I arrived at DTW at approximately 5:00 a.m. in the dark and extreme cold to pick up a reserved 4 day rental. I went directly to the designated rental shuttle area. While shuttles for all other rental car companies and hotels arrived regularly the Budget shuttle never appeared. I waited approximately 45 minutes. During that time I called the direct phone number for Budget multiple times and received only an outgoing message stating the office was closed. I also contacted Budget's 800 number and was told there should be a phone in the shuttle area to request pickup. There was no such phone. I asked multiple DTW employees all of whom confirmed there was no phone and that waiting was the only option. Two other parties were also waiting for Budget during this time. One of those parties discovered that Avis and Budget share an office so we boarded an Avis shuttle. Given the lack of shuttle service and unanswered calls I believed Budget was closed but the office was in fact open. When I reached the counter I was assisted by a representative named Christian. He attempted to rush me by suggesting I take an electric vehicle, which I had not reserved, despite there being minimal customer volume at that hour. I declined. When I asked about extending the rental by a few hours and requested pricing information his answers were unclear and incomplete. Christian then loudly announced that he was taking a specific car, repeating it so other employees could hear. This behavior was unusual and, in retrospect, appeared deliberate. The vehicle I was given was in unacceptable condition. It had a strong cigarette odor, visible dirt and mud throughout the interior and exterior and extremely dirty windows that impaired visibility that became apparent when daylight broke. Because it was still dark the full extent of the condition was not immediately apparent. I initially I thought it was dew and poor wipers. The vehicle was also not provided with a full tank of gas. I returned to the counter and informed Christian that the car smelled strongly of cigarettes and requested a different vehicle. I was told that all the cars smelled like cigarettes. Another employee offered to spray the vehicle. A third employee applied a deodorizing spray through one door and at my request it was sprayed through the others. The chemical odor was irritating but at the time it seemed preferable to the cigarette smell. When exiting the lot I informed the attendant checking IDs that the fuel tank was not full. I was advised to either return inside to have it corrected or document it with a photo. Given the poor visibility caused by the dirty windows, I chose to take a photo and leave. Approximately 10 minutes later the cigarette odor returned at full strength. I drove with all windows down and wore a mask yet experienced throat irritation, nausea and difficulty breathing. I realized I could not tolerate this condition for a 4 day rental. I contacted Budget's 800 number and was initially told the vehicle must be returned to the original pickup location, despite being over an hour away. After an extended back-and-forth, I was told I could go to any Budget location. I drove 25 minutes to the Sterling Heights location where I was informed they had no vehicles and were turning away customers with reservations. I was told that due to the approaching weekend other locations likely also had no availability and that I would need to call each location individually. I contacted the 800 number again and was told the airport would have the most availability. A representative suggested I take the vehicle to a car wash. This was not a reasonable solution; cigarette odor embedded in fabric is not resolved by a wash, and deodorizing sprays had already caused additional irritation. With no alternative, I drove an hour back to DTW, losing a substantial portion of the day correcting an issue I did not create. Upon arrival, the return line extended out the door. I was assisted by an employee named Janey. Although I requested to speak with a manager, I was told management was in a meeting. Despite this, Janey handled the situation promptly and professionally. During an extremely busy period, she provided a clean vehicle that did not smell like cigarettes, was free of mud and dirt, and had a full tank of gas, basic standards that were not met earlier when there was little to no line. Janey resolved in minutes what multiple employees failed to address. Her professionalism stood in stark contrast to the rest of this experience. read more

Budget - Rental smelled of strong cigarette smell, was dirty and fuel tank was not full. - Car Rental Near Me - Romulus, Michigan

My first yelp review was four days ago when I rented this car from budget. Today, as I dropped it off in the rain, there was no place for anyone to stand to get picked up. And then took 45 minutes for us to be able to exit even though we were not even renting a car. The teller at the window was obviously frustrated because there were 30 cars behind us.. get your act together budget read more

Over an hour wait to get to the check in counter then sent to Stan in line outside for and hour in 87 degree heat. Ambulance had to come for one person. Never again!!!! Would rate it a zero stars read more

Budget - People waiting in non moving line in 87 degree heat. - Car Rental Near Me - Romulus, Michigan

Rented a car from Budget rental at the Detroit Metro airport location for 24 hrs, and to be dropped off at the Cleveland Ohio airport. I didn't get a receipt. I was told it was sent to my email, I never received it. Picked up the car it was so dirty. I called and spoke to several people and was repeatedly told the receipt was being sent, never received it. The next morning the rental was dropped off at Cleveland Ohio airport. I called still no receipt. They checked and said the car was never returned. After an hour of frustration talking to useless people they finally said it was there. I checked my credit card activity and they had charged triple the quoted price. Never received a receipt. I strongly advise using another airport rental car service!!! read more

Shuttle at airport was very delayed. Waited for nearly 20 minutes as other rental car shuttles came and went. Don't ask me to inspect the rental car you assigned to be for damage, record the damage, and then give the damage ticket to the attendant before I leave. I expect to pick up a car that is ready for me and go after a long day of travel. I also expect to receive a clean car - washed and wiped down. read more

I wish I'd read the reviews. We went to pick up our pre-booked car, and found 40 people in line before us and 4 staffed counters. Meanwhile there were 3 or 4 shuttle drivers dropping off more people. After 30 minutes our line had advanced by 10 people. They have a streamlined pickup called FastBreak but we didn't even know about it!! So, you have to enroll days (?) before you need the car. We enrolled while standing in line. There is an LED screen outside where your name can appear, but it didn't seem to be working? Finally we got a car and the exit staffer in a kiosk checked us out. The FastBreak: https://www.budget.com/en/fastbreak#:~:text=It's%20smart%2C%20simple%20and%20fast,the%20designated%20area%20and%20go. There was a line of 40 people again when we left. Shout out to Andrew, the nice shuttle driver who helped us. read more

Returned the car with a full tank of gas and was charged $187 for "fuel service ". Apparently they couldn't find the receipt that was left behind proving that I purchased fuel. read more

Terrible service. The wait in line for the car was longer than our flight. Staff made no effort to move quickly. Never again

I wish I would've read these reviews before I made reservations. 1hr 25min in line so far and still counting...

Zero was not an option. Avoid at all cost. Would have read prior reviews. Seems like this place is incapable of improvement. The busiest holiday weekend, this place had 2 representatives working the counter. 100+ weary travelers waiting 2+ hours. Many were children and elderly. Place looked like a refugee camp. I gave up after an hour in line. Walked next door and picked up a Hertz car in less than 10 minutes. Lesson learned. You get what you pay for. read more

Never again. The first car they gave us had a flat tire. It's parked in the front, how no one saw the flat tire is beyond me. Customer service was good. We got a new car, no problem there. The problem came with the shuttle on our way back to the airport. We waited almost 20 minutes for the shuttle to pick us up and the drive to the airport was about 10 minutes so that was 30 minutes gone from our time. I counted about 5 Hertz shuttles before the Budget one came. The driver said they were understaffed and only had two drivers, guess it's not their fault but they should have warned everybody. I would of came to the airport earlier. We all have flights to make. The shuttle was in bad condition. As the driver was hitting all the bumps, something from the roof kept falling on me like WTH is happening. It was a bad first time experience. Yes the prices are cheap but so is the quality. I'll pass. read more

The Sunday before Christmas and only 2 people working. Canceled reservation and caught a lyft. Still saved money

Budget rental at Detroit Metro Airport. Two people at the counter, 75 people in line, 15 minutes per customer. By all calculations we would have been standing there for a MINIMUM of 3 hours. Walked across the street to Enterprise and drove off after 10 minutes. read more

We waited in line last night 10/3 for over on hour to get our rental car that we had booked. We waited for over an hour and the line never moved. There was only one person working my husband left and went to another rental car place and got a rental car. Will never book with them again read more

An hour in line. 3 people working, 30 waiting. Broken toilet. One extra star over the mandatory one because the person at the counter was very nice. read more

This Budget location is to be avoided at all costs. Took an hour of waiting in line with four people at the counter and I was about six parties back. Then another 20 minutes to actually get into a car. In the meantime, I watched one of the ladies who worked on the lot repeatedly come in to tell the counter staff they had to stop assigning the same car to multiple people. They seemed to have crazily outdated computer systems because they were using paper and radios. Drop off was the last straw--unclear signage and no attendants. I flagged someone down and she yelled at me for apparently leaving the car in the wrong area. Meanwhile every other rental company dropoff has attendants who check the gas level and mileage and car condition and give you a receipt. Nope, not this place, and all I wanted to know was where to leave the key and if anyone cared. The bus ride back was commiseration central. No one had had a good experience. read more

Can't give less than 1 star. Only 2 people working on a Saturday afternoon. Counter has 8 stations. Taking 20 mins per person to check people in. No sense of urgency or really caring at all about the customer experience. What a joke. What is the point of precheck and prebooking when you stand in a line hour over an hour? Never use this budget location. read more

Paid ahead to rent a car, had the confirmation took the nearly mile long ride to the Budget/ Avis . They asked for my credit card so that they could charge a $200 security deposit. I was going to Michigan to bury my father I did not have a great deal in my account or on my orher credit card, I had barely enough for tge 200 but the moron tried to charge both cards TWICE for 250, which was not there. The man's supervisor came by and TOLD him it was only to be $200. To late was locked out on both cards. I called my bank and confirmed live that the money was there! The moron asked I had another credit card he could try ! They told me maybe I could find an ATM for cash, mind you it was already tight for gas and food money. Now I am stuck a mile from the terminal at 9pm in pitch black Romulus they will not give me the car I rented because of an incompetent employee! So I had to march around at 10pm trying to find another rental, thank God Enterprise had a car and no security deposit. F**K YOU BUDGET! read more

I should have read the reviews here because they are spot on. My husband, 2 kids and I landed around 8 pm and when we got the the rental office, there were 8 people in front of me, 1 lady working and another taking on the phone. It took me 50 minutes to get to the counter. When it was my turn, I headed eagerly to the counter to be helped by Vicky, who totally ignored my presence and decided to start a non-work conversation with another representative that showed up. I was patiently waiting until the other rep asked the next person to step up so I asked Vicky if she was going to be able to help me or if I should step back and wait for the next rep. Rudely and with attitude as I am bothering her conversation, she stated that I stepped up without being called so I should go back in the line. And Vicky called the next person in line!!! I asked to call the manager Keith Stewart who took even longer and after listening to my story, he told me "you will have a car" without an apology for the horrific employee he has. Who hires or promotes these people???? If I could rate lower I would! However, the rep that ended up helping us, Terry, was wonderful and a delight after interacting with inept and rude employees. DO NOT GO THERE! read more

Never seen a car rental place more inept in my life. How this place gets anything above a 1 star is beyond me. Maybe it's their prices but considering what you go through to get the car, just pay a little more and go elsewhere. Arrived and the line was 2 hours long. There were 2 agents working which was bad enough as it is but then you see countless "supervisors/managers" walking in and out the back office but not doing anything to help get the lines down. One guy just coming out the back to get whatever was in the printer and then would go back into the office. But what makes it even more ridiculous is they couldn't handle more than one task at a time. While standing in the 2 hour lines, there were a few customers who had trouble with their reservations. One person apparently ordered a convertible that wasn't ready so instead of asking them to step aside and let them assist other customers, the agent waited for almost 40 mins and didn't help anyone else. Other guy's card was having issues. Same thing. Instead of asking to step aside and clear up their issues, the other agent waited while he was on the phone with his bank for almost 30 mins. This is customer service 101, people. NO WAY. NEVER AGAIN. Sadly, most people will still just go with the best price before looking up with reviews but if you see this review, just expect the slowest service possible. read more

We flew into Detroit to visit some friends and family and our flight got in really late (1am) so we booked with Budget because they are open 24 hours. They have a free shuttle from the airport to their location, which was very convenient. When we got there from to their office there was one lady in front of us and not one person at the desk. We asked the lady in a joking fashion if anyone was working, and she replied that there was someone outside looking for a car for her and that there might not be any left even though she had a reservation. I thought that was weird considering there were 30+ cars outside. After standing in line for 10 minutes without being helped or simply greeted my fiance peeked around the corner and saw a girl in the back room and asked her if she could assist the people in line. At this point there were two addition guests waiting behind us. She snapped back at my fiance and told her she was doing three others job and we would have to wait. Brutal response, and I was not really stoked. She did come out of the back room finally and assist us and ended up upgrading our car for a nicer one, which is the only reason they didn't receive a 1 star. Their return process is however very easy and convenient. Side note Budget: try to be slightly more discrete when posting "contests" in plain sight of guests. #BasicBusinessTatics read more

Budget provided a car with a medium leak in one of the tires. I contacted them to have it resolved and they offered to provide a new car to my location at no charge after we discussed the danger of driving on the highway to return the car. Over two months later they send me a bill of $227.30 and refuse to review the tape recorded conversation from my call. They then claim that the road services phone operator did not have authority to grant services without charging me. So, a large payment to Budget because they provided an unsafe vehicle, which is something they do not dispute. They just don't care. I ended my FastPass account and will hopefully never have to deal with them or their incessant request to pay $10 extra a day for emergency road service. I should have just had the tire fixed and paid $50. If you do still rent through Budget, make sure to get any assurances from them in writing or email. read more

This review is about our bus driver bruce. He waited for us to land and come. He drives a shuttle bus. How nice was he. He was so sweet and nice. We were in a snow storm when we landed. This guy is awesome and needs to be recognized. !! Recognize bruce!!! read more

Hands down the worst initial customer experience I have ever had in my life. The woman working the counter was rude and short. She choose to just ignore my questions and give me one word demands. ID. Credit Card. B6. Was literally the extent of my exchange with this woman. No explanation on the rental, no opportunity to ask question and certainly no smile. I found it odd though because she was perfectly kind and helpful to the black man that was in front of me... and the black woman that was in line behind me. Racism exists in many facets these days and how sad to have such a perfect display of it here at Budget, but I would happily take any other excuse if someone can find one for this awful experience. So then, when I went to B6 to get into my car it was not the car I had made reservation for and it was not even kind of the same. I went back in a received a shoulder shrug and a 'sorry that's all we have'. Which is also odd because when the gentleman that was in front of me in line came back and requested a different car, she told him "did you see something that you liked out there? Whatever you like" Are you kidding me. This was an awful experience; I always go with Enterprise and thought I would spread the love, worst decision I have ever made and seriously inappropriate and completely lacking any sort of professionalism. Sick. read more

If there was a less than one option I'd pick it. Wouldn't accept our debit card then told us (very loudly) we didn't pass some credit check (we have excellent credit). They preceeded to tell us no other services would take a debit card leaving us to go all the way back to airport thinking we were SOL. Found out Enterprise takes debit cards with flight itinerary. They saved us, thanks Enterprise!!! read more

Do not rent from budget! We arrived at midnight and no one inspected the vehicle like they normally do to go over any damage. It was too dark in the parking lot to see that there was a chip in the windshield. A couple MONTHS later they sent us a letter saying $524 will automatically be taken out of our account for it! We have called numerous times, spoken to "supervisors" that we did not do this! They do not give a damn! This business is a scam. I will NEVER EVER USE BUDGET AGAIN. AND I WILL TELL EVERYONE. BY THE WAY, THEY DONT EVEN GIVE A RECEIPT SHOWING HOW THE COST ADDED TO $524! read more

I just got off of the phone with a customer service rep for Budget Car rental concerning my latest rental. I rent cars and always from Budget on a regular occasion. January the 8th, I landed in Detroit, Michigan where the weather was increasingly getting worse with snow, wind and ice. I had a conversation with the rental rep at the airport about upgrading my economy car into a car or SUV with AWD or 4x4. She said the only thing they had left was a Silver Lincoln MKT with AWD. I paid the upgrade price and in total, it ended up costing me an extra $133.40 for the car and 5 days. Upon checking out, I received a return confirmation listing the car as "FWD." The car was horrendous in the snow and was such a mess all week in the inclement weather. I called the customer service agent at Budget and she told me that even though her agent had lied to me about the car being AWD, it was my fault and they can't issue a refund or do ANYTHING for me because I didn't read the contract carefully enough. Ridiculous. Horrendous customer service. While I should've read the contract more carefully, the woman behind the counter assured me over and over the car was AWD and great in the snow. We had a lengthy conversation about the car and how I needed AWD and not FWD due to the weather getting increasingly worse. To top all of this off, when I got into the car after I paid the upgrade fee, the car was disgusting. It was trashed. Smelled like cigars, stains on the seats and sticky mess in the cup holders. The car stunk and didn't have full tank of gas like I had also been promised. This is the WORST experience I have ever had with a rental car. I rent from Budget almost exclusively up until now. I will never rent from Budget again. I won't give them the time of day or my business. I will never again step foot anywhere near Budget. They have an employee that lies to a customer on several different topics, then when confronted, won't stand behind their customer, product or customer service. Terrible. Horrible. DO NOT rent from Budget. You WILL BE swindled. read more

Terrible lines and service. Find another rental. I will not use them again. How much more do I have to say for yelp to say it's a review

The shuttle driver had a shuttle full of Delta pAssengers and dropped them off at the wrong terminal. When I tried to call the office, it is actually impossible to speak to anybody that is actually located at this location. You have to talk to an overseas representative somewhere, who will then transfer you to another representative who will then tell you that you can't actually talk to anybody at the location that you were just physically at two minutes previously. I have been renting from Budget exclusively for a long time and it's little things like this that keep adding upAnd I just can't take it anymore. read more

Took the shuttle to the rental car area. Had reservations and waited in line while 3 employees helped customers. The process was very slow and at one point I counted 36 people in line. After about 55 minutes waiting I finally made it to the counter and was waited on. The vehicle I received was dirty and had road tar all down the drivers side. Some damage on the rear. Got in and immediately cigarette smoke was overwhelming. Rather than stand in line for another hour we drove off. The odor never dissipated and even after buying and placing a box of baking soda it never got any better. Customer service sucked and the vehicle did as well. I'll take my chances elsewhere in the future. read more

Worst experience in travel. Zero stars is the true rating. I arrived at the combined rental counter at 10:10 PM on a Saturday night. There are 3 lines (Avis, Payless, and Budget). The Avis counter was fully populated with associates. There was 1 associate for Payless and 2 associates for Budget. Upon arrival, there were 28 people in line in front of me. After 2 hours standing in line, there were 21 people in front of me and *zero* Budget counter folks. ZERO. I asked another guy in line where all the associates went. He said they went to get cars for those who already had a contract. I called the toll free number on my Budget reservation and spoke to a garbled, electronic mess of a man. Clearly he did not have a good telephone set. After minutes failing to hear him, I asked to talk to his supervisor. I could understand her. She offered me a $30 coupon for the next time I rented. I told her I would NEVER rent from Budget again. Her response was to say she would file a corporate report. Next, a man who had been waiting outside came in and announced that he and his family had been there 4 hours and still had no car. At this point (11:45 PM), there are still 21 people in line in front of me, so I give up and call Metro Car, asking for a ride to my hotel room. The driver arrives 30 minutes later. As I am waiting outside for my ride, the fellow who announced his 4 hour delay drove up in a rental from across the street (Enterprise?), picked up his family and left. It cost me $198 for the ride to the hotel in Metro Cab (including tip). The next day I took an Uber back to the rental car building at DTW airport. That cost me $70, including tip. Again there is a huge, long line. At least this time, there are counter associates and cars. I discuss my situation with the nice counter man and he tells me that he will make a note on my situation and provide that information to his manager to ask for a refund for the day, the insurance and the applicable taxes. Of course there was no refund. WARNING! Do not rent a car from Budget at Detroit Metro Airport! read more

This place is worse than the DMV. Whenever I forget the mantra that "You get what you pay for," a terrible business like the Detroit Budget reminds me with a vengeance. Yes, I got suckered in with a very low rental rate -- And I'm so sorry. Paying more for expeditious, competent service is well worth it. read more

How many shuttles does it take Budget to get you to the airport??? THREE!!! Unless you're Caucasian and travel with golf clubs... Just got bumped 2x in order to get to the airport. Got on the shuttle to get to North terminal, just to be told to get off because more people were waiting to go to the Delta terminal. So I'm fine with that, considering there were more people. Next shuttle, I get on, and then another guy is told to get on by mistake, and when the driver realizes it, she tells me to get off since he has golf clubs and I only have one bag. So now I can't help but feel discriminated against, whether it's because of my lack of golf clubs, or because of my ethnicity (I'm a minority, and the two others are not). The third shuttle driver was kind enough to NOT kick me off, and actually took me to the airport. read more

Guess you get what you pay for. $97 for a 4 day mid size rental. Add in a 15 min wait for the shuttle and a 20+ wait in the lobby, and I would have rather paid an extra 20 to start my vacation earlier. The driver was nice, but really it is a Thursday afternoon summer pick up. This should work better. Return was seamless. Maybe I hit them at the wrong time? read more

Flew into Detroit metro. 2 agents . 25 customers. One agent busy with a problem case. Need xanax. Amazing. They know how many cars they have reserved. Is it not possible to have 4 or 5 agents. Never again read more

Waited more than 30 minutes for a Budget shuttle from Detroit Metro to Budget car rental. All other rental shuttles were every 5 minutes. NEVER AGAIN. read more

Budget rental Is a rip off, don't do any business with these people, they are very dishonest . I brought the car back one day early and they charged me almost 200 hundred dollars extra. Just beware of this group. read more

rented in Detroit... returned before we left the yard with a broken door, broken seat belt. I needed to change having kids with me. But the only car left what an upgrade so I was forced to pay $10.00 a day extra to pay for the upgrade so I could have another American Made Vehicle. It's a shame I have to pay extra for it. Wont return. Erin D read more

Terrific experience! Had a reservation with a different rental car company at the airport. Needless to say that company lost my business due to poor service. Had them drive me straight to Budget. Walked right in and straight to counter. Meesha was my salesperson. Polite, friendly and attentive. She moved quickly through the system since I didn't have a reservation. My whole rental process took under 10 minutes. She explained all.the policies and I was on my way. The otber company lost my business; however Meesha turned me on as a future Budget customer. Will use Budget Rental Car at DTW for life! read more

Dave at Detroit Airport Budget Rent A Car ... 25 years of making customers wait. Worst Rent a car service ever! I must have atrived during a work slow down. read more