Avis in Santa Cruz

I rented a card that could not handle the hills of Madeira. The car could not drive past 30/km/hour on a highway going up a mountain which was quite dangerous considering the speed limit was 80km/hr. After an attempt to go to to the gardens in Funchal, the car was not able to climb the hill to get there and started smoking. Avis was actually pretty quick to respond and tow the car, but it did ruin an afternoon for us. By the time we got a new car, the afternoon was over. The worst part of all of this is that AVIS CHARGED ME $429 on my credit card, after I had paid extra for FULL INSURANCE coverage. They have been impossible to get ahold of, they do not answer their phones, and their emails don't offer any assistance. I believe I was charged for BOTH cars, the towing, a gas fill up charge for new car that I had returned FULL, and have a receipt to prove it. The rest of the charges are unknown, because NO ONE will answer my queries. So in a nutshell, I was hoping to receive some sort of refund, given that the car didn't have enough horsepower to climb the hills of Madeira, but instead I received a very large bill to my credit card that I did not authorize. It's also important to note, that when I returned the new car they gave me, the guy said he had no record of it even leaving the lot, and got visibly upset and asked who I had dealt with at the AVIS desk. Unreal, DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY.

We rented a car for 8 days. The amount seemed good for 250$. We paid in advance 200$. When we arrived at the check-in kiosk,, they charge us an amount as a deposit. The concierge told us it wouldn't be taken off our visa. (It was only in case there was damage or not full tank) The 3 rd of October we dropped off the car and saw the next day 150$ taken from our account. A few days later the amount was 540$ , that means 490$ more than was expected to pay!!! Of course we have tried to contact them but no answer! Be really careful with this company! They take your money as if it was an open tab!!!!

They rented my friend a car that could not handle the hills of Madeira. The car could not drive past 30km/hr on a highway going up a mountain which was quite dangerous considering the speed limit was 80km/hr. After an attempt to go to the gardens in funchal - the car was not able to climb the hill to get there and started smoking. Avis was actually pretty quick to respond and tow the car but it did ruin an afternoon for us. By the time we got a new car the afternoon was over. The worst part was AVIS CHARGED MY FRIEND FOR THE NEW CAR rental despite having the top tier insurance. They have been impossible to get ahold of to get this recertified. Why on earth would you charge a customer another car rental after the initial car broke down. I also have to question why Avis would rent a car out that doesn't have the horsepower to climb the hills of Madeira. Very negligent - stay away

I wish we read the reviews of this location before booking. We booked with AVIS as they had been reliable and courteous in the past - never again! The car they rented us Oct 1 2024 was totally ill-equipped for the island. It could not climb even small hills at over 30km/h (posted speed = 80km/h) with 2 passengers. To put this in perspective for those who aren't familiar, you can't go far in Madeira without climbing a massive mountain. We felt very unsafe in this inadequate car, especially on the busy freeway where we thought we may get runover for going so slow. We kept thinking - why would AVIS have this car on this island??? It should be mentioned that we had a bigger car too - meant for 4-5 ppl - not the smallest model offered by far, and at no point were we warned about our car. Being Canadian, we politely "sucked it up" and made the best of the situation: planning our route to avoid hills, allotting extra travel time, or simply skipping destinations we wanted to drive as we felt too unsafe. That is....until the car broke down. After wasting our afternoon dealing with AVIS, the tow truck, sitting roadside in the rain, taxiing back to the airport, getting a new car (which was so much better!!! I'm not sure why we weren't given this in the first place!), etc., we tried to make the best of the last day on the island. When we returned the new car the next day, AVIS had no record of this car leaving the lot (questionable...) but they did have the record of our broken down car not having 100% fuel when it was towed. When we got home we saw an excessive 276.80 Euro charge on our credit card for failing to fill. Assuming this was another oversight by AVIS, we contacted them to have these seemingly accidental charges reversed. No luck - they won't budge. We've opened a credit card dispute and have continued to send emails. It was suggested by AVIS we, "go directly to the location in person (Funchal) to clarify our case". Well that's not going to work as we are back in Canada. Avoid this nightmare and book elsewhere! EDIT - Hi David. In response to: "If you would like us to review what you tell us, you can send us a private message with your rental agreement number through any of our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)" I've already done this - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), email....all before writing this review. No response on any platform. I don't think AVIS is interested in fixing this problem, despite this general response you've contributed.

When I rented the car they have pre-authorized (Freeze) 200 Euros which is (almost 837.9 SAR in my local currency)from my bank account as an insurance and told me it will be released after I return the car. When I got the car back, they made the release and then immediately take the whole amount again at the same day from my account as debt and never get it back!!!!!! I've been contacting them for almost two months now with no response at all. And they didn't refund any insurance amount !!!! Just shame

I dealt with Humberto at the service counter Avis after wasting time with a failed attempt to rent from Surpice Rental (Placed reservation 2 months with Surprice) Humberto was an incredibly patient hardworking fellow. Helped my family out as I was stuck in a difficult situation. Most location were sold out or 50 percent more in price. The car we got car was newer. The deposit was only 350 euro vs 2000 Euro at some places. Matched the price of the other rental company. WOW 10/10 I was in a bind and he help out with a price match in the middle of a summer demand season. This guy will stand out in my mind. Rare to find people like this Funchal Airport Location. Way to go!!! **Side note Before you leave any car rental site check the condition of the car Inform the lot attendant and email any damage.

Horrific experience.... To start they present you with conditions on a small screen all very quickly and make you sign things and then send you the conditions to the email. When arriving to get the car you are completely alone, no one cares about you... the car was with a lot of damage and the inside without proper cleaning as you can see in the photos...

The car was perfect. Clean and reliable. What was terrible - that I have ordered the car to be picked up at 1:30am at Madeira airport, I got a confirmation that someone will wait for me to give me the car and NOBODY WAS THERE! The office was closed, phones were ringing without answer. We had to wait till morning, we had to spend the whole night at the airport!!! Our accomodation was paid, the car was paid, and we couldn't use it because we were stucked in the airport!!!