Avis Fiji Car rental experience and feedback

Last time I rented a car internationally was from Avis, in Gold Coast Australia and Auckland New Zealand, back in 2018. After that I didn't have a need for one or managed with other alternative modes of transport.

Recently for our Fiji trip, we felt it is better to rent a car and explore the island for couple of days on our own instead of depending on tour operators or spending on taxi. Avis was a good choice given our past experience.

We booked an SUV instead of a hatch- costed a bit more but it turned out to be very good decision. Lots of interior roads in Fiji were in bad condition. A small car could have got stuck or got damaged.

Renting a car on self drive gives us lots of liberty and flexibility- no need to depend on a taxi driver or commit to a tour, we can head out, stop at will, divert as we wish, explore, make changes to plan on the go as needed and enjoy driving as well. 

Fiji has no two wheelers or autos. All drivers obey traffic rules and they drive on the left just like India, so it is easy. Indian driving license is enough to rent a car in Fiji, we don't need International driver's permit or IDP. I didn't knew this earlier. 

We drove about 500 kms over 2 days- Nadi to Suva and back. The Toyota Rush SUV was already having 90000 kms on the odo. My friend drove most of the distance. Had to add about 120 FJD (5000 INR) worth of petrol for this journey. If Avis had given a diesel car we could have saved a bit on fuel expense.

We took a huge gamble. Without a CDW (Collission Damage Waiver), in case of accidents we were to pay as much as 7000 FJD from our pocket, only beyond that insurance will kick in. For CDW you've to pay another 75-100 FJD per day, then your liability reduces to 1000 FJD. 

Things to remember:

Time calculation logic that works against you: While picking up the car, Avis staff will first enter time in the system as soon as you report to their counter- after than paperwork, getting the car, briefing will take 20-30 minutes, which is at your expense

Extra time given not documented: Staff will orally say "you can take 40-45 minutes extra" but this is not documented. You get NO SMS or email about exact pickup time or return time. You will count from the time you got the car, but their system will count from the time you reported to the counter, so there is a huge chance you will breach the timeline.

Once you go to return the car, first they will check the car, then do all the paperwork and finally enter time. Another 20-30 minutes lost. There is no record of extra time promised. System will calculate total time from start time entered, will determine that there's 2 hour delay and add delay charges automatically

1 hour delay is not 5%/10% of day's rent- it is 33% of day's rent. So pretty steep. 

If you notice & complain, Staff will claim they can't do anything. 

If you are renting a car, put effort to know all the rules and regulations and worst case scenario. If you are not comfortable with all of that, better book a taxi where you pay by the meter and there're no other liabilities. 

There is a 75 FJD (3000 INR) cleaning fee if there's any dust on the car or sand on the floor. Knowing this, I took extra effort to clean the car inside out. 

If you don't return the car full tank there is a 33% extra charge on refuelling.