Useless roadside assistance
 

I got a flat tire tonight in Minneapolis. I was able to pull into a parking garage at my destination, at which point I phoned Roadside Assistance.

The Roadside Assistance was pretty disappointing. They take awhile to answer your call, and then they only transfer you to somewhere fairly local. Nevertheless, the person who I spoke to insisted I give more than the intersection of the parking garage. She wanted a street address. I told her the local service provider would be able to figure it out. She finally relented, took my info, and said someone would call me back.

About 20-30 minutes later, I received an automated call giving me info about who would provide service, including their phone number. I was in a noisy restaurant, and couldn't make out the phone number. The automated call gave no option to repeat the message. It just disconnected.

Another 20 or so minutes later, I got another automated call, but this one included even less info.

Finally, I got a call from a human who told me that there was a parade in the area, and so they couldn't get there anytime soon. Well, I didn't see any parade, but by that point, I told them to just forget about it.

Now this was not a big deal because it was simply a flat tire, and I was able to drive to a safe location. After dinner, I just changed the tire myself in 10-15 minutes. But it gives me little confidence in the quality of Roadside Assistance should I ever really need it in an emergency.

Has anyone else had experience with Avis Roadside Assistance?

Also, what should I expect upon returning the car tomorrow. I will tell them about the flat tire and that the spare is on the car. I assume they don't need me to do any paperwork or such, right?

Upon returning the car, I told the agent that I had to put the spare on due to a flat. All that was required was for me to put my contact info on an incident report and sign it. The text just said something like "changed flat tire." I was assured that I wouldn't have any additional responsibility.

My experience was ok
 

One time my car battery went dead in NJ. I called and they drove a replace car to me in 2 hours. Fortunately I wasn't in a particular hurry so I considered that an ok experience.

We picked up a nail in a tire here on our current rental. We're basically in rural NC, no Avis branches anywhere close. I call Roadside to see what our options are, he suggested we find a tire shop -- Goodyear or Firestone and they can direct bill Avis for the repair, otherwise, save the receipt to be reimbursed when turning in the car. Luckily, we did find a shop at 5pm on a Friday that wasn't closed yet, got it fixed quickly and on our way. We'll see how the reimbursement goes, as we've already paid in full (Hotwire). While finding a tire shop and fixing it "ourselves" was an inconvenience, I knew that it would even MORE inconvenient if we decided we wanted them (Roadside) to send someone -- and all they'd probably do is put the spare on, which I could do in less time.

The one time I called was when the check transmission light came on and the car sounded funny when it shifted gears (automatic). Avis told me to drive it to the nearest location. The nearest location looked at me and asked what they were supposed to do with it. :rolleyes:

The incident you describe could describe just about any roadside assistance, not really something I'd consider a fault of Avis ... I would never consider calling any roadside assistance program to just change a tire, I can do it faster myself than the time I'd spend on the phone and dealing with the provider to have someone else do it, and just from the record, I'm about as mechanically uninclined as they come, but I will at least change my own flat tire and jump my own battery.

UPDATE: I posted earlier about getting a flat, being told we could fix it and have it deducted from the rental when we turned it in. But we pre-paid via Hotwire, so I thought it might be tricky. First the agent says he can't adjust a pre-paid rental, so he goes hunting for a $25 coupon. Hmm, "OK" I said. When radio'ing his supervisor for the coupon, she says "Well does he want a coupon or a check." Ok, I'll take a check (to come in the mail later). That's fine. Then somehow, he was told he could just petty cash it. So, after about 30 minutes of running around -- we finally got the $25 reimbursement in cash. Highly recommend taking care of a situation like this yourself vs. waiting for Roadside (unless of course you're absolutely stranded somewhere). Good luck.

I generally agree, and I did change the tire myself fairly quickly. However, I was in a fairly large city, and embarking on a lengthy dinner. I figured they'd have somewhere close enough to take care of it while I ate, and so why not enjoy the benefit rather than soil my trousers:)

Once in Denver, my car just wouldn't start. Avis guy that came out was baffled as well. Battery was fine.

Anyway, I was about 40-45 miles from airport. They delivered me a new car within 1-1½ hours and gave me a certificate for $50 off my next Avis rental.

I was pleasantly impressed.

Car Swap 'cause A/C not working
 

Many years ago, when my now 32yo son was around age 10 or 11 --- and before I did much travelling or car renting --- and before I became Preferred and more recently achieved Chairmans Club membership --- I rented a mid-sized AVIS at MCO (Orlando FL). On the way to "Dizzy" World, my son and I realized the A/C was not working (in July in Florida!!) I called AVIS from my cell phone, explained the problem. The rep asked what hotel would be staying at in Lake Buena Vista --- and then instructed us to drive to the AVIS desk at the adjoining hotel for a replacement car. They gave us a Cadillac --- with no extra charges.

I don't have any AVIS horror stories because they've always been nice to me. But, heck, I'm just a sweet and loveable guy.

As I rent cars almost every week, I have had my share of roadside adventure... :p

The most recent being a simple flat tire in Amityville, NY (hopefully not near the haunted house!) while driving back to LGA. I called Avis, was told I could wait 60-90 minutes for Roadside Assistance or go to a local repair shop and be reimbursed.

I also am a AAA member so if it came down to that, I would rely on AAA before Avis. Anyway, I pulled into a quiet Sunoco station. You would have thought these guys were training to be a NASCAR pit crew! I had three guys attack my car as if their boss were holding a stopwatch and I was out of there in less than 15 minutes!

Back at Avis LGA, they barely glanced at the repair receipt and deducted the $15 from my final bill.

Before last week, I'd used Roadside Asst (RA) a few times for broken-down cars and have never been disappointed. However, last weekend was quite the opposite. After the first car (grotesque 300 from PHL) had ink in the cupholder that ruined my shirt and shorts & a broken headlight, I switched out cars at BWI. They gave me another 300 with over 25k. About 40 miles into my trip, the rear tire exploded on the Woodrow Wilson bridge (495/95 at MD/VA) :mad:. I made it to the the side of the road and called RA. They took all of my information and said they'd get back to me. The lady was quite upset with me because I could not provide her with a town name that I was in. I was literally on the bridge between 2 states and I told her the upcoming exit number, but couldn't tell her the town I was in.

About 45 mins later, I was called & told they were going to send a new vehicle to me and the driver would call me when he was in my vacinity. Another ~45 mins go by & I'm called again and they ask for my exact location. I repated what I told them before and they said, "Oh, you're on the maryland Virginia border?" The lady explained that was why the driver couldn't locate me but wouldn't tell me where they were looking. They had to find a new towing company b/c I was out of their locale. They called me about 30 mins later and said that all of the towing companies in DC were now closed (it was 10PM on a Sunday), and I had to call Chrysler to dispatch a mechanic to change my tire. I would have to pay them cash & then give Avis the receipt to be reimbursed. Chrysler could not provide me even an approximate time that they could get someone to my location! So after over 2 hours, I had to maneuver the car across the bridge while the rear rim was digging into the road. I changed the tire in interstate traffic, then went to DCA to switch out the car b/c it was on a donut. I was quite upset with the dirty car from PHL and the roadside companie's complete lack of competence. This was not my ideal way to start my week on the road!