Budget® Reviews
Our budget rental went fine. The customer service office wasn't great when we first picked up the van (tried to charge about $500 more than official quoted price), but once resolved it went fine. I got a flat tire along the road and they sent someone out to fix it at no cost to me. The van was also in good shape.
I rented a truck to help move my friend’s belongings from an apartment in Southern IL and a storage locker he had in another city in Central IL to Cleveland, OH. The man I worked with when picking up the truck was not very friendly and almost made me feel like I was annoying him when I was there. The truck itself made the trip, but it was old, the inside of the cab was sticky, the seats were unbelievably uncomfortable, and the whole truck shook while driving. It was a horrible experience and because of this I will probably never rent from Budget again. The other places were a little more expensive, but it might have been worth the extra money.
Truck did NOT run well. Could not go over 60 mph without a check engine light coming on indicating "stop engine now." Truck couldn't handle large hills/mountains well either, often going 45 mph going up big hills. When returning the truck, the gentleman said he was immediately taking the truck out of commission. I would like money back for our inconvenience. Will be following up with Budget on this issue.
The Budget website allowed us to schedule a pick up at a location AFTER it was closed. You can imagine for a scheduled move the headache this caused. Customer service scheduled another pick up for the following morning, and when we arrived they had no trucks available. Eventually the local guy found us a truck at a nearby facility and it was very old and we worried about it making it the entire 3 hr drive.
I rented a 16' truck through Budget. When I arrived to pick up the truck, the one that was designated for me would not start, so they moved me into another truck. This truck had wood flooring in the back that was splintered pretty badly. Once I was ready for my trip, I tried to turn the headlights on, and the entire panel of two different switches fell into the dashboard. It was a little rough, but I was able to fish them out with a nail file I had in my purse. Once I got on the highway, I noticed pretty quickly the truck would not go above 74 MPH. I believe there was a governor lock or something similar on it.
Price was fantastic, truck was perfect. Highly recommend calling ahead to confirm date, time and details of pickup. Location we used advertised that they were open at 8:30am and they did not open until 9am. They also did not have the moving blankets we requested. I would use them again yet I would call to confirm all the details
Didn't have my truck after I drove 30 minutes to go pick it up. Said they tried to call me but didn't have my phone number (this was a lie - my phone number was clearly printed on the order, which I showed a screenshot of). Offered me a 26' truck that leaked, then said that probably wasn't a good idea. Ended up having to go an hour out of my way to get a Uhaul, which I should have done in the first place.
Truck was fine and the rate was good. Customer service picking up the vehicle was horrendous. Arranged to pick the truck up at 8 and when we arrived they were unaware that we had a reservation and didn't have any vehicles on site. It took 90 minutes to get us an alternate vehicle. Dropping off the truck was fine.
I booked a 16' truck 2 months prior to my move. 12 hours before my scheduled pick-up time, the manager informed me my truck had broken down, but not to worry as he would call the Inventory Manager and have another truck driven to my location. I call the day of to ask if the truck is ready for pick-up, all he says is "Call customer service." I called Customer Service. And was given "warnings" for crying, asking about a replacement truck, and after no help was given or remorse told with no uncertainty "Have a nice day." I have never felt less valued as a customer, less sane as someone being told Budget has done no wrong and isn't held accountable for the absolute nightmare of finding a truck the day before the 1st of the month!
The gentleman that helped us was friendly and courteous, and the truck was clean and in good shape. We had actually chosen a smaller truck but there wasn't any available at our pick up time and so we were up graded to the next size up at no additional charge. As it turns out the larger truck was the right size. I don't remember why we had chosen Budget but I'm glad we did.
I reserved a truck, they had it ready to go. It ran fine and got the job done. They didn't tack on 15 side charges and fees for this and that baloney like you haul, I just paid the agreed price. Never once felt like I might be getting screwed, it was refreshing to do business like it was 1975 again. The office was at least that old for sure.
The truck had some minor issues--sun visor missing on the driver's side, and the passenger side windshield wipers not attached but merely pinned against the windshield by the wiper arm on that side (good thing it was a dry day or the windshield would have been gouged by the wiper arm if I had turned it on without noticing the situation.