maybe it is full size, who knows. I thought rented and provided codes were the same, but the print was all smeared, I will know for sure this time tomorrow after getting my e-copy of the invoice.

I guess the Galant is 'full size'

Car Group Rented: FULL SIZE 4 DOOR
Car Group Charged: INTERMEDIATE

Location: CMH
Status: President's Club
Reserved: Mid-Size
Received: Pontiac Torrent - switched to Ford Edge SEL but with 39,000 miles!

The selection at CMH was really, really thin this week. Yes I got an upgrade but this is probably one of the very few weeks I would've taken a Malibu or a mid-size. The Edge is pretty beat up.

Wow, tons of variability with CMH lately. Some have received upgrades to Cadillacs and the like, and others get stuck with crap like a Torrent or Edge! The Edge is a nice ride if you can get a newish one, but they don't stand up very well in the rental fleet, unfortunately.

Wouldnt you rather fly that route?

Depends on the weather... if there are clouds in the sky in EWR and the plane is an RJ/prop, you can probably drive MUCH faster than flying. However, the train would be my first option for DC-NYC.

If I wanted to go direct from IAD to EWR, sure. I did the rental over 3 days staying a day in the IAD area, 2 days in PHL, with my flight out of EWR. my AWD has no one-way surcharge.

Location: PHX
Status: First
Reserved: Standard SUV (requested 4WD over the phone)
Received: Hummer H3

Location: MCO
Status: First
Reserved: Full size
Received: Chevy Malibu (Intermediate?)

This was odd... I wasn't really paying attention today since Avis had us standing in a long ... line in the 90+ deg heat inside the garage this afternoon -- I was just happy to get out of there. But I just realized they assigned me a Chevy Malibu LT today and my rental request was for a full size. Oops?

Is Avis supposed to rectify this failure to upgrade or announce the downgrade? The agent did not ask if it was OK to accept the intermediate when my request was for a full (they have previously made sure I was OK with any downgrades).

Thoughts?

I have found that the agents rarely, if ever, say anything about the car assigned, whether an upgrade or otherwise. Usually, they just hand over the key and tell you the space number.

Consequently, it has become my habit to say to them "what have you selected for us today" (or something like that) before they hand me the keys, in case I want to ask for something else, which is easier to do when already being attended to at the kiosk rather than go check the car out and have to come back and get in the queue again if unhappy.

They should have told you about the downgrade, but it sounds like they were quite busy when you were there, so they were just trying to get people on their way. You could always send a comment via the Customer Service form on Avis.com and ask for a price adjustment from the full to an intermediate if you feel unhappy about it. Or if you haven't returned the car yet, you could try to get them to adjust the final bill at that time (you'd have to approach the kiosk for his, however, as the agents with the handheld devices to check you out would not be able to make adjustments).

Susan

Is it the new Malibu, 2009 or 2010? If so, then it IS a full-size. It's a "badge engineered twin" to the Saturn Aura, which has been listed as a full-size by Avis for a few years. A coworker had one a few weeks ago and the receipt showed it as a full size.

ahhh... that could be it then. i'll have to confirm on my invoice after i return the car. i guess the car list i saw hadn't updated this info yet -- might have been an old list, obviously.

not a bad car overall, i suppose... i'm not a huge fan of american design/engineered cars, but this one drives smooth and tries to mimic design cues that one would call "upmarket" (lots of accent lighting and interesting dashboard lightshows when you start the car, etc.)

thanks for the tips, as usual!

-e

At the top of this forum, there is a sticky with Avis cars and their classes, based upon my personal experience and posts by others on here. I think it's pretty comprehensive, but I won't claim that it's perfect. If you have any additions/corrections, please post them.

Two more:

Location: SHV (Shreveport, LA)
Status: AVIS First
Reserved: Compact
Received: Toyota Corolla... again, second week in a row. Boo

Location: PHX
Status: AVIS First
Reserved: Intermediate
Received: 2009 Malibu 4dr

Actually, I kind of liked the new Malibu! I'd certainly take this one again.

I wouldn't complain... it's technically an upgrade. While it's not a great upgrade, it's more than a lot of people on here can say lately.