Budget® Reviews
I used Budget in the past and they were very informative and on time and helpful but this experience in Baltimore was trash. I made the reservation 4 days ahead of time. Upon calling the day before to add a vehicle transport trailer I was told they were "expecting " the truck to arrive that evening or the next day early morning. ??? They said "we do not keep trucks here. They have to be sent" okay? To no avail, I called the pick day to let them know I was running behind and they informed me we do not have your truck. We dont have any. Sent me to customer service with budget. They wanted to call me back when they found something. I was not having it. I held on hold until they gave me a new pick place and to get there and the guy was not going to get me a truck. He eventually caved in and got me a truck. But someone else was going to be disappointed like me. Their whole system is crazy. I needa refund for multiple frustrations ??
My transportation experience was seamless. I rented a 16' truck one way, and everything went smoothly from pickup to return. Refueling at Sam’s Club cost about $60, and the drop-off location was just 7 miles from my new place, which made things easy and stress-free. Couldn’t have asked for a better process.
TERRIBLE!! They would not let me rent (I do not drive - I had my state ID and my driver had is license- I do this all the time) and said my driver would have to pay. Then the clerk didn't cancel the reservation even though I specifically asked him to and he said ok and I was charged a NO SHOW fee of $150! Never again!!!!
Great price, though the trucks have certainly seen some wear and tear. The truck I had flashed the change oil light constantly and the cab leaked a substantial amount of rainwater (did not leak into the box where the items were stored though) Customer service was good. This was for a one way move to a different state, so the price was very good in comparison with other companies. I would use again even in spite of some of the minuses.
The truck was great but I reserved moving blankets which I had to have and they did not provide. It was a Sunday so that limited my options. They said it was only a reservation. That really frazzled me and I ended up using every towel and blanket we owned. Now they are all taped up and I hope not ruined!
The drop was after hours. Although I filled the tank just minutes before the drop off there was a sign on the Elston site to include the gas receipt with my name on it. A pen was not much of a consideration when I went to drop off the keys. Then a charge was made larger than I expected (expected no additional charges). A rip off in my opinion.
A bit of a hassle due to corporate policy of going through the insurance waiver (had to call my insurance company at the rental counter and ask them specific questions to fill out a form from Budget), and the insurance would have been much higher than competitors if I would have had to take it, but the actual employees I interacted with at pick-up and drop-off were friendly and helpful. Also a bit more expensive than competitors (but at least they still had a truck available, which is why I went with Budget).
I used Budget instead of U-Haul this time because it was a lot cheaper for a move from Pompano Beach, FL across the state to Bradenton, FL. However, it was a terrible experience as they did not have the 16' truck we reserved and we had to drive a half hour to another Budget Rental place where we ended up with a 26' truck. The people at the first place did not care and though we called an hour before the scheduled pickup to say we were running late, they never told us they didn't have our truck! Thankfully, the folks in North Lauderdale were great and gave us the 26' truck for the same price as the 16'. We had to reschedule the movers who were unloading in Bradenton as we ended up being way behind schedule and it was very stressful.
16 foot truck was filthy in the cab. Had not been vacuumed in a long time. Grass remnants in seats and cup holders. Was basically a piece of junk. Cab was very loud and water leaked in on my back when driving in rain. It was a 1,000 mile one-way drive so probably wanted to get ride of it to another dealer.
I was very happy with the booking system and rates. However, the night before our move (a Friday just before 5pm) we received a call that a truck wasn't available - supposed to pick up at 10am the next morning. After multiple calls, we were told it would have to wait until Saturday morning to sort out. It was very stressful. Finally, at 8am on Saturday we called the location and they miscommunicated and did have our truck. It all worked out but the stress during an out of state move could have been prevented. Customer service at the truck pickup location was great.
Disappointed with overall Budget experience. Truck cab was absolutely rank and there was no way I was going to spend 30 hours in it without cleaning it myself, which I had to do. I was also given verbal information that contradicted the written contract that I signed and was caught in the middle of two Budget truck locations arguing with each other over what fuel and DEF levels I was to return the truck at. Small detail, but a real pain to deal with
I rented through AARP - they gave me a beaten down truck with over 135,000 miles to drive another 2000 miles, and offered no assistance on hooking up the car transporter or help loading my car, that all I had to do myself alone in Budget parking lot - not safe for my age or considerate of safety. Likewise, I call Budget support several time during my trip as I wasn't sure the truck was going to make it; each verbal queue sent me to a phone bank for products that were not Budget Roadside Assistance. Never again.
