Budget Car Rental Reviews

I rented a car in May 22, 2025. Everything was great. I knew I would have the car for at week but had to call weekly to extend and pay for another week. They were very friendly and great to work with me. They asked me to bring the car back on the 22nd of June to do a new contract. I went in and was told I couldn't rent it again or get another car because they weren't supposed to rent to me using a Cash App card. They told me the day I rented it that they would hold $200 because I was using a Cash App card. They refused to help me and I was left to figure out how to get home from the Salt Lake Airport! How could they do this after me paying for the car for an entire month with the same card?

I rented and paid for a midsize sedan. I got a Kia Forte. That's a compact according to everyone except Budget who rips their customers off that way. I was expecting a toyota corolla but was cheated out of size and style.

We rented a Budget car in Tampa for a weekend family event. Day two - We noticed that one tire was low and added air by the next morning. The tire was totally flat. We had to miss a family breakfast to change the tire to a spare doughnut that was in the trunk. A Few hours later, we returned the car with their donut on and their spare tire with a slow leak in the trunk and I reported the incident at time of checking in car. I exchanged many emails with budget where they would not consider the case because I did not have documentation.

Unexpected emergency led to reserving a car. Took $30 Uber to location, no cars. Sent me to a second location, $30 Uber. No cars. Did nothing to help me and left me stranded with all the money in my bank account locked up for 7-10 business days. I had to walk 37 miles home.

I had a nightmare experience with Budget two days ago. We rented a 2025 Ford Escape from them. The car broke down in the middle of nowhere on the way to International Falls. It was extremely difficult to reach a live person on the phone. When we did reach live person, they have strong accent. It is hard to understand them. Then the first 7 calls somehow got disconnected or they just hung up. No one called us back. On the 8th call, the phone rep told me that we have to pay for the repair and they won't reimburse us!

First off. I prepaid my rental. When I arrived at the airport I noticed they downgraded my car. I went to the counter to dispute it and the guy gave me an attitude. He actually told me not to rent with Budget if I didn't like the way they do business. He ended up putting me in a Tesla Model 3 which was the class I rented. I added roadside assistance remembering a previous experience I had with Budget. Unfortunately on the last day of my trip I lost my car key. I phoned Budget Roadside would scheduled a tow but the tow sent the wrong size truck despite me telling them the clearance of the garage. I had to head to the airport. Had to pay for a shuttle which Budget was also supposed to reimburse. That didn't happen. I explained the situation to the Budget counter lady at the airport. She said they would take care of it. After I got home the key was found.

Highway robbery! Fees are anti-consumer in every way. For example: a $2.95 toll turned into a $9.90 charge because they rip you off for a $6.95 "convenience fee". If I had seen a toll booth, I would have paid toll myself (I did on other tolls). That fee was minor compared to all the other additions and fees. I will never, never, never rent from them again.

Beware of doing business with Budget Car Rental. I rented a vehicle from them at the Cincinnati airport. I paid in full online, returned the car filled up and on time, and was charged and additional 450.00 three weeks later. The claim was that the car was left excessively dirty. This simply is not the truth. They sent a picture of a single water bottle and a bit of grass from typical use, and used this to justify charging me almost a half grand extra for the rental - which I don’t have to give to them! I’ll never use them again, and would caution anyone else considering using them.

Tried calling PIE Budget for a question about my rental car, automated system gave me the option for a call back in15-20 minutes. 2 hours later I have yet to receive a call. Poor customer service, I will be seeking another option in the future.

We reserved a premium SUV (Chevy Suburban or Ford Excursion) with you 2/2/25. We reserved that particular size SUV for a long-distance trip with 5 adults, two dogs, all our luggage, and dog kennels (which were a non-negotiable requirement for the VRBO rental...) and supplies. We contacted Budget well in advance of our reservation, these past 6 months, on three different occasions: two in person and once over the phone. We explained how important it was for us to have that size SUV and each and every time, they GUARANTEED that the vehicle would be available.

Picked up a car on 4/16/25 in Oregon to drive to Southern California. Stopped in Sacramento for the night. On 4/17/25 we continued driving south. We were going to get home on 4/17/25 and return the car on 4/18/25. As we were driving I noticed the brakes were not working that well and then one of the tires literally fell apart. This was a situation that could have killed us. We were forced to pull over on the side of the freeway in the middle of nowhere. There was no spare tire so I called roadside assistance. We were stranded in the dark on the side of a busy freeway for several hours waiting for a tow truck. We were supposed to be home this night but instead we had to get towed 150 mile to Los Angeles, completely out of our way, to get another car and we had to spend the night at a hotel.

I’m honestly shocked by how bad this experience was. Budget’s Miami International Airport location is completely disorganized and poorly run. I spent nearly half a day dealing with their incompetence — a total waste of my time and the start of my trip. The first car they gave me had bald tires, a nail in one, a barely attached front license plate, and other visible damage. I flagged it immediately. Instead of helping, the staff sent me in circles. No one communicated with each other, and not a single person took ownership.

I prepaid for the vehicle and the only thing they needed was a credit card in my husband's name (as I booked it under his name with my credit card and there were no issues while booking). Unfortunately THIS location apparently didn't accept Visa debit cards so they refused to give us the car we already paid for and tried to get us to rent another for 1000 instead of the 300 I paid.

I got a call in June after I had rented a car April 14 thru April 17 and was told I had to pay $600 for a windshield that was cracked. I told the agent I picked up the car from the airport after Budget had closed and got the car assigned to me. I had a card to circle the damage to the car if any. I circled the windshield and wrote cracked on it. My card used to rent the vehicle in April was charged $600 in June for a cracked windshield the vehicle I was given. This is not over. The vehicle came from Florida.

Extra charge for Cleaning car $250.00. It is additional to the bill, totally unexpected. Poor customer service. They don’t care that I am not a smoker. They are scamming for extras. Way they conduct business is very disappointing trying to charge for everything.

If I could pick zero stars I would my experience with this rental place was very bad, first and foremost I paid in full for rental car. So when I got to Nashville airport to pick up they said I couldn’t get approved because they didn’t take debit cards which still don’t understand why they processed my payment and I told the rude lady that I had paid for it in full. Also noted that online nowhere did they say they didn’t accept debit card. Safe to say I will never use this place again and won’t ever refer family and friends.

I rented a car in OCTOBER 2024, went in with a prepaid voucher. I picked up in Orlando and dropped off in West Palm Beach. Fast forward to May 2025, I was slapped with a bill of over $4k. My credit card was left on file for a security deposit and they cam back with bogus fees, extra half a day stating I returned my car half hour later. The time I have for drop off, I was actually back in the Bahamas! Then there is a charge for "License recoup" fee at over $700 per day and I had the car for 3 days. I think they realized the foreign Credit Card Companies do not dispute the charges like the ones in America so they are getting away with it. I am not stopping until my charges are removed. I wish there was a way to leave worse than terrible as a review.

I was charged $933 for "Optional Services" I had not accepted. Yet, the bill I received after turning the rental car in showed this amount. A copy of the contract shows "accepting" all of these add-ons. The lady who checked us in did not acknowledge my response of "No" to additional services (i.e. Vehicle Damage Coverage, Supplemental Liability Insurance, etc.). I already had additional Rental Vehicle Damage Coverage through Travelocity. I did not need this additional Insurance. I have a witness that will verify I said "No"... The rental agent tried to slip a fast one on me. I will never rent from Budget ever again. They are dishonest and need to be investigated.

They don’t deserve not 1 star the staff is rude. Shawn is the manger at that location, It’s the budget on Airline next Pepboys in Baton Rouge Louisiana. I was over charged for a rental car I had for 1 day. They doubled charged me and I didn’t notice it until I checked my email and saw my receipt. My rental was for $146 and they are now charging me $253. This has been a stressful day. I have called customer service and they’re doing everything they can to get this issue resolved. Thank God for the customer service representatives, but as far as the staff at that location, especially the manager is rude, disrespectful and a theft because he was the one who over charged me. I recommend people to stay away from budget if you can, I know they may be a lil cheaper than other car rental companies, but I rather pay a high price for a car rental than pay a low price and get overcharged and be treated with such disrespect.

Offered an upgrade at no cost presumably because they didn't have the vehicle I had reserved (Suburban), This is a premium SUV. Gave me a Pacifica after many "modifications" to the price it was within $10 of original reservation. THEN actual billing was $120 more. Las Vegas store would not stand behind what their agent (Ali) said.

Worst experience with a car rental service ever. I will never use them again, staff are the worst, not at all helpful. They will not reimburse you for any unexpected travel changes at all. I would rather use Enterprise than these con artists. Only had the car for one day but was charged the full $638. They honestly did not care that a family emergency changed our travel plans.

Jairo at Budget inside Walmart off of 35 and Palo Alto....can't say enough!.. Thank you so much for turning a bad day into a great one! Customer service is very rare these days with all that we have going on. But Jairo proves that there is still good out there!

I spent hours on the phone last night to make sure there wouldn’t be any problems. The lady working is so rude I’m not renting from here I’m taking my business somewhere the employees aren’t so unprofessional.

I recently rented a car from budget. It was the worst experience I ever encountered. I would not recommend this company to rent a car., the vehicle broke down. I called customer service had no they had a lack of empathy. No regards for my personal safety or well.

I made a reservation a few months ago in Milwaukee for my wedding. I go to check my reservation today and find out the car that I rented to pick up at 10:30pm won’t be available because they decided to change closing time to 8:30. I had nothing from explaining this to me. If I did not check I would’ve been stranded at the airport. I called customer support and they told me to have someone pick it up before they closed and that’s the best they could do. Terrible company. Watch out or you could get stranded too.

Rented from Budget in Ireland back in April. Had to pay a towing charge because of an incident. Was told I would be reimbursed for the charge by the customer service rep on the phone when I called to request the tow. Tried to submit the receipt when I returned the car and was told to submit an inquiry online, which I did as soon as I got home. Have spent the last two months trying to get reimbursed for the nearly $200 I paid out of pocket for the tow (emergency call out) and every time I email customer service, I get told I should have a response in 15 business days. Total **.

*Beware of Budget Car Rental at Columbus Airport—A Nightmare Experience!** I wish I could give zero stars. **Budget Car Rental at Columbus Airport took $700 from my account before even confirming that I was eligible for a car**, leaving me stranded without transportation and severely limited funds. No verification, no consideration—just instant withdrawal with no regard for the customer’s situation. I contacted them for help, and their response was dismissive and unhelpful. A rental company should prioritize **honest transactions and customer service**, yet Budget failed at both. If you value your time and money, avoid this location at all cost!

I've used Budget twice recently, but never again. Both times they added fuel and toll charges totaling about $90, even though I topped off the fuel right before returning the cars, and I did not go through any tolls or request their pre-paid toll charge. They are absolute SCAMMERS!

Stay away. At the counter the prices will triple. Way too many hidden fees. If you are in a hurry and don't have the time to argue, will will get screwed. The car was nice, I will give credit to that.

I will never be renting from Budget again. The car broke down at the gas station at the airport. I had to call roadside assistance to get the car towed and then ask a stranger for a ride to the airport so I could make my flight. For this wonderful experience, they charged me full price for the rental. I had to call customer service not once but twice to get the charge for that day removed. And that was a struggle. They insisted that since I was able to use that car that day that they should not refund me the day's rental cost. WOW. Amazingly terrible customer service.

Highly recommend renting from Budget (specifically the Clinton Hwy location). The customer service rep was very nice, knowledgeable, and helpful with pick up and return. They also have the best pricing (which is what originally made me choose them but now for many more reasons). I rented a midsize SUV and got a Dodge Hornet in which I had never heard of before but absolutely fell in love with, so much I now want to buy one. It is a Hybrid so you can use gas or electric and it comes with all the bells and whistles (auto assist, heated/cooling seats and steering wheel, turbo/sport mode, etc. etc, the list goes on and on). I extended it a extra day just because I enjoyed driving it that much. Overall great experience with Budget and they now have a lifelong customer. If you are looking for a good (great actually) place to rent from, look no more. This is the right option!

Beware, Budget charges you late fees even if your vehicle is returned on the right time. They put it on the camera that was unable to read the license plate. Seriously? We had all the proof, we also had tire issues with car which was flat two times and we had to deal with the trouble of getting it fixed while on vacation. The tire had issues from before which we didn’t know. My husband talked to the front service desk associate the same day he returned the car. Yet we were charged a huge amount of late fee. The manager did not cooperate in spite of explaining him Eve and asked him to check the video camera. Such a bad experience. Please be aware before renting it.

Rented for 2 days, returned the vehicle. On time and two the same location. And my receipt shows I returned the vehicle to Bangor, ME. Charged my card $1,387 when it should Have been $397, Never using Budget again, I rented from The LGA location in East Elmhurst, NY 88-08 23rd Ave. This particular location needs to be investigated For fraud.

How is this company still in business? The worst customer service in the history of car rentals, we had a prepaid reservation and we still couldn’t get our car. Left us high and dry did absolutely nothing to help us. For the love of God never ever use this company.

BEWARE. They have hidden fees. Charged $125 for a cleaning fee, said had animal hair on the mats. Gave me a Sentra as a mid-size car and when I asked what was considered an economy car, they could not tell me. Charged 397.00 for a two-day rental plus 125.00 to vacuum the car. Guess business is bad that they have to charge these crazy fees. Will never use them again.

I rented a car at Nashville Airport. I drove it to my location approximately 50 miles away. I noticed a shimmy in the steering wheel at 50+ miles an hour. I drove the next day and it seemed to sway across lanes on the highway. I looked under the car and I find the front tires in a condition that was unsafe to drive. (See Attached) I spent about 3 hours on the phone between 4 different people trying to get a replacement car lined up. Since in my opinion this car was not safe to drive a tow truck was scheduled to come get it and take it back to Nashville Airport. I was in the middle of a family event that I had to leave to wait for the tow truck. Given this was Friday afternoon (3pm) before the Labor Day weekend it would have been a 3-4 hour round trip for me to ride back to Nashville airport to retrieve a replacement car.

I rented car in Prague to travel to Vienna which incurs extra charge for not returning car to original location. One week after I returned car in Vienna, I received personal email from Budget employee trying to extort me for windshield damage. Needless to say, there was no damage when I returned it.

I had a car reserved for a price. When I got to pick it up, they offered me an upgrade with Costco discount. When I got bill, no discount. I was contacted supposedly by Corporate, but email address they gave me to contact, is wrong. When I try and email, says failed.

Want to know what annoys me Budget Car Rental? Being lied to by your company after receiving a rental we waited 2 hours for only to find it full of trash and vomit! After calling and speaking to a manager, we were promised a guaranteed 50% discount and told she would try for 75%. To our surprise, when we dropped off the car we found that not only was there no discount, but also a late fee added when we provided our flight info in the reservation and were actually early dropping off. Called multiple times and have been hung up on, told nothing can be done and refused escalation. Will NEVER use your company again and will make sure all I know are how you treat customers. Check out the puke and trash pics.

Actually a No Star. I rented a car from Budget in Rock Springs, Wy. Which has a good staff. Was going to Salt Lake University of Utah Hospital, hopefully in time for my wife's emergency surgery. Above 65 mph the car had a thump thump right front. After the hospital. I went to Salt Lake Airport to swap cars. Easy Peasy. Stayed in Salt Lake for a few days and returned car to Rock Springs. Rock Springs could not check in the replacement car as it was listed as sitting in Walla Walla, WA.

We rented a vehicle from the Budget in Punta Gorda, Florida. It was pouring down rain, so we were unable to do our routine check of the vehicle. We drove an hour and a half for lunch and it was at this time that we noticed that most of the tires were worn. The right rear one had the steel cords showing through. We had to put the spare on to return the vehicle. Budget doesn’t seem too concerned that this put my family and others on the road at risk. Routine maintenance doesn’t seem to be something they do with their vehicles.

We rented a car in Punta Gorda Florida. We went to the beach a few time and got sand on the floor mats. They charged $450 for cleaning! Attached is a picture of what they consider $450 worth of cleaning. SAND! while renting a car on the beach.

After making a prepaid reservation with Budget, I arrived at Cincinnati airport finding out that my car is not available and will not be given to me because it was same-day reservation. I was devastated because it was at 7:30 PM and everything around was closed and no other cars were available. I was stuck at the airport until late at night trying to figure out which way do I go which costed me triple the money of any car, I could possibly rent it from other places previously that day. I would say that, and Avis together at Cincinnati airport show the true corporate horror of poor management. After almost 3 hours of standing and waiting, I was offered a 12 passenger van which I had to deny due to the safety reasons of driving. What I learned was that same day reservation with Avis budget will never be honored!

Once AGAIN I am being charge for a toll transponder and a toll. I did not rent a transponder, and I pay all tolls in cash and have a receipt for payment. It is impossible to get an American English person on the line and their foreign dialect is impossible to understand. Budget makes the charge without checking with the DOT in the state where the alleged charge is owed. That is done purposely to "float" your money while they get around to crediting your card. The onus is always on their good customers to send a receipt in and wait for them to acknowledge that the toll was paid and then they tell you it will take a week to 10 days to credit your card. It would take their employee less than a few minutes to access the state DOT where the toll charge was made to find out the toll was paid. BUT, that would mean they can't float your money for a couple of weeks. There has to be some way to put an end to this abuse and fraudulent charging!

I had a Rav4 or similar, they tried to put me in a Subaru Crosstrek (yes a crosstrek, not an outback), which is hardly even an SUV. Then almost doubled the price to get an equinox, which is closer in size to a Rav4 than the crosstrek was. Familiarize yourself with the "similar cars" before renting with them and assume your going to get the worst one. Also car was dirty, and staff was rude - it's about as bad of an experience as I could imagine.

Avoid Budget. My experience was terrible. It began at LAX with a wait time that was hours long. Continued with rude staff. Continued with a vehicle that was incorrect and in poor condition. Continued with unhelpful and rude customer service. Ended with charges that were well in excess of what they were supposed to be. Any alternative would be better than this.

I picked up a one way BUDGET rental at Newark airport. I was directed to pick up the car at an assigned spot as there was no BUDGET agents anywhere on the floor. Upon inspection I noticed that the car had visible paint specs on the rear. I took pictures and showed them to the guard on exiting the airport. Since she was not an agent, she said to inform the agent upon return which I did the following day (at the Trenton Mercer airport). A few days later I received an invoice for $450 for car cleaning of the paint specs. I have been in contact with BUDGET customer service multiple times with time stamped proof that the paint specs that were on the car before I picked up the car. They maintain that the car passed all inspection when it was rented to me. To date they have refused to budge on the charge. Communication on the resolution has been poor. The matter is not yet resolved. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH BUDGET AND REFUSE TO BE A FUTURE CUSTOMER.

Rented a car at Panama City Beach Airport and was hit with “your vehicle not ready so you will have to either wait at least 30 minutes or pay more for a different vehicle.” Absolutely ridiculous!! Never been told this before! Ironically, my son also picked up a vehicle at same location earlier in day and was told the same thing! Budget, you need to do better!!!

It was a bad experience for us. They had Very long wait time. Waited 1 and half hour in line before we got our car. Only 1 staff at work. I would not recommend if you want easy and swift service. 1 star.

Won’t go back! After waiting 2.5 hours in line at BWI because Budget was combined with the Avis counter, I finally got my car. Counter staff moved slow and did not care about 100 people waiting in line. Upon return, my low tire light was on. I filled my tank to the top since I know better than to return a rental and have to pay their fuel prices. Well, surprise surprise. I got hit with an $84 charge for gas. When I called to dispute the girl credited it, BUT I need to send the receipt for gas, BECAUSE it has to go through a review process and I can be recharged! I told her, "If you really think about it, how the heck do you really know a receipt I give you was from the rental car?? There’s no way to prove I filled the car or just put in $25 bucks." I’m not using them again. Going back to Enterprise. Never had a problem with them!

I rented a 2 vehicle from Budget at the Daytona airport. I had two reservations both were not there when we arrived and the second rental which was late at night was not available regardless of a reservation or not! We ended up getting a dirty vehicle with a quarter tank of gas, waited over an hour and of course the staff was rude. To top it off when I returned the car I was charge $96.00 for a full tank of gas even though I had pictures of the gas gauges in and out and there was a notation on the agreement about the quarter tank! I called customer care two times, just more wasted time!! Now I am contacting Delta who I booked the cars through and American express about the fraudulent charge! I never had this problem with Enterprise or Hertz!!!

Charged 64.00 for refueling a car returned for mechanical issues. I was hung up by lovely customer service and put on an endless hold. I had to drive 100 miles out of my way to get another vehicle. No more!

I’m really not happy with the service from Budget in the St. Louis Mo. They tell you one price and add a 200 dollar deposit, tell you that the 200 will be refunded back with in 24 to 48 hours. But then add extra service at the counter, that you never asked for to keep from giving you back your deposit. They don’t care about the people that are renting from them. You trust that their workers have your best at interest, but they don’t. I rent from them all the time when I visit there. I also send others to rent from them. I ask them 5 times before leaving the counter will the deposit go back on my card. Once I got home and called to ask about my deposit they tell me, he added stuff at the counter that I wasn’t aware of and that I won’t get my deposit back but they can give me a percentage of 30% to 50% back.

This has been the worse rental car experience of my life. I have been dealing with a billing issue for the last 2 months hoping to get answers and every time I call to speak customer service they say “we can’t see that so there’s nothing I can do”. I tell them okay can I speak to a supervisor. The first time the customer service representative gets an attitude and says “all they going tell you is the same thing I’m going tell you”, and that’s exactly what happened after waiting 45 minutes for someone to come to the phone. And the last time magically the phone plays some music and then magically disconnects once I ask to speak with the supervisor. I will not recommend this company to anyone.

After waiting 50 minutes at MCO with just 3 agents working we agreed to purchase the fuel through Budget. We specifically said we’re only going to drive a short distance, will we have to pay for a full tank? We were told no. We asked again, “if we only use 2-3 gallons will we just pay for that”? “Yes.” Again “so they’ll check the gas gauge when we return the car”? “Yes”. Liars. When we returned the car we were charged for a full tank. We drove 63 miles. After we had a huge hissy fit they took off the charge. On top of this we took the toll transponder because we were told we would pay the $13 fee only on the days we used it. We knew we’d use it only 2 days. Again we clearly reiterated this. We were charged for the full four days. Included in our hissy fit was this charge and they took that off. Awful company to do business with. Car had dirty windows inside and out.

Terrible service. I rented a car and received a confirmation for a price of $256.00. After returning the car, I was BILLED for $500.00. They are untrustworthy. I called and they said that it would take a week to resolve their indiscriminate overcharges.

I ordered the car through Costco and it was a standard Elite SUV and it verified 7 passengers. There are only 6 seats in the Jeep Grand Cherokee. We realized it the next day after we needed it and flipped the seats up. We called them and there was nothing they could do. We had to get another car from someone else. They insisted it had 7 seats. There are different models of that car and this one had 6. The person overseas kept insisting it had 7 seats, but it didn’t. They also forced me to pay to fill the whole gas tank at their price even if I turned it in full, it was mandatory they told me.

I rented a car and paid $350.72 ahead of time online. We had bad weather at the airport and our plane was delayed 4 hours. Upon picking the car up 4 hours late, the transaction seemed to go smooth. They told me which car to take then some other woman told me she would email my rental agreement. Upon returning from my trip, I checked the emailed receipt and realized they charge me $968 instead of $350. There was a $90 fuel fee which I anticipated but otherwise nothing to suggest why the cost was so much higher.

Hands down the worst experience I ever had with the Car Rental company. It started out by them charging me double the posted rate because I was a walk up customer. I chose them because they were close to my home. The next issue was a $20 per day fee to add my 25 year-old son. The next issue was trying to book the car online to get by the double the fee. The only thing it showed available is a 15 passenger van, which wasn’t even on the premises. He told me to make the reservation effective tomorrow and bring it back on Tuesday. I only needed the car till Sunday. The next issue was there was pet for everywhere and the car had not been cleaned. Do yourself a favor and use anyone but budget.

emergency roadside services said they were NOT bringing me a new car and I was to ask the tow truck driver for a lift back to airport. So I, a woman. Was to get in a truck with a stranger and he was to drive me over a. Hour back to the airport. Tow truck driver spoke no English and took the car. I Ubered it to my home. $$ and my neighbor just happened to see me and offered a lift to nearest Budget office. Sterling Heights, MI. 45 minutes away. Pleaded my case to Justin and after an hour put me in a car. Now I missed the family event by now as it was half over and I had a 2 hour drive to get there. The plane ticket, budget rental, dress, gift, etc. Missed the whole thing!! I'm not in any family pictures. Top it off, Budget is fighting me for a refund!!!

SCAMMERS!!! I am a business professional who rents cars regularly. I rented a car for a period exceeding six weeks, following a car accident. Budget's advertised price was very affordable, which is why I chose them. The initial price quote was great, however, the financial "grifting" behavior by this company proceeded from the outset. Financial wise, they have been atrocious. They fraudulently overcharged me over $800 for late fees, after I extended my rental another two weeks, following the initial four week agreed upon rental period. What a great way to treat regular customers! They eventually admitted their mistake, via an "oversight" issue, but a month later, they still have not reimbursed me for this "oversight" even though, after repeated calls to their main office and two responses by their company that I would reimbursed, I am still waiting. They are a bunch of scammers! DO NOT RENT FROM this company.

I reserved a rental car with Budget for pickup at the New Orleans airport. When I arrived at the rental car center, the Avis/Budget line was very long and expected to take 1.5-2 hours. After standing in line for a half-hour, I came to a sign said that Budget Members with confirmed reservations should proceed to the pickup spot in the parking garage, at which point I signed up on the app with my confirmation number.

After waiting an hour in line when I had checked in online, I drive away only to realize the take of the car was maybe half full, there was a slight odor in the car and when I got to my destination saw there were papers all over the trunk. Clear the car had not been inspected before rented. I should have looked closer before I pulled out onto the street. I called to file a complaint and was told I had to do that when I dropped car off. Once I dropped off I was told I needed to call to file the complaint. Then I receive a $450 cleaning fee for a smoke smell in the car. This is still not resolved, 4 phone calls and about 3 hours on hold so far. I would not rent from Budget with this lack of integrity. I expect a rental company to have done their job of inspecting cars before renting them to the next person. Who knows what could be wrong with a car if they aren’t even looking inside them between customers. That is part of what I pay for when renting a car.

I rented for the second time a car with Budget (870 Muddy Branch Rd, Gaithersburg, MD) and took my ESA with me on my trip. Both times, I put several layers of sheets on the seat and floor plus a hammock. I was really careful. The first time, I had no problems or I was lucky with the person working that day. The second time, the Budget representative found something on the floor in one small area that may or may not have been from my dog. The car was actually not 100% clean when I picked it up, but I did not say anything because I was in a rush. My bad ...

We have been loyal Budget customers for years. First problem - I arrived in Orlando airport in March because my father suddenly passed away. It was 11pm and I was exhausted. BUDGET HAD NO CARS even though everyone online had a reservation. We canceled and used Hertz. Today I returned a car at Tampa airport and never received a return receipt. I called customer service and 3 hours later it wasn’t showing as returned. The first person I spoke to hung up on me, and proceeds to email me a receipt for March for a car I never rented. Next 2 people tell me my complaint was “escalated” and I’ll get a receipt once processed. I asked them to call Tampa airport to locate the car but they said that it’s “not their process”. I’ve filed a complaint with the FTC. They’ve lost a loyal customer for treating me like complete garbage.

I rented May/25 a car from Budget at the Lax Rental Car Center and unfortunately, the experience left me quite dissatisfied. Despite having checked in online and being directed to use the Fastbreak line, I was told upon arrival that I still needed to go upstairs and wait in the regular line. The process from shuttle drop-off to finally driving off the lot took 2 hours and 15 minutes — Not what you expect from a service that promotes speed and convenience. The Fastbreak counter staff was actually friendly and professional, and I could tell he was doing his best within a system that seems designed more for data capture and upselling than for customer service. It felt as though customers are being subtly nudged into signing up for Budget’s new service programs that collect more of your personal information.

I reserved a Jeep Wrangler a month in advanced to get to a beach house that requires 4 wheel drive to access the house. When I arrived at the Budget counter they did not have the jeep or anything 4 wheel drive. A phone call or email would have been nice so I could figure something else out. The woman at the counter wouldn’t even try and help to locate anything similar, not her problem. Now I’m out 3,000 for the rental house. Thanks a lot budget. You royally screwed up me and my family’s vacation

Worst customer service when calling the reservation phone number. Person that answered was rude and hung up on me so I called back to ask for a supervisor. He said that there was no supervisor and he hung up again. I called a third time to filled a complaint. They do not care about customers, they are so big and rich that they can treat people like trash and laugh about it. I will try Enterprise to see if they are better.

I rented two cars for my son-in-law's doctorate graduation. I prepaid $600 for the two vehicles then when I get to the counter in Portland Oregon they charge me another $400 for one and $500 for the other. We still don't know why each vehicle had a different price. I told her one of the cheapest Insurance possible and they charge me $300 for insurance. They overcharged me for the fuel that we filled up. We rented the two vehicles for 3 days and paid over $1,000 between the two. Every time I try to call customer service for some kind of explanation or satisfaction they give you the runaround and tell me that that's the prices and that's what I apparently agreed to

We flew from Texas to Fort Lauderdale airport. One month before the trip we rented the car FROM THE OFICIAL BUDGET WEB (to be sure that was good) We got to the airport and the car was electric . I showed the lady from customer service that in my reservation didn’t say electric. Well, she said it was, ok so we needed a car, had to pay extra, we got to the car (Toyota Camry) was not there, went back to customer service and change the car. Gave us a dirty car, cheap, smoke smell, and with bad tires. We won’t rent from them anymore.

I reserved a vehicle through a third party. Prepaid with the discount rate for bundling ticket + car rental through the airline. I expected to pay taxes, electronic toll and gas if I did not fill the tank, like I have always done through any other car rentals. At checkout, they charged me the amount I had pre-paid, so I thought. When I got home and saw the statement, they double charged me. They took the prepaid money and added a ton of BS fees to it that amounted to double of what I prepaid. It's a SCAM. I have never, ever been through this. There were no cleaning fees, no damage to vehicle. I was expecting to pay for tolls which amounted to $60, I filled the tank prior to returning the vehicle. DO NOT RENT A CAR FROM BUDGET!! I had better service and reliability through smaller companies. These are crooks.

We reserved a car a month with BUDGET in advance of our trip to St. Thomas US Virgin Island. We were asked to provide a credit card, driver's license, address, and phone number to secure it. Upon arrival at the ticket counter at Cyril King airport, we were told by a disgruntled employee that they had no cars available. She was very rude and ignored us for awhile.

I HAVE to write a review about the outstanding customer service I received at LAX by Christian **, the Budget shuttle bus driver. He was incredible - Lifting customers' bags onto the bus, and clearly stating what his next stop would be in a kind, friendly manner. He even slowed the bus down as we approached the car rental location to tell us exactly where to return our vehicles. Everyone on the bus was talking about how incredible our service was and many handed him a tip to let him know how far and above he went to keep us all informed. We need more employees like Christian!!!

I just booked a truck in Denver, 10 minutes later I needed to cancel. I was using Booking.com. The site read no payment needed, pay at pickup, and free cancelation. Well, Budget charged and collected the full rental, I gave 8 days notice to cancel and now they are charging me $50.00. You cannot believe what you read. I called Budget to inquiry only to get a standard run-around. The call center is overseas, just poor customer service.

I tried Budget for the first time! With that said it was a really bad experience. I spoke with an agent to make my reservation as I had a special request and wanted to know how best to attempt to make it happen. They assured me it was no problem. I requested and actual 4x4 vehicle not an all wheel drive one, and again I was assured it was no issue. Well I tried to call early the day of the pick up to verify they had the correct vehicle. No human could I get in touch with. I drove to the location and they had a small all-wheel drive vehicle which was not my reservation. They said to call customer care. I did so and they created a new reservation at that time. Told me a new location to go to and I drove there. I got there to find no vehicles like I was told they for sure had. Long story short wasted time, wasted efforts and wasted gas money. Don’t rely on Budget as they will give you the wrong vehicle for sure! I will go back to any other company in the future than them.

Rental companies prove corporations are not people because they would all have been long ago executed. They were so dishonest you can't trust them with your credit card. So you pay cash deposit. They now hold it for 45 days before they return it. They either will charge your credit card more than they have right to or force you to loan them money long enough to get paid from holding it. The charges fair but if you extend the renal they triple. Just go to Enterprise. They are more but they won't steal from you at least. Don't fall for the pricing budget. Has a corrupt culture and crazy policies. If you must use them get full coverage and jump the car before you return it. Swap out and sell parts. Don't be honest with them because it won't be reciprocated. They will take advantage. Be a victim or go elsewhere or hit them back. I will steal a car before I use them again.

I rented an EV two months before my trip for an estimated cost of $212. After waiting for 60 minutes to rent the vehicle, they flashed about 6 screens for me to sign in microscopic print. I said I wanted to decline coverages, but I was told that I should not decline the Collision Damage Waiver, implying that is not covered by insurance (which is untrue) and $65 is a good deal. They then said my credit card would have a placeholder hold of $258, and implied this was just in case something happened to the vehicle. When I returned the vehicle, I was shocked to see the total cost was now $470 as the CDW costs $65/day, not $65 for the entire rental. The AI responses from Budget were very unsatisfying, leading me to feel very scammed. Buyer Beware!

I rented a car for one day. Picked it up at SFB but when I got there they said they did not have a car and would I be ok taking a SUV that just came back though it was not cleaned yet. I said yeah no problem I am just driving it to my aunt's house. The next morning I dropped it off at the Ocala location and went with my sister to get on a cruise out of Cape Canaveral. When I got on the cruise I had no luggage so after a week I finally tried to contact Budget to see if I left my luggage in the car.

I rented a truck from Budget to go pick my son up from college at Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida and returned it on Saturday, May 3, around 7:30 PM. At approximately 2:00 AM, I realized I had accidentally left my son's bag in the truck. The bag contained clothing valued at over $2,000. I immediately filed a lost and found report with Budget. The following morning, I went back to the Budget location to check with lost and found, but no one had turned in the bag. I spoke with the manager, who seemed indifferent to the situation. I expressed how important the bag was and emphasized that it had only been a few hours since the vehicle was returned - there's no reasonable explanation for how the bag could have just disappeared in that short amount of time. Something clearly happened to it, and I need answers!

I recently had a very frustrating experience with Budget. I made a car rental reservation under my husband's name and used my own credit card to pay for it. When we arrived to pick up the car, I was told I could not proceed with the rental because the card used didn’t match the name on the reservation. We were forced to cancel the reservation on the spot and make a new one—using the exact same card—but I was still charged a cancellation fee.

This is the worst car rental company. I rented a car at the Texas airport. I only used the vehicle to go from the hotel to the airport. I used it for 2 days. I don't smoke or travel with pets. They sent me a car cleaning bill for $125 to clean the car.

I returned a vehicle with a chip on the windshield which I reported to my insurance and the person who accepted the vehicle. They couldn't even see the chip, but I wanted to make sure, I wasn't charged anything extra for not reporting it. I received a bill for $599.00 because they decided to replace the entire windshield or so they say, for a simple repair. I requested a copy of their report to see how they justified the replacement of a windshield in lieu of a simple repair. After I requested documentation for the repairs, they stopped communicating with me. This is absurd and should be illegal to do to loyal customers. I will never rent from this company again.

I reserved a car from the Budget branch at 55 Sunrise Hwy Lynbrook, NY. Upon arriving, I waited about 25 minutes to be helped as there was only one counter person and 2 customers waiting. Upon being served, I was asked for my Driver's license. The employee named ** I believe, looked at my driver's license, and decided since I had gotten a haircut since the picture on the license was taken, that it did not look like me. He asked me if I had "another License" (lol). I told him I did not and that the license was not expired. I asked him if he was saying my license looked tampered with. He answered "No, it just does not look like you". I explained I had more hair when that picture had been taken. NYS did not require a new picture when that was renewed just a couple of years ago. He then denied me the rental car. I was in shock, and then realized, I was a white person in a different neighborhood, so this "**" decided to give me a hard time. There is no other explanation. No one can be that dumb and get a job.

Hello, I am contacting your office regarding the excessive cleaning charge for the Pacifica I rented from 4-4-25/4-15-25. It is rental number **, rented and returned at Jacksonville Airport. 'Cost Breakdown' on the letter states it was a vehicle cleaning charge for being excessively dirty. I have rented cars for over 20 years, and when I spoke to Shawna on 4-29-25 to discuss it at the telephone number given in the letter I received, she said it needed washing. I requested to speak to her supervisor, she stated she would document my request and a supervisor would call me within 3-4 hours. I was at my telephone the remainder of the day, but no one called back. It sounds like there is a breakdown in communications somewhere. 

Last two times I rented with Budget I received emails saying they were charging me for screw in tire. I bet most people like myself just pay it. Well I did the first time, not going to the second time and I'm posting about it. I understand this does happen, but twice back to back. No proof, just pay it.

Had low tire pressure. Budget would not help without charging. Asked to exchange car. Went where they said another minivan was held for us. There they didn't know anything about us and only had a pickup truck. They wouldn't help either, called customer service again and was told to go to nearest budget office. Explained that was where I was they were unwilling to help gave us another address and phone number but would not stay on line for us to check and see if they had cars. Which calling number just got us another customer service also outside of USA.

I prepaid over $1,100 for a confirmed 28-day rental with Budget, only to arrive at two separate locations and be told no vehicles were available—despite visible inventory and confirmation emails. Staff admitted they had over 25 bookings without cars. Budget appears to knowingly overbook, take customer payments, and leave travelers stranded—a practice that may violate consumer protection laws. If this has happened to you, report it to the Better Business Bureau, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and your State Attorney General. We deserve better. #BudgetRentalCar #ConsumerRights #ClassActionPossible

I picked up my pre paid for vehicle only to find added to my agreement insurance that I had already purchased to a third-party. Unfortunately, I listen to the attend at the counter and didn’t pay attention to what was on the screen. I found out once I got my bill and it was double. I contacted customer service. The lady assured me that she would refund the money. Now I got a email back stating they’re not gonna refund anything Signed for it regardless of the fact that they were deceptive in their practices. I would not suggest renting a vehicle from Avis or Budget rental car, there are much better companies out there that will not take advantage of you like this company has. My responsibility to verify what I signed for.

Booked a prepay vehicle for a trip to Orlando in January 2025. Trip was in March. There was no lineup on pick up but only one person working and the wait was horrific. Got the car after about 1 hour then noticed a hold on my credit card the next day. Called Budget they said it will go to zero when car is returned and they confirmed I prepaid the car. March 12 there’s a charge of $468 USD. I called they said I didn’t prepay. I had to show them proof with credit card statements.

On April 18th, my husband arrived at Hobby airport to a 30 minute wait for his vehicle. The vehicle had been reserved on April 4, 2025 (not a last minute reservation). When he made it to the desk, he was not given the car requested but given the choice between an electric car or a Tesla because it was all Budget had in stock. He chose the electric because he didn’t know how to drive a Tesla. My husband was there for an overnight trip for his cousin’s funeral. He couldn’t find an electric charging station so returned the car to Budget less than 24 hours later without it being fully charged. Budget charged $16.99 for fuel service in addition to other fees. He drove a total of 16 miles! What was to be a $64 rental for less than 24 hours parlayed into a total charge of $122.31. We have no plans to use Budget in the future.

Budget Rental Agency – Las Vegas, NV airport: I prepaid for a full sized car in February. When I checked in in April, Sebastian was a jerk. We stood in the middle of smelly parking garage, exhausted, with everyone ignoring us for almost 30 minutes. There was no car for us. After 30 minutes, when we chased down an employee that couldn’t understand English much, we were given a cheaper, smaller sub compact car. Driving/fitting/safety of the car for five days was very upsetting. The employees didn’t care about us. The car interior was stained everywhere. Everything was horrible. I have written 14 emails and no one cares now either. Please do not use this company when there are so many others to try.

During the rental process on March 31, 2025, I informed the agent that I possessed existing collision coverage. Despite this, the agent specifically warned me that in the event of an accident, I would be held personally responsible for the company's "loss of use" and would be charged the daily rental rate for each day the vehicle was out of service for repairs. This warning was presented as a significant financial risk I would face even with my existing collision coverage. Based solely on this explicit warning about unavoidable loss of use charges, I accepted coverage specifically to protect against that particular risk. The agent then sold me an insurance product, assuring it would cover the loss of use liability they had just described.

Horrible company. I booked a car rental weeks in advance and confirmed pick up time many time the week before and was there before my scheduled pick up time and no one was there, they closed early and customer service information passed my call around many times to say over 30 minutes later they can't help me. I was unable to get my money back in a timely manner since I prepaid and lost out on work due to this matter. I will be posting to every site possible about this company and bad practices.

From problems with our reservation, to lack of empathy and unprofessionalism from their employees, up to and including bogus charges being applied - after the fact, this was a miserable and regrettable experience that could have and should have never taken place. Look at their ratings on any site you choose. The unanimous verdict is that they suck!

I WILL WALK BEFORE I EVER RENT A CAR FROM THIS COMPANY!!!! Charged me for an extra day for NO reason!!! I had the car back way before the 1pm cutoff time. Plus the lady at the counter told me the 200 dollars would be refunded when I brought the car back...NOT! Had to fight like hell just to get my one day taken off my credit card! Had to prove I was in the air flying home in order to get it back!!! SCAM, SCAM ,SCAM!!!

I purposely chose no insurance or roadside assistance coverage because I wanted the price to be as low as possible. I’m a broke college kid so I had to pay the under 25 fee so it was already pricey. I end up getting charged $700 more than I agreed to because they said I signed up for every add- on for insurance. They couldn’t find any proof that I did this and said I must of signed at the counter even though they didn’t have a copy of my agreement. I told them I didn’t but all they offered me was a partial refund. Never booking from this money hungry company again.

Beware of what you're signing as I had declined insurance, and the sketchy representative included insurance paperwork which I signed not knowing, and was thinking it was just signing the paperwork to take possession of the car. Long story short, I got a flat tire, not thinking I had insurance, so I had it replaced, and Budget won't reimburse me for cost.

Do not expect an honest transaction from Budget Rent-A-Car. They are only available to take your money. My last two rentals demonstrate that they don't value honesty or integrity. My rental was damaged by another driver who had proof of insurance. Budget would not talk to the insurance company to recover damages - It was on my shoulders to hire a lawyer and go after the other person. They just sent me the bill and said, "Next time, don't use your own insurance. Buy ours." So I did. They told me the charge at the counter (but did not say that was for every day). They charged me more for insurance than to rent the car. So frustrating to be scammed like this.

We were scheduled to pick up our car at 2:30 pm. Did not get our car until 5:30 pm. When we complained, they said they would move the time for the drop off, allowing us 3 additional hours on the back end. Dropped the car off at 5 pm. We were then charged a $74 late fee. They issued us an invoice saying we picked up the vehicle at 2:30, not the real time of 5:30 pm. Called to complain, but they just said, "Sorry, you dropped the car off late."

Flight delayed for one day and they charged us $200 more. I asked for a relief from that and they responded by stating that because we booked through Expedia they couldn't help us. I reserved from out of state and it was the easiest for me to find the best deal.

I prepaid for an intermediate SUV at Dallas Love Field Budget Rental in March. Upon arrival, there was one car in the lot (all others were waiting to be cleaned). That one car assigned to me was an electric car which was totally useless to me. The lot attendant verified this so I went back to stand in line where there was only one attendant for Avis and Budget. The agent told me they had no electric cars on the lot and that was my car. Back I went to the car, only to discover that there was no gas tank because it was indeed electric.

It started out that I had to wait over an hour to get my rental. They didn't have the rental I had reserved so they put in a truck. I didn’t want a truck because of gas mileage. The truck was parked so poorly at the rental place that I had to crawl across to the driver seat. On top of that it was dirty. I drove 16 miles, stopped at a gas station, then the truck wouldn’t start. After dealing with customer service I had to wait for a tow truck. Then go back to the airport where I got the original rental. The gentleman who helped me was nice. About the only good experience. The new rental was also dirty, and also rented to someone else. Finally got it sorted out after about 3.5 hrs of dealing with it. My first time renting with Budget and it will be my last.

We rented a car at Jacksonville airport. When returning to the airport on the interstate we had a flat tire. Tried calling roadside assistance - thank goodness we didn't end up needing them because I would not like to even imagine the charge for that. Because we needed to catch our flight my husband got out and changed the tire himself - on the interstate. We then returned the car. No problem, right!

Super crappy customer service and process.. I tried to book online and it came up with an error saying my credit card wasn’t working, I tried 3 times, gave up booked a car with a different company. But then when I rebooked I realized Budget Rent-A-Car has held 3 amounts of 851.02 on my credit card, then when I called up to get it removed customer service said they couldn’t help and when I asked them to find someone who could help she hung up on me! Thanks guys.

Gone are the days that you can trust Budget Car Rental for safe, clean and reliable rentals. The location at Dulles airport is no longer getting new vehicles, they are getting them from auctions already used and abused. The mileage standard for trade in is gone and they no longer maintenance let alone clean their vehicles. Onsite at the Dulles location I had to exchange three times because the quality was subpar and due to my concerns for my families safety on the road. These vehicles were trash, missing pieces from the body, huge gouged out holes in the tires, weird noises from engine, smoked smelling and not clean at all. If you ever see the windshield wipers up on the vehicles, that means there has been a compliant about a maintenance issue! Do not let them give you that vehicle.

I rented from Budget and am a valued repeat customer. This time was a terrible experience and makes we wonder about the service and future rentals. I rented at Vancouver Airport the agent was pleasant and efficient. The car was another story. The car a Chevy Malibu looked clean. We put 6 suitcases two of which were canvas and a camera bag, which included some high end electronics in the trunk. We had work to do so left these bags for two days in the trunk. We got to the airport for return and opened the truck to find everything damp. We felt the base of the trunk and it was actually wet. I raised my hand and noticed the odiferous smell of rotting fish coming out of the trunk. Our bags were not just damp they were soaking wet and stained.

I do not recommend Budget Rental Car at the Tampa International Airport. I have been renting from Budget for quite some time due to a lower price than the competition, but have been extremely disappointed for some time now. It seems every time I am assigned a car there is a problem with it, from broken key fobs, filthy windows, old wiper blades, odors. There are never any agents nearby to assist with the issues and then left no option than to have to return to the counter, which is never a quick resolution. Not to mention that I have yet to be met by a pleasant agent at the window. I do try to be understanding that mistakes happen but it has been happening way too often.

Rented a minivan from Budget at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport from 3.12.2025 to 3.15.2025. Vehicle was returned and I was later charged $450 in damage. The "damage" was dirt on the floor from the Arizona/Sedona Parks...mostly confined to the removable floor mats. I challenge anyone to return a vehicle after 3 days of visiting Arizona parks without some red dirt inside. None of it permanent or anything that would not be addressed by a thorough vacuum job. A nominal cleaning fee may be warranted, although have returned vehicles in similar/worse condition in the past with no issues.

Waited 3 hrs and 45 minutes to get a car which I didn't want. Worst customer service at the location or on the phone. The transmission had issue and would go into first gear. I reported to an agent, couldn't understand him.

Run. I wish I had looked at all the horrible reviews prior to renting from these people. From the manager to the staff they need to get rid of them all. Tisha attitude almost made me lose it. This place needs to be shut down asap. They are what I call business killers. They have to robbing people for years. Let’s get them out of our community. I was charged additional fees when I paid in full before hand.

Booking was smooth and the car was just as expected with reasonable wait times; however, the customer support I received after discovering a nail in my tire simply was terrible and caused my family to miss our flight. I contacted Budget 3 hours before my flight, when a low tire pressure warning came up in the car. After trying to fill the tire with air, the nail dislodged, which caused a flat tire. After waiting over 25 minutes on the phone just to speak to someone, they told me I could have a rush tow service to get the car and drop me off at the airport. I waited and waited for nearly 2 hours and finally just changed the tire myself since the tow service never even left (you can track them on the app). After dealing with changing a tire and now missing my flight, a day later, Budget informs me that I have to pay for a tow service which I never used.

My wife and daughter flew to Pensacola FL and the car's check engine light came on and has no power. Car will not move 30 min after rental. Roadside assistance said that the estimated time is 2 hours to come get them 20 min from where they rented the car at the airport. Customer service could not help with anything. Only directed me to roadside assistance.

I have never had a more frustrating experience renting a car. EVER! Rented a car from PHX and it took a total of THREE hours to get our car. I had to wait in three separate lines (everyone was mad) and the whole process was an absolute CLUSTER. I would never rent from them again even if you paid me. I’d give zero stars if I could.

On 1/30/2025 I made a reservation for 3/27/25 to 4/2/25 and paid the full amount due knowing I would be additionally paying for fuel and tolls. When I picked up the car and filled out the paperwork I explicitly told the agent I did NOT want the additional insurance coverages as I had full coverage insurance through State Farm that covers rentals. So I signed the agreement and am pretty sure I initialed the waiver boxes. Just got hit with an additional $591.05 charges on my credit card. When I called to dispute the charges I found they had billed me for every insurance coverage they have. This amount with the amount I had already paid comes to 976.89. Almost $1000 for a one week rental of their base vehicle. The customer service agent said the only thing she could do was give me a 50% discount off the insurance coverages. I feel I have been totally ripped off and this will not be the end. We will go to court.

Flew into Ft Myers from MPL. Took 3 hours and 15 minutes in flight. Took two hours and 15 minutes waiting in line to get my car from Budget. No sense of urgency and no one seemed to care. Only two agents. One left for lunch. Unbelievable. Was around 8:00 PM when I got in line. Was after 10:00 when I finally got the car. This is the second time this happened with Budget in only the two times I used them. Their response was a free day of rental on my next trip. I wouldn't stand in line that long for any amount. The state they have their policies. Policies won't do any good if I don't go back.

When you enter the line for a car rental, there are many people in queue, all in a hurry to get going. Once at the desk, they ask questions at a rapid pace including if you want insurance and/or extra insurance. Knowing the cost of car repairs it seems reasonable to take the insurance offered. Now, after a 3 week rental we discover we were charged $880 for insurance on a moderate mid size car! The receipt does not even show the insurance cost, it was rolled into "extra fees". I feel sure Budget uses that hurried feeling in line to get extra costs approved. $880 for insurance was way too much and I won't use Budget again.

Reserved a midsize vehicle but when I came to pick up my vehicle I was given the only choice between an electric car or a 12 passenger van. Person at the counter didn’t care at all…a take it or leave it attitude. Customer service didn’t care. After negative feedback, Ginger **, the Ops Manager, just apologized. I feel if you plan ahead and make reservations, you should be given what you reserved. Won’t be a budget customer again and I advise you to do the same!

Dallas Love Airport Location - a full size truck that was reserved months in advance, wasn't available, so they gave a mid-size SUV instead, so could not use the truck as intended. The windshield of the SUV must have been replaced before, because it was distorted and hard to see through. We made it through the trip, but if someone in the future gets that same vehicle, they may not be able to drive it well, and for sure would have a case against Budget if they got into an accident.

I had a great experience with my pick up location on Stemmons FWY in Lewisville TX. Customer service was A1 however when I made it to my drop off location on Covington Highway in Lithonia, Georgia, I had the worst experience ever. I called into customer care to rectify the situation and spoke with so many nice agents. One agent who attempted to help me could not complete what he needed to do on his end because the store on Covington Highway had not closed out my account.

I recently rented a car from Budget (Rental Number ** and VCR Number **) at Orlando International Airport, and the experience has been incredibly disappointing. After dropping off the car with the keys inside—my usual practice—I received a letter dated March 7, 2025, from Nora **, alleging that I did not properly return the keys on February 27, 2025, and billing me $230.26 for damages and fees.

Agent offered insurance and after receipt I found that I had overcharged by 500 euros. Budget wouldn’t make any adjustments. Very bad experience with Budget. I will make sure all my friends are aware of my experience!!!

I rented a car from the agent in Frankfurt. She offered by top up insurance for 57.98 euro. I confirmed with her that this was a total charge for the week. When I got the charge after I returned the car, I had been charged an extra $ 1000 Canadian. I argued with Budget but they wouldn't adjust the charges. Be very very careful when renting from Budget.

Our car was not in working order when we left airport. Driving over 40mph and rear wheels vibrated and were so loud you could not talk. Immediately reported issue to Customer Service who said it was a busy weekend and I should call around to other locations. I tried for 2 days to get the car exchanged with NO help from customer service. I called 4 locations on my own but no cars available. I gave up when put on hold each time for 20 minutes or no call back. Absolutely NO support. In addition we had to wash all windows and mirrors as they were so water spotted to be impossible to see in the sun. All this in after a 1.5 hr wait in line to pick up the rental agreement. Never, never will Budget have my business again.

I made a reservation and paid online. Drove 2 plus hours to the location and got there NO CAR. Mind you I got 2 confirmation emails but not 1 email saying no cars available. I didn't get the first refund.

Absolutely DISGUSTED with your customer service. We landed 90 min late in West Palm, at 1:53am. We waited for the “courtesy” shuttle for 20 min. Called multiple times like the notice says if you’ve waited longer than 15 minutes. Called the 800# only to be told “you should’ve googled our hours.” “You should’ve known.” Went back to the airport this morning, same poor customer service. Zero empathy. Spent $150 on Ubers when we already paid for a rental car. AND we have fast break which means we skip the line. That didn’t work either!!! Absolutely deplorable and will NEVER use Budget again. We’ve been loyal customers for years. This is absolutely disgusting to be stranded at an airport at 2AM.

I have been renting from Budget for over 10 years but I have to now say goodbye. I reserved the rental car at 4900 Boston Street location in Baltimore to pickup on my lunch break on 3/14/2025 since it is so close to my work. However, I got a call from a representative a hour before my scheduled pickup. The representative said that they had sold out of the vehicle that I reserved which is ridiculous before I booked the vehicle days before my daughter's bday trip to Florida. The company completely shattered my plans for my daughters' bday. To top it off the representative did not have any type of accountability for the actions and carried the attitude that I should just deal with them messing up my plans. Thank god for NextCar Rental because if it was not for them I would've wasted money on a hotel that was nonrefundable.

I get more and more agitated with this company's website. I signed up for an account, made a reservation; which I thought was a one-way only to find out that it wasn't. So I went back fix it and was unable to do so online. So now I have to call a 1-800 number. Who knows how long that will take. This whole online experience has taken way too long not to mention how difficult it was to navigate their website.... Update: I called to adjust the reservation and it was enormously more expensive so I cancelled the reservation. Now I have to wait 3-5 business days for a refund....never use Budget!

Budget car rental is too greedy. They charged me extra $545 for having some sand on the floor mat. I told them I can pay $150 for cleaning but they refused. They are too money hungry and it's a fraud. I will never rent through them again.

Budget Knightdale NC - horrible. Prepaid for a full size car, arrived at time of pick up and office closed for 30 min. When office re-opened I was informed that no cars were available and that cars were returning to come back 3 hours later. Upon arrival at 5:30 pm sorry man no cars. Advice was to contact customer service. Contacted customer service and their advice was to connect with the branch in the morning but for your troubles we will offer you a coupon. Contacted the branch in the morning and agent lackluster attitude even laughing stating "don't know what to tell you man". No cars, don't know when we will have them. Don't need a coupon. I need a car - one that has already been paid for. I understand the overbooking car rental business but the fact they put all the onus on the customer and the laissez-faire attitude is a joke. Budget out of all future bi-monthly rentals for me are out. Yes I understand that they are in the Avis/Hertz network.

I rented with Budget, they ended up charging me $187 for an advertised $46 per day rental. Massive rip off these guys are. Please be careful when renting with them. The personnel recommended doing the prepaid gas and that I would only be charged for what I used. That was a lie. They charged me for a full tank for using less than a quarter.

Please do not rent from Lake Point Centre, W5F, 6901 Okeechobee Blvd - Ste D14, (at Jog Rd) West Palm Beach, FL 33411 US. The ** manager is rude and has very poor customer service. This is the 2nd time I’ve visited this location and have dealt with her rudeness on both occasions. Initially, I thought it was just me until I witnessed her display rude customer service to various **. She did not treat others with the same hostility and rudeness. The manager needs to be fired or undergo a customer service training to better her service. This behavior is unacceptable and needs to be addressed. I will never visit the location again.

This company is disgusting. No excuse for absurd wait times, 4.5 hrs is not peak wait time. That IS a company that cannot manage it self and should go out of business. I will never do business ever again. I would rather walk 100 miles than do business with this disgusting company. On top, the check out person was rude and nasty. Voided my agreement, kept my driver's license and left me stranded at Maui airport. Go to Hell.

I rented a midsize car at the Minneapolis airport for 4 days. I also prepaid $389.81 for the rental and insurance. At the airport when checking out my rental I was informed that they were going to put a $250 hold on my bank account and would release them after I brought the car back. He then sent me up to their garage and slot# to get the car. Never saw another person the rest of the time or when I brought it back. I brought it back with a full tank of gas and cleaner outside including the windows. My complaint is on the e-receipt it shows I prepaid $31.89 more than actual charge. It also shows it as non refundable. I feel scammed. The $250 hold is still on hold in my bank account and it shows it’s on hold for a whole month. Never use to be like this when I’ve rented a car years ago.

I had a reservation scheduled for pick up 2/28/2025 at 5 pm. My flight was delayed by about an hour. When I went to the rental area it took about an hour to go through the line to the agent. When I got to the counter, I was informed that the car I had rented was not available, but, would I take a jeep. I was not told it was a Jeep Rubicon. We are both in our late 70’s and this car was so high off the ground it was very difficult to get in and out of this vehicle. I took this car because I was not going to get back on the line which was longer than before.

Prior to my vacation I compared car rental prices. I selected Budget because they had the best price. Unfortunately, when I went to pick up the car at the airport, they added numerous fees that were not disclosed at the time of booking. For example, they added tire battery fee, vehicle license recoup fee, customer facility charge, energy recovery fee, state surcharge, 10% concession recovery fee and gas service option.

I reserved my rental truck online and was charged in advance for it, I went in on the rental day and was told I can get the rental truck because I don't have a credit card... Why was my debit card able to be charged then? Why wasn't I told only credit cards? Is it true it's strictly credit cards? And kept insisting to go to Enterprise because they can move my rental from Budget to enterprise... Like what? I have the conversation recorded and thinking about taking it to court tbh...

Literal scam artists. Went to pick up my car, not only did they not have my car, they had no car available. Had to go to the airport to get a car, ended up getting charged and additional rate which was double. Went through customer service 4 times to get it resolved where they said they would refund the additional amount and give an additional 40 percent of the rental. Finally the 5th time they did they wouldn't honor it and would give a 1 day free rental coupon off instead. It's a scam company.

I was overcharged on my bill, I declined all the insurance coverage because I am covered by my own insurance. I was still billed for it. $300 trying to talk to someone at customer service is a nightmare. The wait time is over 30 minutes. They never call you back. I will never use Budget again.

We are preferred customers of Budget car rental, every time we rent at SMF it is a mess. Delayed bus transport to rental cars, wrong reservation, mistakes with car size, over and over. This time, it was the same kind of confusion. We had lots of luggage, reserved an SUV, got to the rental counter, at night, raining - got keys, walk out to parking lot & the car is a sedan. We walk back in insisting on what we reserved, an SUV, get keys, go out in the rain, another sedan, go back, she walks out with us, points to an SUV & we take it. The next morning we see a small crack in the windshield on the passenger side. We return the car the next day, point it out to the receiving guy. We ask if we need to do something, notify someone, fill out a form: "No not a problem, I'll make a note, but it's fine, don't worry about it."

Budget in Memphis, TN on Poplar may be the absolute worst rental car company I’ve ever dealt with. This is the second time I’ve booked a rental online just to show up and there not be any cars available. Either the site needs to be updated accurately and interface with Expedia or they need to get more cars there. I booked this rental to for a nine hour trip which has now been significantly delayed because of this issue. It’s ridiculous. Save yourself the time and don’t bother booking with them, especially if the trip you’re going on is important… Like for WORK. Smh.

I just returned my Expedition SUV yesterday from a week long rental and everyone should know how great the HGR (Hagerstown Regional Airport) Budget staff is. Since we moved to the area in 2022 my husband and I have been using the Budget counter. We were renting weekly for personal reasons back and forth to NYC area (until our household goods were moved here and we sold our house) and now rent at least monthly or according to our WFH employment assignments.

We had a positive experience with Budget rental car until the return process. Upon returning the vehicle, we were advised to leave the car with the keys inside and the gas receipt, as instructed. However, we were surprised to find additional charges on our credit card, supposedly due to our failure to return the car. This led to a time-consuming and frustrating process as we attempted to resolve the issue with Budget. Regrettably, we are still uncertain whether the issue has been rectified. This experience has left us disappointed and wary, and we will exercise greater caution in our future rental decisions.

I prepaid a reservation with Budget. Seeing the wait was more than 2 hours long, I called to see if I could go through the fast track line. It was here that the call center/scam center guy in India says I need to pay an additional $300 or else my reservation will be cancelled. After I said no, I got an email from budget cancelling my reservation saying I didn't pick up my car on time!

Lousy customer service. I booked a minivan and they cancelled the booking the morning of without telling me because they ran out of minivans. I show up to get my car to start our vacation and there was no car. They didn't have any minivans. They were not interested in making the issue right. Instead wanted to charge me more than double for a 4-5 seater which would not fit my group which is why I wanted the minivan.

HORRIFIC experience in Savannah! The first car they tried to give me was COVERED in MUD. They got another car which has been (barely) washed and the ODOR was so bad (they obviously put something in there to hide smoke smell) that it was still overwhelming a week later! Not to mention the car had at least 15 dings/scratches! I e mailed customer service and a week later, no response! The staff in Savannah also made me feel slighted and embarrassed me in front of other customers waiting on line. WILL NOT ever use Budget again (I have had good experiences in the past, but something has gone south).

Bad service on lost and found. Never returned what we forgot three years ago and now again. Little girl's birthday gifts and shoes. Never helped us to get items. Tags Still on clothes in shopping bags.

I made a reservation for a 12 passenger van from Budget Rental via Priceline. Making the reservation was super easy and was very satisfied with the price. Was offered to pay when picked up. Went to the pick up location 6 days prior to pay and confirm the reservation and was told that they wasn't aware of any reservations. Showed the agent the reservations, the confirmation and was assured the van would be ready for pick up on 3-3-25. On 3-3-25, got to the airport location to only be told they didn't have a van and couldn't find one for us. To say I was very angry was an understatement because now I have myself and 11 coworkers stranded. I will never go through Priceline or Budget Rental again because of how unprofessional the company handled this and left me with no vehicle.

I reserved a car at the Orlando Airport. When I got to the counter, the line was outside the door. They had only one clerk at the check in desk to process hundreds of people and reservations. This was disappointing because they knew their reservation load and did not have the staff to handle it. I went to the Sixt counter and rented a car for double the price. I will never rent from Budget again and will be happy to pay double with another company and know that I will be served within a reasonable time. Never again!

We rented a car from Budget this month. Right from the beginning of the experience I should’ve returned the key and went to another company. I went to the parking lot which the car was not marked and the lady said due to the guy that does that job not being there, I’d have to just walk out and find it so no big deal in outdoor parking with 10° weather. I get to the car and it is covered in 12 inches of snow that I must clean off with my bare hands. There was a Snowbrush in the trunk, which was nice, but would’ve been nicer prior to having to clear all the snow off to get to it. On our trip the front right tire started wobbling which at first I thought might be ice so I pulled over to remove all the ice. The tire continued to shake so we called budget. They were able to coordinate a replacement car two hours from our home on our route. This was the only plus of the trip.

The car was dirty, and in bad condition, the worst part, I never received back my $800 for deposit, and I been calling and calling and no one answer, I put gas and I returned the car in better condition than I received it. But my money for the deposit never go back to my card, the worst experience.

I called the Galbraith Rd. location in Cincinnati Ohio before I even made the reservation and was told specifically that there would be a car available. When I got there they were very unprofessional, their kids were there, inappropriate music was playing and then very rudely was told that they did not have a car for me. I was very disappointed because I came from a long way to pick up the car. I've rented from this location before and it used to be a nice place, I don't know if there is new ownership but I wouldn't recommend my worst enemy to come to this location. Terrible service!!!

We have recently experienced a scam by Avis/Budget car rental at Oslo Airport (Gardermoen). My husband and I returned a car last week that we photo-documented in perfect condition when we dropped it off, since the rental agency does not have staff on hand to oversee returns in the garage. We received a bill for damage to the car with photos that did not look like ours, either because it was a different car or ours had been damaged after return. My husband has called the rental office several times to express concern, but they have not been responsive. On looking into online reviews and forum comments about the agency, we have discovered quite a few other complaints of false reports of “damage” to returned cars and extra charges for repairs. We realize that we may have no legal recourse in this case but wanted to let you know in case someone at the company can look into the situation.

Rented from Budget in Kona Hawaii. Wait time to pick up car was about 90 minutes in line. Prepaid $411 for the car and actuals were $356. But because we dropped off the car two hours early, we are told per their agreement, we will not get the difference back because we dropped off EARLY.

I recently had a very disappointing experience with Budget Car Rental. Despite having a confirmed reservation, there were no cars available when I arrived. The representative at the counter was extremely rude and unhelpful, which only added to my frustration. When a car was finally provided, it was clear that it had only been run through a car wash to clean the exterior. The interior was dirty and had not been properly cleaned. Additionally, there was no walk-through to check for any previous damage from the last renter, which is a standard procedure at most rental companies. To make matters worse, I was hit with extra charges at the end of my rental that were not mentioned in the initial agreement. This lack of transparency and poor customer service has left me very dissatisfied with Budget Car Rental. I would not recommend this company to anyone looking for a reliable and professional car rental service.

Very bad communication, dishonest stuff. They do have phone numbers yes but nobody answer the phone or if someone answer the phone they transfer you about 20 times. Took me four hours to get hold on someone and still that someone after four hours. Transfer me, rented an SUV, when you rent an SUV that’s mean you have family and kids. They give me a mini Kia. I couldn’t even drive it. That’s how small it was then I told them I need to cancel because this is the third time and my last time doing business with them and I got charged in full for something they do not have for their mistake and trying to fix that mistake took all Saturday and I haven’t even finished anything. It’s great company, but I think the staff need to be more trained or maybe replaced and they need to hire more people to answer the phone, but not doing.

I booked an online reservation for a short trip to Atlanta. Upon entering the Budget line I was greeted by the manager with a short, rude, and bad attitude. I was told since I had only a debit card and not a credit card it would be a long wait. So she asked for my auto insurance card to call and verify coverage. She took her sweet time talking to employees, customers, and finally got on the phone. She also took my debit card hostage. Then she filled out more paperwork, asked where I was taking the car to, and demanded a 300.00 deposit on a three day rental! I was told there were no cars available and to wait on a bench for a call. This was after 45 minutes. Well no surprise the call never came.

Budget customer service was average. Car was clean and in good condition. Be very careful what options you sign for in your contract. Budget will take advantage of you and charge you for things they never provided, absolutely the worst car company when it comes to how they take advantage of you on your bill. You're better off walking than dealing with this company.

I’m very grateful to Shannon and the Birmingham, MI location. I tried to modify my rental and ended up cancelling it and then couldn’t re-book the reservation. I was very upset and called and spoke to Shannon. She worked magic and was able to reinstitute my reservation. I’m very, very grateful. I’ve used this location many times. I really needed a favor this time and they came through!

Wouldn't let me extend rental. I was trapped out of state. Instead they demanded 3000 for returning it out if state. A new rental would mean another 3000 when I went home and returned it. Unreasonable and greedy.

I reserved two 15-passenger vans for pickup on February 15, 2025; pick-up location, Hobby Airport in Houston. When I arrived at the appointed time, 9:00 am, neither van was available. I was told the previous renters had not returned the vans as originally planned, thus the reason the vans weren't available for my use. The agent recommended that I leave my contact number - so I could be contacted when the vans became available. Five days later, I have yet to be contacted! I think it's poor customer service that I wasn't alerted that the vans were not available, in accordance with the reservations I made. Confirmation numbers ** & **.

Budget 2 14 2025 overnight rental. I have tried to contact Budget after the billing problem has occurred: Sunday 2/16/2025. At 3:46 for 3 minutes to 763-428-2727. At 4:42 from 800-214-6094 phone did not ring. Text said “Junk”, but did message me to call back. 17 seconds total. At 4:43 for 2 minutes to 800-214-6094. Returned call. Budget never picked up. After selecting Option 1 Budget never called back. Monday 2/17/2025. No calls returned; we were at the hospital having a baby. Tuesday 2/18/2025. At 9:21 for 45 minutes to 800-214-6094 on hold at Budget then line went dead (hang up at Budget). At 10:07 for 1 minutes to 800-214-6094 requested call back. At 10:09 for less than 1 minute to 800-214-6094 requested call back. At 10:44 for 1 minutes from 800-214-6094 no message. At 12:18 for less than 1 minute to 800-214-6094 requested call back, At 12:55 for 15 seconds from 800-214-6094 phone did not ring – Straight to voice mail.

I left with the car in Chicago with the agreement that it would 120 something plus a deposit. I returned it the next day in La Crosse, WI. I get my receipt and it turned into $422. Talked to customer service they said once I picked up the keys nothing could be done. Never again will go through budget.

We stood on concrete for over 90 minutes in a little office waiting for our car in Kona. We were amidst at least 60 other people with all their luggage, tired crying children, and disabled seniors. It was awful. I travel a lot for work and will never rent from Budget again.

If possible, I would leave a zero-star review. The vehicle I had received had the floors all torn up and had a smell that they had left something rotting inside. I was required to take this vehicle. Upon my delivery, there was inclement weather in the mountains that caused me to be delayed. I had called the customer service (an automated nightmare that takes forever to reach a real person to discuss any issues) to explain my issue. They had mentioned they would notate the issue and as long as the vehicle was returned before noon on the day of delivery, that I would not be charged the additional day.

I was charged car rental and deposit on a poorly serviced vehicle and promised my money back. These proved to be lies. I will never again rent from them. They should be shut down. Don't make promises you do not plan on keeping.

Budget should be accountable for showing one price, asking for credit card information before showing what's charged, then being charged almost 300.00 more than expected. Only to be charged a 50.00 cancelation price. Very deceptive. Will never rent from Budget again!

Requested and prepaid for my rental vehicle on-line. Completing all the forms, declining services I did not want to include. Went to pickup the vehicle and they had me redo the rental agreement again. Again I declined the services that I did not want to include reviewed and signed. After returning the vehicle they added over $100 dollars of extra fees which I had declined and then two weeks later charged three additional fees to my card without any notice or justification. The email sent to their address have not been acknowledged and they refuse to revise the fees. I had two people with me at the counter who can attest that the additional fees being declined at the counter as well as my initial reservation which shows them as being declined. Be careful and think twice before renting from this firm!

We scheduled a reservation and Budget charges our credit card (150.00) but they never created a reservation. Multiple calls (never pick up before 30 mins) and emails with Reference numbers (they don’t use or refer to) and they acknowledge they charged us incorrectly but haven’t refunded the money. Worst company ever! Do not use!!

I reserved 2 vehicles for our families, friends visit to Palm Springs. Without telling us the second vehicle had an extra charge for an additional driver but they wouldn’t allow us to make the 2nd driver the primary. I was told I can’t reserve 2 vehicles. This is never an issue with National. I know where I will take my business going forward. When I contacted support I’m told the charges are valid and they understand on repeat and the same garbage spewed by the manager I requested to speak with.

I used to always use them. I had a situation where the car was stuck in ice. Roadside was suppose to go for it and didn't. I provided proof of me calling to customer service and them instructing me to take the keys to the airport where I picked it up. After they said to contact roadside to pick up the vehicle and didn't. I then started to receive prevention and loss emails. Once this was settled they charged me 3,900 and I disputed as this was not my fault. THEN they said it was fixed and I received a e-receipt stating I now owe $4,800. And no customer service supervisor to could me where the additional charges were coming from?

Obviously by the 1.1 star rating, they DON'T care about the customer. I've seen how they are handling my situation. They LIED to the Attorney General's Office of Ohio to which I sent proof of their lie. DON'T RENT FROM THEM!!! THE CAR THEY RENTED ME HAD TWO SAFETY ISSUES!

We rented the suv in Hurst, Texas, at the Budget Rental car at the Melbourne location next door to Subway food restaurants. We are having problems with Budget Rent -A-Car! They put us in a suv that was very unsafe for anyone to be driving! The suv needs alignment to make it go straight and the tires need balancing and hub burns and brakes to help the suv stop like it should. We are going to call the News stations 4,5,8 and tell them what has happened to us. DPS OFFICE and explained to them that this company is rental vehicle out to customers. But also this vehicle is definitely unsafe and it has endangering other people lives as well as my wife and my life!!! The suv was shaking once you are going 60 mph on the freeway and make a very loud noise that made our ears hurt. The car would not go straight in the lane at the speed of 60 mph.

Budget made an appropriate change to the charges.

Very bad customer service, over talked while on the phone with customer service after waiting long WAIT TIMES. Nothing been resolve. A lot d/c calls while waiting for assist. I’ve been exchange with 2 different cars which were filthy.

They took the money for the car rental twice and a month has passed and they still have not returned the amount they should have returned. They could not make the accounting of the amount to be returned. I tried to reach them through all communication channels, but since it was impossible to reach them, I wanted to write here.

Report of a scam carried out by Budget Rent-a-car at Denver International Airport, CO. We are ** studying in the United States of America. During our vacation, we traveled to Divide, CO from 12/28/2024 to 01/05/2025. Our ** travel agent recommended the website decolar.com.br to us to reserve our car. During this period was where the nightmare with Budget Rent-a-car began. We made the reservation on 10/26/2024 under number ** Toyota Tacoma or Similar with full insurance worth $701.00 for the period of the trip.

Awful customer service and the worst rental company I have ever used. They keep stealing money from my credit card for my past rental. Charged me because their car stopped working in the middle of my trip because of mechanical problem even after confirmed that it's not my fault. And that's In addition to being late to my flight and having to pay an extra $500 for a new flight because of their car that probably never went through proper check and maintenance. They also don't let you use your AAA service and then later charge you enormous bill for their towing without confirming anything with you. Get ready to be robbed off if you use them…

NEVER RENT FROM THIS AGENCY. TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! I never will use Budget again! Hire new employees that know the definition of professionalism! I will make sure everyone I know and every social media outlet I have is used to put the word out to go elsewhere.

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with my recent experiences at both the Merced (**) and Fresno (**), CA locations of Budget Car Rental. On two separate occasions, these locations did not have the vehicle I had reserved, nor a similar one. At both locations, I was initially offered vehicles that were not even close to the type I had reserved. Despite explaining twice that the offered vehicles were not what I had reserved, I was still given no satisfactory option. Both vehicles offered had 8-cylinder engines, which defeated the purpose of my choosing a 4-cylinder vehicle for better fuel economy.

I rented a car in Laredo, Texas. I don’t know what happened with the system, but it showed that I would return it to Laredo, even though I had selected a one-way rental to drop it off at Dallas airport. They didn’t register that correctly, and now they’re charging me a $300 fee. In other companies, it’s only $30–$40. They’ve lost me as a customer.

I go to pick up the truck and it’s not available yay. No call or text or email.. Then they charged me 150 out of the 240 because it was cancelled.. Never use them again and neither will anyone in my family. Hopefully this helps everyone out by not using them

Made a reservation to ensure I had a vehicle that would fit a wheelchair. I get there first off, the company name is Budget which could be further from the truth. I rented the vehicle for 1 week which cost me a total of $1k for a dodge hornet, nothing special. Within that cost was $250 for insurance coverage which is highway robbery, are you kidding me?? Don't you WANT people to purchase insurance?

After many attempts on phone and waiting in line at office for service, I was told that my ebill would be the price that I signed in original agreement and not the higher price. Only to find out nothing was done. When returning car, Budget was closed. I was told to throw the keys over fence. I left a note on car seat about overcharge. When arriving home ebill was still overcharged from original agreement signed. I called in (waited 30 on hold) to be told I had to file a claim through email. After claim submitted, the higher price went through my credit card. Will never go there again.

We rented a Budget car and prepaid for the rental. We returned the car full as per our contract. There was no one on site to verify fuel status upon return. We got a fuel charge for 49.50 on an invoice. Unfair Business practices, Beware.

Rented the car for 2 days. The cost was $225.00 with $200 deposit and I never got my deposit back. Called customer service and they gave me excuses why it wasn't returned. I was told by the agent that my $200 would be returned in 5-7 days. They ripped me off and I will NEVER rent from them and will spread the word of the shady dealings.

I used to have a great experience with Budget, but the last 2 rentals, they charged me an extra $20. Turns out, their new policy is that if you don't drive 75 miles, they charge you about $17.00 or $18.00 plus tax. They say this is for gas, but I filled both rentals up before returning them. Turns out you now have to call them after the rental is turned in and tell them you filled the car up. You can't tell the person who checked you in either. THIS IS STUPID!!!

We returned a rental car full of gas to the Detroit Metro Airport location at 3 pm December 31st 2024. No one was available to physically check it in, so we checked in at the counter, the agent told us to leave the keys in the car and they will email us a receipt. We received the emailed receipt a couple of hours later and there was a $148 fuel service fee! Ridiculous! We spoke with customer service, they said send them a copy of the bank statement to show gas station charges, we did that, we received an email again that said that wasn't good enough and the charges stay! Terrible customer service! Will never rent with them or Avis again. I want this refund already!

What a horrible experience! Three different cars in a less than five-day rental. They gave me an electric car and when I inquired where to charge it, they lied and misled me. They told me a charger was near my arrival location; came to find out there were zero in my area. I had to leave it at a hotel to charge for 10 hours one day of my trip and Uber around. They had sent me out of the rental lot with a 50% charge and that is why it died so soon. Once I had enough charge to move again the following day, I went to find a charger; the car did not have any adapter to use the only TESLA charging station in the area. I could not use the car again.

2 weeks ago these criminals took 101 dollars off my card and said nothing was taken off. I never even rented a car from these idiots. They don't tell the truth. Trying to get in touch with customer service is only being put on hold until you give up an hour and a half later. They are a scam.

This was the absolute WORST rental car experience we have ever had. We waited in line at the MCO airport for about 2.5 hours to get our rental car on Christmas Eve and once we were given a vehicle, we realized once we got to the car to load it up with our bags that we were given an Electric Vehicle (without being told - and an EV was certainly not requested). The EV was not anywhere near fully charged and we did not have enough charge in the vehicle to reach our destination for the night. This resulted in us needing to search for a place to charge the vehicle at 10PM on Christmas Eve. We then realized it would take over an hour and a half to fully charge the vehicle.

We have rented from Budget for years without any issues. This past ski vacation, we rented out of the Denver airport and got a Tesla. We inspected and recorded the outside of the vehicle which showed quite a bit of damage but never bothered to inspect the tires. The tires were balding and pieces of rubber were missing from some of the tires. Icy conditions on the roads proved to be very dangerous for my family. We filed a report with budget citing concerns. The audacity of this company to charge us an additional $150 for being 2 hours late with drop off knowing we had to go very slowly down the mountain is unbelievable. Never again will I rent with budget.

I rented 8 seat car at LAX. Took me line up 2 hours. There was no enough agents. Went to pick up the car no 8 seat car was available. It took another hour waiting for a car to show up..finally got one. The car was not cleaned yet and noticed tire pressure low..the agent took and inflated tire and told me, "All good. The tire is brand new." Unfortunately after I drove it for around 100 miles pressure drop again. Called customer service. They did not want to act on it but he said supervisor will contact me in a couple of hour. Never called and I had to fix the tire on my own. It cost me 50 dollars to fixing it as there was a nail in the tire that was missed by their agent. I have case file number but nobody ever contact me though it was not my mistake. This not right respectable way to deal with honest client. I'm still waiting for email to get my money back and apology for ruining 2 days of my vacation in Los Angeles.

I rented a car from Budget at Tampa airport on 7/20/24. I arrived to pick up the car via wheelchair. I returned the car to Tampa airport on 7/22/24 with no damage. The attendant notified me that there were no wheelchairs to transport me from the car drop off to the airport. Therefore, the attendant offered to drive my mother and me to the airport. There was no damage sustained to the car while the attendant transported us to the airport.

So rented a car in Warwick Rhode Island on Christmas Day and returned it on the 30th. I forgot my Oakley sunglasses on the driver side door panel when I drop the car off. I returned no more than 10 minutes after and my glasses were gone. There were only two people that had contact with that car after I parked it and neither one of them would admit to taking my glasses. I have filed a complaint with Budget lost and found, and have not received any type of response from Budget car rental at all. These were three and all the glasses and I am refusing to pay for the car rental until I receive compensation or my glasses back.

2020 12-passenger Chevrolet Van (less than 89k miles) - Body damage all over the vehicle, hail damage on the hood, windows and mirrors had to be cleaned when I got home. Seats were all stained and driver's seat was wet, had to use a towel to sit on. Glove box door was missing, lens cover to dash instruments was cracked, only a couple of small cup holders in back, no charging ports in the back. With each start I would get a message on the dash stating "change oil soon". Had to place steering wheel left of center in order to drive straight down the road. It wasn't the wind because I had to put the steering wheel in the same location no matter the direction. Steering wheel shakes, could probably use an alignment.

We starting lining up at MCO Budget counters at 3:00 pm and only able get a car thru AVIS counters at 4:40 pm! 30 parties lined up, 3 Budget staffs working on Dec 30th. At one time, no staff at the counter. Thanks God 2 angels from Avis had started helping out at 4:15pm after we waited more than 1 hour in line. In fact they claimed they are basically the same company! BTW, hardly anyone line up at the Avis side in the Orlando airport. I wish they can be more flexible in that case to avoid long waiting time. I had been using different car rental companies in MCO, this was the worst experience so far! By the way, some older staffs at AVIS also keep insisting only serve AVIS guests while there was no one there! I guess they don’t like team work?!

Never rent in this company! The service staff does not explain it well and you accept terms in a misleading contract and when you deliver the vehicle they charge you more than $300 on the card. You call customer service and they hide behind a contract that you signed under deception!

My husband went back to Ohio 2 days before Christmas for a family medical emergency. I prepaid his car rental with Budget so he wouldn’t have any issues. They refused to give him a car because his DL was “warn”. They didn’t offer him a refund or anything or any alternative. He went to another rental company and they had no problem with his DL and rented him a car. Budget is a rip off. They recharge you and then deny you a car. That’s fraud!! I’m not uploading my receipt because I’m not giving people my personal information.

Nightmare. Never again. Customer service is nowhere to be found. Specific vehicle reserved 2 months in advance is not available. We have spent over an hour on phone just to be hung up on twice. Family had to come 1 hour ro Cleveland to get some of our luggage. Reserved a mini van for a reason.

I made a reservation with Budget Rent a Car for my return trip for my vacation. I had to get an Uber to the rental place which costs me $20. After I arrived I was greeted by a not-so-nice representative that was kind of rude. He informed me that would be a soft credit check in order to rent with a debit card. I knew nothing of this policy and when I went to check for the policy I did not find one thing mentioned about it. This company doesn’t give the most accuracy info on their website or their app. Not only was I denied a vehicle for having a credit score of 680! I was told by the rude attendant that I could always rent a U-Haul and drive it home for cheaper! NOT A GOOD THING TO SAY! Extremely rude and extremely unprofessional!! Avoid Avis / Budget like the plague!!