Budget Car RentalReviews 

Be careful. Budget have charged my credit card with £400 for excess insurances that I specifically rejected as I had paid for my own insurance policy. As a result I am chasing a franchise office in Dubrovnik who put me on hold whenever I call them. It is a massive fraud.

Absolute worst customer service, rude and unprofessional. Reserved a car at 11pm - flight landed at 11:05 pm. Got to budget desk - closed of course. I called customer service and they told me “well if you had planned better you would have got there in time to get your car, you should come back in the morning”. This was from a clearly overseas “employee”. Avoid this rude unamerican company that clearly does not give a crap! What a shame it would be if all their expensive equipment at this empty front desk needed to be replaced hahaha

Received a confirmation on the 17th of the month for the 26th through the 29th and on the 26th was told that the truck was not available. My family had traveled over 500 miles, on a limited time budget, to help move things and we had no truck. The Budget inventory people told me to call U-Haul or Penske. They just left us hanging.

I'm very disappointed on the way I was treated and lied to I'm definitely going to the better Business bureau and leaving a very truthful and bad statement about Budget customer service and lies and also on Google

Beware Scam!!!! Budget rental car Federal Circle JFK Airport. Worst rental car experience ever.

I picked up the rental and was at first very pleased that the car was big enough to hold all of my family's luggage comfortably.... but regrettably I failed to check how much gas was in the tank until after I had already passed the Budget exit gate and was driving out near the Airport.

There was only between a half and three quarters of a tank of gas in the car, b ut of course the paperwork stated that the tank was supposed to have been full.
Rather than turn around and make a big deal of it, I decided to let it go and just return the car full and take the hit. Big mistake.

After a two week vacation, I stopped at an Exxon and put $54 worth of gas in to fill the tank completely, which was about $7 over the amount that the pump had first automatically shut off at. I forced the extra amount in to be sure, and then drove straight to the car returns.

When I got to Budget car return at Federal Circle there was about 15 cars being returned with only 1 worker outside who wasn't even checking in any of those cars. She was just walking around. She told me to just leave the keys in the car and go. I did as I was told. Another Big misake!

Low and behold I get my credit card bill and I was charged $250 extra for not filing the tank. TOTAL SCAM!

I called to complain and was told to simply take a screenshot of my credit card statement charge from Exxon and email it to them. I did as instructed, and showed proof of the $54 charge from Exxon on the day of the return, but my claim was denied. Budget later said that I hadn't proved I actually purchased gas with the $54 statement charge.

They scammed me twice and must be doing it to people all the time.

NEVER use Budget rental car, especially the one located at JFK Airport Federal Circle!

I wish I could give these thieves 0 stars.

I had a reservation for what I thought was a Volkswagen Jetta or similar size. The agent kept telling me that I had reserved a "mystery car" and said they only had minivans left. After I explain to her, I didn't feel comfortable driving a minivan, she smartly told me that if I pay extra she can give me an SUV. And that was the only option she gave me and she kept saying mystery call over and over again where it got really annoying. I asked to speak with a manager and she pointed to the man standing right next to her and the minute I turned to speak to him. He just lifted his head and yelled out next to the person in line behind me even though he heard everything that was happening. I just took out my phone and reserved a similar car at National which was the next counter over. Not only was I able to get the kind of car I wanted for the same price, but the empathetic counter agent who heard my issue upgraded me to a full size car that I didn't even ask for.
So instead of budget just trying to work with me; they got no rental from me and the money that I spent went to their competitor. The customer service agent was no help and neither was the corporate #. This is the second (and last) time I've had surly rental agent at this location.

Watch out when checking in. Make sure what you are signing and put your initials .agents there take advantage of all younger people and mislead them. I had insurance that covers all of it on my own , but they added stuff I didnt ask for. I signed , thinking what the agent said was correct by trusting him. I end up paying $420 at the end for that. Very untrustworthy and deviant agents. Be aware of that. I will never rent from them again. Never.

The most absolute terrible customer service I’ve ever experienced. I will never rent from this company ever again. We went on a trip for my daughter‘s senior trip to Jacksonville, Florida. The rental experience was not great to begin with a long, wait time and car wasn’t as clean as possible. And after our rental we cleaner the rugs off in the car from using it for 5 days and got charged a $250 cleaning fee for excessive dirt and it was not the case. we tried finding it and they said pretty much they don’t care and that we needed to pay it. Such poor customer service. I have never seen a company that expects you to return your car cleaner than what you got it so there people don’t have to clean it before they have it rented again. If you ever rent from them, be aware and take a bunch of pictures before you go so that they don’t try to scam me out of 250 bucks because reading forums it says that they do this a lot when people go to Florida. Be aware of this and if you can at all, don’t rent from this company.

Car Rental 6/15-23/2026:

I was reserved for a Toyota Camry or comparable. Sent away in a Toyota Tacoma with more than 36,000 miles on it, a pickup truck that had been ridden hard and hung up wet. Worse, when I turned on the Tacoma, the "maintenance required" light came on. The utterly unhelpful counter clerk would neither rent me one of the sedans in his inventory nor perform the maintenance required on the Tacoma. Before departing, I expressed concern to a succession of three Budget customer service reps through the 1-800 number. None would help. They sent me on my six-hour interstate drive with the pickup truck that required maintenance, breaching their written contract and endangering me and other drivers on the road. The third customer service rep with whom I spoke offered a $100 discount ... toward a future car rental. As if I'd reserve a car with Budget again. Heard of a win-win-win? This experience was a lose-lose-lose: loser car (pickup truck), loser customer service and loser company. Seek your ride elsewhere.

Budget car rental in Split, Croatia. Staff rude and unhelpful. Issue with insurance, only interested selling inflated car insurance. Clearly looking for commission. Behaviours including rolling of eyes, speaking in local language about customer who did not understand the language. Would go lower with rating if possible. Spoilt the beginning of the holiday. Other Croatians met in the area were the exact opposite - kind, polite and well mannered.

Been on hold for two hours asked for 4 ring backs and got nothing. And that's before I get to picked the car up. Do not hire from budget anywhere in the world

This is a review of Budget car rental at ORLANDO airport USA.
Our family had 3 cars and we were all scammed for the unlimited E toll charges which are 3 times the price that we could have paid if Budget had offered us any choices. I even asked as a rude man ushered us through 'what about the tolls?' He said' It's all done'

Budget are scamming thousands of people at Orlando airport and they are breaking Florida consumer laws by not offering customers choices, we saw nothing written down prior to signing the agreement. Also I think they probably hope that international customers can't be bothered after leaving the country. We will not use Budget or Avis again as they are both the same company.

Budget Rental Car turned what should have been a simple vehicle return into a two-hour ordeal that consumed a significant portion of my vacation.

I was informed that returning the vehicle downtown would result in an unexpected additional charge of approximately $200. Despite attempting to resolve the issue through customer service, I spent nearly two hours being transferred, waiting on hold, and receiving conflicting information. During that time, I was unable to enjoy the activities I had planned for my trip.

The most frustrating part was not the fee itself—it was the complete lack of ownership, consistency, and customer service. Every representative seemed to provide different information, and no one appeared empowered to solve the problem.

Vacation time is valuable. I can earn back money; I cannot get back two hours of a once-a-year trip. A company that depends on travelers should understand that.

Based on this experience, I would strongly recommend that anyone renting from Budget obtain written confirmation of every aspect of their reservation and return arrangements. Had I known how difficult this would be, I would have chosen a different rental company.

This was one of the most frustrating customer service experiences I have had in years.

I made a reservation, and my flight was delayed. I called to ensure I could still pick up my car, and was told my reservation would be honored for 24 hours after my expected pick-up time. I arrived within 24hrs, but was told my reservation could not be honored. This caused me much additional cost, and caused me and my family to have to stand in a train for 2 hours to get to our initial destination. I called customer service, and even asked to speak to a supervisor (Filip); but they refused to honor my reservation and rate. I'm very disappointed with Budget Rental Car.

I regret so badly that I haven't checked the reviews before using this service... thank god I'm a cautious person and I recorded a video of the car I rented, as they first tried to argue damage was done, even though it was there before. Then, they charged me extra for fuel even though I filled the tank full. I tried to speak to them but it didn't solve anything.

When we picked up our mid-size vehicle, it was not in good shape on the outside body with many scraps, scratches, and a dent on the front bumper. The girl at the counter was very short and was not very explanatory. We were also charged for an extra insurance coverage when coverage had already been purchased through Alliance at the time of the on line booking. The bluetooth would work some times and not sometimes. Very unreliable. The return was very impersonal and we did not receive any final receipt so we could see the charges before returning the car. I physical receipt should also be given when the car is taken from the rental location, rather than an email later down the road when there is no way to refuse such charges. Budget rental has always proven to be a good choice, but this one was a FAIL!

This entire experience from start to finish. I reserved the vehicle at 8 am I had to sit there until 10 to get the vehicle. Which made me extremely late to my destination. When I returned the vehicle my charges should have been 298.87 but some how the lady charged me 498.87. She couldn't tell me why. No one at this location knows what they are doing!! Also what was the purpose of me using a major credit card so a deposit can be used but then turned around and used my damn debit card. I will never use this car rental service again. I will make sure everyone knows if I have to stand out front with a sign!!! Do not use this company i repeat DO NOT USE BUDGET!! HORRIBLE COMPANY WORKERS NEED MORE TRAINING!!!

I rented vehicle at SeaTac, Didn't buy their overpriced prepurchase $6.41 a gallon gas. We were only going to be driving 180 miles in the 2 days. Picked it up in a dark garage- it had 390 miles left to empty, ok my car is about that when full. glad I purchased the extra coverage-as soon as we drove into the sunlight - 3 chips in the windshield and door ding on driver's side. Filled up tank 2 days later less than a mile from facility for $5.55 a gallon. 499 miles left to empty! They scanned the vehicle with an electronic device upon return. Employees seem like the couldnt care less about their jobs. The paperwork said I'd returned it with only 10 gallon! They kept my $200 "deposit" and I've sent them receipts and screen shots of the gas gauge. They returned $115, but said they already released the remaining 85 within 72 hours of return. 3 weeks still don't have it.

The booking of our car came to a grinding holt as we arrived early and were told we had to wait until the exact time on our booking to collect the car.
So we waited in the waiting area as the office was in an industrial area and with luggage we had no where to go.

After a couple of hours and witnessing drop offs and pick-ups we overheard a couple drop a car back. The conversation had was that the low pressure light appeared on the dash for the right rear tyre whilst they had the car. They went and pumped the tyre up and it seemed ok. The Office Staff said it was likely due to cold weather.
Around 30 minutes after this interaction we were offered to upgrade our booking as a car had become available and with it being only an extra $15 per day we chose this option.
160 miles later the right rear tyre of the car we had been given blew out, it was completely split. As the car was a hybrid there was no spare tyre, we had to get towed to a tyre shop and pay over $400 for a new tyre to get back on the road.
Budget will not pay us back for this trye, a necessity for the hiring of a vehicle and something that we did not cause.
I would definitely not recommend you entrusting the services of Budget Car rentals, they have zero customer service.