Experience renting from Avis?
 

We are travelling to France in a couple of weeks and have made a car reservation with Avis. They sent us an e-mail confirmation with a confirmation number, but they did not request a deposit or credit card number to guarantee the reservation. Should we be concerned about this? We are afraid that without a guarantee we might get there at the appointed time and there might not be a car. What experience have any of you had with Avis in Europe -- particularly France, in this regard?

I ACTUALLY MADE ONE IN ITALY AND WAS NOT ASKED FOR ONE EITHER! CALL AVIS HERE IN THE STATES!!

Our last two trips to France we rented from Avis - not only did we find them to be the best price (and we compared them all)... they have excellent locations throughout France.
The last time we rented we dropped off in Montpelier at the airport and they didn't even come out to check out the car - it was so simple and easy.
Avis in France is great...you'll have no problem.
The last car we rented was a Megane and we enjoyed the ignition - unlike what we have seen here in the states -they give you a "key" which looks like a credit card - pop it into the slot and push the start button (stop button to turn the car off).

I don't want to scare you away from Avis, but we had a very bad experience with them at the train station in Rouen (sp)on our way to Normandy. They didn't take a credit card either. When we turned the car in, they didn't want to inspect it or check the gas level (which we had already filled to the top). Then a few weeks later, when we were at home, we recieved a bil for $40 or so telling us they didn't calculate the charges correctly. Ummm...Needless to say, put the charges on your credit card so yo can dispute them later. We didn't pay the $40.
We also asked for a map, to help us get on the highway, and we were basically looked at like we were "typically dumb Americans". The guy said "You can't miss it. We don't have maps and you won't need one." We spent about 45 minutes (it was our honeymoon) trying to find an on-ramp that was supposed to be right in front of us. My husband is a whiz at directions and he came up with some new cuss words after doing circles so many times.
Oh yeah, and if you happen to be trying to pick your car up on a Sunday, just remember that most of the car companies don't open until the afternoon (which they neglected to tell us at booking, even though we scheduled the pick-up for 11 am).
Anyway, hope that helps in your decision.

We rented from Avis and were satisfied. Also rented with Autoeurope.com and they were fine as well. On the other hand, we had a nightmare of an experience with Hertz in France.

There's a down side to not having the rental company come out to look at your car when you turn it in--you cant get a receipt saying that the car was returned undamaged. That can be VERY important; we always insist on one and also take pictures of the car in the lot when we return it.

We too had a problem with Hertz over a damaged side mirror (an idiot speeding down a narrow mountain road clipped it). It took 6 months of Diner's Club time to get the $400 repair charge reversed.

To answer your ORIGINAL question: No, I don't think you need to be concerned. You have an e-mailed confirmation number..that's the way they do business.

TAKE that e-mail WITH YOU in case there is any "problem" when you arrive. It is pretty difficult to be refused service when you have THEIR written confirmation.

Have a great and worry-free trip.

When I rent cars online in the States I don't have to give a deposit or a credit card number... wasn't even thinking this might be expected of an American car rental company located in France. Sounds like the normal routine to me...

Our experience with Avis has been a little diffrent. We always give our CC number in order to get the best rate guaranteed - and then receive a printed confirmation from them in the mail.

Also, car rental companies in europe frequently don;t provide the same services as in the US. Don;t expect a map (always bring your own). Don;t expect the car to be cleaned - or perfect (even if almost brand new). Pretend you;re a jet pilot and do a complete pre-flight check off before leaving the rental lot. Examine everything on the car before you leave (we have been given cars with broken door locks, broken windshield wipers, non-functioning headlights, and a car with no cover on the some electrical thingy (I don;t know much about car innards) on the dash. When we complained about the latter in rome - they just smiled at me, ogled, called me bella signorina - and gave us a cover off another car.

Thank you Topman...we were worried. We called Avis and got them to take our credit card number.

I have rented from Avis on the last 3 trips to France, and have been very satisfied. I rented the Renault Megane, and just loved it! My rentals were from St. Pierre des Corps, (I had a difficult time finding my way out of there to get to Amboise, but I was alone, first time driving in a foreign country, I'm terrible with directions).
Needless to say, I was quite nervous!
The next rental was from Beaune, and the young man at Avis was wonderful- and spent time showing me all about the car, and how to use that different card-type key. Then in May I rented at Avignon TGV, which was a breeze. Avis is always conveniently located at (or near)the train stations, and so easy to book with them on the internet. And no, they have never asked for my credit card. I will always use Avis.

I just reserved a car with Avis for my Germany vacation. I live the US but reserved it through the UK site where I got the best deal of all the car rental companies.

Try it and see if you get the best deal too.

Gail

Anywhere in the world that I have travelled, my first choice has always been Avis.

Their cars are usually only a few months old and always clean when we receive it. There is also the handy emergency number. And with so many Avis outlets around Europe, you can pop into any one along your journey and ask to have a complimentary car wash and vacumm. They will comply if they're not too busy...

I had no major problems when I recently rented a 9-seater VW from Avis Copenhagen and drove it for 11 days from Denmark to Norway to Sweden this Summer.

We have rented from Avis at CDG the past two Octobers. Service and price are good. Getting out of the airport can be tricky, last year the gal gave us incorrect directions. And they do not always speak very good English.
We just booked our flights to CDG for October, the car rental prices are quite a bit higher than last year. Does anyone have any good coupons or discount codes for Avis? I would rather go with them than Hertz, even tho I can get Hertz for less.

Nancy

I, too, have also had very good luck and pricing from Avis in the UK and France. I've never had to give my CC number . I just booked a car for Oct in the UK and was having trouble with the website so I called direct. I was offered a 10% discount for prepaying and was sent a voucher to give to the rental desk.

AAA and AARP both offer 10-15% discounts. You can find the booking numbers on their websites if you belong to either of these.