Randm

The car we rented for a month has.expired tabs. Not only that the software wants to be updated and prompts on the screen constantly with no instructions on how to update. We have it for the next month. I've tried calling Avis.and been passed to a.lot of various extensions but no one has been able to help. I've tried several days now and the only suggestion I've received is to return the cat which would take a day or our vacation in driving so nit desirable. I've read.a.number of posts on this subject and it sounds like they should never send a car out that is not street legal.

IAHtraveler

They should have definitely rented a vehicle that is street legal but it's also the renter's responsibility to ensure it's fit to drive before leaving the lot.

Only options at this point are:
1. Keep driving it. But you risk a ticket if you get pulled over. I'd definitely not recommend this.
2. Call Avis and demand they bring you a new car. Not always an option but you can try. Hard telling what kind of beater they'll bring you that you could be stuck with for the rest of the month.
3. Go swap it. Seems the best option at this point.

For the software update on the car, have a look on Google and see if there's instructions on how to handle it. I've done that in the past and used my phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot so the car can connect to it and update.

guv1976

I assume that you mean "tags" (i.e., license plates), rather than "tabs." Edited to add: Or maybe you mean the expiration stickers that some states put on license plates.

Is there no Avis location close to where you are now? You might not have to exchange the car at the location where you rented it. I would call Avis and press them on this.

Welcome to FlyerTalk!

born sleepy

Sweet, so in addition to dealing with the pre-smeared-with-a-greasy-rag windows, cigarette/weed stink and that one tire inflated to 98psi I have to check the reg stickers before departing? Ugh.

guv1976

Yep. Not to mention the odometer reading and fuel level.

MASTERNC

I rented a car two years ago from an Avis inside a casino hotel for a week-long trip (in lieu of using a personal vehicle). I drove home from the hotel and noticed that the NY inspection sticker was expired (I confirmed with a relative who was former law enforcement in NY). Since I was driving into NY (and the stickers are color coded by year), I went back and requested a new vehicle. There wasn't much left but (after waiting another 30 minutes for the one clerk to clean a vehicle) did I receive a replacement.

Randm

sorry the state I'm from calls them "tabs" In Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington state, license plate registration stickers are often called "tabs."

guv1976

Thanks for that.

Here in New York, those stickers are no longer affixed to the rear license plate; instead a (larger) registration sticker is affixed to the windshield, next to the inspection sticker.

james89

Fun. Last time I was in Dallas my employer's travel tool forced me to go Avis to save a couple bucks (I usually do National). In addition to waiting for 20 minutes in the regular line and 45 minutes in the preferred line (status via Amex), they gave me a 50k+ mile Sportage with bald tires and an out-of-state registration that expired in September 2023.

MitchR

In the 80's I rented a car in Pittsburgh. The trunk was open and the four of us loaded our bags and drove to Cleveland. When we got to the hotel we found that we didn't have a trunk key and our bags were in the trunk. No customer service at 11 pm so I called a locksmith to open the trunk. When I called Thrifty customer service the next morning the rep tried to convince me that it was my responsibility to verify that I had a trunk key.

savagerider

I was stopped for expired tags in Hawaii a long time ago. Since then I always check the tags. When I point them out, there is usually a tag in the service bay and they have just not cared to put it on. I also check fuel level, tires and display performance.

epi231

I was given a car with expired Oregon plates at a small, non-airport Enterprise location in California. The staff urged me to take the vehicle despite the expired tags, but I insisted on getting a different one, and they relented. Unfortunately it was in a different category, but there weren’t many choices. (I wasn’t driving into Oregon but still did not want any potential issues.)

Loren Pechtel

Many years ago Enterprise was not happy with me refusing a car with two-month-expired temp tags. Took them an hour to find the plates sitting in the office.

flyingsaucer

I hired a car in the UK with no proof of any sort of registration - which I hadn't realised at the time. Luckily neither did anyone else.

hourglass

Haven't had to deal with Avis on this as I only use it as last resort but
​​​​​​Happened with national a few times and since I rented those at city location I would bring it to airport to swap it out and it always let's me pick in the aisle. Got parking ticket once for expired tag, handed that to the agent at return and never heard about it after.
NOTE: reg expired for under six months is not big deal in California(fix it ticket), but I think it becomes a moving violation if it's expired for more than six months and they can impound the vehicle. Keep that in mind