I recently rented a car from Avis in…
I recently rented a car from Avis in Mexico City, and I have to say the experience was frustrating and felt intentionally misleading. The base rental price looked great — $23 USD per day for a Compact Car Sedan C CCAR. But when I arrived to pick it up, I was hit with a surprise: $84 USD per day just for their mid-tier coverage. Not even full insurance — just a middle-tier option.
To put that in perspective, the insurance alone was over 4x the cost of the car rental. This made the total cost far more expensive than what I’d typically pay in the U.S., even with full coverage.
I asked what would happen if I declined the insurance, and they told me I’d have to leave a 30,000 MXN deposit (~$1,700 USD) on my credit card — which is absurd, especially considering I’m an Avis member. No membership perks, no flexibility, just aggressive upselling.
I understand that insurance is necessary, but these prices felt exploitative and were not clearly stated during booking. If you're planning to rent from Avis, be prepared for major hidden fees and insurance markups.