Budget – Car Rental 4+

The Budget people have been nice and accommodating. I usually get a free upgrade (e.g. Volvo XC 90, Chrysler 300) because they are out of midsize . One time we arrived in Minneapolis with no airport reservation because every rental company was already sold out. Rather than go downtown, where we already had a Budget reservation, we pretended we thought the reservation was at the airport. The staff scoured their facility and found a Mustang GT convertible that needed cleaning inside and out. Twenty minutes later we drove away in a virtually brand new hotrod, looking as good as when it left the factory. We payed $250 all in for the day we had it, but we were very happy to not have to go downtown with our luggage.

Don’t get me wrong. I would use any airport located company to save $10 per day. However, I enrolled in “Budget Fast Track” and have not found better prices on midsize cars since.

I regret I didn’t listen to the reviewers here before renting a car from Budget last week in spring break. That is a horrible experience in my life. I had never had any problems renting a car in the whole wide world before that. Pickup location is at 49th street Manhattan, NY. The staff Maria didn’t honor the price I prepaid on Budget website, even though I showed her the receipt; she wanted add extra; and then gave me a empty tank car(8 miles left showing on the gauge), said you either go find a gas station yourself or upgrade to a 7 seat SUV. I ended up turning around on the unfamiliar busy Manhattan street finding a gas station myself. At DCA airport Washington D.C., the drop off location, all rental car companies have signs but Budget/Avis. I had to be turning and turning around to find its secret spot. After coming back home, I found unauthorized credit card charges from Budget. What a nightmare I had!

I never take the time or felt the need to write one of these but this is the worst experience I have ever had with a rental company. I am active duty military and travel frequently and I have never had issues like I have had with Budget. I had a long term rental for over 4 months and because Budget failed to properly add my rewards number I am unable to get credit. I was on hold with customer service for over 2 hours and when they finally answered they were unable to provide any type of decent customer service. They said they are unable to fix there mistake and that they can’t fix closed contracts even if it was there fault. I am very disappointed that Budget was unable to fix or compensate me for there mistake. I am very unhappy with the experience and will voice my opinion to avoid renting from Budget in the future.