The car I recover was dirty and the gas wasn't full. I was on a tight schedule and had to take the car as is. I reported it when I returned the car. Thankfully the new manager Derick was very helpful and is providing a partial refund for the gas and inconvenience read more

I landed at LGA and waited for a shuttle for 45 minutes. I was not offered anything for my inconvenience. No apology or acknowledgement for their negligence. I will not use this location nor company ever again. Beware. read more

One person working at a New York City car rental counter? What takes 7-8 minutes per customer?? read more

Budget - Car Rental Near Me - East Elmhurst, New York

Wait time was so long to pick up a car! I came here on a Sunday morning to pick up a car and there were only 2 people working the counter. I waited over an hour to pick up my car. Fast Break was not open at this location, which could have eased the line situation. read more

POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND RUDE REPS ALMOST LEAD TO A BRAWL AT THIS LOCATION! Here you can expect long wait times and poor to no service at all! Read on.... I arrived an hour prior to my reservation pick-up scheduled for 11:00am on Sunday. Upon arriving, the line extended to the sidewalk outside, and only grew as shuttle buses dropped off people from the airport. There are two lines at this location, fast break and regular. The fast break line was virtually empty until I finally neared the counter at which point a shuttle was dropped off and the fast break line grew to about 4 customers, while the regular line continued to extend into the parking lot. The counter is severely understaffed and untrained. When the shuttle arrived tensions flared because there was no place for people to go and not one staff member ever intervened or addressed how to best form the line (granted at this point there is only one person at the desk because the other person left for over 30 minutes). I was next in line and the fast break line was the only line being addressed, and the rep refused to make eye contact with me to let me know it would be a moment or I would be next). I understand they get to bump ahead but even addressing each line every other turn would still honor their priority over waiting long periods of time. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS LOCATION. SERIOUS STAFF TRAINING NEEDED. read more

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Rented a car with full tank of gas.... After waiting at least 45 Minutes to check in, the staff were not friendly. Paid for a full tank of gas and there was Less than 3/4 of a tank. Told the lot attendant at exit and he said he should tell the people when we return the vehicle. I will Not rent again from Budget read more

Overall, I've had very good experiences renting with Budget. I've been a frequent customer for quite some time, and the staff has consistently been friendly, professional, and helpful. While the lines can sometimes be long when multiple flights arrive at once, that's understandable and not something the employees can control. My only concern is from my most recent rental. During this week's New York City heat wave, the entrance doors were not working properly, so they had to remain open. There were no fans, and the air conditioning wasn't enough to keep the office comfortable. It was extremely uncomfortable for both customers and, more importantly, the employees who had to work in those conditions. The staff deserves recognition, and I hope this issue is addressed as soon as possible to provide a better environment for everyone. Kudos to the regular staff I deal with...Sorai, Richard, Sebastian. Thank you for being you! Ivelisse Rodriguez ;) read more

if I could leave negative stars, I would. Budget location is a mix of DMV line (over 2 hours!), incompetent desk agents (the slowest I have seen on 5 continents), and clientele ready to riot (both in appearance and situational anger). DO NOT RENT FROM HERE!!!! read more

RENTERS BEWARE!! CORPORATE BE AWARE!! I rented a vehicle from this location on Friday, June 27, and returned it on Monday, July 1 at 3:29 PM. Just minutes before returning the car, I refueled at the Speedway gas station (8910 Astoria Blvd), which is only 0.4 miles away. I then drove directly to Budget. At check-in, the employee scanned the barcode, said I was all set, and within a minute (3:30 PM) I received an email with a bogus $13.42 fuel charge. This is unacceptable. As a long-term Budget Fastbreak customer, I'm appalled. This location is clearly scamming customers with fraudulent fuel fees, and I now see many others reporting the same issue, just read the complaints and reviews. Rental Agreement #: 132506511 To Budget Corporate and future customers: BEWARE. This isn't just a mistake--it's a pattern. Check your receipts and take timestamped photos of your gas gauge and receipts. You shouldn't have to defend yourself against dishonest practices. read more

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One star for price. Pretty much the single reason we're here & you're reading this. Two of the three stars for pleasant, trying-to-help-even-under-pressure front-desk and car return personnel. The fact that they were not surly by default, thanks to Budget org's apparently indifferent management, is a tribute to innate good nature. Because prior reviews about persistent understaffing are accurate. We didn't hit excessive lines the three times we entered this weekend (15-20 min wait) but Fast Track was NOT an option at all twice due to single staffer. And at this locale, Fast Track requires checking in at the desk. So no speedy, desk-free pickup anyway-- allow for min 20 min (and up to 2 hours during holidays) for pickup. Management must set office temp at bare minimum -- it was miserably cold inside and out for those poor workers yet they were still professional. Cons: TEST KEY FUNCTIONS (lights / heat / wipers / syncing) BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE LOT. Also, per other reviews, TAKE PHOTOS OF MILEAGE / FUEL / CONDITION & CLEANLINESS. Understaffing means cars are not serviced & prepped adequately when busy -- which is always! First car we were given had NO wiper fluid as we belatedly discovered after an hour. Only to find wiper nozzles clogged & not working. Returned and car also had zero fluid at pickup. The car being picked up next to us had zero gas and wouldn't even start. Both cars had dirty side windows & side mirrors, and large smudges on windshield, creating poor visibility. They're just too understaffed for details like that. And these are niche tips, but... If renting during a freeze, be aware that most SUV models in stock have in-arm nozzles and those were frozen solid in both models we were given, even after new fluid added to reservoir. Took over an hour with heat/defrost on high to get front fluid to barely spritz and rear never defrosted. Critical issue for safe highway driving in stormy weather. Also, Apple CarPlay only worked with cable (not Bluetooth) in our 2025 Telluride model after much troubleshooting by tech savvy driver. Not sure if fault with model or just its default (most videos suggested it) but if using iPhone be sure to carry a USB-enabled cable, just in case. Kia Telluride did seem roomier (passenger legroom and trunk when seats down) than Mazda CX90, but the Mazda had fancier & easier to use media displays. If that helps when choosing. read more

Worst rental car experience ever. Took 2 hours from the time we got to the shuttle area at LGA until we pulled out with a car. There's a reason it's a few bucks cheaper. read more

they will add you to a do not rent list and lie and say you're on collections because you complained about a car being stank. collections has spoke to me and told me I have not been on collections but the location itself is lieing and putting that in my profile. I will be hiring a legal team because accusing somone of collections it's serious and profiling and discriminating is illegal. read more

WTAF. The line is out the door and around the building. Not a holiday weekend. Just bad planning and staffing. I wish I could give a negative star. -* read more

Budget - The start of the long ass line. - Car Rental Near Me - East Elmhurst, New York

7/6/24: What is the purpose of having Fast Break when they won't allow you to use it? They have 5 people at the desk...1 girl is cursing her head off as an employee in front of us...2 of them don't know what they are doing. Seems like they are just trying to help out. Unfortunately, the line is growing & it is barely moving. On top of that, there are barely any cars here. I'm annoyed that we had to travel during a holiday weekend, but we had no choice. we've been in line almost an hour, and I hope we can make it out of here and to the funeral we are going to ON TIME. We have 2.5 hours to spare before it starts. Let's HOPE we don't waste it all in here. Budget, hire more people who know what they are doing. These reviews are complaining about it the same thing. Get a clue!! Also, it's hard to enforce a maximum occupancy of 8 people with 800 people in your line. read more

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Vehicle was 15+ years old, with holes in carpets and seats, and NOT CLEANED properly where the Clorox wipes I used on everything came back brown. Drop off at LGA was HORRENDOUS. No one there to direct where to return where all the car return lanes were completely full all way to entrance gate of Budget. Had to drive around and finally parked in one of the spots near office - to which 2 VERY nasty employees yelled at me to go back to drop off lines even though I said no spots without blocking entrance. All I got was "I don't know what to tell you". Had to go back and block off entrance until someone finally came and then had to drag all my luggage AGAIN back to office area in pouring rain to get shuttle. I will NEVER use Budget again because of this. read more

Budget - Car Rental Near Me - East Elmhurst, New York

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Airport location.. ONE person working the counter. Over an hour wait.. ridiculous Many people on line read more

It took two hours - TWO HOURS - from the time I landed until I actually got into a car. Outrageous. The shuttle stopped at the wrong stop and sped away as I was walking to it. So I ended up waiting another 20 minutes for a shuttle when every other car rental shuttle came through multiple times. When I finally got to the rental place, I stood in line for a FULL HOUR. Honestly never had such a terrible experience. This was the first and last time I will be using them. read more

3+ hour line and 30 min wait for car. What a terrible experience. Two guys serving like 100 people

Someone there is running a scam on the fuel surcharge. My husband rented a car there for a weekend. He topped off the tank a block away when returning the car - as we always do - then when he got home he checked and they had charged him $77. When he called to complain they said he had to file with his receipts - not just the final receipt, but all gas receipts from his trip. Someone in that office has figured out a way to skim money out of customers. read more

Do not rent with this location!!! I've truly never had such a despicable experience in my life. First, it was the hottest day of the summer and the wildfire smoke was very heavy. When we arrived the line was out the door, which meant the automatic doors were open and therefore they would not turn on the air conditioning. We waited over an hour before we were able to get to the counter and several people nearly fainted. Two infants were also in very unsafe conditions. While there, the staff was extremely rude and slow because half the time they were staring at the screen watching the World Cup game. Once I got my car assigned, we went to the car and the gas tank was filled to half tank and the tire was not on the back of the jeep (which wasn't communicated as an issue; however, at return, it would become an issue, when we were accused of losing the tire. We had no issues with the car during our duration and filled up the tank back to half full, as it was given to us (which wasn't communicated already frustrating because I had never gotten a car half full). Day of the return the man questioned the tire, to which we said he picked it up that way and left. A few days later I got a credit card charge for triple my original contract. When I called to deal with customer service they said it was because the car was returned half full. Of course I argued with that, and they asked for proof that I filled up the tank. I sent the the receipt which shows a gas station right by the return location. I received a message back saying it's not enough proof that the tank was given to me half full. I escalated to a manager because the non- manager was arguing ridiculously. Why on earth would I go to a gas station right before I dropped off the car and only partially refill it, if I knew the fee for not filling it was 12$ per gallon?!?! Please make that make sense. A manager eventually took care of it. Now, yesterday, SEVERAL weeks after I returned that car, I got a letter saying that in a week they will charge me $700 for damages to the car. There were absolutely ZERO damages to the car. I called customer service and they refused to tell me what the issues were or show any proof. At first I thought surely this is a scam; however, I went back to the original emails from the first issue and sent them a response to which they said that they will be charging me. To say I am livid is an understatement. The amount of time I have wasted on the phone with customer service who literally isn't able to do anything is wild. I wish I read the other complaints in these reviewed because it seems like others have had similar issues. There is a whole Reddit dedicated to this BS. I'm still waiting for another customer response person to get back to me, but I hope they're ready to deal with a lawyer because there is no way on earth I am paying for something that is not factual. read more

the line WAS very long BUT it was not the fault of the company - people had not returned their vehicles on time, leaving the company short on available cars. the manager communicated this to us multiple times so we were well-aware of what the situation was, and we even received a discount on gas for the wait as well as free water bottles. car itself was clean, well-maintained, and a smooth ride. I would come back to do business again, while planning some extra time to account for the wait. for what it's worth, there were some really dramatic and entitled customers while I was in the car rental who were asking as if the world was ending because they had to wait an extra 30-45 mins for a vehicle. is it frustrating? sure. is it the end of the world? no. are employees doing the best they can? yes. if you are a realistic person who accepts that life isn't always 100% perfect at all times, you will most likely be fine - don't be scared by the dramatic reviews. drop-off process was super smooth and easy. read more

DO NOT RENT FROM BUDGET!! Waited in line for over an hour to pick up a car, which was reserved well in advanced. Now, I have received email and text that I have not returned the car when I in fact returned the car. No one is answering the phone at budget office. National customer service cannot assist because it is a local issue. Also, national customer service gave me ways to reach local office to no avail. DO NOT RENT FROM BUDGET. DYSFUNCTIONAL AND INCOMPETENT!!!! read more

Returned car days ago and still haven't closed it out. And possibility being charged more money on a vehicle I'm not using No way to contact location to resolve anything. Will not be using them anymore read more

My car rental was most unsatisfactory. Fast Break does not operate at this location, so I waited in line. The line extended out the door. There were only two staff people at the check-in desks, then one of them left for the night. I did not get to the front of the line and a car assigned until I had been waiting for two hours. When I started the car, I saw that one tire was very low. It had 19 psi in the tire. Tires are supposed to be inflated to about 32-35 psi, so this tire was dangerously low. I had to switch to a different car. After I took that car out, I found that the tires were underinflated by 5-6 pounds. I had to pay to inflate the tires on that car. I also discovered that the windshield washer pump was not working. I bought a gallon of windshield fluid but the pump still did not work. There was no Budget staffer to check the car in when I returned the car. This is apparently normal operating procedure. I received an email receipt more than a day after I dropped off the car. I would suggest to anybody returning the car, when no staff is available to check it in, that you take a photo of the odometer and gas gauge, of all four sides of the car to document any damage (or lack of damage), and a photo of the car in the Budget lot to document what day and time you left the car in their lot. read more

I'm very disappointed with Budget Rental. I accidentally left a small hat bag in the back seat of my rental car and realized it. The next morning. When I called, I was told nothing was found even though I clearly left it in the back seat. The bag wasn't hidden, and they satated the car was rented meaning it had to be cleaned so it was definitely found!   What makes this even more upsetting is that some of the 7 hats in that bag were one-of-a-kind and cannot be replaced. They had sentimental value and were part of a personal collection I've spent years building. It's frustrating and unacceptable that something left behind so visibly could just "disappear." There was no genuine effort to help recover the hat bag, and the lack of accountability and transparency was alarming. If you value your belongings and customer service, think twice before renting from here. read more

this place was the slowest and most enraging rental car place i have ever been in. the workers at the desk were more worried about watching a World Cup game than checking out the customers for them to get there car. then after that one of the workers who managed to be the slowest person there decided it was her time to go home after there was a huge line that came in. after we finally got our car after an hour and a half we went outside to see that our car still had to be cleaned and took 45 mins to get to u. DO NOT COME TO THIS RENTAL CAR PLACE IF YOU ARE TRYING TO GET ANYWHERE ON THE SAME DAY. I would give it 0 stars but that is not an option. I've never been more insulted in my life from seeing how long the people take to get things done around th place. read more

I rented a car at LGA, and used it for 5 days. I just got a $250 cleaning fee for a medium severity case of excessive dirt in the car when I returned it. I could have vacuumed the interior of the car in less than 10 minutes to remove the dirt. A $250 fee for 10 minutes of work is absurd. I doubt they did anything different than what they would have done in the ordinary scope of their business when a car is returned. I will contest this fee. The one thing that is certain is that I will never use Budget again. Looking for ways to overcharge their customers is a bad business practice and they will never get my business again because of it. Honestly if they had charged $50 for excessive dirt I would have shrugged my shoulders and thought I guess I should've vacuumed it before I returned it. By charging $250 they are exploiting customers. The cost of vacuuming a car should already be baked into the cost of the rental. If you use Budget be sure to vacuum the car before you return it or get ready for a letter with eye popping fees when you get home from your trip. read more

The absolute slowest rental car service ever. Do not use this place. The fast track lane moves slower than the regular line. Also, some , not all, need to learn some customer service skills... read more

Had to wait for over an hour just to get a car . Had 3 people working went to two. The shuttle from La Quardia airport port comes infrequently. Pay a little extra and save a lot of time. read more

Stop! Go somewhere else. Do not rent from Budget. UNLESS, you like employees thinking they're doing you a favor for allowing you to patronize their business. Dirty , filthy unwashed cars. Dirty windows and mirrors! They don't care. Of the 4 employees working only one even looked up from their cell phone when we walked in the door. We were their only customers at the time. Unfortunately the one that waited on us stayed leaned back in his chair and muttered and grunted his way through the process. Do yourself a HUGE favor and spend a few dollars more for Herfz, I know I will! read more

received a notice of "cleaning fee" required for our vehicle post rental-- However, the Jeep I picked up from LGA Budget on March 6th was the "only" option left, per Budget representative at the desk. This Jeep was extremely dirty, with seat stains, sticky, liquid residue in cup holders, greasy marks all over the dash, etc when I first received the car-- again the ONLY option even though I had reserved that size SUV weeks in advance. LUCKILY, I documented the mess with multiple videos at the time of pick up... I was hopeful my experience with Budget would be easy and reliable, but I have found nothing but the opposite... Do NOT use Budget. read more

Terrible . It is budget for a reason . No shuttles and they don't care . Never again . What you save on rental you will spend on transportation. read more

Hours too limited. Airline delays caused us to miss the 11pm deadline. Hours were not listed in the agreement.

Terrible service - line out the door and now they have walked off and no one here to take over

And for the third year in a row! They still have not hired enough people here! The line is probably 100 customers deep. They have 2 people behind the counter! They offer the lowest prices and overbook an understaffed place. read more

Budget - Empty fast break, doesn't apply here. - Car Rental Near Me - East Elmhurst, New York

Total scam and be very, very careful here! Returned a car more than 12 hours before the car was due to be returned, but it was a sea of returned cars and no employees in sight and a huge line in the office. We finally found one employee who told us to just leave the car. Thankfully, we took photos of everything, including mileage and the time on the dashboard. Budget processed the return the next day and charged me extra hours and a late fee and lots of extra tax making my $60 rental more than $140. Fighting with customer service now to get the proper refund. A total pain and waste of time! read more

Worst place ever to rent a car. Customer service is non existent. Two hours wait on a line with no help.

we waited over an hour to get our car. line out the door. pay the difference and go w a different company

Lots of available cars and SUV's available here for decent prices but who would drive here in the city with a big car? The city barely has parking spaces on the street. The attendant that helped us here are not desirable. Know what you need before renting. We got our rental paperwork but was not very informative of any details while in the city. Didn't offer EZ pay, while using the car. I did have to ask. It's supposedly $26 unlimited which we should have taken as we went through a lot of tolls. I so recommend to pay for the EZ pay in advance. She didn't tell us to fill up the tank before returning the car. The exit attendant was better and friendly. He offered to fill up the tank as it was slightly not at full tank and was the one who told us we had to fill up before returning. The compact car was pretty clean, no smoke smell but there was some trash still not cleaned up inside. I would recommend the prices for budget compact cars but make sure to ask the questions you are curious about as they won't tell you much or she didn't feel like talking much. No smile whatsoever and was almost rude like! O_o. [45th R] read more

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Worst experience renting a car ever. Got to Budget from La Guardia via shuttle (no problems). Got in line only to hear from other customers that the wait is 1 1/2 hour. Everyone in line had either reservations or Fast Break. Finally got to, sadly, the slowest clerk, he took a minimum of another 30 minutes to process the paperwork. Directed to go to the space number. Wrong space. Go back into office. Assigned another car and went to the space. Wrong car. Back to the office. They ended up giving us a Toyota RAV4. The best part was returning the car. Simple and easy. read more

Budget - Wait line at Budget with reservations or Fast Break. 1 1/2 hour wait minimum. No reservations = 2 hour minimum wait. - Car Rental Near Me - East Elmhurst, New York