What has to be weather related? That they gave you a car with a flat? I would call back and speak with a different person, bet you get a different answer, or at least I would hope so!

Part of the answer may depend on if Avis at CMH is a corporate store. Is it? GSO is, because they accept the FL driveout.

I've had this garbage from phone agents before... "Oh, the tire pressure typicalls drops significantly overnight because the weather is colder." That could account for a few PSI, but not 15+ that I've had on the first night. They (either previous renter or the cleaners) just fill the tire and fail to note that it was flat/going flat and it gets pushed onto the next person


I've been to CMH a few times and I'm nearly certain they're corporate. They have the standard "fleet" cars and don't give any indication that they're a franchise.

Just called again. The guy said I have two options:
1) call the roadside assistance and have them arrange for a replacement vehicle (in that case, do I still get the same car?)
2) he said I could go to firestone or a tire person, get it fixed and then have Avis reimburse me. I really don't have time for this as I'm traveling for work. By the time I get done it's already 5. So that's a no go. Well only about 4 psi has leaked since the morning fill up. So maybe I'll wait till morning to see if it's low again.
Otherwise I don't know...
Any suggestions???

Call roadside assistance just before you go to bed, and ask for them to bring you a replacement vehicle at 9 or 10 AM, or first opportunity, etc. Remind them that they should bring you a comparable vehicle. Hopefully, that will work for you, and if it does not, then I would say that you are expecting too much, or if you can't work it out for your business schedule, then you will have to work around the losing tire pressure (stop every 100 miles for air), and make your way to the end of your rental as best you can.

Wow, we had a very similar situation with a Cadillac SRX this past November - tire pressure was dropping quickly as we drove from Orlando to Tampa and we pulled off the road at an exit where there was nothing but a petrol station. We called roadside assistance and after much discussion, they agreed to either bring us out another vehicle from MCO, which they said could take up to two hours, or we could fill the tires with air and make it into TPA where we could change the car. Since our cell phone went dead in the middle of the conversation and we hadn't confirmed with them our chosen course of action, we drove to TPA and they quickly and efficiently swapped the car for us. They do try to give you the same vehicle, if available, and we actually received an even higher model of the Cadillac SRX than the one we had (newer and fully loaded with built-in GPS) - which was already an upgrade from our mid-size rental.

Good luck.

They do try to give you the same vehicle, if available,

Of course. If you paid for a luxury or premium, you should get a replacement that's also a luxury or premium. It might not be the same make and model, ex Grand Marquis might be swapped for Toyota Avalon, but at least what you reserved.

Called them up today as I got another error message saying, "service air-bags". Roadside assistance said that I would have to take the car to GSO and get it replaced. and since my original contract said, "Standard Size - Ford Fusion or similar" that's what they would give me. Am at work right now. They agreed to replace the car if I wanted to, although I dont' think i'm going to get the cadillac anymore... At least I'll be tension free and won't have to worry about losing tire pressure and stuff...

and even though SusanDK's response was encouraging that they do try to give you a comparable car, I think in my case, I'm out of luck. I don't think I can call and say that since I used to double upgrade coupon, I would be able to get another caddy.

but better to be safe and hassle free right?

Thanks for the replies... Is there a tactical way I could speak to roadside assistance again and 'request' them to send me the same vehicle?

We have twice had to call roadside assistance to bring us a replacement car, the previously-mentioned situation with the Cadillac which we resolved by driving to TPA, and another time when we came out to our car in the parking lot of our vacation home and the tire was flat. That time, we called and they just said they'd be right out with another whatever-it-was (it was either a Chrysler 300 or a Lincoln MKS, I can't remember now which rental it was). Again, the car they came out with was even newer than the one we were driving.

In both cases, we had reserved an intermediate class and had been upgraded as President's Club members (double upgrade based on availability - in both cases this was more than double up).

It wasn't my impression that roadside assistance even knew what the terms of our rental was, just that we had car X so they would come out with identical replacement car X, as long as they had one.

I don't know if our service was exceptional because we are President's Club members and/or because we always rent with the full CDW and ALI insurance (as we get excellent all-inclusive rates from Denmark). I've read horror stories here about flat tires and renters being charged for them, but our experiences with Avis have been exceptional.

Susan

I believe, as long as you are firm with them about what you have and what you expect, that they would bring you a similar car, such as another Cadillac, a G37, or a Hyundai Genesis (great car).

Here is the deal that you should be aware of: What do you have to lose by making a jerk out of yourself and demanding that they bring you a new vehicle and that it be comparable? Why do you think that they would not, and should not, honor your coupon? Your RESERVED car class might say "standard size," but your RENTED car lists the particular car you have, and that is what you should get. My suggestion is to stop wringing your hands over it, and demand good service, and if you have to rant/vent to them to get what you should get, then it will be good for your blood pressure to have that release!

Ok. Not a happy camper here. So I spoke to a ms. Fitzgerald about my car troubles. After keeping me on hold for about 20 odd mins, she comes back and says that I would have to pay for the towing since the car was drivable. I said so wait, I pay for my own inconvenience?? She said they had a replacement car for me and guaranteed it would be a CTS or similar. I sai I'm at work till 11 to which she said it's ok. The locations at GSO airport closes at 1. I called the local avid location and told the lady I would come in around 12:15 am. Her words, "I will pit your last name on the keys of a camaro". Good enough!!! Or so I thought...

I drove an hour at midnight, get to the airport and can't find the counter. So I call the local office number and no reply. So I call the roadside again and it's ms. Fitzgerald again. I ask about the car and she somehow gets a hold of a guy. I speak to him and he says he has no car for me. Only a 12 passenger van. At this point I'm fuming. Moreover he says there was no notification about a vehicle exchange. He has the nerve to tell me to wait till morning and after getting returns he could give me a car. He got NO message from that girl who took my last name and said that she would place a camaro aside for me. when she offered a car, she said, mustang or camaro and meanwhile until I got there, if another luxury car showed up, she would hold it for me.

I then Called road service again and got another agent and boom, no notes from ms. Fitzgerald about any exchange if vehicles in there system. Nothing at all. There were just notes about her talking to me about the car troubles, but nothing about a vehicle exchange or me going to GSO to get it replaced.

This is totally unacceptable. Any suggestions as to how to proceed now??? I'm really not happy driving an hour in the middle of the night for this. I could have just not come. I was pissed that even after calling TWO different sources, I ended up getting the same answer and I drove ALL THE WAY to GSO for nothing. I mentioned to Ms. Fitzgerald that I would not drive there unless they had a car for me, and her answer was yes, they will have a car and I could even call the local office to confirm, which I did.

I guess I am stupid for trusting them!!!

THANK YOU AVIS... You really do try hard(er) to lose customers...

That is not Avis, that is just stupid people, no offense. I promise you that if the local manager knew about this, he or she would blow their top! In my opinion, you deserve a FREE rental. As many people would tell you, call customer service, and the best person to speak with there is James Tucker at 918-624-4216. I know a lot of the district managers, but I have never been through GSO, so I can't help you there, sorry. I can't believe the story you are telling here, meaning it is just incredibly bad. Call James, and tell him everything, do not leave anything out, and I am sure he will take care of you.

I thought this was supposed to be a thread listing upgrades (or not) from originally reserved vehicle(s)?

Yes, it is, the conversation RE: Buck3 started over his problems with getting entitled upgrades, and his experiences sourced from those issues. Yes, it did wander a bit off topic, but if you read the postings for the last couple of pages, you will see it always had something to do with upgrades, as part of other issues.

Location: BHM
Status: PC
Reserved: Premium
Received (well offered): a variety of full size cars since they didn't have any Premiums, Luxury, SUVs etc because of race week.... I noticed Enterprise next door had Camaros...they offered a matching rate and got me on the road... On the brightside I received a 50.00 gift certificate for my RNO downgrade...just not willing to go through another downgrade for 4 days...