Budget came through for me. I don't rent cars that often but when I do, I try to rent from Budget when available. I knew I was going to be in Los Angeles for 1 night and needed a car to get around as I had to make multiple stops while there. I reserved a very basic, small car for my short stay in LA. When I flew in to LAX, I rode the Budget Rental Car shuttle bus to the Budget rental car office. When I arrived at their location, the line was a bit long but it moved very swiftly. When I got to the counter an gave my reservation number, they didn't have any small basic, economy rental cars available but I ended up getting a nice upgrade - a VERY nice upgrade! The funny thing was that the agent was a bit apologetic and asked if I was ok with a Dodge Challenger. I was like; hell yes! Hand me those keys now! :) :) :) The car was clean an ready to roll. I did everything I could to avoid getting speeding tickets as it's a very fun car to drive. Since my car at home is a new Chrysler 300C, this car was easy to operate all the controls as they're in the same place. It's basically the 2-door version of my car. When returning, everything went smoothly an best of all, there were no surprise fees of any sort. All their staff was friendly, had good attitude and overall, very pleasant to do business with. Shuttle van was already there when I returned the keys the following day an I was off to the airport in less than 10 minutes. I've used Budget in Rental Car in 14 different cities, in 5 different states and in 4 different countries. They have always treated me well and I've never had issues like with a certain other rental car place with a green 'e' logo. I'm too nice to say that company's name. I'll certainly rent cars from this Budget location next time I'm in LA for a short time. Don't change a thing. Keep up the good work LAX Budget! read more

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I have rented a car from them 3 times this month for trips for a total of 7 days. First off their competition has 2-3 busses show up for every one of theirs. Then the staff at the desks are less than helpful. For the first trip I had my kids so I requested the interior insurance. The one that covers everything, I paid $75 for this coverage and was still charged a $125 cleaning fee for crumbs. Their prepaid gas is a rip off. The second trip I was "upgraded" to an electric car that did not include an adapter to the North American Charging Standard, that meant after visiting 6 charging stations I still could not find a charger that would work. I only visited a Tesla supercharger once. After finding a charger I waited 4.5 hours for the car to charge. My next trip the car had as much crumbs in it as the rental I was charged for, the rear speakers did not work in the car and the car was due for service. The rear seat alarm went off despite not having anything on the seat. During my electric car escapade and the broken rear seat the roadside assistance machine could not recognize my voice or me hitting the number keypad. Good thing the car ran. Otherwise I would have been left hopelessly stranded with my kids thinking they are now orphans. Budget customer service completely blew me off. All told I use them because of their affiliation with United Airlines. I will no longer use them, their competitor with the Costco affiliation will be my new go to. read more

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Never again. Our flight arrived at midnight and by the time we got to the offsite lot, we had to wait in line after line and could see that there were no cars in the garage. We had already paid at the counter so we had no choice but to wait. There was only one worker and 100 people waiting. What a nightmare. Three hours later, we were finally able to secure a car. Some people did not. It was absolute chaos and fights were breaking out. We've never seen anything like it. We've never had this bad of an experience with Costco rentals. Bottom line - stay away from Budget. read more

Don't rent a car in any budget rent a car in Los Angeles especially in the airport, they will overcharge you, and don't buy prepaid gasoline too. They will add extra $30 on top of the original price, they will not tell you. You will suprise only when you see your final receipt after you return your car. I try to called them and ask about this and ask for a refund. They told me is a tax on the prepaid that i purchased. "TAX of $30 on my gasoline on top of the $89" WTF. They will ripped off you. AVOID THIS PLACE in LAX. Airport. read more

Waiting in line at lax budget rental to pick up my car,not enough clerks and treating us like cattle,will never use again! Been waiting 25 minutes and still 2 rows ahead of me,not cool! read more

I rented a truck from Budget LAX on Jan 22-24. Exactly one month later, a $450 charge showed up in the account of the card I used to rent with. Had to call the police and make a report and dispute with my bank. DO NOT GO TO THIS LOCATION UNLESS YOU WANT TO DEAL WITH FRAUD/THEFT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED read more

This place is beyond terrible, a complete garbage would probably be a more acute description of both the place and the personal ordered to rent a car for one day one way trip but returning it about 7 hours early, after confirming my reservation I received an email indicating that as a fast break member I gat to choose any car parked in the designated zone which turned out to be a lie!!!!! When I arrived to pick up the car the lot boy told be that that email is not accurate and handed me a car, a Kia k5, while he was sucking on a ice cream, the car was extremely filthy, it seemed that someone had wiped the car with a bucket for muddy and filthy water, you could barely see through the windows and the mirrors, there was mud inside the wheel housing, the lot boy told me that is the car I am getting, I asked to Speack with the manager and the manager wasn't and better, my wife and 3 kids were waiting for me at the airport otherwise I wouldn't have driven off with that level of garbage customer service. I am giving this place a one star rating but they really deserve no positive review. I will however contact their headquarters Monday and will file a BBB complaint against them, I urge you not to rent from this place at any cost, it isn't worth it no matter how low their rental fee is. terible service, and terrible personal. read more

One of the most agonizing car rental experiences I have ever had. Take my advice - if you are renting a car from LAX don't rent from budget. There is supposed to be a shuttle every 8-10 minutes, we waited 45. And we were glad we were at a terminal that was earlier in the route, because the bus filled up and just drove past a lot of customers that were waiting. We were advised by an airport employee that Budget driver are terrible and always drive past the stops. Another 45 minute line awaited us at the rental center. But even worse, all of the staff seemed and were completely miserable. unhappy, sullen and all very rude. They must not be treated very well. When we finally got to see someone, despite the fact that I diligently filled in the "pre-check", the check in took forever (another 20 minutes, easily) Then, we "get" our car, but it's another 15 minutes because it's not ready for us yet. Then even to exit, they only have one lane (of four) open ... so we wait again. This is compared to a year ago when we used Fox ... and it was a breeze. So my advice? Use any company other than Budget at LAX. read more

My friend and I arrived at LAX and once we grabbed our suitcases, headed out the shuttles to wait for the Budget shuttle. We waited. Then waited some more. It took at least 30 minutes and at least 10 passing Enterprise shuttles before Budget came. I even went as far as to call them to ask if they had a shuttle coming. Apparently she couldn't just tell me if the shuttle was coming. I had to provide my confirmation number. She was very nice, but I didn't see the point of needing all that. But naturally, as I was on the phone with her, in the distance, I see Budget. My friend and I hop on and we start driving through the airport terminals. Mind you, we came off of Southwest, so we had quite a few terminals to get through. By the time we left the airport, suitcases and a carseat were in the aisle as were a ton of people. We were all squished together. My friend even had a suitcase in the aisle pressed up against her leg. When we got there, I jumped off the bus left my suitcase with my friend to run inside. There were a ton of people just on our bus alone. Good thing I did because it was PACKED. Jumping ahead to when we finally were able to get our car... I declined their insurance. This is the second time at this very location that I declined their insurance and I go to out find that they have given me a beat up car. Was it a new model? Yes. Was it full of scratched off paint and dents? Also yes. The mirrors were dirty so my friend and I had to clean them ourselves. The trunk also let you know you were opening it because it squeaked every time we opened it. We also didn't have a front license plate. Where did it go?? If I can avoid it, I will not be back. I recommend other companies for your car rental needs if you're going to LAX. The staff was working hard though. Some were definitely friendlier than others, but they were so busy they handled it great at the desk. read more

Grabbed the shuttle, they run constantly. Fast to the location and car was ready, great car. In and out in minutes. Return was so easy, a couple of questions and back on the shuttle. Easy peasy, excellent service. Enjoy! read more

My experience was terrible. I booked a car well in advance, then had to wait in an hour long line to check in for the car, and then had to wait in a two hour long line to actually get a car. After a total of 3 hours waiting, once I received the car it had not been cleaned or detailed at all and still had garbage inside from the previous drivers. On top of it all I was ultimately charged more than I was originally quoted when I booked the car. Lesson learned I will near book with Budget again. read more

The new budget LAX location sucks. I went there three different times had problems renting cars today. I went there prepaid $128 for a Chevrolet suburban when I got there they said they need to manage approval even though I rent cars multiple times a week from budget and I have rented suburbans from the old location before they did not rip me the car. I will never rent a car from budget ever again. This company fucking sucks. read more

It took me 70 minutes from SJC to LAX and 100 minutes to pick up my car. I was charged for extra liability insurance because I couldn't prove that my insurance covers it. First time ever I was asked to bring my insurance policy. On top of that, some extra charges for fuel even if I returned the car with full tank. They've lost a customer forever and shouldn't waste their time trying to bring me back. It will never happen. They're same as Fox now. Used to be top quality. read more

I reserved the car ahead of time. I am a fastbreak customer. They didn't a car for me. Then they tried to give me a car that needs an oil change. The representative told me maybe they just forgot to reset the sensor. I have a long drive and I am not taking a chance. The represntative has the worst attitude. No customer service skills what so ever. Then she just walks away and never came back. I will never ever rent from budget again. read more

Maybe I got extremely lucky, but I had a surprisingly excellent experience with Budget Rent A Car last time I visited SF... minus the 10 minutes they spent trying to upsell me. We booked a compact car through Priceline and got a great deal ($171.98 for 3 days). At first I was worried that we were assigned to Budget based on the negative reviews for the other locations. I was half-expecting to get an old Pinto. But by the time the whole experience was over, I couldn't have been happier! After landing in SFO, it took maybe 15 minutes get from the arrivals terminal to the car rental area using the airport monorail. From there, it was less than a 5 minute wait in the Budget line. When we finally spoke to the salesperson, she initially told us our car wasn't ready yet, but she had a convertible available if we wanted. Of course, we would have to pay a higher rate than what we were quoted by Priceline... I politely declined and told her we didn't need a convertible, and a simple compact would be just fine. She continued to push for the convertible and offered several other vehicles as well. Again, I politely declined and told her we only wanted a compact to get around the city. By the time she was done with her sales pitch (and me having to decline at least 3 more times), our compact car was magically ready for us. Yay! But then came the additional sales pitches about rental insurance and refueling... Again, I politely declined. (Just FYI, most car insurance policies will cover their insured driver even for rental cars. Make sure to check with your insurance company first. Also, don't bite on their "convenience" refueling plans either. Unless you absolutely can't spare 10 minutes to refuel your rental before dropping it off, it is not worth paying their outrageous prices.) Fast forwarding to when we finally got our car... They ended up giving us a brand new Ford Focus with less then 400 miles on it. The car was super clean inside and out and was fun to drive too. It was bone dry of options, but thankfully the A/C and radio worked! Automatic windows too! Returning the car was trouble-free. We simply dropped off the car, they did a quick inspection, gave us our paperwork and we were on our way. It took less than 10 minutes. Moral of the story... Be patient, be polite and don't fall for their sales tricks and you should be okay. read more

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You will wait. A LONG time. You may or may not get your car. All rental car companies are stressed right now w staffing shortages, but this was beyond. The staff they do have, however, are remarkably patient and kind. read more

We arrived at 1130 pm to get our car. There was a line but enough employees working so it wasn't too long of a wait. The employee getting our car was nice enough but printed a contract out on continuous feed duplex paper which was almost impossible to read. They want me to sign something I cant read? Uh, no. Anyway, we get sent to our car by him saying "a36" with no other directions. We wander around a large lot until we find it. Then cannot find the keys. Finally after searching in the dark we find them. The lot is near LAX/Ingelwood and didn't feel real safe. Once in the car, we drive towards the exit to find a MASSIVE traffic jam (not kidding 5/8 cars locked in a tangle that no one can apparently solve to get them all out the gate). This takes about 10 minutes to resolve which included me jockeying back and forth to get out of the way of the shuttle buses and other rental cars trying to get in line. They had one exit gate open for all of the people trying to leave. Once I get to the gate the lacadaisical and aloof attendant with a MAJOR attitude asks if there is any damage on the car? Ummmmm, it is dark out, there are no lights to check and so,I tell her I really don't know. She has me get out and I try to see if there is any but again, it it is too dark to really see. The one star is for the shuttle service. It was fast and the drivers were friendly. The car itself was ok besides stained seats and a smell of cigarettes. When we checked our car in, we saw, literally hundreds of people waiting to get their car in a long, snaked line. Good grief - I am guessing and hour or two wait for some of them. Not a fun way to start a vacation or deal with a rental car. Either be a Fast Break member if you are going to use Budget or use another company. read more

I used budget numerous times but this one had to be one of my worser experience. We landed in LaX at around 10:30pm and the airport already gave me grief because they move at a snail pace and the place is just so big that we has to take a shuttle just to get to our baggage claim. After we retrieved our bags we walked to the bus stop that transfers people to their car rental. We literally sat at the bus stop for 30 minutes as we watched multiple avis and national buses passes us. I don't know if it was just a slow day for budget or if they were short on workers but that was unacceptable. Once the bus arrived we were packed in there like a can of sardines because everyone was waiting for "one" bus for the past half hour. We finally arrived at budget rentals which was about 2 miles outside of the airport and we were greeted with a line. The line took us about another 30 minute wait. Budget did upgrade me to a 5.0 mustang for an extra 25$/ day, which I appreciated, but if you want to do business as a car rental company then you need to pickup the pace especially if it's at LAX! read more

Budget - Mustang 5.0 upgrade :) - Car Rental Near Me

I should have checked all the reviews first... DOUBLE CHECK the contract before you put your initials. You've been warned. Most unfriendly and deceptive service at the counter to trick you into paying for options. Never asked for the options that were added. Charged hundreds of dollars more than the quoted price from Costco. It's too late for me but want to warn everyone to avoid this place at all cost. Sleazy as they come. Never had trouble with car rentals before. Avoid!! What a scam. read more

HORRIBLE. Absolute nightmare. The worst car rental experience of my life. I can't stress how truly terrible this location is. I waited over 2 hours for my rental. There were 150 people ahead of me, and according the guy giving out the number tickets (yes, it's like you're at a deli, but the worst deli you've ever been to) this is what it's like at this location EVERY SINGLE DAY. After 2+ hours of waiting, when I finally spoke to the agent they didn't even have the car class I paid for and refused to offer any discount. Instead she had me speak to a supervisor named Manny Lopez. Not only did he not offer any compensation for my hours of waiting, he told me to leave and threatened to rip up my contract if I didn't immediately accept it. I've never been spoken to so rudely in my life. This isn't hyperbole. I was trembling after our interaction. I asked to speak to his boss and he told me I'd have to wait a half hour to talk to him. At that point, I was so offended by his conduct that I agreed to wait. He then went about his business and made no effort to let his boss know I wanted to speak to him. Eventually, I stopped another agent who asked the manager Phillip to see me. He was unapologetic for the wait and Manny's conduct, but he did agree to give me a tank of gas for the now 3 hour wait. I realize that you can't always get what you want when you buy a product. Seriously, look at my yelp reviews, I'm a pretty positive guy. I may very well rent from Budget in the future, but I will NEVER step foot in this location again. Don't make the same mistake I did. read more

Shuttle took 30+ minutes to pick up from curb. Without exaggeration, at least 60 other rental car shuttles picked up during that time. In addition, no one answers the local phone number. I had to call Expedia to get some action. When I get to the rental car counter, I complain and the manager looks into it. She comes back and says "The shuttle manager says they have been having problems this morning." No sh*t Sherlock - that's what I just told you. No upgrade, no discount, nothing. Well, except she said "Thank you for letting us know." Sure - I have nothing better to do than to waste 30 minutes of my time to let you know when your shuttles are f'ed up. And the no one answering their phones issue? When I walked in I was first in line - the office is slow and people are standing around like potted plants. The manager says they may be having some issues with their phone system. Zero f***s are given about that by the employees here as well. Shuttles don't work. Phones don't work. Employees don't care. Besides that everything else about this location is absolutely perfect! The counter monkey was very helpful and recommended that I join their Fastbreak next time to save some time. I reminded her that I would still have to take the 45 minute shuttle (30 min wait, 15 min drive time) to use the Fastbreak. Doing the paperwork at the counter took about 5 min; Standing at the shuttle line like an idiot took 30 min. She had no response. I also called their national number and complained. No response yet. read more

CHOOSE ANY OTHER OPTION and save yourself the frustration and headache. I'm a business traveller who regularly visits LAX a few times a month. Over the years the service at this Budget has declined, but I'm loyal and a creature of habit so I've looked past it and continued to rent my cars from them -- until now. After waiting 30 minutes, having multiple other rental shuttles come by (8 for Enterprise, 6 for Hertz, even 4 for a company I have never of) two Budget shuttles pass myself and another family by as we frantically waved at them to stop. Upon calling Customer Service they informed me that they are experiencing delays and would have a shuttle in the next 10 minutes. No apology, no "thank you for being patient with us", no thank you for your business. Out total wait time was almost 40 minutes by the time a Budget shuttle stopped to pick us up. With so many options and competitive prices at many, we all deserve better. read more

Pretty good experience renting here for the first time last November (2016). I've been a FastBreak member with Budget for several years now so not having to deal with a line, as it sometimes is the case, is a luxury I am grateful for. I reserved a standard size car through Costco and when I got the Budget counter and saw my name on a pre-selected car waiting for me, it was good and bad. Good that my car was ready to go but bad that it was a Chevy Impala. Nothing against Impalas but that will take some maneuvering to park in the city. The car is simply too big to be driving around and squeezing into parking spaces all around San Francisco. While I appreciate the free upgrade, I had to ask for a smaller sized car. I asked for a Jetta specifically and that I got. I appreciate the gentleman at the counter who helped me. He had a good sense of humor even though we werent seeing eye to eye that I wanted a smaller vehicle. He was cool though and as soon as we squared things away and added an additional driver to the rental agreement, we stepped out into the parking lot and there was our car. Ready to go. Take the SkyTram (It can be rainy and windy in the colder months) and go through the handful of stops to the consolidated rental car center for SFO. Leaving the rental facility and returning the car was a breeze. Do plan for some time spent in transit on the SkyTram between terminals and the rental facility. Overall, my experience was a positive one. 4 stars. read more

The place is dirty and crowded which is what it is for how busy they are. The pickup process was fast and easy. The 2 starts is based on my return experience. I pulled in. The guy stood by the car. I gathered my things and gave him the key. I walk to the counter thinking I needed to pay, he walks in and says I didn't give him the key. The woman behind the content says "lost keys are $250". I walked out to look for said key. Walked back to the car. Looked in all of my belongings... no key. I then spoke to the manager and explained I GAVE HIM the key and encouraged her to look at cameras if they are available. She walks to the car area to find him, I walk to look underneath the surrounding cars thinking it fell. She sees me and says "I think he owes you an apology. He found they key." He turns around "I'm sorry". The whole thing seemed like a scam and when they realized I wasn't playing the game they "found the key". If a normal person does that they would come tell you that they found the key. Mistakes happen. This was not that. It was highly suspicious. Then I see that other people have been charged for keys they didn't lose. read more

I was booked on Budget by a travel agent. I generally use other companies and have never bothered to get Fastbreak. That was clearly a mistake! At 9:30AM on a Friday morning, I began waiting at the LAX Terminal 7 rental car curb for a Budget bus. The wait was surprisingly long, on the order of 20 minutes. During the time when I was at the curb, I saw multiple busses pass by for each of the other major rental companies. The wait already left a bad taste in my mouth. Once we arrived at the rental facility, I bounded out of the bus to get in line to pick up a car. There were maybe 20 people already ahead of me, passengers from earlier busses. The line moved slowly. The counter agents seemed to be spending a lot of time chatting with each other, logging in and out of computers and then finally getting into long discussions with customers once they were ready to deliver some "service." It took me at least 20 minutes before I was invited to the counter. My particular rental was all pre-arranged. Because I didn't have to deal with the standard hard-sell sales pitch for insurance and prepaid gasoline, I got my contract after only three or four minutes of discussion. My car, a Nissan Sentra, was very likely an appealing vehicle when it was brand new. A former LEAF driver, I like Nissans a lot! Unfortunately, my Sentra had been around the proverbial block more than a few times. The odometer read roughly 45,000, and the car was on the barebones side. The interior did have a USB port, though, which I used to charge my phone while driving. Returning the car was no picnic. Even once I had parked in the return lane, I had to wait a fair amount of time before an agent showed up to check the car. I asked for a copy of my receipt but needed to wait again while the agent performed life support on her beat-up printer. Avoid this Budget operation if you have a good alternative. I don't intend to give them another chance. read more

Please stay away from it, I was charged the refueling fees for no reason and only got it refunded after yelling at them multiple times. It's a scam. read more

I should have read these reviews before I went with this damn business to rent a car. I was already exhausted from 26hr long journey from India to LAX. After going through incredibly long immigration queue and special extra scanning of my luggage by CBP bcz I am brown, I got out of terminal around 3:00PM (2hrs after landing). I had to wait for 40m at terminal B international arrival rental car shuttle stop before a budget shuttle pulled in. Me and another customer also got angry at the shuttle driver (it wasn't his fault he works for a stupid company), he was saying he just got onto his shift and welcome to LA traffic- that was BS bcz I counted at least 9 shuttles each for every other rental company during the 40m wait). And another 40m in a queue at their lobby (there were dozens of people already waiting in a queue). Most of the employees behind the counter seemed lazy, slow and were asking customers to wait at the counter for some unknown reasons. Each customer was at least 30m at the counter before they got their cars. There were no luggage trolleys or staff to help with large bags that international customers usually travel with. The African American lady that helped me was polite and was relatively fast compared to the rest of their employees. I had a reservation and I wasn't picky about the car I wanted, so I got out early. I complained about how long I had to wait at the terminal, she spoke her manager and offered me a free upgrade, I did not care much for the upgrade bcz I just wanted to get the f out and hit the road towards San Diego before the traffic gets worse. After I got out of the terminal at 3:00PM, I hit the road around 5:00. So it took 2long f'ing hours to get a car that I already reserved online. I would never use this company again (this is my 2nd bad experience with Budget in general, they were running a scam at Chicago airport read my review from my profile). I would not recommend this company. read more

Slowest shuttle pickup, worst counter service, fast break doesnt work... just terrible. Use a different company

AVOID BUDGET CAR RENTAL AT ALL COSTS What ever budget car rental company once was is gone. I will never even consider renting a car from this company ever again and I will discourage anyone from renting from them. The car was filthy and the upholstery was stained. the car was a cheap Corolla with the basic amenities. The mileage was high and it was expensive to rent. Due to unforseen problems, I turned the car in a few hours late was c.harged an additional $600.00. That's right, SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS. AVOID BUDGET CAR RENTAL AT ALL COSTS read more

*** Not a good choice for biz rentals. *** Price is fair but car selection not so much. Service sucked; took 40mins to get a car. Also tried to charge $55 for returning a car to the drop-off within one hour late. Really?! *** Not a good experience. Won't return. *** read more

Wow, Just 2 stars overall?! Out of all of the car rentals at SFO Budget has been the best for me and hubby so far. Before we moved California last year we came to San Bruno for a visit and ended up using Budget in our second week as we were unhappy with the car and company we were already with. Budget were great - helpful in sorting us out with a car straight away and even upgraded us for free! Then again when we actually moved to San Bruno, being straight from England with no US drivers license or car we used Budget again, initially just for 2 weeks but ended up having to extend it for another 2 with very little hassle and again we got a free upgrade. Awesome. On top of this they are cheaper than the likes of Hertz (Boooo!) and the lines at the counter are so much smaller and quicker. Although we're not likely to need a hire car at SFO again when having family visit from England it is definitely going to be the one we recommend. read more

I am a San Francisco native. I used Expedia to book a Budget rental car for a trip from San Francisco to Haiti. Upon arrival in Port au Prince I was horrified to find a Soundgarden/Pearl Jam era Toyota. I mean, do you understand the roads in Haiti? Rubble strewn streets is an understatement. I am working for a tiny Bay Area non-profit that helps connect reproductive resources for rural women. I needed to drive in the mountains, by myself in a car so low to the ground the oil pan scraped on most uneven streets let alone the rural mountain roads. It wasn't safe. I paid $400+ for a car that I basically couldn't use for the 501C3 project I had rented it for. PLUS I was charged for insurance twice and a $1,000 deposit that took 7 weeks to be reversed. It would be nice if Budget could improve its fleet in Port au Prince and make amends to me and the rural women I serve with a new and improved car rental. read more

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It's either Lyft, a cab, or renting a car from this Budget, so we all have to suck it up and wait things out. We're all in these long lines together. The location is close enough to the airport and shuttles take about 5-7 minutes between trips. I'm sorry to hear about the problems of other Yelpers, and luckily, I've never had a situation here. read more

I decided to pick Budget as a car rental service from Expedia because it offers one of the lower prices for renting cars. Because of their economical prices, the line for getting the car took FOREVER as compared to the other rental services which had practically no one in their lines. As you wait, you listen to the sales rep talk to prospective renters about getting a GPS for an additional fee, a possibility if they want an upgrade on their mobile, and of course, if they want the more expensive insurance. Although I had to hear it again and again, I didn't want to interrupt the salesman and well, they talked me in about the insurance part since that extra 20-so bucks or so a day gave me a peace of mind so that I can EASILY floor the car up narrow hills of Santa Cruz with ease (hahaha jk on half of that). So the line was forever and I got dinged at least an extra 100-200 bucks because of the "upgraded" insurance and because of my lack of age maturity (so I have to be 25 years old to get the regular rate... blah) and I definitely wasn't a happy camper. While the site promised I would get a Hyundai Accent or something similar, I got the Toyota Yaris instead. I added a good 500 miles in the span of less than 3 days on that baby so I got my bargain! Upon returning the car to the lot, it also took forever too, and the workers did not discriminate based on rental service. I waited a good amount of time and did not want to just leave the car until I was fully un-liable for it. The only people I saw that left their rental cars with much ease were business men. Haha. After signing off the car, I quickly jumped on the Air Bart, got through security, used the restroom, and I barely made my flight on-time. Budget prices come with budget services. Expect it! read more

This place needs training in customer service. Worst budget location! Stay away from this car rental location.

Waited over an hour at car rental (after a painfully long wait for shuttle bus from the LAX), then after returning the car, I get a charge 3 weeks later for supposed water damage to the backseat. My son and I sat in the front seats - never used the back seat. This fraudulent charge is outrageous. So disappointed but Enterprise, here we come. read more

Sorry for the long review. It's just for the sake of accuracy and posterity. We reserved a car with Budget SFO for Memorial Day weekend. We booked directly through them. Then we changed our plans and decided to cancel our reservation. Here is where our trouble started. The Budget SFO website says: "We understand that plans change. If you cancel prior to your pick-up time, we'll recharge the full amount, and only charge a $10 processing fee. If you don't pick up the car at all, we'll refund the full amount less a $50 no-show processing fee." When you click to see the Terms and Conditions, it tells you that these will be available on "Step 3 of the reservation process." So imagine how I felt when I had already reserved the car, and then opened the Terms and Conditions in my email to see that you must cancel before 24 hours to only get docked $50, and if you cancel within 24 hours, you get charged $150. I don't usually change travel plans so close to my departure, so I accept responsibility for not being well-versed and for not looking into this as much as I should have. Had I anticipated my plans changing, I would've looked into this (and other companies) more. OK, that's on me. But I find this practice to be deceptive, kind of like a "gotcha!" move. I called customer service, and explained that I'm trying to cancel before my pick-up time, so may I please only get docked $50? No. She explained to me that "canceling within 24 hours is considered no-showing." Really? Because I thought no-showing meant that I didn't show up. So I accepted this, and told her I would like to keep my reservation but that I thought this was a little bit shady and that next time I'll make sure to avoid Budget. I'm not a sensitive person, so believe me when I tell you she mocked me with a very prolonged exit speech about how she was glad she could help me and she looks forward to my continued business. Wow! Bold move! I laughed it off because, you know, small victories really do it for some people -- that's her prerogative if the company allows that. I still wasn't that ticked off, because you learn valuable lessons in life by spending money. At this point, we have the reservation so we might as well make use of the car. We took a nice drive up north and enjoyed ourselves. By the way, I know most of the above related to Budget and their practices as a business in general. So just to make it more pertinent: I showed up at the SFO location to rent the car and had an odd experience with the desk agent. This was actually my second encounter with him -- he's very pushy about upselling. I get that there's value in being able to upsell a customer, but his reaction was very off-putting when I declined all of the selling points. Strange. Also, nobody rents a car to get a Prius. Give me that sick Kia anyday! Haha. read more

I landed at 10:30 pm in late June 2020 and had reserved a car at 9775 Airport Blvd, Los Angeles so I could drive to my cousins house in Ventura, an hours drive away. I was the only one on the bus, I was picked up in 5 minutes and dropped off quickly. The driver was playing great music. When I reached the desk, the attendant checked me in quickly and offered me a choice of vehicle, I chose the brand new Santa Fe they had as I love the car and the brand. I was driving out of the lot in 5 minutes of arriving. It was midnight. Check in was just as easy and fast and the bus ride to the airport was easy. Thank you to those who worked and made travel during Covid so easy. read more

They overbook. Lines are always long, averaging 1:45mins wait just to get to the counter. The lady at the sandwich place across said that it is always like this all week. Be prepared to wait in line. Now I'm in my 1:50 already. So close to 2hours. read more

Budget - Long lines stretching all the way to Avis and dollar - Car Rental Near Me

Don't ignore the warnings like I did. I selected Budget because I only needed a 3 hour one way rental and the return location worked out for me. My flights were cancelled and the closest I could get to home was LAX instead of SD, and I had an important appointment to get to. I rented the car from 12pm to 3pm. I got to the rental pick up spot for shuttles at 11:15am. I waited 25 minutes knowing there was a large crowd of people there already waiting for the Budget shuttle for almost an hour. I called Budget and they said the shuttle comes every 15 minutes. All other shuttles like Avis and Enterprise drive by every five minutes with Budget no where to be found. Finally 45 minutes into my wait, Budget drives by. All 30 or so of us waive our arms and the driver just casually waived us away and keeps going. Apparently the shuttle is already full. I know I won't get a seat at this point. A group of us start contemplating taking the 1.5 mile walk but it's not a safe walk. So, knowing Avis is a sister company with a five minute walk, according to google, we jump on an Avis shuttle. We get to Avis and it turns out it's actually more of a 20 minute walk. Uber was $30 so we all decide to just walk. We get there and it's a huge line to get a car. When it's my turn for the front, the lady constantly tries to up sell me and sneak in hidden fees. 2 hours later I finally get the car, which is all scratched up. At this point I don't have time to return the car and walk to my appointment as was planned. On the drive, I call Budget to extend my rental. I rented it for 3 hours, and only had one hour left, and paid for a full day rental anyway due to their minimum. Nonetheless they charge me a change fee. It's $10 so I don't bother arguing. The place I want to drop off the car, across the street from my appointment, closes at 4 so I have to drive the car 20 minutes away to return it. I refueled it up and returning it was simple. At this point I'm $160 in for a bottom line, 4 hour car rental that took 2 hours to get. I will avoid Budget at all costs next time. It's not cheaper in the end and it's a waste of time. It would have been less stressful and the same price getting an Uber or going through a more reliable rental company. I tried flying home for two days with multiple cancelled flights and detours, yet this part of my trip was the most stressful and exhausting. Please, don't avoid the warnings from my and other reviews. Wishing you smooth travels! read more