You probably know that when you book a car with any car hire company you generally don’t book a specific model. You book a car category based on the type of car you want. All this means is that rather than guaranteeing, say, a Renault Clio you might get a Clio or another similar car such as a Ford Fiesta or a Fiat Punto. That’s because the rental company’s priority will always be with ensuring that the customer who booked an estate gets an estate, not a Fiesta. My first car was a Fiesta so I can confidently say that you would not be getting the boot space you were hoping for!
However, you may have found it a bit of a challenge to work out which car category you actually need to book. It’s unfortunate that the entire car hire industry has been guilty of using confusing naming conventions for car categories – A, B, C etc. As a customer you have to check which category the type of car you want is in.
At Avis, our car categories are now broken down differently, as part of our initiative to drive out jargon that I mentioned in one of my first posts. We offer cars by size (small, medium, large), type (eg economy, estates and people carriers) and whether you want to drive a manual or automatic. That way it’s much simpler to ensure you book the right car for your rental needs. A guide to our car categories is available from our website. I hope you’ll find it useful.
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As an Avis Preferred member I would like to be able to ensure that I get the car type I want. I am having difficulty ensuring I get a diesel.
A very relevant question John. Unfortunately it is not currently possible to guarantee a car by fuel type when you make a booking. However, if you tell the rental agent when you pick up your car that you would prefer a diesel, they will try their best to accommodate this. We also understand that booking a diesel is a choice many of our customers would like to make and we will consider this for future development.
I’d love be an Avis preferred member, however – despite applying three times online, I’ve yet to recieve anything – not even a form…
We’d like you to be an Avis Preferred member too! I’ll take a look into this and get back to you directly
Fantastic response Eibhlin – someone contacted me within minutes!
Shows how powerful your blog can be for listening to issues and turning those people into good customer evangelists…
The car groups on Avis seem to change pretty quickly. I recently booked a 307cc for 2 weeks for the summer through avisba. I need to book a car for another week also in the summer but now there is only a 207cc available. Does this mean my first rental will be a 207cc instead of the 207cc I booked – I hope not as there are us and our 2 kids and a 207 wouldn’t work for us!
As avis given any thought to having a fun cars section.
Hi Mark, we’ve got a lot of new cars coming on at the moment so some of the car examples on our website might have changed recently. I will contact you directly to take a look at your reservation. I see no reason why the car you booked would be no longer available but there is no harm in double checking!
Thank you for the feedback on the fun cars. I would love to know if there are any cars in particular you are interested in driving!
In the UK we do have our Select Series which is probably something similar to what you are thinking of. In our Select Series we have the Audi A4 and A6, Volkswagen Golf and Passat and the Peugeot 207CC. Booking a Select Series car is the only way you can guarantee the make/model of the car you drive. We also have our Prestige range which is a bit more higher end – Porsches, Jaguars, Aston Martins!
Other countries have similar products so if there are any other countries you are interested in driving fun cars then let me know and I will see what is available.
I think the more diesels Avis offer the better.
It really makes sense to me.
They are cheaper to run, hence save Avis money, they are cheaper on Fuel, so the customer is happy, and surely they are easier for Avis to get rid off later?
I’ve been renting a lot of 307CC’s recently and usually got the manual diesel in top spec.
However a couple of weeks ago I was given a 307 2.0 Petrol Auto (LGW had nothing else) and I thought it was awful.
Was a low spec, so no leather etc, and no where near as fun to drive.
I went out of my way to get to Luton the next day and change it for a diesel.
The other thing is I wish Avis bought the 2.0 TDI engines with their VW’s.
That 1.9 Diesel is a horrible, noisy, and sluggish engine.
i have had it in the Golf, Jetta, and Passat and think its horrible.
The 2.0 TDI on the other hand is a pleasure, yet Avis don’t offer it in the UK.
Drove one from Avis Germany a few weeks ago though.
I do understand the commercial sense behind buying the cheap version, but it’s still a shame…
Some questions for the Avis guys here, if I may…
Is the 407 Manuel you offer a diesel or Petrol?
When do you expect to get the new Merc C class? And what other cars do you offer in its category?
Are you expecting the new Ford Mondeo sometime soon?
Thanks!
Robert
This is great feedback. I have forwarded this directly to our Fleet Director who I know will be more than interested to read this.
With regards to your questions, I can tell you that all of the Peugeot 407s we have in the UK are diesels. Your other questions are a bit more tricky to answer as they will generally involve negotiations that need to remain confidential. I have asked our Fleet Director to see if he is able to provide any insights into where he expects our fleet to be in the near future. I will let you what he comes back with by posting a comment here.
Thanks for your reply Robert.
Another question for you if I may…
Does having an Avis President card offer any discounts, or offers with Avis prestige?
Regards,
Robert
Great to hear from you again Robert!
Yes, Avis Presidents Club members get a 10% discount with Avis Prestige. Just make sure you bring your card with you when you pick up the car. You can make a booking at http://www.avisprestige.com or at 020 7591 0444.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Rob
Thanks.
I assume this is in addition to the 10% online discount?
Hi again Rob, Thought I would mention – in regards to my previous question about when the new C class will be available on the fleet – that on your website in the “Large Executive” Category it does show a picture of the NEW C class…(although you don’t yet have them on the fleet)
Regards,
Robert
Great catch – thanks for spotting this for us! I have asked our web team to update the website for us. I can email you when the update has been done if you like? I have also found the answer to your C class question from the other day and I can confirm to you that we are expecting to get the new Mercedes C class on to our fleet at around September/October time.
I can also confirm that, while we currently have no plans to introduce the new Ford Mondeo on to our fleet, we are moving towards 70% of our VW Passats being 2.0 TDIs in 2008.
With regards to Prestige, unfortunately two discounts cannot be used in conjunction with each other so the Avis President Clubs discount is not on top of the online discount. I am sorry, I should have clarified this much better in my original response.
Do I get a free week rental of a Merc C for spotting that?
Glad to hear the new C class will be around in Sep, and even happier to hear about the 2.0TDI Passat’s (although I hope it starts happening before 2008…)
It would be a great shame not to introduce the new Mondeo to the fleet.
It’s meant to be a fantastic car.
Thanks for clarifying re the Avis prestige discount.
Not really an advantage for President, since anyone can get the 10% discount online or offline (simply by quoting the online offer), but I guess we can’t have it all!
Keep up the good work!!!
So happy I found this site!
Regards,
Robert
We’re glad you found the site too! You participation is invaluable and hopefully other visitors to the blog can use this dialogue to get some answers to similar questions of their own.
Hi again,
Re my previous question about Avis President.
You said the max upgrade is to a “Standard: plus”, but there are Standard plus Manuel’s and Standard plus Auto’s
I assume that if I book a “Medium: Compact” (307) I will get upgraded to a “Standard: Plus” (407, Passat).
So what if I book a Standard car (Mondeo, Jetta) will I be upgraded to a “Standard: Plus Automatic”?
Regards
Robert
Hi Robert, always great to hear from you.
If you are entitled to an upgrade you should get upgraded to the next size car (generally determined by capacity and engine size) with the same transmission i.e. a manual to a manual and an automatic to an automatic (I say “should” because it is all subject to availability!). For example, if you book a Large Standard (e.g. Ford Mondeo 1.8) car with manual transmission you should get upgraded to a Large Standard Plus (e.g. Peugeot 407 2.0) car with manual transmission. We don’t have a Large Standard category for automatics so if you book a Medium Intermediate car with automatic transmission you should be upgraded to a Standard Plus car with automatic transmission. The standard upgrade for the example you quoted of a Medium Compact car (available in manual transmission only) should be to a Medium Intermediate car. I would just like to note that the examples I have given apply to the UK fleet as the categories can differ by country (although the logic will be pretty much the same).
There were lots use of the words upgrade, standard, manual and automatic in my reply and it is not the easiest thing to describe succintly so I hope it makes sense! Let me know if you need me to provide any further clarification.
Rob
Hi Rob,
I would love someone to explain the price structure to me.
First, why are Automatics so expensive?
While I understand that in this country one pays a premium of around £1000 for an Auto gearbox (well, the average man on the street does, but I doubt Avis do) charging in some cases around £150 more for a weeks rental for the same type of car but with an Auto gearbox is a bit extreme.
As to the pricing of the Auto’s themselves it’s a strange one.
You charge almost the same (less then £1 a day difference) for a 1.6 307 Auto and a 407 2.0 Auto!
By the way, the website is still showing the new C class…
If you like, I can email your Web team a photo of the old C class…?
Regards,
Robert
Ha ha – thanks Robert. Another great comment. I am starting to see you as kind of an Avis neighbourhood watch – always keeping us on our toes!
I have reminded my colleague about the C class pic. I think the Web team have been a bit swamped as we are launching new websites across Europe but I will continue to remind them!
In answer to the main subject of your comment – there are 2 reasons for the price differences in automatics versus manuals. Firstly, our automatics cost us more to bring in so in general our automatic cars will be more expensive than the same-sized manual cars.
Secondly, our pricing works based on supply and demand, similar to the way airlines yield on their prices based on the number of seats available. So, quite simply, when we have lots of cars available our prices are at their lowest. When our cars begin to sell out the prices go up.
As we run into the Summer period, we are finding that do not have enough automatics to meet demand while at the same time there is an oversupply of manual cars. For this reason prices are lower for manual cars as we try to attract more customers to make up the excess supply. In relation to this our automatics are priced higher as we try to manage the excess demand. It is also for this reason that the differential between different car sizes with the same transmission (such as automatics) is so small. A large automatic maybe just £1 per day more expensive than a medium automatic as the medium-sized cars are in less supply so we are encouraging customers to take the larger car.
Does this answer your question? I can’t remember if I have already mentioned this but our Fleet Director is planning to write a blog post that will provide a bit more info about how we deal with fleet manufacturers. This will give some insight on the challenges we face in bringing in the cars our customers want.
Thanks,
Thanks Rob!
That blog post by the fleet manager would be great! Looking forward to reading it!
Kind regards,
Robert
Hi Rob,
Picture of C class has been changed!
Strangely when you now click on the picture it shows no alternative cars in that class…?
Hopefully the new C class will be back on again soon, this time for good reasons
Regards,
Robert
Wow you spotted that before I did!
Yep, at the moment we only have the Mercedes C Class in that car category. Our fleet is changing all the time though so I don’t know how long it will be like that for!
HI I would like to book a people carrier (5 adults plus two small children) so a Grand Scenic, or a people carrier – but could not find the option on the website
thanks
Vieet
Hi Vineet, we do generally have people carriers in our fleets worldwide but they are always very popular over the summer so it is possible that they have sold out for the dates and location you are choosing. Certainly in the UK there is a short supply of our larger people carriers (the Renault Espace or similar) at the moment. I would recommend that the best way to get a definitive answer to your question would be to contact the call centre on 08445 81 81 81. I will ask one of the call centre agents to drop you an email to see if there is anything we can do for you.
for years we have booked your cars for our holiday(namely a renault kango as there is always four adults and a wheelchair. i do not see these on your lists of cars do you still have them as they are so easy to put the wheelchair in.?
Hi Merle,
Would you be able to email me the country you are planning to rent a car in to comments@avis.co.uk and we’ll find out for you what cars are available in this country.
Rob
Why can’t we update Preferred details online? It’s more accurate than telephonic.
Hi Neville, have you got an online account set up on our website? If so, you can link this to your Avis Preferred profile and update your Avis Preferred profile that way. If you haven’t then there is a link on the top right of the website that says ‘Create an account’. Simply click on this and follow the instructions. It should ask you whether you have a Avis Preferred membership and whether you would like to link to this as part of the sign up process.
Let me know if you have any problems with this or if you have any other questions.
Rob
Hi,
I am renting in florence italy in the luxury class car group with a comfirmation syaing this.But wehen i called florence they said they dont allow mercedes to be dropped off in naples unless there is a letter from someone saying we are allowed.I have bboked for a mercedes e class b/c of its size and she said they might only allow us a chrysler 300 b/c its being dropped in naples. IDONT want the 300 but there has to be other cars in the luxury group b/c thats what we are paying for .
PLEASE HELP or direct me to soemone else to talk to
thank you ryan venier
Hi Ryan, sorry we have not got back to you on this yet. We are looking into it and I will get back to you as soon as we can.
Rob
Hi Ryan, I am very sorry for the time it’s taken to get a reply to you on this. Having spoken to the team in Italy, it seems that their policy is very strict in that they only allow the Chrysler 300 to be allowed to go one way and it is not possible to obtain a letter of authority that will allow otherwise.
I am happy to put you in touch with our reservation team if you wish to look at alternative car category.
Please let me know if there is anything more I can do to help.
Rob
I ordered a seven seat people carrier (with luggage) for a family trip to scotland at the weekend form the stockport branch of avis, I was told I would get a Vauxhall Zafira. Went to pick it up Saturday 26th April 2007 but car not available. Was given a Renault Scenic as a replacement & was told it would seat 7. Four of us drove up to Scotland to meet the rest of the party only to find that when we tried to get all 7 members of the party in it was completely impossible. As a consequence of this, we had to take a second car with all the additional petrol costs and ferry ticket costs for our tour around Scotland, not to mention the inconvenience of having a second driver, having to follow one another and having to split the party up. This totally defeated the purpose of hiring a 7-seater, with the additional cost of a “7-seater”, in the first place. I would be obliged if you could contact me as soon as possible regarding this matter and if your response is not satisfactory I will be taking the matter further.
Hello eileen,
Would you mind sending us your rental number to comments@avis.co.uk? We will look into the details of your booking and rental and address your questions directly with you.
I think it’s worth highlighting that the Zafira and the Renault Scenic are in the same category. Both can sit 7 persons with few luggage or 5 with luggage.
I might be wrong, but reading your feedback, my sense is that you were given a car in the size that you booked. You might have been wrongly advised at the time of booking though.
We’re keen to discuss the misunderstanding with you to get to the bottom of it. It might help us improving our communication on the website and to our call centre staff.
I just booked a car (class B) for a week traveling out of Dublin airport. Is there any way to find out what type of radios the cars in this range have? (CD, MP3-CD, with or without audio port) Since we will be driving a lot, I would love to be able to enjoy my own music during the trip. I just want to know wether I should come prepared with standard CD’s or if I can use MP3 CD’s or better yet, my IPOD with a standard audio port. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Adam
Hi Adam, I just checked with the team in Ireland and I’m afraid you’ll have to make do with a good old fashioned CD player in this car category!
Hopefully, we’ll see audio ports become more and more a standard feature in new cars. You can’t beat having your whole catalogue of music available to play through your car, all contained within your nice, portable ipod.
Rob
Hi Rob,
I can’t wait to see more standard audio ports, but for now its good to know I should at least burn some CD’s before I go.
Thanks for the info!
Adam
i’m impressed that a) avis has a blog and b) that you respond to people!
my question is this: we’re getting married in june and going to france – i want to hire a car for the trip.
question 1: do you do any larger convertibles than medium? also, will it always be either a 307cc or megane?
question 2: my other option would be Large : Fullsize, but if we got anything other than a merc the missus would not be happy – so what’s the odds>
question 3: what rental stations near portsmouth stock the convertibles? looks like i’d need to take a trip to london to get one.
your select and prestige stuff looks like a good idea, but sadly all too pricey for my budget!
keep up the good work!
Thank you for the feedback Chris! In answer to your questions:
1. The 307CC amd the Megane CC currently make up the Medium-sized convertible car group. Unfortunately, we do not have any convertibles bigger than this.
2. Currently the majority of the Large: Full size cars are the Mercedes C Class. The alternative is the BMW 3 Series but there is only a small handful of these.
3. If we can get hold of more convertibles then we are planning to make them available on the South coast but that is an ‘if’! As it stands what you say is correct and they are confined to the central London locations plus Luton and Stansted airport.
I think this answers your questions. Unless of course you are planning to actually pick up the car in France – in which case I’ve answered all of your questions incorrectly! If you are picking the car up in the UK and driving over to France then you will also need to take out Continental Cover. This starts at £88.12 for a 1-7 day rental and you will need to let the station know at least 3 days in advance so they can prepare the paperwork (the station’s number will be on your email confirmation).
I hope this helps. Let me know if you need any more information.
Rob
Thanks Rob
All your info was top notch. The only problem i have now is that during my time of procrastination i had decided on a “Large : Fullsize” car from my local rental station in Portsmouth – up until yesterday it was showing as available to book. However, i finally went on to book it this morning and it’s disappeared (using the same dates, although even playing with the dates it doesn’t appear)
I went in to the rental office to ask and the girl said they’d never have a “Large : Fullsize” car so it must have been a mistake.
Can you advise me where the nearest rental station offering a “Large : Fullsize” is? Except for Southampton Airport as it’s coming in at twice the price as the Portsmouth quote..
Thanks for any help!
Chris
Hi Chris, I’ve had a look at the nearest locations to Portsmouth (Southampton, Bournemouth and Farnham) and it seems that the Large: Fullsize car category is unavailable at these locations for June while the prices are higher at Southampton Airport due to limited availability. One location you might want to try is Heathrow, if you can get yourself up there. A price for a week’s rental in June was significantly cheaper at this location than it was at Southampton airport. Would this work for you?
Rob
I want to book a car for 11 days at Heathrrow Airport on august. We are 4 adults+baby, so we need an station o a medium people carrier. I want to pay it making use of the Star Alliance (Spainair) fidelity miles program. The problem is that Spanair offers me 4 choices to book:
– Op1 A/B class Opel Corsa, Seat Ibiza or similar(too small for us)
– Op2 C/D class Renault Mégane, Opel Astra or similar (also too small)
– Op3 F/G class Renault Scenic, Opel Vectra or similar(it could fit us)
– Op4 P/M class Voyager, Ford Tourneo or similar(too large for us)
I checked models with Avis Spanish call center. They told me:
– F stands for 407/Vectra Manual
– G Focus Station/Megane Station Manual
– P Coupe cabrio???
– M Does not exist???
I would like to book for a Op3 car but what happends if it is not an station. We are carring at least 2 big suitcases + the baby trolley. I’ll consider to book an Op4 car if I’m getting an automatic transmition in a car that fits us in size (It will help a lot my adaptation to drive on the left).
I’m frigthen I book an Op4 (the more expensive option) an get very fashionable cabrio.
Whilst your car groupings would seem to make sense on the Web site in reality I have found they do not. My lease company ordered my a 7 seat (5+2) while my Ford Smax is in for repair. My Avis paper work even says Scenic prefered. The car delivered is a Seat Leon, my local branch tell me it is the same group E vehicle and that your groupings are based on engine size, that is not what your web site says.
Am I expected to find someone to look after the children while I have to use the replacement car?
Hi Ian,
Can you send me details of the rental agreement number? The email address is comments@avis.co.uk. I’ll take a look at it and contact you back.
Stephen
Would I get an answer to my question? Is there anyway I could know in advance what kind of vehicle would I get if I book it using Spanair miles?
Please, at least tell me if you are not going to provide me information and I’ll look myself for a solution.
Hi Javier, I apologise for the delay to your answer. I am just waiting to clarify with the team in Spain how Spanair have categorised the cars because I am unfamiliar with the Op1 – Op4.
Alternatively, our Central Reservation team should be able to help. The number from Spain is 902 180 854, although your comment suggests you may have already tried this. In the meantime will continue to pursue my line of enquiry and will update you as soon as I have an answer!
Rob
Hi Javier, I have just checked with the team in Spain and essentially the cars available for redemption with Spanair miles are:
B – Small: Economy – e.g. Peugeot 207 1.2 or similar [Manual]
C – Medium: Compact – e.g. Fiat Bravo 1.4 or similar [Manual]
E – Medium: Compact – e.g. Ford Focus 1.6 or similar [Manual]
G – Medium: Estate – e.g. Ford Focus 1.6 Estate or similar [Manual]
I – Medium: Compact – e.g. Vauxhall Astra 1.8 [Automatic]
D – Large: Standard – e.g. Vauxhall Vectra 1.8 or similar [Manual]
F – Large: Standard Plus – e.g. Renault Laguna 2.0 or similar [Manual]
H – Large: Estate – e.g. Vauxhall Vectra Estate or similar [Manual]
J – Large: Standard – e.g. Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 or similar [Automatic]
K – Large Full Size – e.g. Mercedes-Benz C180 or similar [Automatic]
L – Large: People carrier – Renault Espace 2.0 or similar [Automatic]
N – Large: Luxury – e.g. Mercedes E220 or similar [Automatic]
Therefore, the car category F would get you a Renault Laguna saloon style vehicle while the the car category G will get you a medium-sized estate car such as a Vauxhall Astra Estate. The Eetate vehicle category will offer larger boot space so may be the better option.
If you book one of these car categories there should not be an issue with us supplying these vehicles for you.
Let me know if you have any further questions and I apologise for the delay in the reply.
Rob
Hi again Rob,
Thanks for your answer. I decided to go for a class F (a State one)booking and when I was doing it the agent from Spanair told me that mileage redeptiom programme does not include Heathrrow airport Avis office. Could that be true?
I’ll try again on monday. Maybe I had bad luck with the Spanair agent…
I have pre-booked a class L vehicle to take to Europe next week. When i enquired at the Nottingham branch if they could confirm it would be a diesel they said they could not even say what make/model it would be let alone fuel and i would have to wait and see what i got when i collected the vehicle. I then contacted central reservations to see if they could be marginally more helpful and they said the same thing. Surely given that it’s costing over £1000 and the vehicle is being taken touring across Europe for three weeks a request for a slightly more economical vehicle is not too much to ask?
Steve Barker
Hi Steve, I appreciate your frustrations on this. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to guarantee make/model or the fuel type. The issue is that our cars can move all over the place and managing a rental fleet has some tough logistical challenges. Making a promise of guaranteeing a make/model of fuel is currently not a promise we are in a position to deliver. The only way a make/model can be guaranteed is by selecting one of our Select Series cars but unfortunately we do not have an MPV on Select Series.
I think the best chance you have is to perhaps give the rental office a call the day before and see if there is any possibility that they’d be able to allocate you get a make/model and/or fuel type you are happy with. There is no guarantee but they maybe able to help. The number for the Nottingham office is 0870 608 6354.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Rob
i am flying into birmingham airport and will be hiring a car for three days for my wife and 2 year old daughter, can you tell me how often your car seats are renewed and what safety checks are employed to test their safety. do you have a specific brand of car seat that you use?
thanks
steve
Hi Steve,
In the UK, we have no set time for how long we keep car seats for, but they are checked on return and disposed of if faulty.
We also take the covers off to wash when needed.
We use Britax seats, more specifically the Rock a Tot Plus Si, Eclipse Si, Evolva 23 and Horizon booster cushion models, depending on the size of your child.
Hope this helps,
Stephen
Hi, I am very impressed by your responsiveness, so decided to ask a question about an upcoming rental out of Dublin. I regularly receive Coupon TUMA001 as part of the US Corporate Awards program. The coupon offers free rental days for groups A, B and H in Europe, however I cannot work out what group the car I have booked (Renault Scenic) belongs to. I would like to use coupons to pay for several days of this rental. Thanks for your time, John
Hi John, in Ireland the Renault Scenic is a group E (or the Renault Grand Scenic is a group O). Does this give you what you need to know?
Rob
Hi,
You now say that you have separated the cars into categories (Small, Medium & Large).
I am currently reviewing a quote from Avis for renting a car for 2 week for 2 weeks when I return home to Aberdeen, Scotland. On the prices quotes, there are two different prices for a Medium Sized car:-
Medium : Compact (Example of this range : Nissan Note 1.4)
AND
Medium : Compact (Example of this range : Renault Megane 1.6)
There is a difference in the price range and the actual vehicles which I understand.
My question is:-
If I book the slightly more expensive Medium Compact option, how can I be sure that I will receive one of the vehicles in this category and not one of the vehicles in the cheaper Medium Compact Category?
Thanks
Stuart
Hi Stuart,
All cars are classified as Small, Medium or Large which relates to car size. However, we also offer a choice of engine size within those categories. You have the choice of a 1.4l or 1.6l in the medium compact range and the vehicle you will be given relates to the engine size booked.
I hope the above helps.
Stephen
Hi
We are organising a golf trip throughout England and Scotland. There will be 4 members (all men) of our party, along with golf bags and luggage.
Which vehicle would you recommend that could carry all this as the website does not list anything with greater than 4 luggage pieces and I am not sure if the people carriers can be converted to handle more luggage.
Regards
Hi Ben,
Your best option would be a large Estate vehicle (Renault Laguna or similar) or a medium people carrier (Vauxhall Zafira or similar, 5 seats with 2 optional seats in the back, which if not used does leave a lot of luggage room )but it would then depend upon how big your suitcases were!
Perhaps it would be worth your while if you didn’t want to rent 2 cars, to go to an Avis office and ask to view these cars and see whether they would suit your needs or not.
Hope that helps and good luck
Chris
I’m concerned that cat B car will not be big enough can I Upgrade easily I collect Sun night in Lisbon? doug gerrie
Hi Doug, generally you will have the opportunity to pay for an upgrade although it does depend on the fleet available on the day.
I hope you have a great trip to Lisbon!
Rob
I read with interest your comment on reducing jargon especially with car group types – yet I have just made a booking with you through BA – and in the Avis reservations email – it confirms, that yes, you guessed it, I have booked a Group J car!!
It would be nice for Avis to simply to confirm that I have booked an automatic estate car with child seat !!
Looks like a few quid need to go in the charity jargon-busting tin! Thanks for letting us know Andrew. I’ve raised this with the Partnership team to see if they can make the terminology for the car categories more consistent.
Rob
I booked a Group D car, was given a smaller Group C but was still charged for the Group D. How do I get a refund? (LHR 26Mar09)
The final charge was GBP208 but my credit card was debited GBP222. How do I get a refund?
Pls reply to my email as well as on here. Thx.
Sorry previous post should have read – I was given a smaller Group E car.
Hi Derek, would you be able to email your rental agreement into comments@avis.co.uk?
Rob
Just a quick comment re posts 63, 64, 65 about an overcharge on my rental from LHR 26March09. I got NO help from telephoning, writing or emailing about my problem but this BLOG did lead to an almost immediate refund – well couple of weeks. So thank you AVIS and particularly Rob White who answered my blog. Still an AVIS customer.
I am concerned as I have booked a car form 8th to 18th June through Canvas holidays which confirms this has booked through Avis. There are 2 adults & 3 children and the lady I spoke to assured me she would book a car big enough however when I llo at the paperwork all it says is class C which means nothing to me. We will only have 1 large case but want to know if this class car will fit the 5 of us in. Thanks
@ Derek, thanks for the feedback. I apologise that things went wrong to begin with but I’m glad things got sorted out in the end.
Rob
@ Cathy, would you be able to let me know what country you have booked your car for? That should give me enough information to confirm what kind of car you should be expecting.
Rob
well i booked mpv for my disabled wife for hospital and they turned up with a car with broken wiper and dents and sratches all over it.
lincoln uk did not check it and expected me to take it and i refused leaving me in the lurch with no car and wife unable to come home.
rubbish service so far hope it improves.
Hi Steven, I am very sorry for any frustrations and distress caused so far. I’ve forwarded this to my colleague in the Customer Support team to look into and someone will respond to you ASAP.
Rob
Hi, forgot to mention that. we are booking it from Pisa Italy.
Thanks
Hi Cathy, a C category would be a Ford Fiesta or similar. It can seat 5 people and hold a large suitcase.
Does this give you what you need?
Rob
I have clicked “View Booking” on the Avis website and entered my booking ref #
The system shows correct details e.g. pickup location, rental period, but crucially does not show category of car booked – to me this is the most important piece of information and it does not give me a lot of confidence in Avis when I see this omission. Is there any way to get confirmation of getting the category I booked other than relying on the emailed booking confirmation ?
thanks,
Martyn
Hi Martyn,
Thanks for your feedback.
I have passed your comment onto our web development team and they are looking into this.
Also, if you email you reservation number to comments@avis.co.uk we will look into your reservation and let you know the full details of the booking.
Victoria
I have booked a car via Lloyds TSB Premier – and have been offered a Band F ??, I have requested a 4×4 ( as we are in Italy Skiing), but unfortunatly have been told i “have to wait & see”? – can you tell me what cars are available at Marco/Venice airport? and if it would be possible to book a particular car on 11/02/2010? Thank you – great service!!!
having rented a car in england to collect in faro portugal we were told about collision waiver damage an extra 160-8 euro:s or oay extra 1000 euros if any damage incured in your rental contract it clearly states 16day rental group a including collision waiver;theft;airportsurcharge and unlimited free mileage having writen to you with no replay we ask for our 160-8euro:s voucher no.v63155957 through co’op travel regards a.deboos
@ Anthony, would you be able to email me your rental agreement number to comments@avis.co.uk and I’ll follow up with the Customer Support team?
Rob
Hi Jamie,
A group F is manual full size car, something similar to a Ford Mondeo, VW Passat etc. The 4X4 group is actually a P and is on what we call request status. This means that its availability needs to be “requested” which will take up to 72 hours to be confirmed or denied. We cannot guarantee a particular car I’m afraid but whichever group you book all the cars in that group will be similar with regards to size, power, features etc.
If you want to visit http://www.avis.co.uk and choose “get a quote” then you will be bale to view all the fleet available at Venice airport for those dates and get an idea of the price as well.
I hope that helps
Chris
When my company reserve hire cars it is noted on the instruction, group c, more often than not we receive group B. That is what is noted on the contract agreement from Avis.
Is there any difference between B and C ?
Hi Gerard,
There is a difference between the B groups and the C groups, this is mainly the body size of the car (for example a Fiesta vs. a Focus).
I would like to investigate a little further. If you could send me an email with a couple of Rental Agreement numbers where this has happened I will look into this and get back to you. The email address is comments@avis.co.uk.
If you have any other questions or feedback please let me know.
Vicki
As an Amex Platinum holder I think I am entitled to a free upgrade (depending on availability). If I’m booking online do I book the class I pay for or the upgraded class?
Hi Matt,
Yes, Amex Platinum cardholders are entitled to a free upgrade with Avis (subject to availability).
The best method of booking is through the Amex Membership Travel Services call centre on 0845 608 0845. They will ensure that your car is booked to reflect your upgrade entitlement.
Charlotte
Can you tell me what an economy car would be at Pisa airport this April? Also I have had some difficultyobtaing a quote for 95 days car hire on your web site.
Hi Patricia,
The economy car in Pisa is something like a Fiat Punto or similar. To obtain a quote for 95 days you will need to call our reservations team on 08445 81 81 81 who will gladly provide you with a quote.
I hope that helps
Chris
So:- “At Avis, our car categories are now broken down differently, as part of our initiative to drive out jargon that I mentioned in one of my first posts. We offer cars by size (small, medium, large), type (eg economy, estates and people carriers) and whether you want to drive a manual or automatic” etc.
BUT NO PRICES ARE QUOTED, which is part of the decision. You are now on the web, takes a couple of minutes to change a price that is then visble for all to see. No excuse for hiding the costs!
Please make prices available for the groups!
Hi Richard,
Thank you for your comment.
Our prices vary depending on length of rental, car group, location, demand vs. supply and more. This is all explained in the blog posts ‘Our Pricing Explained – Part 1’ and ‘Our Pricing Explained – Part 2’.
To get an exact price you can go to our website http://www.avis.co.uk or call our reservation team on 08445 818181.
I hope this helps
Vicki
I need a car that can fit two child seats and a booster seat across the back. Keen to avoid a people carrier if possible. Would we be able to fit into any of your slightly smaller models?
I have arranged to hire a Ford Focus while in the UK in June 2010. I asked our travel agent to book a car with enough luggage space so that 2 medium and 2 carry-on bags would be hidden from view while parked. Is the Focus large enough? From the photo on your UK website it doesn’t appear to be. Please advise. Thanks.
Hi Vicky,
You would need a people carrier for two child seats and a booster seat. With smaller cars you can put 2 child seats in the back, any more and you won’t have enough space even though you would have 3 seat belts.
Hope this helps,
Michael
Hello Brian,
I have driven a Ford Focus a number of times and found the boot space sufficient for two medium bags and some extra bits and pieces. If you planned to carry a bit more I would suggest the group G Focus or similar estate group, which will more than hold all the luggage plus it has a pull screen to cover any things put in the back to deter thieves,
I hope this helps,
Michael
I have arranged the hire of a car from Avis late August and September 2010. I am advised it is an IDMREB Vauvhall Vectra or similar Intermediate Class , Manual with A/C. What does this equate to in your new simplified system please?