FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Avis / Budget moving off-site at DCA? (Confirmed - March 2023)
Old Apr 19, 2023 | 6:20 pm
  #9  
drseagrass
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We tried the off-site location last week after an overnight flight and everything initially seemed OK. A new Budget/Avis shuttle van was outside baggage claim when we exited the airport and a second person besides the driver was available to help with baggage. Within a few minutes we were at the car rental site that Dollar used to occupy a few years back on Richmond Highway. They have hired a lot of new employees so we were immediately helped as we stepped off the shuttle. Pretty much everything went downhill from there. We were offered a Kia Niro (reservation was for an intermediate car), and pressured to take the pre-paid gas option. I declined and was told to be sure and fill it up on return. All of this led me to believe it was a plug-in hybrid, but once we left the location and had driven a few miles, it was clear it was an all-electric car and there was only 67 miles of range on it. It was 65 miles to our home and we barely made it---car was shutting down systems and not exceeding 25 miles per hour as we arrived. The next day we returned the car as reserved to Lexington Park, MD (and asked if we had filled up the car). By then I had added 160 miles of range to the car; fully re-charging it would have taken 14 hours of the 24 hours I rented the car. One last insult was $62 added to our bill for supposedly returning the car 1/2 hour beyond the 24 hour rental. The bill provided at drop-off indicated that I had picked the car up before the plane landed at DCA! The boarding pass and flight status printout should take care of that, but it is just one more thing. According to Budget's posted web policy, EVs will not be rented one-way, and will be provided to renters with at least a 70% charge. I have contacted Budget customer service about all of this, but have heard crickets.
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