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January 2024 by Sinjin
I’ve never had trouble with Budget. The same can’t be said for Hertz or Enterprise. Hertz flat out tagged another day on me when I went out of my way to turn it in on time. Enterprise rushed me out the door when I tried to tell them I had been in a small fender bender- 6 weeks later they sent me a bill - I’d been hit from behind in single lane traffic. I wasn’t at fault.I fought both experiences with a mixed result on one and a solid win on the other. I’ve never had one hard word with Budget. My recent trip to Vermont also went seamless. My wife and I saw the Vermont country side including some very fine covered bridges and we chatted with the Left Leaning Vermont citizens. Did you know that Burlington had a Socialist Mayor who went on to become a U.S. Senator? Well my jaw just dropped open when I heard that.Before we left Budget in our SUV, another traveler from Louisiana told us that all the houses in Vermont were scary looking. My wife was thinking - lady you come from the scariest state in the union with its voodoo and above ground cemeteries - where are you coming from? Speaking of spooky, we did visit a haunted bridge- see my picture attached.The Budget lady was sweet, she asked me to do a dance move before she handed me the keys. I obliged her cause I just got off the plane and felt like moving anyway. Anyway Budget and Vermont is a good combo!
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January 2024 by Adrian Matte
Update is posted below, changed from one star review.Review from day after return:We made a reservation over a month before pickup, arrived to Budget at BTV on Dec 27th for pickup however were told there had been a recall on a number of vehicles and they were low on stock. The kiosk had maybe 5 keys in total and did not have the van we required. The attendant was very polite and was already quite stressed as we were there for the opening of the day at 8am. Very fortunately we were offered another vehicle out of the 5 that could seat all of us, a Chevy Traverse. The downside was that the attendant was the only one working and had not reviewed or seen any of the vehicles and this Chevy had just been returned. We opted to take it sight unseen as we were in a time crunch and were stuck with no other options. The attendant was trying their best and offered compensation to return the vehicle on empty.Unfortunately when we left the desk and went to the garage, the vehicle was in utter chaos, there was dirt everywhere (outside and in), food left throughout the vehicle, water bottles, wrappers and chocolate smears on parts of the seats. To add insult to injury, the tank was already on empty so the compensation was mute. We did not have time to return to the desk to discuss the issues, instead we cleaned the vehicle as thoroughly as possible, gassed up and proceeded with our trip. On return of the vehicle we updated a different attendant, however as we prepaid for the vehicle the front desk could not do anything to compensate us and would need to send our issues off as a claim to Budget. Per the attendant, we will have to wait a week for any reply and potentially longer for any resolution.Update: Budget reached out to us via email, just after this review posted and the review we provided to their company asking for more information. After a few communications back and forth with the professional customer service reps, we agreed to a fair compensation for our troubles. We will be hesitant to rent from this Budget in the future but recalls on vehicles can happen to any of the rental companies, so hopefully won't happen again.
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November 2023 by M M
Beware of pre-paying for gas online with Budget to skip the pump on return.The Budget Ad says if you prepay online you'll be billed normal price at the pump vs dropping the car off and then paying their increased prices, $3 vs $5 pr gal.I used only a 1/4 tank of gas, returned the vehicle and was billed as if the tank was empty.Odometer Out: 7380Odometer In: 7447Miles Driven: 67 milesA bit of an online bait-n-swich scam I'll not forget with Budget Rental Car.
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November 2023 by Steven Prinz
About three days into our vacation, after shutting the car off for no more than 5 minutes, the battery would no longer start the car. We had to call Budget and were told that we would have to pay for the jump start service call. I disputed it with the agent on the phone, explaining that the issue was a defect with the car. We were eventually told we would not be charged. We were able to use my daughter's car for our plans that evening after making arrangements to exchange the rental for a different one in the morning, since I was not comfortable that the issue would not happen again. Surprisingly, the car did start in the morning and I drove it back to the rental location at the airport. I explained that the gas tank was only 3/4 full, but I didn't want to fill it on the way there for fear of it not starting again. I was told I would be charged $9 per gallon if I returned it with the tank not full. I reluctantly drove drove to a nearby gas station. After refueling, the car would not start again. Fortunately, a cutomer at the gas station was able to jump start it, so I did not have to call for servive that time. On the way back to the airport car rental, the dashboard lit up with a "Malfunction" message (I have pictures) but did make it back without any other incidents. Although the replacement rental car was more reliable, it reported that the widow wassher resivoir was empty from the moment first started it. Fortunately, we did not need to use the windsheild washer while we had the car.Overall, I was not happy at all with the first car, that had obvious fault issues, and to a lesser degree, with the second one, which was obviously not fully checked over and perpped before being made availabe for rental.
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November 2023 by Lisa T
Paid for a car to be picked up at 2 pm. Waited about two hours and car was still not available and refund was not an option. Was told that returning later in the evening I’d have better luck getting a car. Good thing I didn’t have somewhere I had to be. This is my second poor experience with Budget. Do not recommend and will never use again.
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November 2023 by APICCINATI
The Chevrolet Malibu I drove was an excellent vehicle. Lots of pep and tremendous fuel economy. However, I returned the car one day early and received no refund. The answer was that I had pre-paid the entire amount, and therefore would not receive any discount. I don’t understand this at all, and it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth for budget Rent-A-Car.
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November 2023 by Michele Woodard
I won’t be using Budget again. Pre-paid for my reservation in January. Then downloaded the app just prior to my September trip thinking that would be easier at the pickup location. However, the app couldn’t find my reservation and made me go through the whole process again. Then at the pickup location x, they couldn’t find the first reservation, so they used the app reservation and said they’d cancel the first. Then the car I was given wouldn’t start. Had to go back to the desk and get another. Then a day or so before the return date, I was checking the paperwork for return time and noticed it wasn’t even my name on the paperwork. Instead of just dropping the key off at return, I wanted to ensure I wouldn’t be charged for this other person’s rental. They still didn’t mention not having canceled the first reservation and closed the second reservation sending me the receipt. It was over $100 less then the first reservation I pre-paid. Then I saw the first reservation was still active and it said since it was not canceled before the pickup date, I would not receive any portion of refund. On top all this, it took over 2 hours to pick up and drop off. I won’t use Budget ever again.
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November 2023 by Hopscotch 127
When I picked up the car, it seemed as though no one really knew what they were doing but we got the car and it was fine. My return flight was originally scheduled for 5 AM on 9/30 but was cancelled due to the NYC flooding, so I called Budget on the afternoon of 9/29 and asked when I needed to have the car returned by on 9/30 since I didn’t have the early flight anymore and didn’t need the early morning drop off of the original time of 4 AM anymore. The man on the phone said to return it by 4 PM on 9/30 and there would be no additional charges. I called again just before 11 AM on 9/30 just to be sure and the man on the phone that time said I’d already missed the cut off time of 10:57 AM to drop off the car with no additional charges. I didn’t know 10:57 was the cutoff time because the man on the phone the day before had said 4 PM. Since it was within minutes of 10:57 I asked if I could just return it then and he said I could return it but would still be charged. He was very rude about it. We’d had our flights canceled, had to find lodging at the last minute, and it would’ve been nice if I could’ve been given a few minute grace period instead of him being rude and charging an extra $125. Terrible customer service. I’ll never rent from Budget again, and I’ll tell anyone who asks about my experience to avoid Budget.
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November 2023 by Rene Gwinn
Very unhappy with Budget car rental company at Burlington Vermont airport. They take the reservations and overbook so you can’t get a car you reserved if flight comes in after 12pm. You can’t call the location directly to speak to anyone because the phone is forwarded to Budget’s 800 number and their prompts send you into a loop.Since the only cars available at my checking were EVs I was given a Ford F150 that had a known defect that was under recall so a warning of “Trailer Brake System Failure - See Owner’s Manual” kept flashing and “dinging” every 10 seconds for a 90 minute drive. Called Customer Service twice to report and finally got someone to help me the day I dropped off the vehicle.
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September 2023 by Kat Thomas
The customer service representative who assisted us at check-in, Dawn, was very knowledgeable, efficient, and professional. She made the experience a pleasant one.Would rent frim Budget again just because of her efficiency.
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September 2023 by Samara Poché
I've used Budget for years. This last trip was a nightmare. The first car I picked up broke down 3 miles away. The hassle to get a replacement was awful. The replacement car was filthy inside and out, none of the electronics worked, incluing the cruise control. My trip was delayed by 1.5 hours. I returned the second car 30-40 minutes beyond the agreed time and I was charged for an additional day. No longer a loyal customer.
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September 2023 by Jay Rodgers
I reserved the vehicle months in advance and was quoted a particular price. The price I saw on my card was more than the price quoted. The vehicle was returned fully fueled, even took photos, and no damage. Took photos of the vehicle prior to getting the vehicle and when returning. No explanation as to the additional cost. When I arrived to pick of my vehicle, there was no vehicle available and had to wait along with a large number of people to get their car for a period of time, almost an hour. I was not early to get the car. In that situation I would understand it not being readily available. I was number five in line, which is a lot better than some of the folks, who based on the size of the line, would have been in the 30's or 40's. The clerk was very stand offish about when we would receive a vehicle. The waiting might seem trivial but after a flight across the country, with airline delays, you would hope the car experience would go without a hitch.
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September 2023 by Michelle Ard
Flew into Burlington to drive to a wedding in Smugglers Notch. Was supposed to pick up my car at 3. They say they may not have one available until 6. I have a dinner at 6 and was sort of hoping to shower first. When I explained that to the woman at the desk, she shrugged her shoulders like a 5 year old. I asked the other woman at the desk if we could have any car, a different car, even if not cleaned. She said no, she can only give me the car I reserved (or can she ??). Called the corporate office and they cannot do anything. There are about 12 other families waiting for cars and another plan just landed. Will they ever catch up. Taking the reservation is the easy part…. It’s HOLDING the reservation that is most important ?
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August 2023 by Heidi Tremblay
The Budget rental process at the Burlington, VT airport is fantastic. The staff is friendly, the cars are always ready and clean, the spaces are marked beautifully, and it's has been a good experience every time.
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August 2023 by Funke Atkins
I was given a car with four bad tires and no Windshield wiper fluid. I had to stop in the middle of the night to buy windshield wiper fluid to clean the bugs off the Windshield to see. Then, after resting for a few hours, I started to drive and realized that the reason the tires had been overinflated was that they had leaks, and the rear right tire had a hole that must have been patched and reopened. The tire was flat the following day, so instead of making it to the 80th birthday party of my uncle, I missed it because it took 4 hours to get picked up and get another car from the airport, where the customer service agents were rude. I was given a smaller car, which made the rest of the trip there and back uncomfortable for my family. I missed an essential online meeting because I was on the road for eight more hours than expected. In the confusion of having to change vehicles, I left valuables in the car, and when I tried to call the budget at the Virginia airport and the 1-800 number, I could not get through. I am so disappointed in the budget for putting my family and my life in danger.
