Called to let them know I would be there a day late due to a flight cancellation; customer service assured me that if I updated my flight info, they'd update my reservation. I arrived around 3pm at Ithaca-Thompkins airport the next day to find that Budget's desk is closed at 1pm Saturdays. No heads-up from customer service, no alternative solutions provided. We went next door to Hertz who was happy to help us, friendly, and had multiple vehicles to choose from. read more

This location is easy to access and small enough that it's never TOO chaotic when wanting to pick up a car. The employees have always been helpful and efficient, and the drop-off is pretty simply. But two things: first, the drop off of the car isn't very convenient to where you need to return the keys. The return parking lot is on the other side of the building of this (very small) airport. And then there's no easy way to get back to the front of the location other than walking a longer way. It's not awful and is totally possible, but it's also awkward and kind of annoying. And oddly enough, I never get a receipt from this place. At Enterprise, if I drop off a car after hours, I always have a receipt emailed to me whenever the shop opens. But at this Budget, I have never received a receipt from a drop off. And they tell you to turn in your documentation/paperwork when you drop the key off, so you're kind of left with no paperwork? It's so strange, and I wonder if this is Budget-specific or if this is location-specific. Interesting. Either way, this location is the only Budget in Ithaca and is conveniently located near my home, so I'll still continue using it. But it does come with its downsides... read more

The absolute worst! Customer service is exceptionally rude and barely tries to address customer grievances. My partner and I were travelling and made a prepaid reservation under my name. Unfortunately, we realized that my driver's license won't be valid at the time of the trip. We proactively called them up to change the reservation to my partner's name. They assured us that this is quite straightforward and all we had to do was to cancel the original reservation and make a new one. When we tried doing that, they hiked up the price by $150 and charged us $50 cancellation fee. Ended up not doing business with them and 0/10 would not recommend. read more

I rarely leave reviews but the employee who dealt with us was so unnecessarily rude that I just had to write this. I don't think I've ever been treated so badly by a sales assistant, ever. I noticed him being rude to some customers before me who had little English and I bit my lip when he spoke to me in a condesending and rude tone. I needed a car. But I couldn't put up with him when he wouldn't give me any time to consider what insurance option I wanted to contract. "Come on sir, make your decision right now, right now or leave", "we can end this right now", "if you don't like the price I can charge you more or you can leave right now". Seriously it was very upsetting. I left and went to Hertz. On my way out I passed by to tell him that I had rented from Hertz and that it cost more but I was happy cause they treated me civily. He told me, in these words " Go. Get out now!" This was in the airport hall. I can honestly say I gave him no reason for his behaviour. I didn't provoke. I wasn't rude or slow. I did get annoyed and told him I didn't want to rent from him but I did not insult or use insulting language or raise my voice. This man (older gent, grey hair, approx 70 years) is the most abusive sales person I have ever encountered. I've seen him described in other reviews here. Its the same guy! What a horrible, horrible man. read more

DO NOT rent from Budget! I just got hit with a $50 cancellation fee even though I was cancelling more than 48 hours in advance of the reservation - outrageous! By the way, the reason I cancelled was because I found a cheaper rental with Alamo (even with the $50 cancellation fee)! read more

The rate is low for sure. But staff is very rude and unhelpful. When I prepaid and showed up on the site, the white haired guy told me I'm under 25 and can't get the car without a credit card( I have a BOA debit card and he said no). Later I found this was their company policy, that's fine, but at the time I was told about this I was worried and not believing. Instead of trying to explain, the guy just showed me a cold face and raised his voice:" Hey stop talking, you will not get any car here." I turned to Hertz besides their desk and got a car without any problem right away, for three times of the original price though. But at least hertz staff was nice and attentive! read more

I had a confirmed reservation for $110. That day, I called to say I needed to push my pick-up time back 4 hours. I was told that was fine and it would not change anything else about my reservation. When I showed up the price was $163. That is a $53 increase. Apparently they considered the delayed pick-up time "new" reservation. The guy at the counter was of no help. I called customer service and all they could tell me was that there was no way for them to change the price. It did not matter that I was told the price would stay the same, whoever told me that was wrong, and they could not help me. I can't imagine ever booking with this company again. But what really infuriated me was their complete refusal to make this right. It was the end of the day and all the other counters were closed, so I have no choice but to pay the higher price. I have rented plenty of cars in the past. I have NEVER been up-charged for changing the pickup time, and if there have ever been problems with a rental, someone had the authority to make it right. Heck, just give me a $53 "Sorry We Screwed Up" discount to make it come out even. I tried calling customer service again afterwards to give them one last chance to make this right. I was on hold for a few minutes, then got disconnected, and never heard back. The problem is not just the location, it is the company itself. read more

This place is ok. It's Ithaca, you're limited. I have had great service here when helped by Chris, but there is another rep here named Roger with whom I've never had a nice exchange. He just has an attitude and acts like he would like to do as little as possible for you. But my cars have always been ok and getting them and returning them has been simple. My only complaint really is having to deal with Roger. read more

WARNING: REQUEST and KEEP ALL YOUR RECEIPTS (GAS & DROPOFF)! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An awful place. I returned the car on time (within 24 hr) but was overcharged for one more day. I called their customer service and found out that they put my drop-off time as sometime next day instead of 10:40 pm that day evening. I wonder if they did this on purpose. I am still waiting for the investigation to get my refund. The staff was not around when I arrived to return my car at 10:15 pm. I waited eagerly with other costomers for almost 30 minutes (they close at 11 pm). read more

My wife and kids are spending the summer in Upstate NY on her parents farm. On a break from work, I came up to take them on a quick road trip. Not wanting to use one of my in-laws cars, we decided to rent a car from Budget. The first car I was given, a new Ford Focus, developed a transmission fault code and problem, within 10 miles of driving it. I brought it back and got a somewhat smokey smelling VW Jetta. After transferring all of our luggage and 2 car seats, we continued on an otherwise uneventful vacation to the 1000 islands region of NY. When I went to return the car, there was a very long line and one rep. He said it was okay for me to just drop the keys in the return box. Later on, I realized I had not given him an email to send a receipt. Upon reconciliation of my credit card account this month, I realized I was charged $248.29 instead of the $171 quoted me. I called the local number several times but got no answer. I let it ring through to the national call center and the lady on the phone said I had been charged $67 for gas. I let her know that in the literally 1000s of cars I have rented over the years, I have NEVER returned one any less than full. She asked if I had a receipt for the gas. I said I had paid with my credit card both times the car was fueled - Once at a Hess station in Cicero NY, and once at Petes Grocery in Ithaca NY. Both transactions showed on my credit card statement online as "Automatic Fuel Dispenser". The lady said this was not good enough and that I would only be reimbursed if I had an actual receipt. I let her know that I did not have one. She said my only course of action was to call the location, which I did. I called and called and called...and called. Finally someone named Roger answered and I explained the story to him. He said he would leave a note for his manager to call me. Somehow I don't have a lot of faith that this is going to happen. I never said a word about the first car problem; it happens. This egregious charge is inexcusable though. read more

Yikes- I got charged $9 per gallon to refill my tank- plus they cost $50 a day more than any other rental agency. Will NEVER use again !

I rented a car from Budget at the Ithaca N.Y. airport, and will never rent from this company again. I picked up my car and immediately noticed the tire pressure light was on for one of the tires as I was driving out of the airport. The pressure was 28 pounds shown on the dashboard and should be about 36-38 pounds, so not terrible. It was 10 degrees, so I assumed the tire lost air because of temperature. I drove five miles to my hotel in town, and added air the next morning. The tire was slowly losing air the next few days. It was a four day rental, and I added air again before returning to the airport on the fourth day. When I returned the car, I shared my frustration. The response was it probably has a nail in the tire. I responded, well you better fix it before sending the car out again. No apology, nothing. Two months later I received a letter saying they were going to charge my credit card $175 for a new tire, and that it was damaged on my rental. What took so long, did they send the car out again without fixing it? I drove the car less than 100 miles and at no point was the air pressure so low that it would damage the tire. I called customer service to explain, and they offered to reduce it to $125. They also said there was no record of me telling the clerk of my problem. My daughter was with me when I added air and when I returned the car telling them of the problem. I called back and shared more details with customer service and asked them to waive the charge, and said my credit card company would like me to try to resolve it before disputing. They said there was nothing they could do and had already charged my card $175. I called my credit card company and disputed the charge. Next time, I take the car back to a different rental company and ask for a new car. My guess is it will never happen with a reputable rental car company. read more

Rent a Pogo Stick instead to get to your location of interest There are three budget employees that I have interacted with at the Ithaca Tompkins airport. The "white haired guy" mentioned in the August 18th, 2012 review is named Chris. When I first approached the counter, he was only "slightly rude" but then immediately upon rejecting the optional liability insurance (give me a break- I've never gotten into an accident and as a college student, I want to pay as little as possible), he took my rejection as if I personally offended him. He then began to explain budget's car policy and explanation of fees while sneaking in snide remarks about how I would be screwed if I got into accident. Chris, my undoubtedly underpaid friend.. please calm down. Also, he has fondness for the phrase "absolutely not". For fun, ask him a non-serious and innocuous question like "Can I place my covered drinks in the car's cup holder?" and watch him deliver his catch phrase. In addition, they will charge you multiple times for the same traffic violation and then implicate in the charges fake characters (possibly other customers) who you have never heard of before. I am not joking. Save yourself the trouble and rent from Enterprise. read more

The customer service rep was fairly rude to the customer ahead of me. The car was unclean and over scratched bumpers which were not obvious since the parking lot not illuminated. Also the car had a staunch smell. I tried to call in the customer service reps and got an attitude for not having caught it when I picked up the car. Next time I'll just cab it.... read more

Never use budget...I made my reservation three weeks early to avoid the stress. On the day of my reservation I showed up on time to encounter the rudest employee. This man was in a Grassroots hat a holy t-shirt and sweatpants representing the budget company. Without prior permission this man swiped my de bit card and did a credit check, then proceeded to tell me that I was denied to rent the car, do to my credit. There I stood with my 9 year old, without a vehicle for a very important trip . I asked several questions about why he needed to do the credit check when the money was available and the driver's license was valid. I always had rented my rental vehicles through Enterprise and never have had any problems. This rude man had no answers for me and could not show me in the rules and regulations where it said he was able to do a credit check. Lesson learned never do business with budget, stick to Enterprise. I had to cancel my week long vacation due to their ignorance. All vehicles in the Ithaca area for spring break week, had been reserved therefore there was nothing available . read more