Highway 1

The lady at the rental car company was very friendly, chatting about everything. Although she worked slowly, I was very satisfied. I reserved a Ford Edge (5-seater), but got a Mazda CX-9 (7-seater) instead, which was great. Returning the car was also very quick, took just 3 minutes.

There was no Malibu available at the time, so they gave us a 7-seater Mitsubishi Outlander. It was perfect for our group of three adults and two kids. The third row was spacious for the two children, and the second row can fold 4/6, making it convenient for luggage. The 2.0 engine is a bit weak, but the fuel consumption is 7.4L/100km, not high. Gas is cheap in the US. Returning the car was super easy, took only half a minute.

At the car rental hall in San Francisco Airport, we waited in a very short line before reaching the counter. The staff was very friendly. However, we had booked a Ford Edge SUV, but the staff at the counter told us that it was no longer available and insisted we upgrade to a Dodge SUV for an extra $5 per day. We saw similar complaints online before our trip, but had no choice but to pay the extra and take the car. However, when we got to the pick-up area, we saw a Ford Edge available, which left us feeling quite upset. It turns out that even big companies like AVIS in the US aren't always reliable.

The store staff were very friendly and efficient.

Very dissatisfied with the staff handling the rental. We waited in line at the counter at noon, and after half an hour, it was our turn. An older man served us very slowly. Since we had a lot of people and luggage, he said our reserved large car wasn't good and recommended upgrading the model for an extra $30 per day, which seemed reasonable, so we accepted. However, his operation was extremely slow and unfamiliar. He first charged my credit card a pre-authorization of over $4,800. Then he said he made a mistake and needed to cancel, since we upgraded the car model. He charged me $5,800, saying the first charge would be refunded. Later, we found out the $4,800 would be frozen for over two months, causing inconvenience for subsequent expenses. Why not recommend the upgrade before processing the payment? During the transaction, he kept saying he needed to CHECK the car, making us wait at the counter for over four hours. Despite various urgings, he kept saying 'soon'. I'd just flown for 14 hours, was tired and hungry, and nearly fainted. Finally, I complained to the manager, who immediately arranged a brand new SUBURBAN for us, which resolved the issue. What on earth!? We had to swap the car once more due to other issues, and AVIS did it efficiently, saying it would take two hours and it was very punctual. This service was satisfactory. Returning the car was very convenient without needing GPS, just follow the signs, very clear.