Originally Posted by
nacho
Wow, I thought it's impossible. However $13.99 plus tax can perhaps give 3 gallon? (I live in Europe and don't know about the current gas price) - that's more than 1/8 and if I can choose I'd prefer a hit and miss rather than the $$ ends up in Avis's pocket.
Note that it's not taxed in all jurisdictions.
Given the current average USA gas price of $2.97 per gallon (0.59 Euros per liter) and assuming Avis would otherwise charge approximately 166% of that for their standard refueling service ($4.93/gal, or rounded to $5/gal), then yes, that would pay for just about three gallons.
Originally Posted by
mikew99
The scam is that Avis adds this charge even when they shouldn't, and it's up to the renter to (1) notice the improper charge and (2) demand that it be removed. Avis knows good and well that some people will forget/overlook the charge. This practice must net Avis quite a bit of extra money.
As I said above, the price is excessive* and the implementation is flawed. It should rather be designed such that the check-in attendant (known officially at Avis as the "Roving Rapid Return Representative") should have a marker or stack of cards that can be used to show that he or she has verified a fuel receipt. An absence of one of these cards or a grease mark on the windshield would tell the car detailers that the receipt was not seen and to take the car by the fuel pump even if the needle is on Full. The customer should then be charged for the actual fuel shortage based on the actual amount it took to fill up the tank. If the tank clicks off with less than a predetermined amount (say, 1 gallon, which would cover more than a 10-mile fill-up radius in most cars), then the customer is simply billed a $3 fuel verification fee for the time taken and small amount of gas used to check the tank level. Something like that would be fair.
*I personally think rental agencies would be much better to charge the local "full service" price (~10 cents over normal average pump price); they'd probably have far more takers on the fuel options (I think most customers, especially business travelers, would be likely to just let the rental company refuel the car at 10 cents over local pump price) and thus make more profit (since they're getting the gas at ~20 cents below local pump price), and it would eliminate the customer service nightmare and feeling of bad will that comes along with fuel charges. But who am I that they would listen to me...