Budget® Reviews
Budget called just before we went to pick up truck to tell us that they did not have a 26' truck that we'd reserved and only had a 16' truck. We had to make 2 trips instead of one, the second trip with no moving help as the HireAHelper workers had another job to go to after one trip. I will not be renting from Budget Truck Rental again. The person at the office did apologize but it was really inconvenient and double the time it should've taken to move.
Horrible experience this was my first time using Budget and they gave me a old truck that broke down multiple times it took me 6 days to get from phx to California, and charged me almost $1000.00 truck was noisy,old,shakes,pulls to the left and the ramp kept coming out of the rear. DO NOT USE BUDGET (WARNING)
We used a 26-foot Budget rental truck for our move along with a car carrier trailer. The truck was in great shape, and everything was operational. We had no issues with this rental. The only call out is the location we picked the truck up at did not have furniture pads or a hand truck. Other than that, the rental truck and process were great.
The truck got a flashing check engine light as soon as we got it. Customer service and roadside assistance were short with me on the phone, provided inaccurate updates when they updated at all, and were not timely in my replacement- took 23 hours to get a new truck. They also charged me differently than I was quoted, which is against the guarantee. The facility was closed where we needed to return the truck, and we were not given instructions on how to do so. The gas mileage was also terrible, and it cost over $200 in fuel. The truck leaked when it rained, and didn't have A/C that we could change, so you just dealt with getting it whenever the truck decided it was time for you to have it.
They did not have the truck I had reserved, and gave me a cargo van with a half-drunk cup of old coffee in the cup holder. The truck was damaged all the way around, including having duct tape to hold on the windshield. I had arranged pick up in one City/State, with drop off in another City/State. When I tried to return the truck before the time stated on the contract, the place was closed. I was told by Budget on the phone to return it fist thing the next day, which I did. They tried to charge me for an extra date, but I got my money back. I will NEVER use them again. Very lousy customer service.
This is where it gets even better. Budget gave us a truck with a check engine light on, claiming it wasn’t an issue and to ignore it. Well it overheated while fully loaded with our possessions while going up a mountain. We had to have police and the fire department come. Then the truck was impounded with our possessions in it. We had to get a new truck in the morning while waiting for that one to be towed to our new house. The reservation for the new truck wasn’t in the system when we arrived to pick it up and that location was sold out so we had to drive across town to another location to get a different truck that also has the check engine light on. Also, it’s impossible to get through to customer service for help and when you do, they are clueless and dismissive
This was my 2nd try at renting a 16 ft box truck. The first time was on June 29, 2023 but even though I had a confimation number I was told they did not have a truck for me on the day scheduled. This caused me to have to pay another months rent at the Public Storage Facility. This cost me $363. The second time went ok and I was able to pick up the truck and carry out the move from Novato to Clearlake.