MCO Avis Rental Story

[can]

Rented a Chevy Trailblazer from Avis using a corporate and coupon code, out the door price $375, which I felt was pretty decent for a larger SUV given the car rental prices these days. Pick up the car at the MCO Avis and once we got the keys and walked to where the vehicle was parked discover it is a Chevy Equinox ( I know, should have read it better before I walked away from the downstairs rental desk). Go back to the lady at the window where I picked up the keys and tell her this isn't what we signed up to rent, this vehicle wasn't going to hold the mega luggage we had (2 17 yr old girls who do not know what "pack light" means--exact reason I wanted a larger SUV).
She tells me I need to go all the way back downstairs where I originally started from--grrrr.....

Go back down and the kind agent that had taken care of us asks me what is wrong. Explain to him I rented a Chevy Trailblazer and that is what I expected. His reponse is that it says Trailblazer or comparable vehicle. Responded back that in no way do I feel an Equinox is in that category as a Trailblazer and I consider it a "crossover" vehicle. Told him that I would figure comparible is a Durango, Explorer, Mountaineer, etc. and that is the size vehicle I expect. Agent made a comment that they don't even have Trailblazers to which I asked why are they advertised on the website then if they aren't available? When I asked about any larger vehicle, even a minivan, was told that it was just a very busy weekend (7/25) and they couldn't even honor a party's reservation for a 12 passenger van.

Agent is back and forth on the phone with the ladies upstairs distributing keys, finally come to an agreement for a Nissan XTerra. Go back upstairs, wait again for awhile only to be handed back the keys for the original vehicle, the Equinox. They get back on the phone with the downstairs agent, put me on the phone and two hours after we originally started out at the Avis desk we finally are driving out of the airport garage with the Nissan XTerra.

The pro--cannot say enough kind things about the Avis agent, Howard James. He was polite and calm while keeping his sense of humor, even when I was getting very upset and angry about the situation. He kept at it until we finally had a vehicle that was going to house the mega luggage without either of the girls having to be a hood ornament.

The cons--was really frustrated that Avis's idea of comparable was a smaller vehicle, and that it appeared that they had almost overbooked their car reservations on such a horrendously busy weekend.

While I do not fault Mr. James at all, he just works there, I thought he was absolutely wonderful under the circumstances, but would really hesitate to rent from Avis again.

Thought I would just pass on our experience.

 

[PatMcDuck]

We had this happen at Alamo, when we reserved a full size SUV, 2 years ago. the resevation said a Yukon XL, I think. We had 6 adult sized people, (4 teens) and a wheelchair. They tried to give us a standard sUV, I forget the one. It only sat 5, I think. The one I reserved sat 7, plus luggage space. We went round and round, they kept saying "OR COMPARABLE!" and I said comparable is the same capacity, just different model or make! We finally got a big Toyota Sienna minivan. Took 2 hours, it was 95 + degrees, and my son the wheelchair was melting. I was amazed they would treat us this way. We could SEE the employees felt AWFUL that the management would not help us, they agreed with US, you could tell.

While waiting, we saw 2 families come in to complain about their final rental bills. Both were apparently upgraded to a bigger car, for X$$ per DAY, they thought it was X$$ for the WEEK.

Buyer beware.

 

[kaytieeldr]

His reponse is that it says Trailblazer or comparable vehicle.

Checking the Avis website, it states, "Chevrolet Trailblazer or similar", and that the vehicle has two or four doors, holds five adults, three large suitcases, two small suitcases, and gets 14 city/20 highway. Below the list vehicle choices, it states "The makes/models shown above are examples only. Avis is unable to guarantee a specific make/model.".

While waiting, we saw 2 families come in to complain about their final rental bills. Both were apparently upgraded to a bigger car, for X$$ per DAY, they thought it was X$$ for the WEEK.

Not defending Alamo, but the customers should have confirmed the exact charge in advance. I remember being offered this upsell a few years ago, and asking, "For the week?!!?". It was a really good price - but no, on finding out it was per day, I knew enough to decline.

 

[jodifla]

yes, you really don't reserve a specific car, just a class of car. I would have made a valiant attempt to make all my stuff fit in the 1st car before I went and said, I just can't make it work.

I'm a preferred Avis member....it works out a little better. The car is all set up for you. I just grab the keys from the garage attendant.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

The cons--was really frustrated that Avis's idea of comparable was a smaller vehicle, and that it appeared that they had almost overbooked their car reservations on such a horrendously busy weekend.

I don't personally see an issue with the vehicle they gave you, and outside of a extended Trailblazer I don't think they are all that much smaller and are both considered midsize SUVs (Saturn Vue, Chevy Equinox and Pontiac Torrent).

In regards to the overbooking, this is a double edge sword. Rental companies intentionally overbook because they know MANY people make multiple reservations, especially in tourist destinations and during busy times. People do this because they want to find the best deal, have a back-up when using a questionable code or to see what type of vehicle they are offered and if they don't like it, have another place to go. The flip side is that rental companies haven't instituted cancellation policies/charges like airlines which means the multiple booking situation won't go away, but they realize a lot of the backlash that consumers have given the airlines in regards to cancellation charges would carry over to them.

 

[splash5]

We just took a trip to San Francisco and rented from Avis. We did priceline and were able to get an HHR (midsize) for $30 per day. We decided to extend our trip by a couple of days and the agent told me that the rate would jump to $90 a day (we had decided to drive to DL, so we took the rate), when we received the bill, it was almost $300 (they added in an extension fee and other costs). Other than that, I felt the rental was a good deal and I would rent with Avis again.

 

[kreed]

Because I have an upcoming rental with Avis, I decided to see if there was a big differnce between the Equinox and the Trailblazer. Avis list their Standard SUV (which I have reserved as Trailblazer or similar). They also have an intermediate SUV in their stock of cars listed as the Pontiac Vibe or Similar. I decided to compare to see if the Equinox was more similar to the Trailblazer or the Vibe. I think you will be surprised with what I discovered
Trailblazer is 191.8" long and 74.7 inches wide with a cargo area of 40 cu ft.
Equinox is 188.8" long and 71.4 inches wide with a cargo area of 35.2 cu ft.
Vibe is 171" long and 69.5 inches wide with a cargo area of 20.1 cu ft.
The Xterra is 178.7" long and 72.8"wide with a cargo area of 35.2 cu ft.
The Equinox has more front and rear headroom than either the Trailblazer, Vibe or Xterra. The Equinox is actually larger than the Xterra with the same cargo space area.
So, I think the Equinox is more similar to the Trailblazer than I thought. The intermediate category(Pontiac Vibe) is definately a much smaller car. You are correct though, where you lost your room was in the cargo area.
Having said all that I applaud both the employee and your patience in waiting to get it worked out. Thanks for sharing your story so I now know what to expect.
Thanks again.

 

[TheWog]

I rented a car in ATL once and had a similar experience, but not with Avis. Rented an intermediate and the picture that shown was a Mazda 6 or similar. I believe this vehicle to be similar to Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, etc. as those are what the competitors are within the manufacturers' business strategies. I arrived and picked up my keys and went to get the car and arrived to the slot with my number on it and found a Nissan Sentra. Not exactly what I had expected. The cars similar to this are Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Toyota Corrola, etc. Not the end of the world, I just needed to get from A to B, but I had a particular class in mind and I called when I returned home. The reponse was the Sentra was of a similar class which I disagree with. Not sure why they do this, but I felt misled as well. Like others have mentioned the Equinox is very similar to the Trailblazer and is essentially in direct competition with it for sales in general. It is a unibody design vs. body on frame and has very similar dimensions. I understand your feeling misled (because you would assume Explorer, Durango, Pathfinder as that is what we do when evaluating car purchases) though and regardless of what the reality is, you had an expectation in your mind based on what was represented to you online and for that I can sympathize.

 

[can]

You are correct though, where you lost your room was in the cargo area.

This is exactly where my gripe was, the cargo space. I have friends that own an Equinox and while they have said the car is great passenger wise, cargo wise it lacks. Once we got our luggage in the back of the XTerra, every inch of that cargo space was utilized. We would or could not have been able to do this in the Equinox.

Just as the second poster had problems as they had a certain number of passengers, luggage, and a wheel chair; sometimes customers rent with a specific vehicle in mind to accommodate their specific needs. I guess the question here would be then, how do you get this specific need/request across to a car rental company to avoid a customer having problems/frustrations.

As far as the overbooking, I do agree with the one poster who pointed out that some do double book at different car rental companies trying to get the best deal. I personally would not be offended if a rental wasn't canceled a one day's fee would be charged. (Hotels do not hesitate to charge you a one night's fee when you don't show up, I don't think it is totally unreasonable.) It may help curb the double booking issue and people may be more aware to cancel any reservations not being used.

More than ever, I still cannot say enough good things about the agent, Mr. James, who really went out of his way to be accommodating and resolve our situation. He is a great example and role model of good customer service!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I guess the question here would be then, how do you get this specific need/request across to a car rental company to avoid a customer having problems/frustrations.

Well, Hertz used to have an option to reserve a specific car - not just '___ or similar'. I think it was just cars, though, not SUVs or vans. Avis has something similar, but only a few specific models - a "fun" Cadillac, or a "fun" hybrid... Otherwise, I don't know - maybe rent from a car dealer? MUCH less convenient, of course - you'd have to find one that rents its own cars and is relatively convenient to your destination airport (and of course, pay a taxi to get you there and back).

Very seriously, though - not that the above wasn't - now that you know you're not reserving a specific model but possibly something comparable, it makes more sense to insist that everyone pack accordingly. If it helps, start telling them you're using an airline that charges for all luggage - even if you're actually taking Southwest.

More than ever, I still cannot say enough good things about the agent, Mr. James, who really went out of his way to be accommodating and resolve our situation. He is a great example and role model of good customer service!

Have you considered writing to Avis to let them know how pleased you are with him?