We reserved a 12 passenger Ford Transit van for a family road trip two weeks in advance. When we showed up at 8 in the morning as scheduled, our vehicle wasn't ready. We were told to come back an hour and a half later and we'd get a discount. When we came back, we were told that we couldn't rent it because we didn't have a credit card. They said every other car could be rented with a debit card except for the large vehicles. They never told us this before when we reserved it or even when we first arrived, and that wasn't stated on the website. Three adults took off work for this trip. We will never recommend or use Budget again. read more

This could have been four stars, but I think they are shifty here. And I don't mean they tried to give me a car with manual transmission! I'm a regular budget renter so all my info is set up in my profile. When I picked up the car, the guy asked if I wanted to add on fuel service. My profile says "no" to that option so I reinforced that I didn't want them to add that. I was only in town overnight and knew I wouldn't need a tanks' worth of gas for 24 hours so I said that I'd fill it up on my own. I go to return the car and the guy asked if I returned it full, which I confirmed, having stopped at the Shell about a mile from the airport to put in about $3 worth of gas, since I'd only driven less than 30 miles. Since this is a small place, you process the return at the counter. They don't have the guys with the scanners and receipt printers out on the lot. When I gave the keys back, the guy said I could get a receipt emailed, which I said was fine. Both picking up and dropping off the car were quick and easy, with very friendly service. However, when I received the email, I saw that they had charged me $14 for the fuel service which I didn't ask for, which goes against my default settings and which I specifically told the original guy I did not want because I had made the reservation without it intentionally. And the guy I returned it to specifically asked if I'd filled it up, which I confirmed. So why did they charge me for it? I called the place and the girl on the phone was nice and sent me an updated receipt very quickly, but I just didn't like the fact that after repeatedly telling them I didn't want something that I had specifically not requested, they tried to sneak it onto my bill anyway. If anyone tries to tell you midwesterners are wholesome and trustworthy, let this be a lesson to you. They're no different from anybody else, at least not at this Budget. read more

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I've rented here twice and had good experiences despite other reviews here. Staff have been friendly and helpful, vehicles are clean and newish, and it's pretty efficient to get in and out with reasonable rates. I'm not sure what more you could ask for in a rental car office. read more

Pretty standard. It's a quick desk-transaction to get my contract and keys, but "Fastbreak" is not quite as quick at Hertz Gold. The cars are outside and uncovered here, which is not great in the Winter (but none of the rental car brands has covered parking, so it's what you get!). read more

This location is NOT a corporate Budget Rental Car location and therefore think they can charge whatever they want. I reserved a car for my husband for a total of $30.43 for a one day rental. He picked up the car on Jan 3rd, put 138 miles on it and returned it full of gas on the same day. This location charged him $100 for the day plus taxes, another $138 for the 138 miles, AND a fill from empty they claimed! We have pictures of it full with the 138 miles of which he had 300 miles included!!! That isn't even possible to empty the gas with 138 miles on a Ford Focus! Unbelievable! Obviously the kid checking in the car doesn't have the common sense to turn the key to get the gauges to read! Of course there is NO manager there to answer the phone on a Saturday, so we will see if anyone bothers to call me back. read more

I locked the keys in the truck of my rental, my mistake, but the customer service I received from Budget was atrocious! After multiple calls they were going to tow the car with my ID and credit card inside to a closed dealership with my flight being the following morning. Agents showed no understanding or compassion and told me I could get a Lyft to my hotel. We ended up paying someone ourselves to get into the car. I was then billed double for gas! And billed over two months later for roadside assistance that we never got. STAY AWAY from Budget car rental!!! Consider yourself warned!!! read more

They told me because I'm under 25 I can't use a debit card I have to use a credit card when I don't even use credit cards and don't even have any. Worst experience ever. They really need to change the debit card usage age. read more

What a terrible experience. I waited a half hour to receive my car since they only had 1 person working the desk. There has to be more than 1 employee working at a time, and when a flight comes in, you would think they would put employees behind the desk to serve customers more quickly. But that would be too convenient. Also, beware of the up sale. Whatever car you reserved is just really too small for you, and if you upgrade for just $5 more, all your life problems will be solved. (Eye roll) However, the worst part is when they decided to sneak in the $15 fill up charge when I brought the car back. There was a line of 2 people, and I didn't want to wait another 30 min to talk to the guy and get a receipt, so I just used the drop box to return my keys. I should have waited and got a receipt right then an there. Good thing I verify my credit card statements. A 10 min call to customer service reversed the charge fortunately. I can't imagine being stuck with a larger charge if they accused me of a scratch/dent or something like that. To sum up my experience in a couple of words: Slow, Annoying, Crooks. read more

This was a first time flying into Austin Straubel airport. Booked a full size car through Budget for 14 days (appx $611.00). Budget employee "Patch" wearing a no smoking button greeted me and was pleasant enough. He was aggressive with the upselling, including GPS despite my own GPS sitting on the counter. He included a few subtle scare tactics about not taking additional coverage (I use AMEX and they are SPECTACULAR). I was assigned a Chevy Impala which was at a glance free of debris/wiped down. HOWEVER after settling in on the highway en route to Door County WI the car reeked of cigarette smoke. The interior of the car was actually sticky and the AC blew residual cigarette ash. I contacted "Patch" upon reaching Sturgeon Bay WI, the last place I had cell service, and was instructed to exchange the car at another Budget. I had already been traveling in excess of 12 hours (from Massachusetts) and explained to "Patch" I was exhausted and needed to go directly to my hotel in Door County. No offer to bring a car to my location, or additional solution. I purchased cleaning products and cleaned the car myself and removed an incredible amount of cigarette residue, but was unable to rectify the smoke/dirt in the fabric seats. A friend who joined me later in the week was unable to ride in the vehicle because of an allergy to smoke. The filth did transfer to my own clothing throughout the trip. AND, this is unbelievable, upon arrival to Door County, the CHANGE OIL SOON light appeared. Wow with 13 days to go (define soon right?).YIKES! So no benefit of outside temp or other message just an intermittent pinging sound, and the perpetual "CHANGE OIL SOON" threat. Then... when I got back to the airport good luck figuring out where Budget is located. Very poorly marked. No instructions from "Patch" about returning the car (find your own spot, make your own notations, good luck finding the door, hope you remember where you came from!) and the big ta-da, no manager on duty. Take a card and if you would like to report a problem call later. Next. Arrived home after a connecting flight to Chicago today and called the Austin Straubel Budget and got "Christine" who *is* a supervisor. She already heard about this from "Patch." Christine's tone was annoyed and she emphasized that *I* was told to bring the car to another Budget. Take it or leave it attitude. Huh. Nice. Wow. And, what about the CHANGE OIL LIGHT coming on an hour and a half away from Sturgeon Bay and I have no cell service? YIKES! I am not a mechanic. This is unacceptable. Christine was snippy and has promised to call me back after *she* inspects the car. That's just poor customer service and dumb. My hotel offered to clean the car (ridiculous and shame on Budget) and felt Budget should have brought a new car out. Fellow vacationers state they have never encountered anything like this at ALAMO. Dually noted. read more