While answering a thread, I realized that I have never posted what a "clean" car is according to avis. budget uses the same standards, but their "final" score is different from Avis' Score. but the criteria for "perfect" is the same.

This is VERY long, so I hope you guys appreciate this. I will list these items in the order that I, as a AVIS Senior Shift Manager, inspected cars on the line."

Avis QA Inspection.

10 Cars, selected off the ready line. All 10 cars are selected at random. Preferred stalls, regular stalls, on contract, ready to rent, different types and classes. The inspector chooses off the top of his/her head.


Inspect lights, all lights, tail lights, hazzard lights working order. Left front tire to within +-3 PSI for that vehicle. (most vehicles are 34PSI, a number agreed to by the MFG when developing the standard).

Squat down, in front of center license plate. Any undercarriage damage, hanging body parts, moulding, vehicle drips present. No bugs on the front end. If there are bugs, top half of front end (hood edge) any bugs is a fail for external cleanliness, lower half, if I took a rag and wiped it and bugs came off with relative ease, thats a fail for entire external car cleanliness.

No body damage. any dents bigger than a quarter need to be documented and on a car slip in the car or on the keys at departure. Any dents or damage bigger than a fist is an immediate fail for the whole car as that car should NOT even be on the ready line.

Walk to drivers side, Drivers side mirror clear of water spots and grime. Grab door handle, no water or grime on the underside of the handle. If my hand pulls back and has dirt on it, thats a fail. Open door, door jam clear of dirt. Check door pocket. wipe door pocket with bare hand. if any particulate matter comes up on my fingers, fail -4. Car seat, was it pushed back, both drivers and passengers, to a comfortable position. Not, a verbal caution is given, but no points. Move car seat all the way back. Inspect under car seat, side. Any trash (paper, plastic) or sand/gravel particulate big enough to see from a standing position outside the car is a fail (-4). Any stains on the carpet, seat, seatbelt bigger than a dime that do not look like they have been scrubbed, fail (-4). Any holes in the upolstery, fail (-4). I have been asked by inspectors to scrub a stain. If through my actions, I can "lighten" its appearance, then its a fail.

wipe hand across dash, any dust, -4 points. I sit in the seat. look in all the mirrors, fingerprints or ANY noticeable soilage is a fail, -4 on mirrors. I look forward, left, right, in my immediate field of view, if I see anything more than an occasional outside water spot, the interior windows is a fail. the windows SHOULD be streak free.

I pop the hood and trunk, stick the key in, turn it on, if the car doesnt start on the first try, the car fails. If the radio is not OFF, fail (-4) and if the volume is anything but all the way down, (-4). The AC/heater should be off as well. I check the center console, there should be NO stains in the cupholder (EMPHASIS POINT). At any point during interior check if the inspector finds any piece of paper, other than registration and insurance, that says "budget rent a car" in it, the car is downed, and must be re-cleaned and manager inspected, and the car is given an administative fail no matter how clean it is, failing the entire location.

headliner is checked for handprints, vanity mirror is checked for cleanliness. I get out of the car, move the seat ALL the way forward and up. inspect under the car seat from the back seat, and repeat all the other steps. headliner, windows, seat pocket, cupholder, seatbelt,carpet for stains, windows for spots.

Check left rear tire and rim, no dirt. (rim cleanliness depends on time of year and lot condition, dirty snow in the parking lot gets you a pass on this). I open the gas tank, check to make sure the cap is tight. Check rear tail lights, bumper for damage dirt. Open trunk, no trash, spare tire present, jack present, all parts, and the book/manual is present. Also in some locatons, the factory mats may be in the spare tire well also, not in the car.

spin to passenger side, check right rear tire, then check right rear passenger compartment, then front passenger compartment, EMPHASIS POINT, glove box. check tire pressure front tire (right) and then the hood. Dirt in the engine area is okay. But the following must be correct. Engine Oil, Washer Fluid, Brake fluid, and radiator overflow needs to be at correct engine levels.
These items are 6 point items and instantly can fail a car.

This is my car inspection procedure. It takes me less than 2 min per car to walk through, longer if I find something wrong. But generally in a half an hour I can inspect 8-10 cars.

Scoring.

As a result of customer feedback, the most important component is interior cleanliness. As a result, if any one car fails interior cleanliness, the entire location fails. This is as of october 2006.

Budget, 96%. Of the 10 cars, Budget is allowed to miss no more than 40 points. Any less and they fail cars.

Avis, 98.0%. of the 10 cars, Avis is allowed to miss no more than 20 points. So essentially, if a location has issues with windows, if 5 cars fail external windows, they have to be perfect of every other car.

As a comparison, my location under my inspections usually rated around 97.6% on my inspections. My last 4 audits, my agents scored 99.2-99.6 on their overall car score. Meaning, my Service agents (car cleaners) over 10 cars only missed two criteria points. and honestly, it usually was car windows. Occasionally i write my name with my finger in the window and see if they even clean the windows. I would watch that car and when it hit the inspection station, I would pull the lead agent and make him sit in the car. If he saw my name....to borrow a used term.."NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!"