6.0
Vehicle was not ready when we arrived and staff seemed surprised that we needed the vehicle we reserved- as if there was no way to look ahead and see what was needed on the incoming reservations. We were asked to wait for one to be cleaned. A full 30-45 minutes later (really think it was closer to 45 minutes) we were told our vehicle was ready. The suburban had very clearly been smoked in, but since we didn’t have another 45 minutes to wait, we took it and bought air fresheners/ left the windows down. In clearing the car to load it, it was clear that in cleaning the vehicle, they didn’t move any seats. There was candy, tissues, random playing cards, dryer sheets, other air fresheners, and other trash under all of the seats. I had to get a bag for trash- it wasn’t a few missed items but many. It had also not been vacuumed at any time recently. I wouldn’t care as much about all of this if we didn’t wait for so long for it to be allegedly cleaned. When returning the vehicle, we were told to just leave the keys in it and they would email a receipt. Pretty normal procedure so we did. Yesterday, three full days after it was due, I got a text from budget asking if I wanted to extend my rental since I hadn’t turned it in yet. Three days?! It took three days before they noticed it was “missing”? Also- it has OnStar. They couldn’t just see it was in the rental lot? I called the number and was rerouted to the budget help line. I had to repeat the problem several times before it was understood. Then I had to recite where we picked it up, when we picked it up, where we returned it, when we returned it, where we parked it, what kind of make/model/ color. Wouldn’t have bothered me if I hadn’t already given the rental agreement number. That had more than half of this info linked and had I not already given the return info twice. Then, after all of that, I was told it would be escalated and take 5-7 days to resolve and to wait for an email. I understand that the person at the call center had no way to resolve it, but 5-7 days to find a car that was returned- someone just didn’t log it back in? Seems crazy to me. The good news is I received an email within an hour confirming my return with my final receipt. This was our second budget experience in 6 months and I remain unimpressed.Reviewed 6 Aug 2026
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8.0
Check out kinda took a long time despite me having pre-filled out the form. Part of the issue was the card reader machine tho.Reviewed 4 June 2026
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2.0
Very disorganized. Car not ready at reservation time. No receipt after I turned it in.Reviewed 25 Nov 2025
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2.0
Very bad customer service.Reviewed 28 July 2025
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2.0
Despite our reservation, Budget did not have a car available and canceled our reservation after we had canceled other travel plans.Reviewed 17 July 2025
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2.0
The car itself was fine. The pick up process was a disaster. No workers, no cars available, and a 3.5 hour wait at the airport for a vehicle. Had to cancel two plans and was stuck with twin 10 month old babies standing in a line from 12:30-3:45. Unacceptable service.Reviewed 24 Oct 2024
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10.0
I arrived just shy of midnight, so I was redirected to the Avis counter. The Avis representative was superb! He was friendly, humorous, and helpful. I paid in advance for a car seat, but there wasn’t one available upon arrival. I accepted the next best thing, a booster seat - though it’s really not nearly as safe (or possibly even legal) for my 3yo. As for the vehicle, the only one remaining was a larger SUV than I’d requested. That was a pleasant surprise - thank you! As my stay in SC went along, I realized I needed to extend my reservation. That process was so easy and pleasant. All in all, I am beyond pleased with my experience. Thank you all for having wonderful staff and vehicle options.Reviewed 18 May 2024
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2.0
They didn't rent me the car. I need to claim.Reviewed 16 Dec 2023
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4.0
I specifically sought out to rent a RAV4 because I am thinking about buying one in the future. I got a confirmation that a Rav would be available when I went to pick up my rental. I was told they only had a few cars left at Budget. I told then confirmation number and basically got a shrug from the desk clerk. I got a a different vehicle instead. The back seat wasn’t clean and front area wasn’t wiped down very well either. Why if they know people have reservations, wasn’t there enough cars in the lot to accommodate? I doubt I’ll rent from Budget again. Kayak also let me down.Reviewed 27 Nov 2023
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10.0
They were accommodating when our plans changed !!Reviewed 9 Oct 2023
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2.0
Waited one hour and 45 minutes for car to be available. Then key fob did not work. Finally, two hours later received a downgrade because it was the only vehicle available but was charged the same. Will never deal with Budget again!Reviewed 16 Oct 2022
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2.0
I rented a car with budget through Kayak. I picked the car up at GSP airport. The car itself was fine except it had a crack in the windshield upon pick up. The man at the pickup counter was nice and had me out the door faster than i'ver experienced with a rental car company. Now I see the HORRIBLE mistake with this. I arranged to drop the car off at the Atlanta airport, and when I arrived to the budget drop off they could not find my reservation in the system. He told me to take it to avis, that is was an avis rental. (Nope, its definitely a budget rental). I go to Avis and they say "no this is a budget rental, we can't take it". So I tell them the guy over there wont take it either and directed me here. I was then prompted to an empty counter, and I had to track down an employee to help. About 2 hours later I finally spoke with who I presume is a manger, and she could not help me other than to accept the car back into the companies inventory (Avis and Budget are apparently the same company). As it turns out, the man at GSP did not close out the rental on their end. I was directed to call the GSP airport back and speak with them to have them close it. I cannot get ahold of anyone at GSP or anywhere in customer service to resolve this issue. I have no clue what to do from here. No one will get back to me. This has been a horrible experience and I will never be renting from them again.Reviewed 19 Sept 2022
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