We just rented our first and LAST time from AVIS.  We just had a death in the family and wanted no hassles.  Thought they had a good reputation.  Wrong.  Should have read JD Powers & Associates ratings.  They're rated one of the worst.  We found out why.  I had a reservation booked directly through AVIS for a full size car.  We arrived from Houston at the rental counter at Sea-Tac Airport on time, which was 10:30 a.m., rental confirmation in hand.  The paperwork reflected a FINAL price (taxes and all) of $167 total for 3 days (it was a special rate through my professional organization that AVIS set).  When we arrived, the woman at the rental counter told us that she was out of full size cars.  At 10:30 in the morning?  Really?  She was very nice, but expected us to give her another $75 to upgrade to an SUV.  I refused.  I rented a car and I expected it to be there when I arrived. When it was clear that the 4-hour drive we still had ahead of us was going to be seriously delayed, we agreed against our will to take the bright red Kia Sportage she offered us as our only option.  I told her I wasn't going to pay extra for it. She agreed, whipped up the paperwork, and handed me a contract.  The Kia was a nightmare.  Mysterious rattle in the back that drove us nuts.  A headrest that shoved your head forward to the point of neck pain.  Hurky jerky handling.  Blind spots.  Hated it.  When we arrived to return the car, we were handed a receipt from the return attendant for $298.  We accepted that we owed $29 in gas, but how did the bill double?  We were sent back to the rental counter (nevermind we had a flight to catch).  Same lady; whole new attitude.  Positively no recollection of our conversation just 3 days prior.  Told me I needed to dig out my contract.  I had to unpack my suitcase to find it.  Sure, I should have had it handy, but we shouldn't have been going through this at all.   She tried to sell me some story about how we had chosen the Kia.  What a load.  Convenient confusion was all that was.  An eternity later she came back with "Oh, I see what I did" and reduced the bill back to the agreed rate + gas.  Never again!  Here in Texas, we call that bait-and-switch.  We have 2 more trips coming up in the next 2 months.  I have already booked through Enterprise.  They are the highest rated on JD Powers.  It really does matter...