Budget® Reviews
First truck broke down, they moved my things to a second truck (not taking care of my things). Then 2nd truck broke down (unsafe) and they were going to give me a 3rd truck but when they said they could not guarantee a good condition truck, I hired movers to move my things and drove my vehicle, Worst experience EVER!
The truck was rented to us dirty. We had to wipe down and sweep out the ab. The windshield was dirty. The truck began leaking brake fluid. The service person came out to the hotel at 3 am. Assessed that the wheel was loose from the hub and that he needed a part. He came back in the morning and repaired the wheel. Budget said they would comp our stay.
Never use again. Got my reservation wrong. Needed a lift gate, reserved a lift gate, but when I went to pick up, no lift gate available, but still charged me the lift gate price. Cab smelled like smoke. Butts of cigarettes in the cab well and old mens pants in back of truck. No indication of cleaning or wiping down due to covid from previous user.
Arranging rental online was quick and easy. A lot depends on how good the pick up rental location & drop off location is. The drop-off location was very good, quick & helpful but the pick up location was not good and the truck they rented us shouldn't have been on the road & probably wouldn't pass inspection - bald tires, very high mileage, foggy discolored windshield, etc.
I showed up right on time to pick up the truck and was told that their computer systems were down and that they could not rent anything to me. It was clear they were aware of the situation the night before, but no one had called me about the problem, even though the corporate office, whose computer systems were up and running, had my reservation information. The woman at Budget would not help me an any way other than to give me the customer service number for Budget. It took several phone calls to Budget to try to work out alternative arrangements. The people on the phone were friendly but slow--I had movers coming and couldn't afford to wait two hours for them to make alternate arrangements. Bottom line: Budget really screwed me over on moving day. I'll never work with them again.
Arrived when and where I was supposed to. Ghetto-Hose Bag at counter says "I do cars not trucks, dey sposed to called you, call dem" after 15 minutes on phone start to location north 20 minutes when I get a call to go south another 20 minutes. Arrive and they have no idea I'm coming. then go " Oh, you have good price, feel lucky" Truck FILTHY smelled. bugs flying around cab. 165,000 HARD miles. Drivers door seal falling off. seat belts gave the willys touching. NEVER again...
The condition of the Budget truck was awful, I had to fight the steering wheel to just keep it in the lane, no radio, seat uncomfortable, air conditioner didn't work so it was extremely hot, uncomfortable. Truck was rough and it caused damaged to some items. It even caused some liquids that were tape up around the cap and tightly packed to spill, even though the item was still standing up and it was only about a quarter full. This truck needs to be taken out of service. I will never use Budget again, I will go back with Penske or UHaul.
Budget representative was very helpful on the starting end of the trip. The truck itself was older. It got us there with no problems, but the interior was showing its age. Left, front tire had worn tread on the outside of the tire, but still handled ok in the rain. We normally rent from Penske but couldn't beat the Budget pricing. Will consider using them the next time we need a rental truck.
The Budget truck rental was a smooth process. We were told the truck had cruise control which it didn't. It was the best price after comparing different trucks from different companies. The only problem I am having is trying to get a receipt after the truck was turned in so I can be reimbursed for it. Other than that, would rent from them again.
Easy renting except the form for filling out we had our own insurance. We had bought an extra policy to cover rental vehicles. The questions they asked were hard to answer even with our insurance agent on the telephone. I wouldn't have known what to answer if I hadn't been able to call them even with the policy in front of me. All else went smoothly.
Bad customer service at pick up. Equipment should have been retired and taken out of service. Had a light load and barely made the trip. T the return location attendant argued that the unit should not have been returned at that locatio I had to show him paperwork to prove it. He asked if it was topped off and both diesel and DEF was topped off. He argued that and continued to charge me over 60.00 dollars for fuel. This is the type of service that initiates bad reviews on social media.
I really liked Jabril Mohamed who we dealt with picking up our truck and returning it. He is a nice guy, very pleasant and hard working. I got a great deal on mileage and chose to return my truck to his site even though it was 340 miles. I was able to leave my car there and it was safe. They have after hours drop off for keys also, I would use them again!
Truck seems fine. Needed a quick sweep in the cargo. The cab looks pretty good except a little grimy in the “hard to get to places”, i.e. cup holder and other holding areas. Windshield needs cleaning; bird poop and grime. Should be better for safety when driving especially since renters can’t run through a car wash. There is a back-up camera and back-up alarm. The cab is low tech. You will need a lighter fitted charger to plug in devices. Otherwise the pickup went smoothly and my blankets were already waiting in the cargo van.
I booked the truck through a phone call to Budget's agent. Included in the rental was a hand truck, dolly, and moving blankets. The local agent did a walk through inspection of the truck with my driver, but didn't mention to him that we would not be getting the hand truck, dolly, or moving blankets. We discovered that when the moving crew arrived to start loading the truck. My driver returned to the Budget location and was told that there were no hand trucks, dollies, or moving blankets in all of Lexington, Kentucky. It took another 2 hours to find moving blankets, which we had to buy, and the moving crew had to load the truck without a hand truck or dolly. The job took took 2 hours longer than it should have, which meant I had to pay double what I had planned to for that job. Maybe this should be a 1-star review instead of 2-stars. :-( I wouldn't use Budget again because of this fiasco.
The lady at the counter was very nice but they didn't have the car tow that we had ordered. We order this truck and tow three weeks in advance. She was on the phone calling everyone but no luck. Not her fault at all. When we called the company number they said they would call us back but NEVER DID. Budget lives up to the name I guess.