Avis Roadside Service Problems?
 

Has anyone had any experiences with Avis roadside service? I just recently had an incredibly negative experience and am wondering if it was a fluke or if others have consistently had problems. If Avis has a trend of bad roadside service I will be less likely to use them in the future. TIA.

What exactly was the incredibly negative experience?

After the brakes went out on the car I was driving through the mountains of northwestern Montana, I was told by Avis roadside service that there weren't any rental locations nearby that could bring a car to me so I could sit on the side of the road for an undetermined amount of time (could be days) or I could attempt to drive the car through the mountains back to a location to exchange the car myself. They kept insisting that I should drive the car to an Avis location instead of having it towed since it was drivable. They didn't agree with me that the vehicle's lack of functioning brakes rendered the car useless.

There are a lot more details but that is the net-net version. I'm wondering if others on this site have had problems actually getting Avis roadside service to respond to issues. This has been my only experience where I even needed to call roadside service while using a rental car so I'm not sure if this is typical or not.

Just exactly where in Northwest Montana were you?

I was on US 93 near St. Mary when the problem started with the brakes. When I called roadside service they didn't even know there was a rental location in East Glacier Park. I had to tell them!! So even though there was a location about 45 miles away, roadside service wasn't willing to coordinate an effort to get a different car to me OR tow the piece of junk I was in. Of course the fact it was July 4th was emphasized, as if it were my fault the brakes went out on a national holiday!!Fortunately the scenery was gorgeous or I might have lost my mind!!

Ok, sorry... I didn't intend for this post to turn into a rant... I just wanted to find out if others have had problems or was this a one time type of situation. Thanks!

US 93 near St. Mary? Do you mean US 89?

Yes, 89. Sorry... I was on both of those roads a lot. It sounds like you know where I was.

Yup, live here.

So you know exactly how unnerving it could be to have brake problems in a car in that area!

Not sure how close you live to East Glacier Park but did you have a crazy hail storm on July 3rd where you were? In East Glacier Park there was so much hail the size of marbles (and some golf ball sized) that it completely covered the ground several inches deep all over the ground. From a distance the ground looked completely snow covered. It was the strangest thing to see.

Yup, we've had a couple of bad storms lately.
And your right. I wouldn't want to drive thise roads without any brakes. Where did you rent the car from? Kalispell?

We had rented the car in Missoula. What makes the situation even more strange is that we discovered that they already knew there was a problem with the brakes in this car before they gave it to us. It had been entered in the system after it was reported by a previous renter but they rented the car to us anyway.

On a happier note, we really lucked out with the weather this past week because we arrived last Saturday and had perfect weather (except for the brief freak hail storm) until Thursday when we drove back south to Missoula.

Glad you enjoyed your stay. Where are you from?

Yes, the trip was fantastic. That area has such rugged beauty. I loved how the view changed around every curve. One of my favorite drives of the trip was from Browning to East Glacier Park on Rt 2. I loved seeing the line of rugged, snow covered mountains in the distance, slowly get closer. I had heard about the great views driving North/South on the Looking Glass Rd but since I hadn't heard about the views driving East/West on Rt 2 I was pleasantly surpised.

I'm currently living in Louisville, KY. Fairly recently moved here from the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC.