Budget Car Rental

"ZERO STARS. DO NOT GO TO THIS LOCATION. THEY WILL TREAT YOU LIKE A CRIMINAL AND CONTINUE TO CHARGE YOUR CREDIT CARD WITHOUT YOUR AUTHORIZATION. I don't even know where to start. The female attendant made the whole line wait outside in 90+ degree weather while she attended to one customer at a time inside in the AC. She yelled at the older gentleman who went in with me and told him he had to wait outside like everybody else, not sympathetic whatsoever when he pleaded with her and told her how hot it was in the garage. As soon as I pick up the car I notice that it's filthy on the inside, there was trash underneath the drivers seat and the passenger seat. As soon as I left, the car was noticeably shaky and also was occasionally making a weird sound. As the woman told me that this was the last car that they had, I opted to continue on my trip knowing that she wouldn't be able to give me another car. Driving from NYC to Vermont, the sound kept getting worse. I left unsafe getting out of the car in the middle of the road in the middle of the night, so the next day I took the car to a mechanic where I had to pay out of pocket to get a piece of plastic removed from the underpinning of the car. The mechanic said that this plastic was improperly placed after the car had had its last oil change, and it must have gotten caught on something in the road causing it to become partially dislodged and drag underneath. I called budget customer service who was helpful in noting my complaint and taking proper remedial action, and they gave me a Case ID number to give to the attendant when I returned the car. Upon returning the car, with the same woman who checked me in, I asked her if I could provide her with my Case ID number to which she responded that it wasn't her department. I told her about the plastic that at was sitting on the back seat, and she became extremely agitated, she accused me of the causing damage asking me what I did without having any sort of background information. I told her about the noise I was hearing on the road, to which she responded that it was MY fault because I should have driven to another Budget location instead of driving to Vermont. (Like oh I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't realize that should've been spending my vacation touring different Budget locations when I should've received a reliable vehicle in the first place! I digress.) Without even giving me a second to explain that the closest Budget to where I was was 2+ hours away, she unnecessarily called security, and she then told me to "get out" before security even arrived. I did nothing to warrant this kind of treatment. I was in no way accusatory or derogatory or aggravated, I was only relieved to have gotten through a 7 hour drive with a car that was falling apart and I was hoping to have her help in solving the problem, or at the very least put her on notice of the condition of the car before she rented it to someone else. With nothing else to do and wanting to get out of this extremely uncomfortable and targeted situation, I left. About 20 minutes later I get a notification from my Bank that Budget was attempting to charge my card, on top of the $300 hold that was already in place. At the end of the day, I would recommend going to Nike and getting a pair of running shoes before renting a car from this Budget location, especially if the car they want to give you is a black Toyota Corolla."

"update July, 14th: A Manager apologized via email and offered a compensation. original text: The booked category (full-size SUV) was not available. They could only offer me a minivan, which I consider a downgrade. Financial compensation or upgrade was refused. - The lady behind the counter was unfriendly (she forbade me from speaking to another customer who wanted to advise me) and not interested in finding a good solution. Waiting in the heat with my wife and small children, I was "forced" to take the car that was offered. The handover itself is very hectic. The car is on the parking ramp and there is no chance to check the car."

"Zero cars available for my prepaid reservation. I showed up on time and was simply told there were no cars available and they could not help. No resolution provided. Needless to say, terrible experience especially when you have children and luggage in tow. Revised - after an hour and a half of waiting for a car with no resolution we were given a pickup truck which we were told we had to take as there was no other option. The car had fries, ketchup and a burger on the inside. And more mess on the flatbed. When I pointed it out they laughed and said they’d clean it. More waiting required. WORST RENTAL EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE"

"It’s a busy place, which I totally understand. They didn’t have the car that they had committed to, which isn’t a big deal by itself. Then the clerk was FaceTiming with friends during our conversation. She told me to hold on a few times because of the conversation she was having on her phone."

"Absolutely terrible location. My partner waited in line for over an hour past our rental time and then just gave up. Our reservation had said 'Free Cancellation' so we just canceled and switched to the nearby Enterprise, but then Budget wouldn't refund us. And this is after years of spending a ton of money here. They truly do not care about delivering cars on time for loyal customers or treating them with any respect. Never rent here!"