Avis - Avis in Toronto- what car can we expect / any tips for the airport?

Hi,

We are renting a group H (luxury) car in Toronto for a week.

We are not picking it up until the folllowing day as we are staying at the Hilton for the first night and will return to the airport to collect in the morning at 8am. Before driving into Toronto to go up the CN Tower.

What sort of car can we expect for 'luxury' and is the Avis desk easy to find?

Any other tips to get a reasonable car.

We are only two people, with not much luggage - so for once do not need a big trunk!

Thank you.

I've found YYZ to be stingy for upgrades, but since you booked Lux, you don't need to worry about that. I've never picked up at YYZ, but never had a problem finding it upon return. The once (my first time, however) I did return to the wrong terminal and had to get a bus to the correct terminal. It was no big deal & rather easy.

As for what car: I've seen lots of DTS in my trips to YYZ, but haven't been there in a few months. I'd hope for the 5.6L STS, though :) If you see it, ask for it!

Thank you.

Does it matter which terminal we go to then?

We are staying at the Hilton, so will use the courtesy bus to get back to the Airport on on the Sunday morning to pick it up around 8am.

Here's some info for you:

If you rent from Terminal 1, you will get Avis Preferred Service if you're a member. The rental car desks are in a separate area from the terminal at the bottom level of the parkade. You'll walk for a while from the terminal, then take an elevator down to P1, which puts you right in the rental car centre. Avis desk is easy to find, but if you're Preferred you can bypass the counter and go out into the rental lot. The door to the Avis section of the lot is across from where the counters are. If you find your name on the board then you can go right to the car and drive to the exit booth. If there are any problems there's a customer service desk in the parkade.

At Terminal 3 it's counter service only. The car rental desks are located on the arrivals level inside the terminal. However, if you're Preferred, you can go outside towards the parkade and go to the Avis desk in the parkade. The cars are parked right outside that office.

So take your pick as to where to go. T3 is less of a walk, but T1 is a bit of a slicker process (in theory). When I rented from YYZ last time I did the same thing, picking up on a day I didn't fly in. I went by the counter a day or two before and told them what terminal I wanted to get the car from, and it was waiting there for me when I arrived.

Here's what I've seen in Luxury at YYZ:

Chrysler 300C Hemi
Lincoln MKS (got this two rentals ago)
Lincoln MKZ
Lincoln Town Car

I've seen Cadillacs (CTS and STS mostly) but I'm not sure what category they go out as. I think they might be specialty and require an upgrade charge. Avis is also the only Canadian rental car lot I've seen that has the Pontiac G8 GT, which is a really fun car to drive and hard to find. It's techincally a specialty car but often goes out as a Premium.

I have mixed reveiws about Avis at YYZ. My first rental was a thing of beauty. In and out of the T3 desk within a minute, and upgraded to the MKS. Second time was not so great. I'd put in a request for a G8 GT, they had one there when I arrived, but the clerk got bribed into giving it away to some people with no status right in front of me. Eventually I found another one on the return line but it was filthy and at half a tank, so I had to wait for it to be serviced.

However, do enjoy Toronto - my native city - no matter what you end up driving!

Thank you. It is our first visit to Canada, so looking forward to it.

...I have mixed reviews about Avis at YYZ. My first rental was a thing of beauty. In and out of the T3 desk within a minute, and upgraded to the MKS. Second time was not so great.....
YYZ was the worst I ever had with AVIS. Which terminal, I don't know ... arrived with Continental/Delta. It was a real mess ... would take too long to explain all the trouble. All agents are very unfriendly and not trained, all from the "Middle East" or so. Avis agreed to the bad service and did sent me 4 $25 vouchers.
I am President's Club member. In the US and CA I get upgrades, but still lousy cars ... they actually have no better cars:td:. In Europe I always get almost new cars: Mercedes C class, BMW 3, 5, 7 or Audi A4 all with GPS and lots of extras.

YYZ was the worst I ever had with AVIS. Which terminal, I don't know ... arrived with Continental/Delta. It was a real mess ... would take too long to explain all the trouble. All agents are very unfriendly and not trained, all from the "Middle East" or so. Avis agreed to the bad service and did sent me 4 $25 vouchers.
I am President's Club member. In the US and CA I get upgrades, but still lousy cars ... they actually have no better cars:td:. In Europe I always get almost new cars: Mercedes C class, BMW 3, 5, 7 or Audi A4 all with GPS and lots of extras.

I've heard that a lot. I think it's more a YYZ thing than an Avis thing. Toronto's geography is unique in that it shares a border with every country in the world. :p Avis is now the third company I've tried at YYZ, after Thrifty and National, both of which featured unempathetic staff who behaved like robots and followed their training manuals by the letter without ever employing any form of logic to resolve a situation. CO/DL fly into T3 so you would've had counter service which only adds to the pain. At least at T1 you can (in theory) avoid human contact by just taking your assigned car from the Preferred lot.

The car thing is a Canada thing unfortunately. Just about every agency rents basic trim level cars and not a huge variety of fleet. There are exceptions of course, like when Hertz had the A4 and 328i in the Prestige Collection. However they've all but abandoned it in Canada due to budget constraints. I've noticed that the US has far better selection than Canadian airports. Even just upgraded trim levels like a Pontiac G6 GXP or an Impala LTZ or SS. I've never rented cars in Europe but I like what I've read on here so far!