
NorthernLass,
I hire several times a year from ACE for between 3 and 7 days and always go through Zestcarremtal.com as a broker. They use all the main national and a few trusted ( properly trusted ) local companies. Also bootable via TCB and regular payout.
I unfortunately chose Avis recently at Easter for ACE and they are the the poorest company yet, mainly for their off airport pickup and a driver who doesn’t speak English – little did she know I am pretty fluent in Spanish, as her sideline is delivering locals to off-site free parking to the detriment of the “foreigners I have to deliver”….Avis is also twinned with Budget in ACE for info.
Best companies I regularly use are Thrifty and AutoReisen.I will make a note of that, thanks. We are stuck with Avis this time as it’s part of a BAH.
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