Avis King Shake are a huge disappointment

This morning I collected a rental car from Avis at king Shaka Airport. En route to Ballito the car struggled to achieve a speed of 120 on the highway. Eventually after switching the air con off the car seemed to just struggle on. Whilst driving in the Ballito area the car cut out twice on a slight incline. I wish to emphasise that I did not have the air con on even though it was sweltering. At this juncture and after having traffic build up behind us we managed to get the car going to our final destination in Salt Rock. When I called the call centre and spoke to Fenton he informed me that because it is weekend all they can do is send a tow truck to collect the car. To add insult to injury he further said that I can catch a life with the tow truck to the airport where I can collect another vehicle. I was also asked if I knew how to drive an automatic and a manual car. My response was that I’ve been driving both variations for almost 50 years and felt very qualified to drive. Fenton was empathetic that there was no alternative unless I wanted to wait until Monday for the airport office to be open. I also said that meant I was left to sort their problem out. As a married couple in our sixties my wife and I felt the car was unsafe to drive and even more so if we ventured out at night. I’m deeply disappointed with the service from Avis whom I’ve used when required as the preferred service provider for most of my years of driving. At the very least there should be better options in place. To be told that they are following protocols is little to no consolation when you at the receiving end.