Do NOT recommend. The other reviews should have warned me but I booked anyways. Save your time and book at another location if you want to actually be able to pick up the vehicle you reserve. (They all seem to be individually owned locations so it's not reflective of corporate) The manager was extremely unprofessional. If I could underline and bold that I would. She acted like she didn't want to be there? She told us she didn't have our reservation (not true because corp management had to make it due to a prior location being out of stock) and then she said we couldn't use our Amex to pay for our reservation, when we use budget and our Amex .... all the time. We had to have budget corporate management help us (again! And he nicely gave us 2x discount for the trouble) and corp gave us a rental at another location. Which accepted our Amex, no issues. read more

I rented a car and returned it to the budget office a little bit after hours. The person inside said to just put the key in the lock box, which I did. I got a receipt via email which told me what would be charged to my American Express. Period I happen to be looking at my American Express statement three or four days later and noticed that I was charged $200 more than what this statement said. I contacted budget via email the next day. I was sent a form letter tailored to this situation. I've been charged extra. We went back-and-forth with emails. A week later, I was finally told why there was an extra charge.. The Largo budget staff said that there were ashes in the car and it smelled like smoke. I am a non-smoker! I get headaches when I'm in a car that has the smoke odor. Therefore, I would have returned the car if I noticed the smoke smell. My latest email told me to call the claims office. This is a week after I became aware of the situation and told a few times that after their investigation, the $200 extra cleaning fee charge was appropriate. I will repeat, I am a non-smoker and did not leave ashes and a smoky smell in the rental car! I have wondered if this is some sort of scam to boost business income at this location. read more

Terrible customer service and the staff is untrained. Management could not be worse! Plus, hidden fees! Save your money and stress and go somewhere else! read more

Be wary of renting a car from Budget. I reserved a mid-size SUV because we were going to a family reunion and needed the seating capacity. The selection said "Buick Encore", which is a legitimate mid-size SUV. What we got was a Buick Envista, which is a sub-compact SUV. It is about the size of a Corolla. Customer service told me to go to the nearest location to swap it - which I did - and the agent told me they considered an Envista a mid-size. It isn't. Their email customer service confirmed that the Envista "was in the car group you reserved for", which was a mid-size. So be careful about what they assign you - I will be dealing with this through my credit card company. read more

DO NOT RENT A VEHICLE AT THIS LOCATION. I am putting this in bold so others do not make the same mistake. The manager/owner was deceptive in his dealings, lacked transparency, and was extremely rude. He did not review the rental agreement with me at any point. When I arrived to rent a car, he added liability insurance and other charges to my account without my consent and without even asking me. On top of that, I left my personal vehicle at the location, and the next day he called the police to have it towed--without ever explaining his policies to me beforehand. As a result, my rental cost increased to $600.00 from the $409.00, and I was also charged a $525 towing fee. I have contacted Budget multiple times to resolve this issue, but they have dismissed my concerns and claimed it was my fault. I have since filed complaints with the Florida Attorney General, Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles department and the Federal Trade Commission and requested a formal investigation. Legal action may follow if this matter is not addressed promptly. Do not rent from this location--or from Budget at all--until they take responsibility and corrective action. read more

I rented a van several weeks prior to a move only to be told when I arrived that they hadn't rented vans in over 6 months. They said they could give me a 26' box truck instead. This was not an option as to where I was going and the box truck would not fit. Because of this, I had to rent the largest vehicle I could find, a minivan and load it up with as much stuff as I could. This did not hold everything that the transit van would, resulting in me now needing to fly back, rent a trailer and drive back up again. If the transit van was available, I would not have had to fly back or rent a trailer to make a second trip. This has now cost me over an additional $1500 read more

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS BUDGET FRANCISEE LOCATION. We had a paid confirmation to pickup car. Woman/owner said she had no cars and it was OUR problem. We objected and she thru us out Said"get out old man". We have rented from Budget for years and are FastTrack members. read more

Worst experience ever. Do not recommend. Employees and management are tremendously rude. I was 15 min late after closing. Unfortunately apple maps showed they were open til 1pm instead of noon on sundays. Ok, thats on me. I banged on the door hoping someone was inside who could still help me. They took the banging as an aggressive behavior and immediately went off on me, thru the door. I returned the next morning, different employee and even more rude. Yelled at me for banging on the door the day before , said they had me on camera and told me they had no car for me. They turned away others while I was in the store. The way Samantha talked to me was beyond rude and unprofessional. It would have been bad enough had they said "its spring break in Florida, so sorry". But she basically told customers to buzz off and then claimed you were being rude to their staff. She talked to multiple customers in this fashion while I was in the store. I told her at my business we are trained to treat the customer as they were always right, she outright laughed at me and said that was the problem. My thinking was way off she said. I did not see one customer get a car while I was there. It was always the customers fault. I didnt really realize how upsetting it was to be talked to this way, but after two days in a row, it took a mental toll on me.!!! read more

On the website, when renting a car, it shows a bonus gift card from Amazon upon returning the vehicle. I rented 5 vehicles between October 3, 2023, and October 31, 2023. I have not received any gift card. When I called Budget about this, they said I must call Amazon about my concerns. If Budget has an agreement with Amazon, and they post this on their website, they should be required to follow up on their offer. Amazon customer service told me to call Budget. read more

Budget Rent A Car - Car Rental Near Me - Largo, Florida

My experience was HORRIBLE!!! I reserved a mid-size SUV with Budget (through Costco Travel) in January for 4 weeks in March. When I went to the Budget franchise I wS told that they had no car for me and said there were 4 other people who reserved a car and they had no car for them either. They never even called me before I came in to tell me there was no car available. When I complained (I actually yelled) to the franchise owner, she told me that I was selfish. They said that there was nothing they could do. They said that corporate (airport?) had control of the cars and could pull them back any time they wanted to. So apparently with Budget (maybe all car rental companies?) "You can make a reservation but Budget doesn't keep the reservation". I complained to Costco also about my Budget experience. So, to anyone wanting to rent a car BEWARE you may not have one for you. They are the WORST!!! GERRY MUSSMANN read more

I really enjoyed renting from budget, I'm usually with Hertz or Enterprise. Everything was smooth. My biggest peeve is the weekend hours. You're basically forced to keep the car over the weekend if your traveling out of town because the close so early. The employees were very nice & helpful & went over an beyond for me when I wanted to upgrade my rental. read more

Budget Rent A Car - Front entrance - Car Rental Near Me - Largo, Florida

They didn't have a car for us when we flew my whole family from MI to FLA. If it weren't for the sweet lady at the counter we'd have been stranded. We had a reservation too. Shame on you Avis. I won't ever rent again from you. Who does that. Thanks to the nice lady that works there who saved the day. read more

This place is a joke! Nothing but a waste of time! They pick and choose who they want to rent cars too! I had reservations to rent a car, when I got there they claimed it was no cars available...also claimed they didn't take a certain type of card but on their website it clearly shows they do!! The lady behind the counter is full of shit! read more

Needed a car rental today. The young gentleman name Devonte was SO helpful with that. Initially didn't have a car but two SUV. He miraculously found a smaller Toyota Corolla. Awesome. He went out of his way to find the car and even cleaned it just prior to giving it to us. That's service ! Thanks Devonte! read more

Their incompetence is mind blowing. I have waited over 20 hours for emergency road side assistance. Phone number for local office defaults to national which can't help with local issues. Staff is nice and tries to be be professional but they can't do thier jobs. Avoid these people read more

Do not rent from this shady Budget, Avis and who knows what else rental car location. Place has no sign, tried to call and ask where they are and no one answered. Turns out agent at rental time kept sending every call to voice mail even though I was the only customer. Indicated on my reservation no insurance or damage waiver, repeated that to the guy at the counter but he still added it. The problem is you can't read the paperwork the place uses a 1980s dot matrix printer with no ink so you can barely read the paperwork at all. I figure that everything is done by email so I will get an email copy but my email copy showed declined insurance. Car was filthy covered in bugs and mud. Read other reviews about this shady owner and you see they scam you by adding things your rental agreement that you don't want and then on top of that I filled up with gas one block away before returning the rental, and they still charge me for a gallon of gas. The return was an equally shady experience they want you to leave so just ask for the key and send you away. Do not get scammed by using this location to rent your car the airport one is just up the street and looks like a legit location not a run down house with a dirt and mud parking lot and no sign. I can't believe the rental car firms would allow such a dump to use their name. read more

Went for my confirmed reservation pick up at budget today, Christmas Eve, at 10:30 as planned. I was told by the girl at the counter that the manager canceled my reservation, because she didn't have my phone number. Bullshit. Expedia confirmed that all my information, including my phone number, was sent over to them. First of all there would've been no reason for her to call me to reconfirm to begin with, because the confirmation I got from Expedia said no reason to re-confirm. So why would I think that I would need to call to reconfirm when Expedia tells me no need to do that? At any rate, the manager took it upon herself to cancel my confirmed reservation, of which the insurance was already paid. I was confirmed by Expedia and as they stated no reason to re-confirm. .They over booked and gave my car to someone else. I then got on the phone and called Expedia who confirmed that they had all the information and there was no reason to cancel. I did everything right and they screwed up my Christmas plans by their negligence. I called corporate and was told by corporate that they couldn't offer any compensation to me. I said, really? I explained that I would never do business with them again. I didn't do business with budget for a long time. Several years, because I got screwed over by them once before and decided to give them another try. I thought wrong. There is a reason they're called budget. They take no responsibility whatsoever for what they do. I would never use this Horrible company again. If you do, you're on your own. read more

Don't rent from Budget. I went to two different locations today (this one included) after having a CONFIRMED RESERVATION for a moving truck and then I get here and they tell me they don't even have that truck. I don't know why their system would allow you to book reservations when they don't even have a truck? Waste of a whole day and a lot of panic before a big move. Absolutely awful read more

Budget confirmed a car two weeks weeks ago called 24 hours before pickup and canceled my reservation do not use them !

Horrible service... confirmed that they'd have a van 2hrs before arrival, when I arrived- they said the van was out of service and they'd have to give me a 12' truck. I explained that I rented the van for mobility on my trip and gas mileage... SHE DIDN'T CARE!!!! Now looking for another van on a weekend while I had reservations for 2 weeks at Budget. STAY AWAY! read more

Have had confirmed reservation for a 12' van for several days. Booked on the phone with a Budget C/S rep. - also confirmed at time of reservation that I had 200 free miles with the rental. When I went to p/up today, Debbie (whoa - she's a lulu) said that "there is no 12' van; we've upgraded you to a 16' van. When I protested that I have, in writing, a confirmed 12' van, Debbie (whoa) said, "well, 12 footers are hard to come by" and, when I protested again that even a 12' van was too big for my needs, Debbie (whoa) got in my face again - "listen, I don't care what you were told, this is common - 12 footers are hard to come by - take it or leave it". Ok Debbie (whoa)... let's go with the 16 footer. So, she then says, "that comes with 144 free miles...", I said, whoa, Debbie (whoa), I was given 200 free miles when I booked". Well, says Debbie (whoa), you do have 200 miles - you have 144 free miles and you've been charged for the extra miles that makes it 200 miles, total". WHOA Debbie (whoa) - WTF, says I, what do you mean they've charged me? I was told the card just holds the reservation and nothing is charged to it until I pick up the 12' van!!! Debbie (whoa) then says, "well, SIR, I don't know what you were told (I have it in writing - look, Debbie (whoa), here it is.. to which Debbie (whoa) says, "you'll have to take that up with the person you booked with" (knowing full well, that's NOT how it works once you're off the phone)... Short story long - DON'T ever go with this company. I usually rent from Enterprise because of such bad luck with Budget in the past (look at the # of 1-star ratings for the Largo place !). Customer service, in general, has gotten totally crappy in the last few years - across the boards and at all levels, including at Debbie's (whoa) Neanderthal-level skills - I won't say she's a drooler, but, there had to be a reason for all of the tissues and paper towels in the office ! read more

Well to begin, Samantha, is extremely disrespectful on the phone. She called me at 5:30 PM on January 13 to let me know that there was not a 16 ft truck available for my move and all they have is a cargo van. Mind you I needed this truck for my reservation at 9 AM on January 14. Because my phone was breaking up and she couldn't hear me, she continued to raise her voice at me while I tried to speak. I am not sure what her role is at this company but if she is in a management position, she needs to be removed or retrained in how to talk to customers. In addition, I think it is extremely unprofessional of a company to call 30 minutes before their business closes to inform a customer that the truck that they selected 4 days prior is not available for reservation tomorrow. I made this reservation almost a week in advance to avoid this issue, yet the only time they find it necessary to call me is 30 minutes before they close when the reservation is supposed to be the next day? They are budget for a reason. Stay away, spend your money elsewhere and spend more money if you need to because you pay for what you get. read more

If I could give a zero I would. We did a prepaid rental months ahead for a Toyota Camry or comparable. When we arrived we were give a dodge charger. NOT comparable to a Camry! Husband started it-engine was knocking. He said no way would he drive that car. Went back in. Was told, that's all I have, you don't like, I cancel. That was it-didn't try to help us at all get something from another location. I went outside, spent close to an hour in near 100° heat trying to figure it out. Customer service told me I could drive that car to another location to TRY to exchange it. Again, didn't try to help. We ended up leaving without a car. Two mins later there was a random $62.49 additional charge on our credit card! That charge did drop off. However, this cost us: time we could have been on the road already; mileage on our car(the reason we had rented); finance charges for the months the prepaid charges were on our card; the cost of an oil change because of the mileage on our car; stress and frustration when we were trying to start a much needed vacation after four years without one. THEN I had to be on the phone extensively to get my money back! DO NOT EVER RENT FROM BUDGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate having to leave negative reviews but I also would hate for someone else to go through what we did. It was a TERRIBLE experience and terrible start to vacation! read more

Arrived 12 minutes before they were supposed to close to pick up a reserved car and they were already closed. Sooo pissed and this created all sorts of other problems. VERY UNRELIABLE !!!! read more

In the digital world customer satisfaction seems to have taken a backseat to shareholder satisfaction, as indicated by corporate profits over happy customers. The vast majority of difficult situations can only be relieved to the limits of corporate algorithms. We have all been subjected to the unpleasant outcomes given by company representatives who cannot, or more accurately, don't attempt to challenge the computer screen telling them what is possible. After rating the company's business practices and procedures as below terrible, I must, in all fairness, give an exemplary rating for the person I presented my concerns to when returning the vehicle. Sal at the Clearwater airport branch took a look at all the paperwork I was given and listened to a brief explanation of my confusion. His eyebrows knotted into question marks as he tried to figure out what had happened and why. He left the counter to speak with others in the adjacent office. He very quickly rectified the charges to reflect the original agreement, returning hundreds to my accounts. It is still people who make a difference. Hooray for Sal at PIE. I'd give Sal five stars, but unless he is promoted to a management position where his positive, helpful, friendly and caring attitude will guide all subordinates he supervises, he is unfortunately, an employee of the abhorrent guidelines directed by the corporate structure of Budget/Avis. read more

All I can say was I prepaid for a rental car I had more then enough funds in my bank account but my card was declined when I went to give them a different card they told me only one card per 24hr period can be used I have never heard of such a thing. Needless to say I went down the street to Enterprise and they were super friendly and advised me in advance that since it's a one way rental I can only use a credit card. Instead of swiping first without informing customers of policy's. read more

Made a reservation thru price line on feb 1st confirmed on line showed up to pick up the car and was told we have no cars. Here is the regional managers phone number call him. THe place is very dumpy looking and no one was interested in helping. "We were too busy to call to tell you we didn't have any cars to honor your reservation, yet the place was empty. Good reason to become a yelp member. read more

Incredibly rude owner refused to honor priceline quote. Said he didn't have the car and tried to upsell me to a full size. I found the full size he offered on priceline and booked through priceline at a cheaper rate. When I showed it to the owner he got an attitude and refused to honor the price. When i called priceline to complain, he then said he did not have the new full size available anymore, even though it was available 3 minutes before. Stay away from this place. In my opinion the owner is dishonest and incredibly rude. There is a budget close by at the clearwater airport with better selection and MUCH better service read more

Budget has utterly failed. I reserved a Mustang Convertible for my parents back in January 2021, and when they went to pick it up yesterday AM (3/13/21), there was NO car available. The mustang wasn't available, and neither was anything similar. I called nearly every Budget within a reasonable distance, and nothing was available. Additionally, most representatives I spoke to were extremely rude, and I received a response "nothing I can do". No one provided or suggested solutions. I have called and spoke to reservations twice. I can't get ahold of a person on the phone at the Clearwater or Tampa airport. I called to speak to customer service at 800-621-2844, which was recommended after I spoke to a women at reservations this AM. She couldn't help, so I wait until 9AM EST to speaker to customer service. After waiting for a period of time, I was finally able to speak to customer service, who also said they couldn't help me. I then asked to speak to their supervisor. The person went to transfer me, it rang and then hung up. Budget has not only allowed for a massive inconvenience for my family, has done nothing to resolve this error, and has wasted a bunch of my personal time. I am beyond disappointed in Budget, and somewhat disgusted. I and all customers expected and deserve better from a longstanding, corporate company that has the means and ability to do better. I expect a solution to budget's mistake. read more

Would give zero stars if I could. I do not recommend budget at all especially this location. Rented a 26 foot truck and trailer was told the truck could drive on interstate going proper speeds but truck would only go 50 mph. Then when I am loading my car on trailer the strap to secure tire was cut too short. Called store and spoke to Adam who claimed he was the manager said he was the one who inspected truck but then admitted after another call he didn't. I had to wait three hours for road side assistance to come from Ocala to replace strap. The man replaced both stating that they both were not proper and he had to re tape with electrical tape the wires so lights would work. Do not use budget spend the extra money to get uhaul. Worst customer service horrible trucks read more

Avoid this location. I barely even asked a question with no tone and the owner/operator got angry with me. Vehicle was not cleaned. Poor vehicle selection (not what you will reserve). I'll pray for these people because it is clear they do not want to be working there. Save yourself the headache and find another car rental. read more

Wonderful customer service. Cory will do whatever it takes to make the customer happy. A little tricky to see this business from the road, look for the moving vans with the Budget logo parked near Ulmerton Rd. If you are a member of Sam's Club, go through their website for a better rate. read more

If I could give a zero star rating for this location I would. Thanks to Kathy at the 6508 Ulmerton Rd. (6805 is incorrect) I had the worst experience possible. All I wanted was to return the car. After checking the milag and gas she stormed behind the counter (the only counter person there) and angrily declared the tank was at 1/4. I stated my contract was for a full tank of gas, unlimited milage. "Wasn't it full of gas when you picked it up?" I explained again to no avail. Kathy, "You didn't fill it up?" or something to that effect. By this time I was annoyed and pointing to the contract lying on the counter in front of her I firmly said " For the third time...... " She seemed to be spoiling for a fight, spoke in a very rude angry time from the start but now was cursing. Freely using profanity she tore off the printed receipt and slapped it into the counter telling the whole time. My friend was with me and calmly asked her to calm down. The Budget employee pointed her finger and said "Shut up. It's none of your business." She wore no name tag, both my friend and I looked for it. We were angry and bewildered at the treatment we had received. I had lost my temper by the end of the exchange. As we exited the building the woman threw in "Get your carp and get out" flipping me off with both fingers. I closed the door took five steps and could still hear her screaming profanities at me. I looked over my shoulder to see her flipping the bird with both hands as we walked to our car in the parking lot. I considered not doing business with Budget again but that isn't fair to the company but won't return to that location. The best thing Budget can do is fire this woman. That behavior should not be tolerated by any employer. I've since learned her name is Kathy. Good luck, Kathy, don't let the door but you on the a** on the way out. Avoid Kathy at all costs! read more

I have never had a problem using budget but on this particular day I used a different location than I normally use and incurred a few problems. The representative refused to acknowledge my reservation, her reason being that she would not accept my license, mind you I've been renting from budget my entire vacation with zero problems. She told me I should go back to the location I normally rent from because she would not be issuing me a car. I called the customer service number explained what was going on and received a FULL refund, the customer service rep asked if I was still at the location so he could speak to the representative at that store because he could not find a legit reason why she would not rent to me. Unfortunately I had already left the store, I had wasted 30$ on uber traveling there and back to my hotel and was VERY dissapointed in the way I was handled and treated. I did not feel like my business was wanted there. I now have a new reservation at the location I have been renting from the past 3 weeks. Im definitely upset and confused with what went on. I will definitely be contacting corporate. Signed, Not a happy customer. read more