Budget Rental Car Review

Overall 2.54 of 5 view all 41 reviews

LauraBelle
South Elgin, IL

Sometimes Good Customer Service Trumps All

mother of 2, Beach Goer, Budget-Conscious, married to a Gearhead

Pros

Cheapest rates, Great customer service, Choice of cars

Cons

Waited in line for nearly an hour

MAR

2008

After you pay expensive prices to fly a family of four on vacation, the last thing you want to do is spend hundreds of dollars more on a rental car. Last year we had a bad experience, not getting the car we wanted, and not being informed of this until we were walking out to the lot with the keys, so we were trying to avoid this happening again. We tried finding good deals this year, but being Orlando, Florida during spring break, we were out of luck, as any coupons or deals were not valid during this time.

The cheapest rates we found were at Budget Rental Car, and with what looked to be a good selection of cars, we went for it and booked. Also important to us is 24 hour service and on site location, both of which we would have at Budget. Once when our flight was delayed to being past midnight on a layover in Atlanta, we had to switch our reservations to a different rental company and didn't want this to happen again.

Once we landed, picked up our luggage, and headed to the Budget counter, we were quite dismayed to find a very long line, as were the many people in line in front of us. We couldn't figure out why looking around to the other rental companies on site, that they didn't have nearly the lines Budget did. The last thing you want to do after a long flight is stand in line, making you feel like you've already hit the Disney attractions.

Eventually we made it to the front of the line, after nearly an hour. We asked the clerk waiting on us why the Budget line was so long, and he told us that was going to happen when you had the cheapest prices. But still, why was the line moving so ultra slowly?

This question was answered while the clerk helped us, as he not only explained all the details to us in full, he also offered us many options. My husband joked that if they had a Dodge Charger, he'd like that, and the clerk went to check, but came up empty. We were comfortable with our original reservation for a Ford Fusion, but the clerk told us as we asked for full insurance coverage that with full insurance coverage, we'd get a free upgrade. We could upgrade to either an SUV or Chrysler 300, and took the 300.

The 300 was great, beautiful, roomy, and black. It definitely held all our luggage in the trunk and then some, and while like many rental cars, it's a stripped down model without a lot of amenities, there really isn't anything we were wishing it had.

As and added bonus, the clerk even told us which gas station to avoid when we returned the car, since we had to refill the tank beforehand. He told us to go to any of them around the airport, but avoid a certain one, as we'd be paying over $4 a gallon there. Apparently they know you have to refill the thank, so plan on sticking you for every penny of that they can.

The absolute only negative part of our car rental experience was the one hour wait in line, but being that the wait was to ensure everyone had great customer service and the same low price, it was hard to argue that the wait was a true negative.

Budget Rental Car is recommended by LauraBelle

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Comments about LauraBelle’s Review

Yeah, being in the grocery business, I can tell you not everybody shops at the store with the lowest prices. I have a lot of customers who won't go to Wal Mart because the customer service is so poor. Glad you had such a good experience. Might have to try Budget next time.