Already waited 10 min and probably in for another 20 (if I'm lucky)! The line is ridiculous and there is nowhere near enough staff to handle it. HELP ME!!! read more

Budget - Car Rental Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I cannot even begin to describe the agony of my budget rental experience. Responsibly, I reserved a vehicle online TWICE receiving full confirmation for both, booking the second only after being made aware the DAY OF that the reservation had been lost - this later date caused the price to increase significantly. Upon arrival the Budget counter was short staffed, our clerk helped us at three separate monitors as they proceeded to crash one after another, and his incompetence only became increasingly more apparent. Meanwhile a long line forms behind us. All these inconveniences combined (the nearly doubled rental rate due to THEIR mistake, the embarrassingly under qualified clerk and an hour and a half at the counter!) were never acknowledged by the budget staff let alone apologized for or compensated. As a travel journalist who rents a car 14 days out of the month I will never again rent from Avis/ Budget and I will make a concerted effort to deter my many air BnB guests and friends from out of town from renting there as well. As a business owner I am personally embarrassed for the company and anyone they employ for their deeply unprofessional actions and lack of customer service. read more

Originally prepaid $344. Final invoiced receipt read $756. STAY away from this rental car company. The line was incredibly long to check in and returning the car, I was charged for an additional 11 gallons of fuel (at $10 per gallon plus fees) when I brought the car back completely full. Also charged for roadside assistance and insurance when I specifically opted out of them. I even told the woman at the front desk I didn't want them. I'm still trying to get my money back and I don't think I will be able to get the insurance and roadside assistance back, I'm going to have to dispute them with the credit card company. The worst part about this is Budget is acting like it's MY fault all of this is happening. Luckily I took a photo of the dashboard before turning the car in and I sent the photo I took and they're still asking for bank statements proving I filled it up (even though the odometer reading in the photo matches exactly with what was on my invoice). They are basically calling me a liar and as a first time customer, I guarantee this will be the last time. Some of the worst customer service I've ever had and it's taken 2+ hours of my time trying to get my money back and I still don't have it... read more

So we get to the rental office, to get into a very long line. The line is not surprising but the slow speed at which customers are being called to the desk is (we waited in line for more than an hour, even though several stations were open at the desk). Finally, after we had our turn at bat, we understood why. We are called to the desk by someone whose name tag says Irene. Irene is so friendly that it doesn't make sense at first. She treats us like her long lost friends or even relatives. "What brings you to Chicago today?" "Are you familiar with the area?" "Where did you fly in from?" "Oh, I lived there for several years back in the day." We've never encountered such a garrulous person at a car rental agency before. And it seemed a bit odd that such a conversation would be proceeding with so many people in line. Then it comes: Irene makes a very slippery statement, along the lines of, "So I have a wonderful car for you today. It's a Mustang convertible and it drives like a dream. You will really love it." OK, time out. Yes, we're tired from a long flight but something seems fishy here. And so we ask, "Is this the deal that we signed up for online?" Irene doesn't want to use the word no but it turns out that she was trying to move us into a more expensive rental than what we had signed up for. And a little mental/psychological tug of war proceeds, with Irene trying every trick in the book to upsell us when we don't want to be upsold. As politely as possible, we decline the offer. But the slippery, sleazy upselling does not end at that point. Irene then tries the same thing, all over again. "Oh, OK: well, here's a car you will really love and we'll get you into this one today." Wife and I look at each other, again puzzled. Then to Irene: "So now we're talking about the car we signed up for online, right?" Same refusal to give a straight answer but no, this was another attempt at an upsell, which again we decline as politely as possible. At this point, Irene's smile is starting to wear thin. We are no longer her long-lost friends or relatives. But smoke really starts to come out of her ears with the attempt at the next upsell: insurance. We took care of that in advance, online, too. But Irene has all kinds of tricks and techniques to get us into a much pricier policy. And here she uses scare tactics, showing disgust at the receipt we show her for the policy we purchased, through CarRentals.com. "Oh, that's not OUR policy. You got that through someone else. And if you ever need to file a claim, it's going to be VERY DIFFICULT." So Irene tries her darnest to move us from a policy that costs $11 a day (which we would have had to keep anyway) to the Budget one that would cost $30 a day, meaning we would be carrying $41 in insurance daily, instead of the $11 we had signed up for. After a huge struggle, we maintain our ground, declining this latest upsell. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE: Yes, another attempt at an upsell, this time in terms of prepaid gas. There's a very complicated bunch of B.S. where Irene tries to get us to agree to fork over some bucks for the convenience of not having to fill the tank ourselves before turning in the car. It's another big tug of war, unpleasant, but we stand our ground. We will fill the tank ourselves and avoid that fee, thank you. Oh, prior to that, there were some other attempted upsells, like satellite radio, which we got for FREE at Thrifty, Dollar and PayLess. Irene wants to sign us up for pay-to-play on this, which we also declined. Yes, I love satellite radio but for an extended trip, I'll pass. Those daily charges can really add up. At the end of the interview, we are no longer on Irene's A list. We are no longer her long-lost friends or relatives. We are in the category of personae non gratae, unwelcome and undesirable individuals, who have deprived Irene of the bonuses she would have made had she successfully upsold us on all those items. To BUDGET, we would say: It's a mistake on your part to set up your system so that consumers are taken advantage of this way. People are tired after a long flight. Their guard is down. You know that. The ploy that Irene is using might work on a lot of people, maybe even on most people she gets to stand in front of her. BUT ONLY THE FIRST TIME. WE WILL NEVER GO BACK TO BUDGET AFTER THIS EXPERIENCE. And the negative publicity you will get for this will make this type of scam (and it is a scam, even if it is not illegal) not worthwhile for you in the long run. Finally, to the managers at Budget, I would say this: How would YOU like it if you or your family members were treated this way? How would that make you feel? And what about all the time you are wasting for all the people in line who could zip through that line so much faster, if that monkey business were not going on? Shame on you, really, for making things worse in the world when you could be making them better. Get a conscience and start thinking about THE GOLDEN RULE. read more

Quickest Friendliest Service EVER!!! Return process was very easy to follow with a lot of Friendly staff around and guiding you where you need to go/be. Bus service was also GREAT and very quick. Mahalo (Thank You) CHICAGO!!! read more

Budget - Fastest return service ever!! Easiest and quick back to the airport... Wow!! - Car Rental Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

WAIT.WAIT.WAIT. Our flight landed at 9:30 pm and by the time we got to the rental place it was 9:45 pm [not too late], there were two employees assisting in the Budget terminal and despite that we had to wait in a line for 1.5 hours! My cousin had booked the car with them online due to cheaper and better deal. By the time it was our turn, we were exhausted of waiting in a line and basically just gave the lady who was helping us the generic breakdown. It was neither of our first time renting a car so we knew the basic questions one asks and we just gave our responses before she even asked us any questions. No upgrade. No insurance. Will fill up the gas. etc...I felt like renting a car was a longer process here in comparison to buying a new car. She was helpful though, we asked her for few places where we can get change at this hour [it was past midnight] because we will be needing it for the toll roads. We ended up renting Totoya RAV4 because that was the only car available at that time for 5+ passengers. Getting the car is pretty simple, as well as it is pretty easy to get out of the lot. I would suggest to inspect the car for scratches or dings and if possible take pictures before you agree with their employee that everything is great. Returning a car - it is a lot easier process than renting it. However do give yourself some time since the road in that area is quite busy and for the check out process. read more

This place was a mess. They ask if I was okay with an suv they gave me a pick up truck. Then I walked back downstairs and asked for another. They said they didn't have any vehicles. Then they gave me a car with cigarettes holes and smelled like cigarettes. Never again will I use budget at o'hare. read more

Long lines with 1/2 hour wait. Attendant apologized but said lines were " normal." One and two star ratings are well deserved.

Avoid at all costs. The worst service ever. Waited in line for over 30 minutes. No employees. F****ing horrible. Avoid avoid avoid

All i have to say is make sure you read what you are signing!! I made the mistake and assumed that the attendant listened to me when I told her I did NOT want the insurance. When i returned the car, they handed me a bill for $320 for insurance I declined in the first place. When i called the main line, they told me since I had approved it, I am responsible. Will NEVER rent from Budget again!! read more

We rented a Dodge Charger for our annual family visit in August. We chose to include a transponder for the tollways. However, Budget did not tell us about the $4.00 per day "convenience fee" they would later charge us. We did a thorough walk around the car both before renting and upon return. We didn't notice any damage on the car. Also, the agent who checked us in when we returned the car did not notice any damage. Two months after our trip we received a bill for $200 for a damaged bumper cover. On the internet I found several reports of Budget charging renters for damaged cars. These charges were sent months later. Buyers beware! Apparently Budget checks out cars at return, then washes the cars and has independent contractors examine the cars for damage. They say they can send bills for damages even two years later! We will never rent from Budget again read more

Worst service. They have no idea what they are doing. Waited an hour for them to bring the car seats that we ordered well in advance. Writing this review to make sure I never use horrible company! read more

I rented a car at O'Hare. I parked it in a No Parking 4pm-630pm area, and the City of Chicago towed it to the impound yard. I took an Uber to the Impound yard to get it back, and the impound would not release it because the rental agreement listed a different car and a different license plate number. I called the Budget number and the person on the line said there was nothing they could do, and I would have to go to an open Budget location to get a new paper copy with the correct car described on it. It was 6pm and every Budget office in Chicago was closed except O'Hare and Midway airports. I had to take an Uber to go rent a Zipcar, drive to Midway, wait in line for 40 minutes, then drive back to the impound yard, where I arrived after midnight, incurring an additional $50 impound fee. I got to my hotel in Hinsdale at 1:30am. This all happened because you idiots screwed up the rental car agreement. Aside from me parking in the wrong place, this was all your fault. You cost me $95 for the Zipcar, three $30 Uber charges and the extra $50 for the delay in getting the car back. You owe me $235, plus I wasted seven hours of my family vacation and had to cancel a dinner with a friend of mine. I am flabbergasted at the level of incompetence you have. I now will never use Budget or Avis ever again. You are lazy, incompetent people, with a bad business management system and poor business practices. I am telling everyone I know about how badly you screwed this up. I am going to go online and post this everywhere I can. You Idiots. Also, at no point did any Budget person say "oh my God, I'm so sorry this happened." No apology, no admission of responsibility, nothing. Idiots, careless, stupid, lazy idiots. read more

I was impressed with the service I received. Shout out to Christie at the fastbreak counter who was very sweet and patient while working by herself with a long line of people. I love the car that she gave us which was an suv. Better than I expected. I would definitely use budget again even if it's a few dollars more than some of the others it's worth it. read more

I should have reserved with someone that had clean cars on the lot. I didn't use my fastbreak number, mistake on my part. Which means I get to wait in line for someone to check me in. Then I get to wait again for another rep to get me a car. Oh wait! Sorry but your special rate from costco is not valid. What!? Fine, give me the full rate. I am trying to attend a funeral and this is the last thing I want to stress over. Oh wait, the system took your coupon. Sounds good, I was about to leave for National (where I booked my last trip). Get to the car, filthy. Why is there water pooled up in the tray. I should have read the reviews before I booked. Hope this helps them either clean up their operations or for people to make an informed decision. Safe travels. read more

Budget - Water in cup holder. - Car Rental Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I would consider hitchhiking to renting another car from this agency. When we arrived on the school bus sized shuttle bus, there was already a line snaking out the door with about 40 people waiting. I waited outside in broiling heat while husband stood in line. There was ONE clerk working. Admittedly it was lunchtime. The manager finally got involved so there were 3 clerks but that was after waiting 40 minutes. Finally after an hour we got our car and immediately realized someone had been smoking in it and it was semi-disguised by deodorizer. Ugh. Instant headache. So husband went inside and requested a replacement. When we got to the second car, it was locked. Another trip inside to manager who was unable to find key. So a third car was assigned. All in all, it took 90 minutes to get a car. Of note, another disgruntled customer tried to jump ship by going over to the Avis next door, but the same manager runs both agencies and wouldn't allow her to do that! We saved a few dollars by booking Budget. Considering poor service, not worth the savings. I spent almost as much time here as on the airplane! read more

Yep, still the worst car rental company out there...... AVOID- A rep named John ( # 37763 ) was particularly nasty and unhelpful on the phone.... Quoted me a rate almost 100 % higher that my existing rate..... who would go for that?? read more

What a joke....have been standing in line for an hour now and still not up to the rental desk. There is ONE agent for tons of holiday travelers. Poor planning from management to facilitate the volume of reservations. Process takes WAY too long. Never again. read more

Budget - 1 agent...long line of travelers. Poorly managed process. - Car Rental Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

If you need to be in and out quickly, rent from Avis and join their preferred program. Otherwise you'll be stuck in a line out the door. Although Avis and Budget share the same fleet of vehicles, Budget usually gets you a vehicle with a few more miles on it. They don't let you self select your vehicle so if you care to choose, ask whats available at the counter when checking in. read more

Poorly staffed at night. 12 people in line and 1 employee. Car dirty. Fast break reservation not at kiosk so had to wait in line. Staff that was onsite was friendly but management needs to step it up read more

No long wait in line when arriving to pick up my car and not being charged for gas when the car was returned on full. Also, there is not consistency across customer service. When my car was dropped off with gas tank full a budget customer service member on site instructed me to take a picture of the dash and leave the car since there was no one available to check it in at before my flight to leave. I did not receive a checked in confirmation until 10 days later and was charged $45 extra to my credit card for gas that was full when returned. After calling budget customer service, I was told that my picture of the dash was not sufficient proof that the car was returned with a full tank of gas. I will never rent from budget again. read more

I booked a vehicle here because it seemed like the most affordable. Everywhere I looked, I was incurring fees. Not only did they jack the rental price up during the holiday (July 4th), but I wanted to extend my rental 3 hours and they wanted to charge me $85.00. When I asked what the daily rental rate for a compact car, I was told $44. Why charge me $85 for a 3 hour extension? In addition, I went through a roll. I wanted to pay the tolls within the 5 days the toll people allow. I'm told that all vehicles are equipped with an iPads, however, if I use it, they are going to charge me the tolls PLUS, $3.95/day up to 5 days for the time I rented the vehicle. I am very disappointed in budget. I dare to mention the $7/gallon fee for gas! I knew I should've gone with enterprise. read more

Absolute worst experience at Budget tonight. Computers are down and they have one person working the desk with a line at least 10 deep. The wait has been 1hr plus. read more

Budget - Car Rental Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've been waiting here for an hour now. They are criminally understaffed. Yet they continue to try and befuddle and upswell every customer. Avoid if possible. read more

went to the new location and got turned down because they don't tell you they need a major credit card. When you google who takes debit card they come up plus when I booked it With debit cards option on Hotwire. They need to be more clear on their websites!! read more

I will never use budget again and I hope other people read this review so they can be forewarned. I rented this car in the middle of winter to drive a three hour distance. Upon getting into the car, the window was iced over, which is very typical for a midwest car that has sat out in the cold for a few hours. I was first concerned at the fact that there was no ice scraper in the car, but realized I couldn't be THAT needy because it is a low-cost car rental service. With no ice scraper, I simply had to wait for the window to defrost with the heat on blast. After ten minutes of sitting in the parking lot, the window defrosted a little enough to have visibility so I started my journey. As soon as I was on the highway, the window quickly fogged up again making my windshield almost impossible to see out of. I was already 30 minutes away from O'Hare and was in a time crunch to get to my final destination so my only option was to keep driving. There was NO windshield fluid in the car so I had to pull over to the gas station to try to defrost/clean the windshield myself. I cleaned the windshield at a gas station and went on my way. Ten minutes into my drive, the window quickly fogged back up and became impossible to see out of. My co-pilot had to direct me the entire way home. I am SO disgusted with their service. I called their customer service line to get a refund and they just talked me in circles portraying the fact that I was crazy and incompetent. It's clear to say I will NEVER use Budget again. read more

Budget - Car Windshield was SO dirty, even cleaning it at a gas station didn't help. - Car Rental Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

SLIMY SLIMY. Made reservation online for car and then when I got there they said they didn't have it and I declined the upgrade but then when I walked outside there was the exact car I reserved. THEN they tricked me into pre-paying the fuel charge even though I said no, but then they said it was the only way to rent the car. I accepted, did some research and had the charge taken off when I returned the car by filling up at a gas station within 3 miles of drop off location and bringing the receipt of gas purchase AND taking a picture of the receipt and odometer on the car. READ THE FINE PRINT OR YOU'LL BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF. read more

This is my last time trying to save my company money. The line was super long and slow. When I got there, there were 6 cashiers and after waiting forever there were only 3. They tried to upsell me and after I finally got my car, the battery was dead! I had to get an exchange, which caused me to be late for my business meeting! I will never use Budget again. The name says it all. read more

Don't go for Budget/Avis.... My prepaid reserved car was not available so offered me a free upgrade but charged my credit card at the same time. Treated impolitely by the customer care when I called them to report this. read more

Terrible service, waited for the bus and in line for 2 hrs. Only 2 people working and rude. Bathrooms were also out of order, highly recommend not to rent from budget o hare airport read more

This place is TERRIBLE!! 1.they take forever getting you the car you already reserved 2. They held over $300 on my card without telling me. I called the corporate office and they said it shouldn't be that high but I need to call this location for answers. 3. I call and get hung up on twice!! Terrible experience read more

This location is a mess. An airport location at such a busy airport should be properly staffed this should be simple given the fact that most people reserve their car rentals far in advance. We arrived to pick up our rental car on Friday night 8/17/18. There were about 20-30 people waiting for cars and they only 2 representatives at the counter. After a 45 minute wait we were given the keys to retrieve our car. When we got to the assigned space there was no car there and we had go back inside to have a new vehicle assigned. I asked about the car drop off to know how much time to allot ourselves to return the car and make it to the airport for our flight the following Monday. I was assured that the long line was out of the ordinary and that regardless we could do all the arrangements outside at the drop off without going inside. Monday at 2 we arrived for the drop off and the man who checked the car said we needed to go inside because we were a few miles over, this made no sense to us as our reservation was for unlimited mileage and we showed him the paper work. Nevertheless we had to go inside and what do you know it the line was almost double that of Friday night line and again only 2 representatives at the counter. They looked over our paperwork and said the individual outside was incorrect because we did in fact have unlimited mileage. The location also extremely hot inside, not sure if this is common or due to the large number of people waiting inside the building. read more

Aweful rental experience. I returned my vehicle looking for an attendant to verify car was in good condition, but no one was there. I had to catch a flight with my 2 small children so left keys in the car as instructed. 3 weeks later I was charged $250 on my credit card without explanation or email. When I called in I was told the agent "smelled smoke" in the car. I've never smoked anything in my life, and neither have my 4 and 6 year old. I've also never been charged a cleaning fee before. I was told I need to call the O'Hare location directly, but they don't actually answer the phone at that location. Really terrible experience, I imagine the management is trying to hit a revenue quota but when they completely lie about something it's upsetting. Will actively avoid renting from Budget again. read more

Customer service completely unaware of resources to solve my problem. Needed to unexpectedly return my car to midway not ohare and they wanted to charge me over $300 extra. They had no other options they could suggest yet there is a shuttle service between the two airports for a minimal fee. Thanks a lot. Two hours later found it for myself. Will ever use again. read more

I just rented from this location. I booked it online and have a Fastbreak number. That is very important to have when renting from busy airports in major cities. That goes for any car rental company! So keep that in mind! When I got to Budget, I found that my name wasn't on the Fastbreak board so I went into the office and turns out my credit card wasn't updated in my profile so they couldn't prepare the contract except in person. But in about 5 minutes I was walking to my upgraded car! So smooth and easy! The return was even quicker! My receipt was exactly what I expected...no surprise upgrade or gas charges. I can't imagine I'm that lucky to have such an easy time compared to all these other reviews. But maybe I am? I'll take it! read more

This place is terrible... big airport with 2 people helping at a rental counter.. "fast break" service to move you through is nonexistent

Polite staff but always under staffed and half the time my car isn't ready and waiting as it's supposed to be when you're a FastBreak member. I wouldn't rent here if it weren't my company's preferred vendor. read more

I'm using this location because they are the ones that started the mess but our real problem is with the customer service phone reps who have been handling our complaint. We reserved a van for one day at the agreed rate of $144.44 online. We picked it up in Milwaukee at noon and dropped it off five hours later at O'Hare Airport. Because we had so much luggage, they offered to drive us to the terminal in the van we had rented. That is where the problem started because we didn't get a receipt for the return of the van. Everyone treated us really nice; how could I suspect that they were incompetent or, worse, intentionally trying to overcharge us? We called the customer service number when I saw the charge for $697 to our credit card. It turns out they were claiming we returned the van on July 3 to Milwaukee Mitchell Field. We were in the Philippines! So for the next 15 days, we tried to resolve the issue long distance but they claimed there was no proof the van was returned until July 3. When we returned to O'Hare, we stopped in to the return location to speak to someone there and try to get some answers. The manager looked up our rental and showed us that the van had been rented from their location on July 2nd and returned to MKE on the 3rd. So we all were wondering why they couldn't see that when reviewing our complaint. Is this not proof enough that we certainly didn't have the van for five days as they say? At the very least, we were owed one less day. But of course, the manager agreed we should be refunded all the amount we were charged above the $144.44 we originally were quoted because even if there is no proof of the timely return, we had proof we no longer needed the van and couldn't have been there to return it on the 2nd. When trying to resolve this with the 1-800 reps today, they are still dragging their feet and saying we have to provide a scan of the boarding pass which should then be enough. They also said it will take another 3-5 days to review the issue. We'll see but even if they resolve it, this wasn't worth the headaches. Never again! read more

Horrible service here. We booked the car for 88 online and when we come in to pick up it is 184. We were only offered two options for insurance. We were not told until after we paid that the insurance wasn't necessary. It is a sleazy sales technique and we already have rental coverage through our actual insurance provider. We were told it couldn't be canceled or refunded. I called to try to get it corrected and I was told they wouldn't and when I requested a manager I was told it didn't matter and was put on hold until I hung up over 30 minutes later. read more

What's big scam! They reel you in by advertising )17/day price but the admin fees that they tack on are just ridiculous. I got a price if 17/day for two days. I returned in one hour one day and I ended up paying $125. Do ask about all the ancillary charges before signing the contract. Sometimes a flat out higher price is much cheaper than their advertised lowest price. read more