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December 2023 by Rich A.
I've been a Budget Fastbreak member for many years. I'm a low maintenance traveler, no matter whether I am travelling for business or pleasure. The Budget FastBreak program provides me with the convenience of arriving at the rental car center, going straight to the garage, picking up the car assigned to me, and leaving the airport with as little time and effort as possible. On my last visit to Phoenix, I reserved my car ahead of time on Budget.com and I received a text from Budget just before we landed directing me to pick out my car from a specific area in the Avis-Budget section of the rental car center garage. We took the newly completed light rail from the terminal to the rental car center (which is a huge improvement over the shuttle buses full of irritated passengers jostling for seats and standing room that used to ply the route between the terminal and the rental car center) and took the escalator down to the garage. When I got to the garage, there were absolutely no cars parked in the area noted in the email and the FastBreak electronic board wasn't working. I got into line at the kiosk in the garage, standing behind two customers each attempting to rent a car from Budget with no prior reservation (and should have been sent to that special place in hell known as the line at the Budget counter in the car rental center lobby). After almost 40 minutes standing in line, while my travel companions and I sweltered nearby in the 105F heat of the garage, the Budget employee - without making any apologies for the inconvenience - indicated the texts from Budget were never accurate and the FastBreak sign never worked. He was able to quickly assign a car to me and sent me on my way with the appropriate paperwork for the 2023 Ford Escape Sport that would transport us around greater Phoenix for the next 10 days.As we were loading our luggage into the car, my travel companions, who are much more sensitive to such odors than me due to health complications (i.e., asthma), immediately noticed the interior of the car had a faint odor of cigarette smoke and a strong odor of air freshener. I calmly walked back to the kiosk to complain, stood in line for another 10-15 minutes, and explained to the employee that the car smelled of cigarettes and air freshener. I asked for another car but he said there were no other cars available in the class I'd initially reserved and I could take a smaller car or wait. My travel companions agreed a smaller car wouldn't be comfortable for our trip and they wanted to get the heck out of the airport. Hoping that the odor would dissipate on its own by driving for a while with the windows open, I asked the employee to make a note of the odor so I didn't get charged for it and he agreed to do so.Thankfully, the odor quickly dissipated (or, more likely, we grew accustomed to it) and the rest of our 10 day rental of the very fuel efficient and comfortable 2023 Ford Escape Sport transpired without any further drama.. until a month after I returned the car in Phoenix when I received a letter in the mail from the Budget Operations Team informing me that I had returned the car "not in the same condition in which it was provided to you due to the presence of Smoke Smell". For this transgression, I would be "billed $450.00 for the required cleaning service". I immediately called the Budget Customer Care team at Corporate and, after explaining the entire series of events, the Corporate group agreed to waive the fee. Still, it required several phone calls over two days until the appropriate billing system was able to be accessed by the Corporate team. This is the second time in two years I've rented a car from Budget in Phoenix and had to argue with Corporate after additional fees popped up on my credit card after I'd returned the car for either an additional day on my rental (despite having a receipt in hand to prove I'd returned the car two hours before my flight, not the day afterwards) or a cleaning fee for smoke smell (despite no one in my travel
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November 2023 by Richard R.
This is an update for March 9th of this year. They have still not refunded my deposit for my rental car. Company is not contacting me either to discuss the refund of my deposit. I suggest no one use this rental car company because they cannot be trusted to return a deposit.
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November 2023 by Joseph Rubino
You should be called rent-a-wreck. The car we were given had multiple dents, the right front parking light and blinker was sunken into the front grill and the gas tank was 1/4 full. The rug on the passenger front was ripped. We couldn’t believe this car was made available for rent. We arrived late in the evening from the east coast and didn’t realize how poor the car was until after we left the rental center. I did report that the gas tank was not full and did get a credit for the fuel I had to add. The people at the front desk were very nice and cheerful, if it weren’t for this I would have rated our experience even lower. I do have pictures of the dents and file gauge showing 1/4 tank.
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November 2023 by Alex Mar
Had a reservation with Payless. Got in line at 1045 pm. I’m still in line (1:12am). Photos of the line below. A LOT of angry people from Payless, Avis, and budget. Waiting over 2 hours (and counting) to get a car. Never again. FYI doesn’t matter which of the three companies people rented from, we’re all in the same line.UPDATE: finally got a car at 1:45 am. Three hours waiting to get a car that I reserved and paid for weeks beforehand. Driving away, there were still at least 80 people in line.
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November 2023 by Sherri Barclay
Wish I could give a 0 for a rating! My flight took just over 2 hours, and my rental experience took more time than my flight!Read the reviews on here and RUN to another company other than Budget, Avis or Payless because in the end you pay more in aggravation and wasted time.There is not enough staff Budget at Sky Harbor Car Center to process you at the counter (45 minutes) even though there was a long line they only had 4 agents. You could see about 5 people sitting in the back room talking when the door would open.They did not have the type of car, a truck which I need to move things, which I reserved online so they gave me a different type (SUV), but it was more money! They told me they were giving me a "deal" on the second car, but they could not offer it for what I reserved online so I had to pay $120 more for 4 days. They encouraged me to take it and at that point I was tired and just wanted out of there and to get my car and go to the hotel.Surprise! Then you go downstairs only to wait another 60 minutes in a second line to get your car. The space was very crowded and not at all adequate for the amount of people waiting especially with all their luggage. You felt like cattle going to slaughter it was so packed.I also got a text to go directly to the Express Assign Area to get my car only to realize that is the line I was in! Definitely NOT express! Then you wait an additional 20 to get out of the garage.To top it off they start your time from the counter upstairs and not from when you leave the garage. When I called to try and get the time adjusted per when we actually had possession of the car as I had pictures with the time, I was told they would need to charge me for the extra time and THEN I could call to get it removed. It was a joke.There were no apologies or discounts given for the challenges and extreme wait. They just take your money, laugh because you fell for it and did not read the reviews first, and then continue to do it over and over again. Look at the pictures and reviews because this seems to be the norm.I had the same experience once before, minus the car issue, and I thought it was a fluke however apparently it is not. Shame on me. I will never rent from Budget again. I have rented from other companies before and never had this type of experience. Saving a few bucks is not always the best option.
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November 2023 by Shellie S
Do Not, I repeat. Do Not rent from here. You will regret it. The prepaid line is/ was a 3+ hour wait. (After reading other reviews, seems to be the norm not the exception) You can't fast pass as they will not take digital DLs. Dont put yourself through it. Pay the extra $ someplace else. If i could give them a minus score I would. If I could have canceled and gone someplace else, i would, they made that impossible with no customer service at the time I called ,9pm, once we did receive our car we get to the garage for pick up only to see someone drive off in it. Could it get any worse? Fortunately, a very kind gentleman cleaning cars stepped up and assigned us a different vehicle. This isn't an employee problem, the desk and garage employees were kind and efficient. This is a management or corporate issue. Budget is a huge No No oh ....No for me from now on.
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November 2023 by Ross H.
Arrived at 10pm to a 200+ person line. Waited with my son for 2 hours, came back at 9am to a 200+ person line the next day.Reservations are electronic, they know how many people are arriving, they just don't care.
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October 2023 by Rusty Bascom
I rented a compact truck for some personal use at the Budget Rental Car location in Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport rental car center in Arizona. I live locally, so was not arriving by plane as is probably the case for most passengers. I was brought to the rental car center by private vehicle.There was an extended wait of over an hour at the check-in counter within the rental car center. There seemed to be a good number of agents on duty, so the reason for the delay was unclear.Upon reaching the counter, I was told that the type of vehicle I had reserved was not available and was encouraged to accept another vehicle to reduce my wait. I requested the vehicle I had requested (a pickup truck) but allowed that I could possibly accept an SUV. At this time, I was not aware of the situation in the rental car garage downstairs.I descended the escalator to the level where the Budget Rental Cars are located and found a long line of people. The space was congested and not suitable for the number of people that had to wait. After the line was further backed up, people were lined up out of the doors at the base of the escalator into the parking garage.There were clearly not many cars in the Budget rental car space and well below the quantity needed for the number of people in line. My wait in this area and outside into the garage lasted an additional 1 hour 20 minutes. Budget personnel were directing people to specific vehicles or bringing vehicles up to the doors, not allowing the usual practice of allowing individuals to pick a car from the type rented. In my view, Budget must have accepted more reservations than the rental car location had available in cars.In total, the time at the rental car counter was 1 hour and the time waiting downstairs was an 1 hr 20 minutes. Traffic leaving the rental car pickup area was also slow, adding another 20 minutes, but this cannot specifically be assessed to Budget.If I ever rent a car again at Phoenix Sky Harbor, I will try to rent from a different rental car company.
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October 2023 by Rick Coen
If, as they say about the Brits, you enjoy a good queue, this is the place for you. Upon arrival at the car rental building, we found a line of about 60 people waiting on 3 active counters. There are 17 terminals for customer service. At one point we saw 5 attendants, but that was the most. After about 90 minutes, we were at the counter. The attendant Tommy was very nice and did a great job of upselling us. We then went to stand in the "Express" car pickup area and spent another 40 minutes there. Once we were in the car, it took us about 15 minutes waiting to be checked out of the lot by the attendants there. To be clear, between the time waiting and the time being served for a prepaid reservation, it took us longer than our flight to Phoenix from Denver. And in case you're wondering, all of the other rental agencies there had plenty of attendants and no lines. Next time, we'll consider something other than price. No line ... priceless.
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October 2023 by Jordan Donnellon
Easily the worst customer service experience that I have ever been a part of. My wife and I scheduled an early flight so that we could have a full day Saturday to enjoy our much needed time away as we celebrated our 10th anniversary. Our flight landed at the PHX airport at 10:29 AM PST. We proceeded to Budget where we had pre-booked our rental car for an 11 AM PST pickup. The nightmare began there. We waited over 5 1/2 hours in a line that was longer and slower moving than every other rental company’s line combined. There were easily 200+ customers (former) in line while the Budget counter was barely, if at all staffed. The people fortunate enough to not have paid in advance for their Budget rental were able to simply walk to another rental company where they were provided a vehicle in a timely manner. Zero explanation or representation from Budget management for over 3 hours. Finally the manager Wendy came out and explained “we have cars, everyone will get a car, we just don’t have people to wash the cars”. Budget’s inability to appropriately manage their business and their staffing shouldn’t result in my wife and I missing our appointments for our massages, our dinner reservations and a lost day of travel. Nothing was done to assist us or any other customers as people ranging from infants to the elderly suffered standing in line for over 5 1/2 hours. I saw one elderly woman fall down multiple times while waiting in line. They didn’t even have the decency to offer to assist her with a wheelchair or offer to hold her a place in line. The lack of customer service shown on this date, 10/7/23, by the Budget rental agency at PHX was truly sickening. Easily the worst travel experience that I have ever witnessed and/or been a part of. I am requesting that Budget refund me my money for the rental, as I lost one full day of my vacation to them, paid $100 at the airport for food/drink while waiting in line and missed and paid cancellation fees for my massage reservations.
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October 2023 by Christian B.
Catastrophic vehicles. Ford Expedition. Ours had 110.000 km on the clock and a faulty transmission, where the gears popped out when you accelerated or went uphill. Car went into emergency braking a couple of times, because the transmission blocked 100 %.Car was slingering on the highway because of that.Exchange during our vacation took 1.5 days spending my valuable time in waiting loops with incompetent people, which hung up on you ! Incredible !Old car was towed away in the middle of the night 02:00 in the morning,....without notifying us when they would exchange the car, containing all our personal belongings. Bags, expensive tech quippment, passports to some place nobody knew and could tell us.After 0.5 days research we figured out that it was towed to Montrose airport. We had to drive 2 hours to Montrose from Telluride, trying to chase our personal belongings and find the old car.The new replacement Ford Expedition looked like a dump from the inside, dirt, juice, red sand, a million dead flies outside, food. sticky stuff everywhere.Today I have received another charge from them trying to pull another 240$ out of my pocket for missing car keys !I even took pictures of it when I returned them.These are all crooks.DEATHTRAP vehicles ! DONT`T RENT HERE.And BUDGET, don`t deny this,...we got everything in written form, video, images and witnesses.Shame on you BUDGET ! You haven`t deserved any further customers. If I could shut you down,...I would.Everybody go to Alamo or National.
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October 2023 by Joe Jenkins
Due to staffing issues and lack of cars available per one staff member, it took 2.5 hours to get vehicle picked up. Booked an SUV, and got stuck in a truck. Truck was beat up, dented in multiple places, windshield wipers torn and unusable, rear tire bald and below dot regulations. Had to cancel a trip to Grand Canyon due to safety reasons and tires. Tried to talk with budget staff when returning and they told me it would be a 30 minute wait to speak with someone. I would have missed my flight. Never will use Budget again based on this experience.
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October 2023 by Kevin Swindall
All I can say is-- it was a terrible experience! Would not recommend Budget after this experience. It took two hours and twenty minutes to get my pre-reserved vehicle. Almost $200 in "fees" over quoted price. After standing in a long line to get to the counter, then we had to go down stairs and wait in another line for the vehicle. The vehicle had scratches. The front tires needed to be replaced....very worn on outside.The very worst car rental experience I have ever had.
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October 2023 by Marsha H.
Second time I've been here in a week and the line is insane. Do not use Budget at this location. No other car rental service has a line nearly this long
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October 2023 by Scott P.
This is what you can expect when renting an automobile through Budget at the Phoenix Sky harbor airport. It took us 1 hour 20 minutes to get our vehicle...line upon line.