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January 2024 by Lisa Mastroianni
I had to exchange a car I rented from the tampa airport - I was greeted with such willingness to help me find what worked for me and to have a simple experience. Thank you Maria!
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December 2023 by Michoeh Kerns
This Budget in Bradenton is the only place I would rent a vehicle. They are so kind..quick..and make accommodations for any hiccups. The store manager even gave me ride after drop off to my office! This made my day! Thank you!
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November 2023 by Matt Leake
We booked a Chevrolet traverse needing space for our family of 6. The only vehicle available when we arrived was a Hyundai Santa Fe which was a little smaller than what we booked but okay. After reviewing the car, the condition on the inside and outside was dirty and beat up with scratches and dings all over the car and excessive damage to the interior. The vehicle also smelled and unfortunately there were no other options available. Upon returning the vehicle we arrived to the Orlando airport property at 230 pm and crawled through traffic for over an hour to return the vehicle. After dropping off, we received a receipt for an additional $111 fee. This is by far the worst rental car experience we have ever had.
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November 2023 by Stephanie Corbin
I was on my way down to Miami from Tampa to meet my family for our annual family cruise when my car started to act up while enroute. To be safe, I decided to get a rental car and leave my car in Bradenton until I get back on Saturday and can have it looked at and fixed by a mechanic. I reserved a car at the Bradenton Budget Car Rental on 14th. Upon arrival at the rental establishment, I shared my situation and asked if I could leave my car in their parking lot until I return, I was told no. I asked for recommendations of a safe place where I could park it and not be towed until I return next week and neither employee was able to help in any way. Unfortunately my car was not in a state to finish out the remainder of the drive to Miami. I have never been to Bradenton before and don't know the area. The employees (both of them) were extremely rude, unhelpful and unsympathetic to my situation making it even that much more heartbreaking, frustrating, and scary as I was traveling alone. Due to time restrictions and not being able to leave my car there, all while being a paying customer, I ended up missing my family vacation because they would not allow for me to leave my car there. I am out all the money I paid for the cruise, additional $300 it cost me to have my car towed back to Tampa and the $60 to Uber home because the tow truck was a few hours from being able to get me. Thank you Budget for (not) doing all you could to help your customers, especially during the holidays.
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November 2023 by Corinna Carlson
Pick up and drop off was quick and pleasant. Staff was exceptional both upon pick up and drop off. Overall one of the best experiences renting a vehicle. Thanks!
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October 2023 by Madison Kiger
James and Maria always give me the best customer service every time I get a rental through budget. They’re fast, knowledgeable, and very kind during the process. I’d suggest booking through them!
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October 2023 by Kelly R. Abston
Maria and James absolutely went above and beyond to treat me better than a customer or client they treated me like family, I do not want to rent a car from anywhere else ever again, the selection of cars are outstanding, and once again I want to say that Maria and James are definitely to be recognized and saluted!!!
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September 2023 by Seth Stewart
Recently rented a car from Budget while my family was along with me for a business trip. When we picked up the car, we were chatting with the agent that checked us out and I asked what time they closed on the day we were bringing back the car. They said they closed at 6:00p and we needed to make sure we returned the car before then.I didn't realize that our reservation had been set up to return the car at 4:30p -- that was my mistake.When we returned the car, I thought the return time was 5:30p.We were wishing that the agent would have given us a reminder that our reservation was through 4:30, not 5:30. When checking the car back in, a different agent was helping us and they were going to charge us a late fee because we were an hour late.Again, we made the mistake of submitting 4:30p as our rental time, however, the agents could have spoke up and been a little bit more understanding. It was clear that the detailers had already left for the day since there were 10-15 cars returned ahead of ours. The difference of an hour being late wouldn't have mattered here.The manager did waive the late fee in the end.We will likely not return to this location -- it's in a sketchy part of town. The Budget from SRQ treated us with more care than the local Bradenton location.
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September 2023 by Aaron White
Be cautions using this Budget location. I returned the vehicle full and got charged for not a full tank - filled up 1/16th of a mile down the road and was told their electronic systems determined the tank was a gallon low.
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September 2023 by verified user
First vehicle, the rear view mirror broke in my hand while trying to adjust it. The next vehicle I was told it was full and a picture that I have available shows that it wasn't so I went to the gas station and had to put an additional $13.50 in the vehicle. I gave this receipt to the representative at the location but never received a reimbursement.Also that vehicle had a major mechanical issue which was verified by one of their agents at that location and I was substituted to another vehicle which was a class larger than what I wanted and did not want to drive around town getting only 8-10miles a gallon. Yes 8-10 miles a gallon in a big Dodge pickup truck.The fourth vehicle was the small Ranger crew cab and it had an issue immediately with the left front tire they kept on going flat.This was a high mileage vehicle and at a cold start would make a grinding noise that eventually would go away.The day before I went to return this vehicle, I was stopped by the local police because there was no yellow sticker on the Florida license plate. When I brought this to the attention of the location I was told that it's probably because you are using PM stickers now and it probably wasn't available and someone just wrote that it expired on such and such a date on the license plate. What a maroon!Regarding first vehicle, I was told that an incident report was done on the first vehicle because of the rear view mirror breaking off of my hand but that location cannot offer any paperwork, case number nor anything else and I am concerned now that I'm going to get a charge on my insurance company, but again received no help from that location.If you've gotten to this last paragraph thank you for reading my review. My review is about Budget Rent a Car, not this private owned franchise.The manager Maria was always polite professional courteous and I'm sure is doing everything in her power but as you can read from some of the other negative reviews, her hands must be tied.
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September 2023 by ted knapp
Maria Magdalena knew we were arriving late, so she (and the other guy) stayed a full hour *after closing* to help us with exchanging a car. She even gave us an upgrade! God bless her ?BTW, Budget in general overbooks their cars; BEWARE Of This ?.The local offices have to deal with the dissatisfaction, and I guess they don't always do it well, judging from other comments. Look at the reviews of other Budget offices, and you'll see what i mean. This office actually has a higher rating than many others..Large airports often have more inventory.
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August 2023 by Gregory Lara
Showed up to pick up a confirmed rental. Due to some computer issues they received an error. Did they try to trouble shoot? No. Did they offer to help. No. Waste of time and I don't have a car.
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May 2023 by Charles Minton
I had a reservation for a van. Confirmed twice. When I got there the manager said "I don't know why they booked it I don't have any vans" he did nothing to get us a van. Googled u haul and down the street I got one in 15 minutes.
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April 2023 by jared slizofski
I'd reserved a rental for a full-size car and instead was provided a small SUV (Jeep Compass). The tires were almost bald, the entire vehicle would shake and vibrate at highway speeds, and the engine would shake and sputter at idle. It had the words "Check Engine" written on the windshield. I was told it had a full tank of gas but only had half, and then was expected to return it with a full tank. An absolute disaster, not worth paying full price. I won't use Budget Rental Car service again.
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March 2023 by Paul Rosenberg MD
This was probably the worst car rental site in years. If I could give it a zero or less rating, I would. Made a reservation online at Budget at a non-airport location to avoid airport fees. No problem. Go to pick up the car and it was so filthy that I wouldn't get in it. The clerk said "I was told they cleaned the cars" today. The only other available car was just as dirty on the outside but at least the seats weren't sticky. The windshield was so smeared with a film that I had to go back home with it and scrub it inside and out with glass cleaner and a scrub pad. It barely made a dent. Since this was the only car on the lot and I had a time constraint, I was left with little choice but to take it. The customer ahead of me had rented a 16' truck and learned it wasn't there when he got to the counter. He was forced to drive to Ellenton (about 20 miles away) to get one. When I returned the car, and complained, a different clerk just said "I just work here". The manager was on a break and couldn't be found. Avoid this location at all costs.
