This was not a good experience. Late flight in at 11pm at night and you have to shuttle to the car rental place and wait in line with only one person there. It was frustrating but I was able to get a Mazda CX-5, which is the same car I have at home. So once I got the car it was good, but getting the car was less than ideal. The process could be made easier for travelers. I got a great price though, so can't complain too much. read more

Pretty crappy car rental experience. 1 star because the "electric car" ended up being a Tesla model 3 ..exact model and color i own.. we arrived at the rental counter late at night (10:30 pm ish)...there were maybe 5 people in line in front of us. they took about 10-15 per party...no joke...not sure what on earth could have taken so long for each and every rental. the Avis counter did take a few of us to help move the line. almost an hour in line and we made it to the front. I had my reservation done. I had tried to do the other stuff online but their website wasn't working properly...kept kicking me out...either way ours took some time also for no good reason... he offered us the pre payed gas tank...ummm...the car is electric...he apologized and said oh actually we have for electric cards 40 cent flat rate..."not per kw...flat 40 cents" ...well I was going to say no since our hotel has FREE charging. but he said just pay the 40 cents and that's easier....fast forward...it was per kw NOT flat rate as he had said....and they tried to say "well you signed for it!" I was clearly told multiple Times that it was a flat rate....why would I think it was anything else. we were told our spot number and that keys would be in the car...so now it was almost midnight... the lot was DARK very DARK...we found the car... opened the door... ewww it smelled musty the key card was in the cupholder and melted and warped. the backseat "leather" was pitted and torn we took a walk around the car with our phone lights...scratches and scrapes and dents all around. I have NEVER seen a rental car is such a disgraceful condition. it was horrific. in the past the person at the exit did the "inspection". I talked to him and he said ...just take pics. wow. ok I tried calling that night and the next day but couldn't get a hold of anyone. the car was a a hunk of junk I shouldn't have been charged a single penny for this blasphemy. read more

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The rental area is separate from the airport, but a quick shuttle gets you there in about 6 minutes. The location has several companies like Budget, Enterprise, and Avis all in one spot. We booked ahead of time, and the whole process was very easy. Budget really lives up to its name. We got an electric Mustang Mach-E for about $270 for the week, which felt like a great deal. Check-in was smooth and quick. The paperwork took maybe 3 minutes. Overall, great experience and I would definitely rent from them again. read more

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I have been a Fastbreak member for many years and typically have a seamless and fast experience when I pick up my rental. This was definitely an exception, and not the good kind. I verified that my Fastbreak profile was up to date on the Budget website with payment, license etc before my visit. I even received an email shortly before pick up that my car was in process. However, when I arrived at the airport, I followed signs in the rental car area only to find that there was a line for Fastbreak pickups in the dedicated area for these loyal clients. I waited in line for at least 10 minutes. While I waited, there was a board with Avis preferred clients in process and no board for Fastbreak. Ultimately, I had to be helped by a customer service agent and still do the usual of showing my license and swiping my credit card. The staff was kind enough, but not particularly efficient. As such, I will probably try another rental car agency on my next visit to ABQ. read more

Budget Rent A Car - Dedicated service desk for Fastbreak and Preferred clients - Car Rental Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Horrible experience with Budget in Albuquerque. Given two cars, both of which had flat tires within five miles of the airport. The first was a blow out, the second lost air shortly and went flat quickly. Both on the interstate, very dangerous situation. Required towing back to airport. We lost a day of our vacation dealing with incompetence and lack of customer service. Again, stay far away from Budget rentals! Photos posted of the tires on the cars we were rented. By the way, they are trying to charge us for towing and their bad tires. read more

Budget Rent A Car - Car Rental Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Absolutely horrible... They have one person to deal with 20 some people... I've been waiting for a little over an hour now to get a vehicle

Having more employees on a busy Friday morning could help. Then the two people who are working keep getting distracted by radios and other random people. read more

Horrible service. Was quoted a price before I flew to NM. But ended up paying 4 times that. And was talked to like I was stupid for even mentioning it. Was also told I would get a 200$ deposit back, which I still haven't received. Chose another car rental place. One that is Honest!! read more

Where to start, yes, after going through the counter it was fine. It all started from when we received the car. First the manner in which the car was given to us was a bit concerning. When the employee gave us the car he got out while it was in drive almost caused an accident. And to add on top, the car smelt like wet dog. Looked like it was put through the car wash with the windows down. The seats were even wet!! And then about 50 or so miles into Colorado, the hybrid system malfunctioned not letting me start the car. Once my girlfriend called the roadside service we were able to get a tow and a replacement car. After the whole trip budget decided to charge us $1100 for an issue that they caused!!! What is this budget! read more

Budget Rent A Car - The issue - Car Rental Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

One of the worst companies I've ever dealt with. Car immediately had a flat tire in the sidewall within hours. Took it to their dealership they told me to and wait 2 hours to find out that Budget denied the repair. Now I had to drive to another budget location where they told me they don't do swap outs. Just use enterprise. It doesn't take a lot to please me but this is truly horrible read more

What a horrible experience. Deceptive practices. Got screwed with smooth talking rep at desk about the fuel purchase option. Refuse to reimburse me even though I returned car with a fuel tank. BEWARE! Do not take fuel option. Go to a more reputable rental company. Will never use Budget again. read more

Terrible Experience - Overcharged and Treated Poorly I was charged for an extra day on my rental because Budget entered the wrong return time, and then blamed me for their mistake. On top of that, I was hit with a $10 gas charge, even though I returned the car full, along with hidden fees and an extra day of insurance. When I called customer service, not only was the representative rude and condescending, but it was extremely difficult to understand them. As a veteran and first responder, this is absolutely unacceptable and not how you treat people--especially customers who rely on your service. I've used many rental companies over the years, but this experience has made it clear: I will never use Budget again, and I will never recommend them to my friends, family, or colleagues. Do better. read more

12 seat passenger rental van full of ants CreatedMay 30, 2025 4:10:15 PM IssueVehicle Cleanliness Absolutely flabbergasted that the 12 seat passenger rental van we rented is crawling with ants throughout the back. Never have I rented a vehicle where so little care/ cleanliness was taken into account when renting out from a major company. Not to mention this was the 2nd vehicle offered due to the fact that the initial van was prompting "Oil Change Service Needed" before we even drove it off the lot. We will be taking this to be cleaned because the whole reason for renting the van was to transport our son a cancer patient who is currently undergoing chemotherapy to Texas. I did record video of the ants. UPDATE- I am now disputing a "$450 cleaning fee" and the customer service is fighting my videos with time stamps. Looks like I will be going into the office. read more

Budget Rent A Car - Still shot of ants with date and time stamp 5/30/25 at 3:48pm MST - Car Rental Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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They gave us a car with a defective tire that I had to put air in three times, then had the audacity to bill us for the tire including a $30 administration fee. I wouldn't rent a car from Budget if there was a hurricane approaching and they had the last car in town. read more

10 people in line, one agent. A harbinger of the service to come. They shouldn have beds! read more

Get Rent For once, I seem to be the outlier review, but in a positive direction! Will wonders never cease?? (0: Booked a five-day rental thru Costco Travel** for $280 ($380 w/ taxes and fees [ouch]) and picked it up at the ABQ Car Rental Facility. The Good: *Great service from James, who was affable, fast, and didn't push the insurance upsell too hard. *Car was clean and didn't smell like cigarettes, which had been our luck as of late w/ rentals. *Arrived on a mid-morning Tue, and there were no lines and at least three people working their customer service area. The Meh: *Car exterior is in rough shape. The Ugly: *I'm not a fan of the overly crowded bus rides to get from airports to the car rental facilities. This is nothing to do with the car rental, but I'm just venting. TLDR: Overall, it was a good positive experience, but that may not always be the case based on the other reviews. However, I will say that car rentals are one of those Yelp categories that nobody thinks to review unless they're pissed off about something, so that may always tend to skew the ratings. Just food for thought. **Pro Tip: Always book your car thru Costco as early as possible to ensure you have one ready, but about a month before your trip, check the rates again. I've saved literally hundreds of dollars this way; this rental was originally over $500, but after checking a month before, I was able to secure it for $380. read more

I was forced to take an optional service which I didn't want. The vehicle was dirty when I received it. They charged me an extra hour because the attendant didn't scan my vehicle until 10 mins after I arrived, which was on time. They have a lot of hidden fees they don't mention online saying your car is paid for which they add more to it at the end. False advertising in my opinion. Save yourself some trouble and use a different service at the airport. This is a zero star company but there is no option for that here. read more

The worst. I read the reviews and still rented. I returned the car with more gas than was originally in the tank a they still charged me. I called and they asked for pictures (luckily I took them) and I sent them in and I'll see in 7-10 days if they will refund. Such a scam. read more

Despite having and using Fast Break they did not have the rental ready. The agent was polite and did take care of the reservation. The low rating is the vehicle provided. It was not very clean, had a warped break rotor, desperately needed a tire rotation, the wiper blades were trashed and had grooved the windshield. The pre-rental prep was well below even Budget's low bar standard. Inspect your car before driving away. read more

Budget Rent A Car - Wiper blade condition was so bad the wipers caused a groove in the windshield. - Car Rental Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Fast break member. Received an email that the keys would be ready at the Fast Break line. Spoiler alert, they were not. Essentially ended up cutting in front of the regular line so they could print everything out (which felt horrible). Reserved an intermediate SUV because I prefer to drive that size vehicle (same as I drive at home), prefer being higher off the ground, and we had 5 bags including a small cooler. Walked out to the designated spot and its a Dodge Hornet... which is very much a small/crossover SUV. Being as it was 10:45pm at night, we squished our bags in and tried to make the best of it, but it drove horribly, had paddle shifters that were in the way of the turn signal and the doorframe was so small, I knocked my head getting in and out (I am 5'3" on a good day). Thankfully we stayed a near the airport that night and weren't in a hurry the next morning. There was no way this vehicle would work for a 6 day road trip. Called customer service and requested a callback since the wait was 45+ minutes. Rental center was 5 minutea away so we just drove back there. Guy at the counter seemed to assume that since I am female, I know nothing and tried to gaslight me into believing the Dodge Hornet in considered an intermediate SUV. Um, no. It is not "similar sized" to a Rav 4, the example for an Intermediate SUV. After 5 minutes, he agreed to "upgrade" me to an actual Intermediate SUV for an additional price of $20/day. That is what I had reserved in the first place. I was looking up Enterprise availability while standing there, and they were sold out of all SUVs, so agreed to the "upgrade" instead of cancelling it all together (which is what I would have preferred at that point). New vehicle assigned was a GMC Terrain which was large enough, though it had quirks of it's own. The gal at parking lot exit was at first confused but when we explained we swapped out the Hornet, she volunteered that it wasn't very popular. Customer Service did call back and agreed that the Hornet is not an "intermediate suv" and we should not have been charged for an upgrade, and they would process a refund once the vehicle has been returned and the reservation closes. We returned it yesterday at 6am and as of today, it's still shown as "open" but Customer Service was able to escalate it. Summary: zero stars for the gaslighting men working at the counter, 5 stars for the lady at the exit and Customer Service. Will not use Budget again. read more

Delay was terrible about an hour in line only one person at the counter on a Wednesday at dinner time. No real explanation of fast break at all. Later we told we should've just realized to come up to the counter at a different location, even though no one was there. Once we got out to the waiting area to have our car delivered and still took about 15 minutes. Terrible service. read more

Beware of gas return scam!!! The car was nice. We filled the car up with gas 5 minutes from the airport, even re-engaging the pump after it turned itself off to make sure it was full. The gas needle was showing full. We turned it in with no trouble. Later we received a bill for $18 because it was 1 gallon short!!! After calling Budget they said the gallon used was from driving from the gas station (3.1 miles away) to the airport!! This is a scam if you don't pay for them to fill your car up at an up charge price!! read more

I rented a pickup at budget for a business trip. The center console had ANTS - thousands of them that poured out as the truck went down the road. Also, I was pulled over for an expired registration. The police officer didn't ticket me for it. But if you rent from budget, be sure to check to make sure the registration is current. read more

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We were not told that the car seats they offered to us would cost anything extra. They took 30 minutes to get them. All they told us was that it was no problem to get us some. I was going to buy some at the local store, but since it was "no problem" we took them. $225 later, I should have bought $30 booster seats at Walmart. Why anyone would agree to pay that is beyond me. When I tried to dispute this charge before leaving, I waited so long I was afraid I would miss my flight. I am so disappointed in this hidden fee. Had they merely disclosed this, I would have said no and gone on my way to the local store. This is very bad customer service and I am now dealing with this days after. read more

The Budget/ Avis Rent A Car Location at the Santa Fe New Mexico Airport is the worst Single Car Rental place and Experience in my 40 years of renting cars. Tomas( Owner) and A Female with very short haircut who looked like Ex Military were two of the coldest human beings on the planet with Zero Empathy. I had tried to get a rental car or train back home for 40 hours to help a family member and pets at home and work. It was urgent to get home. The female there booked the reservation on the phone. When I was dropped off there, I checked in, I had prepaid reservation for $211 for just one day rental( too high). I was ready to take car and the female said we need $250 security deposit but never explained why or told me earlier. I had a major credit card and two debit cards which were plenty to cover. Was told coldly, we can't rent to you, we need a plane reservation for bank card and Credit card was $50 short. Now I was stranded at airport for several hours. Tomas just laughed about in my face and said " that's are policy", next. Never ever rent from this company or especially Santa Fe Airport read more

Be aware of Budget and Avis rent a car. I arrived late in Albuquerque from Dallas. The clerk at Budget checked me in and told me which spot my car was in. Keys in car. It was dark already. Nobody looked at the car with me to verify quality. The next day I brought flowers to my Aunt. The flowers spilled on the passenger seat. I had a towel and cleaned it up. Blotting the seat to remove the water. After a week I returned the car to Budget. The gentleman took the keys and scanned the barcode on the window sticker. No one looked at vehicle to verify status of car. Weeks later Budget sends me an email demanding $450 for damage. I called to dispute. Call center in India. I now received a letter stating my credit card will be charged. Now I am waiting for it to be charged so I can dispute it with my credit card company. If you rent a car insist that an employee looks at the vehicle inside and out with you. Do the same thing when you return it. What has happened to companies? It is so frustrating. read more

I am 70 years old and rented a 16' moving truck from them along with a trailer to tow my car. I asked in advance if I could get help putting my car on the trailer because I had nobody to help me. They assured me I would. I drove 2 hours to get there, paid, and asked for the help. They said they had to get someone from another office to come do it. I waited 90 minutes and the counter person told me, oh, nobody's coming. I ended up having to pay a tow truck driver from Northern New Mexico Towing $174 for 10 minutes work to put my car on the trailer. No value given to my time. No apology. read more

rented a car from the airport location. Son forgot oculus in the center consol. Went back for it and was told to fill out a report. was told they would check camera. Has given us the run around and never can talk to a real person. Unprofessional behavior. read more

Worst rental car experience ever! No more than 15 minutes from leaving the rental lot and the low tire pressure light randomly came on and off. After finding air hose and filling each tire, the light came back on until we exited to local roads -- the steering was also very shaky, not normal for rental car. Called customer service and was told to go to any budget counter to receive help. Next day, counter agent told told me there was nothing she could do and blamed us for all the issues. After calling roadside number on the keys, we exchanged our first Nissan beater for another one. Second one wasn't much better. Front passenger side bumper was partially detached and random sensors kept coming up on dash. Was very relieved to turn that piece of crap in -- the guy checking in cars wasn't even the least bit bothered. Oh, and did I mention the license plate tabs were expired by almost six months?! Will never rent from budget again -- should probably be entitled to a partial refund but that'll never happen. Super duper crappy experience!!! read more

These people gave me a car one smaller than I paid for but charged me the same price. I paid for a a full tank of gas but was only given half a tank. When I returned the car there was no one there to complain to. When I called their phone number I was sent to India where Shamar told me my complaint was not valid and refused to compensate me. Avoid this company at all costs. I selected this company to save money but instead I was cheated by Budget and Shamar. read more

very rude, charged for things I shouldn't have been charged for, l called to resolve it and the individual spoke poor English and talked down to me and was very very rude. They charged me for gas when it was full and an extra day when they got the time wrong of me bringing the car back read more

I was charged $250 deposit for dust, and small specks on dirt on the carpet. When I submitted a request for refund they denied me. I will NEVER rent from them again!! Thats ridiculous! read more

There are no safeguards in place for the customer regarding fuel surcharges. I recently was Charged for an incorrect fuel amount upon check in . Fortunately I took pictures of the( mileage / fuel level) . Charges were reversed but this mistake is the fault of budget. Be sure you document fuel / mileage because the burden of proof is on the customer. read more

I was given an electric vehicle without any notice. The exchange the next day cost me an hour and their paperwork adjustment lead to 8 charges to my bank, over $2000 for a 4 day rental that was supposed to be $350. 22 days later and hours of calls and lots of empty promises... still waiting for my refund!! read more

The problem I ALWAYS have when I rent cars pretty much anywhere is this. Whenever I rent I use my credit cards insurance which is completely acceptable. I have used this insurance for years. My siblings do too. The probelm is, I always get pushback. They always question me about it and give me a hard time. Which is, and they know it, fraudulent behavior. The funny thing is my siblings (who are white) never get pushback!! Just me. The attendant this time assisting me, like usual, questioned me regarding my coverage. She acted like she has never heard of a person using their credit cards coverage. She gave the impression that she was not going to rent to me waiting for me to cave and purchase their insurance. She saw that she could not con me so proceeded with a bad attitude and begrudgingly finished our transaction. When I left the final gate with my rental, the guy who let me out also gave me much attitude and dirty looks. My sister-in-law was a manager at a car rental place for 10 years. She told me unfortunately they are taught to give brown and black people a hard time and to really push their insurance on them because they most likely will not know any better. I cannot tell you how annoying it is to have to deal with this every single time I rent. I will never buy the agencies scammy insurance and they really need to understand that people are not as dumb as they think. read more

Flew into ABQ for Balloon Fiesta and made reservation on app. Got in line & the man behind counter (dark skin, either Latino or middle eastern) tells me even though I've a reservation I wouldn't be getting a car because they're all booked. I've seen enough Seinfeld episodes to understand that a "reservation" doesn't reserve the car & that in these situations the rental company has to turn people away. But I'm sure there are more polite ways to explain this than to coldly say "you are not getting a car." Next year for ballon fiesta I may purposely reserve a car at this location & not show up (you aren't charged until you pick up vehicle) just to mess with these people. read more

Long lines even for fast pass members. No way will I ever use Budget again...ever. One person working because the second took a break...with all these people waiting! read more

Budget Rent A Car - The line at Budget Albuquerque international. One person working because the only other one took a break! - Car Rental Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Not going to lie, I can understand why people give this place such low ratings. It's not because the facility itself is an issue, but I can see how the Budget counter at this facility could be an issue. Now, keep in mind I was only at the counter for about 3 min, so I can't promise the info I have is 100% accurate, but I can see why people think the customer service is bad here. So, the Budget counter has two lines, a short one for FastBreak customers and a longer one for regular customers. I walk up to the FastBreak line and THANKFULLY, I was first from the shuttle because it seems everyone comes to the FastBreak line, even if they don't have FastBreak. The one, and only, person at the counter asks for my drivers license and credit card. I'm like "huh?" because with FastBreak you don't need those things. Then he's like, "oh you have FastBreak!" and I'm like, "yes..." thinking to myself, "why would I get in this line if I didn't?" He grabs my info off the board behind him, tells me where the car is and I'm off on my merry way. There are two sets of people in line behind me and as I'm walking away, I hear that they don't have FastBreak but have clearly entered the line for it. So, If I had gotten there after these people, I would have had to stand there and wait while I literally just needed the piece of paper on the wall with my name on it. I can see why people would find this frustrating. You sign up for FastBreak so you can pick up your keys and leave, not to wait in line. If they don't want another attendant at the counter, then they should place the papers within our reach so we can grab and go. What's even more frustrating? To the left of this counter is another rental company. Their counter is teeny tiny compared to the Budget one, and there were three, yes THREE, people working there. So to someone who's just come off a flight, waiting in line when they shouldn't have to, these frustrations add up. Luckily, my experience was ok but I can see why renting rom this Budget can be a bit meh. read more

This should be a ZERO star review. 1) Lady at counter was slow like abnormally slow. 3 ppl after me were already helped and i was still sitting at the counter. I already reserved everything so not sure what took so long. 2) there was absolutely no customer service what so ever. Everyone looked like they hated their life. I had added 2 car seats added on. They told us to wait for them outside in front of the avis preferred section and then our car should be out. Waited 15 mins. Nothing. No sign of car or carseats. Go inside to see what the deal is since all the workers outside scurried off. Took them another 15 mins just to tell us to go wait outside and if we don't get the car to ask the Avis people outside since they have nothing to do with the cars. WTF. So we waited... Nothing ... I finally was able to flag a guy down for the car seats... they were Behind the avis preferred booth in a cabinet. He said take our pick... all of them were filthy and missing parts! Totally not safe! Never again will I rent car seats from budget/Avis. We chose the best looking one (not great by any standards) and then I disinfected it with what cleaning stuff we had. This is a MAJOR safety issue and BUDGET should be liable for any damages caused by their garbage carseats. I hope no child gets hurt because of them. Over it took 95+mins to get the damn car rental. What I learned from that trip... Never use BUDGET or AVIS. Pay more and use Enterprise! read more

I needed a rental car for my vacation and wasn't sure who to book through. I scoured the internet and realized that their more expensive then I remember! I was picking up from the Albuquerque airport and dropping off in Phoenix. I found Budget through a third party website and was thrilled with saving quite a bit of money. I arranged for my pickup time to be noon, but knew I would get there earlier. I was already at the hotel and didn't want to pick up immediately after arriving since I had a long day of travel. I opted for the next day since I was going to be in town for a bit cruising. Here's where and what I did not like. I tried to reach the location directly about picking up a few hours earlier. Every time I did, I was always directed to their national phone call center. This ended up being really super annoying! They refused to tell me that I could come in early, unless I cancelled the reservation and lost my locked in rate. They also told me that if I did that, there were no cars available. UGH. So, after a while I ended up going to the counter early. Like 11 AM. I was more then ready to get my vehicle. Fortunately, they were not busy at all when I arrived, and did not have to wait. The rental car companies are all bunched together near the terminal. I guess there's a free shuttle that circulates, but I got a lift from the hotel I am staying at nearby. When entering, the lady behind the budget counter was assisting a lady get her vehicle. A man down from Avis came to help me out and it was easy as pie! He checked me in and it was very pleasant. I told him about how I had tried to call earlier for a pickup, and I don't quite remember what he said, but it was fine. He told me it was probably best that I didn't get there early in the morning because they had a big rush and I would have been waiting for a while! He gave me really clear directions about where the vehicle was and told me to have my license ready for when I leave the lot. The car itself is fine. Its clean, has a full tank of gas and went a lot smoother in person than I had anticipated. I'm really happy it all worked out and things went smoothly. But, as a heads up, its dam near impossible to reach these people directly! read more