Budget rent a car was a life saver for us during our stay in Kauai! From the shuttle drivers to the workers behind the counter, everyone showed Aloha & were very very efficient getting us to our destination! Our car was ready upon arrival & check out was a breeze. Will definitely return! read more

Roach infestation!!!! They must keep renting the same cars with roaches. We first got into our Kia k5 sedan and noticed the mud stains in and out of the car. By day 2 we started noticing the roaches underneath and around the car mats! It was impossible to reach customer service locally and nationally. We decided to take the car back the first thing on day3 of our trip. They replaced our car no problem. However the next car had a broken front seat electric button and the seat was allllll the way forward blocking the right mirror. We went back to tell them and they gave us another Kia, also muddy, but no roaches seen. I don't think they take care of the cars very well or WASH. We wished we checked reviews before booking with them. read more

I wish I could give this place zero stars. It was a waste of my first day of vacation and I just wanted to cry. My whole family wanted to cry. We arrived at Budget at 1 pm and didn't leave until 4:40 pm. The line is horrendous. There are only 3-4 people at the counters, although they were pleasant. There are not enough workers on the island so it's not their fault. Once we were assigned a car, it took another 40-45 minutes to come out even though people behind me were getting their cars before me. When we got the car, it was not very clean, luckily I had disinfectant wipes to wipe down the interior We found french fries on the floor. The outside was also not very clean. It looked like it went through the car wash but needed it again. I was embarassed to drive it around. Also, when we dropped off, there was no one to accept the car except one person who said we were good. She was trying her best to move all the cars into the lot. I was afraid I was going to get charged for something but luckily I didn't. Never again will I rent from Budget. read more

Out of all the major car agencies, Budget is the one that I've probably used the most for personal use. It is one of the 4 car agencies that Costco travel uses, and like the other times we used them, it turned out just fine. Budget started out in 1958, and became part of the Avis Budget Group in 2002. It has over 1,300 locations in the U.S., with quite a few outside of airports (where the cost can be lower). This location in Lihue is part of the airport complex, within walking distance of the airport curb, but also providing frequent shuttle service. I booked a week rental (since once you pass 4 days, it is just as cheap to rent for a week) through Delta Travel this time (mainly to get matching MQDs), and didn't have to prepay. Using a Sapphire Reserve credit card meant getting primary collision/comprehensive insurance automatically. Budget does not charge for a second driver if spouse, and doesn't require their identification. Thus, I took off after deplaning, to see if I could beat the rush of people to get in line. Ended up walking to the location with luggage: wouldn't recommend it, just better to take the frequent shuttle. There were 3-4 associates working the counter, but the car rental just takes time so ended up waiting in line for a bit. My fastbreak number did not transfer through, as I later found out, so not standing in the fastbreak line was the right call. My biggest issue was that after I was done checking in, was told to wait at the curb for the car to be brought to me in 5-10 minutes. Ended up being almost 40 minutes...just wish I had been told that upfront. Got a Chevy Impala, which ended up being a good car for the week, as long as you stay on paved roads. Returning the car was similar to other busy locations: the check-in folks couldn't keep up with returns, so just told us to leave the key and go (didn't ask us any questions). I'm always hesitant about doing this (just feel better if I can get a receipt stating that I returned it on-time, and full)...but there really isn't much choice. I did get a receipt about 1 hour after the return, with the charged price being about $4 over the quoted. The shuttle driver to the terminal was pleasant and helpful, which made the last interaction with Budget being an agreeable one. read more

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If you'd like to spend the start of your vacation waiting and waiting and waiting some more, then by all means book your rental car through Budget. Otherwise go elsewhere. There is a crowd of people surrounding us waiting for their cars so at least we're not alone in our misery. When we arrived, there was only one person ahead of us in line so we thought awesome, we'll be out of here in no time. But no, unlike other places where you go out and get your car once you check in, you have to wait for them to deliver your car to you. When I finally found a worker to ask what was taking so long, they said they didn't have enough workers in the back. Alrighty then. Lovely. read more

Budget Rent a Car - Crowd of happy people - Car Rental Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

I actually had a pretty decent experience here. I rented a Corolla type car but they ended up giving me an Mazda SUV, I guess end of day it was better. Picked up the car with ease and it worked well no real complaints besides the windshield wipers did not work super well. Return was a bit weird as they told me to leave the car with keys and they would email me the receipt later so hopefully they do so. On the way back to the airport on the bus another couple said their car was infested with cockroaches so that was interesting to hear. Hopefully your experience is as decent as mine! read more

Budget Rent a Car - Car Rental Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

I've been meaning to write a review for a couple of weeks, since we returned from our vacation to HI. We had the absolute best experience when picking up our rental car. The staff were extremely quick, efficient and friendly. I mistakenly reserved the car for 11p and they were surprised when we showed up at 11a, however they had a car available and we were in and out of there in no time. I didn't even get a chance to get the names of those who helped us because the process was so quick and smooth! We always rent through Budget and we will continue to do so because of the exceptional service, as well as the quality of vehicles. Until next time! Mahalo! (For reference, we picked up on 7/11 and returned it on 7/16) read more

Only two people working the car rental counter and at least a dozen customers waiting to get their rental cars!!! Service is terribly slow ... each customer taking about 10-15 minutes to process! This is terrible. read more

Budget Rent a Car - Long lines at Budget/Payless car rental, Lihue, Kauai. - Car Rental Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

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I got my car after traveling for 18 hours. The attendant asked about insurance. I said I rented it through USAA and reserved on a travel card, so I was good on that. The rental agreement came up $700+. I told him my reservation was only for $512, which was $200+ less than the agreement. He said yes, no worries, the extra will come back as a deposit. I was tired, so I signed the pad and was on my way. When I got the final bill, it was over $700. I called customer service, and they said, you agreed to the extra insurance, so it is on you. Very curt. Read it closer next time. If I wanted insurance, I would have checked that on the reservation. I know the clerks are paid on commission for upselling, so this is essentially an easy way to take advantage of tired travelers while pocketing extra cash. Guess I am out the money. He got his commission, and Budget lost a customer. read more

I would give zero if I could. Poor service and long lines. I signed up with precheck and was told it could be used on the next rental. Do not go here if you value your time. This place is a joke. read more

It took over 1 hour to get my car. Long lines No real directions on where to wait for car the gas was 3/4 full upon receipt. Took a video to let them know. I submitted a lost item report. Tried calling immediately. NO COMMUNICATION read more

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT get a rental from budget in LIH Wait time is more than 4 hours (no kidding) and the car was dirty read more

We were charge $250 upon return of vehicle for having sand in the car. We are renting on a remote island where there's way more sand than people. We have been here 4 times and never had an issue with returning the car back with sand. This is yet another reason to avoid this company like a plague. read more

I love Kauai but the experience my family had at this Budget location was horrible. Car was infested with roaches, they only offered one day discount off an 8 day rental, took it back midway through trip to get another car infested with roaches. And when I say infested I mean easily 50-100. We bombed the car overnight to find a crazy amount- adults, eggs, babies! They don't vacuum the cars thoroughly, did not seem to care when it was addressed. Terrible customer service about it. They are not taking care of the problem. You expect a few in a humid climate but not what this was. They were coming out of the vents, everywhere. It was very disgusting and their service was disappointing. read more

If you do it right you won't have an issue. Booked through Costco signed up for Fastbreak. Pulled up to budget and the line looked awful. Fastbreak line completely empty, gave them our name they pulled up the reservation, keys ready, car washed and cleaned. Under 15 mins from walking in to getting into the car. read more

We fly to Kauai several times a year and this is the first time we used budget rental for a rental car- it was a bad choice. We had 7 people so we chose to rent a mini van. Upon arrival they had rented them all and didn't have a mini van in stock- they choice was to drive two cars, which is double the cost of gas, or to drive an SUV with a 3rd row- so no room for luggage - if you're going to Kauai I would rent with any other company at all on the island. Why make a reservation if the company isn't going to keep the car in stock. read more

Pure nightmare. Endless wait, slow service. Fastbreak 2 ladies , no costumers not accepting anyone but " blue Fastbreak " Total disorganization read more

5 stars all the way! Jesus help me and was helpful and pleasant to deal with. Heading back again for work and will rent from here again.

Long time Budget customer elsewhere in US but usually rent from other rental companies here on Kauai from advice from other co-workers, decided to try Budget here, big mistake. Vehicle was old, over 50,000 miles and hard miles, worn, dirty inside and out, definitely a mechanical problem, extremely uncomfortable vibration as automatic transmission shifted gears. Way overpriced for vehicle. Had to clean vehicle myself later on after visiting Walmart for interior cleaner. Didn't want to wait another 1-2 hours for a cleaning. Definitely will not rent from this Budget location ever again. during initial rental, didn't look like anything was much better on the lot. Have used Budget for years and very disappointed. I would take a good look at the manager who runs this location and get him or her onboard with company mission statement since looks like this is a reflection of his/her management skills. Purely a lack of management oversight. read more

Budget Rent a Car - Front seats - Car Rental Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

Please do not rent a car from Budget in Lihue! We pre-registered and then waited in line an hour and a half just to get up to the desk and then another 45 minutes for them to bring us our car. We wasted half the day trying to get the car. Wha a waste of part of our vacation! Very disappointed! read more

COCKROACH INFESTATION & DISHONESTY Upon return I was told that we would receive a small reimbursement and that Notes Documenting Roach Infestation were taken... NEITHER WERE TRUE!!! I Followed up with Budget/Avis Corporation for a full refund and learned that there are no notes and that they would only offer the same small reimbursement that the Kauai Counter should have already reimbursed. read more

be very careful utilizing budget Rent-A-Car at the Lihu'e airport in Hawaii. Be very cautious if you are booking a trip through Costco travel go online and do a research of which company you choose to go with for a vehicle. this was our first time booking through Costco picked budget because they had good reviews on the Costco travel site but I promise you our experience was poor and we definitely should've done more research lesson learned. Our first vehicle was very dirty we don't think it got cleaned in between customers. Unfortunately, four days into our vacation in Hawaii while we were out enjoying the beautiful scenery. The engine light came on, and we had to end our exploring to return to Budget at the airport to get another vehicle. The only vehicle they had available was a smaller car that clearly also had not been cleaned. We opened the drink holder in the backseat, and it was covered in a white sticky substance. no compensation were given for having to end our adventures of exploring the beautiful Hawaiian island to get another vehicle. They didn't seem to care that we were concerned about the engine light being on, very disappointed with their vehicles and their lack of customer service. I would not recommend using them for your travel needs. read more

They deserve ZERO stars. My MAIN concern was that we reserved car seats, and they didn't have them. What's the point of a reservation system if you're not going to actually reserve them?? We were able to get a booster seat, but they didn't have the cross body strap adjuster, rendering the booster seat useless for the child intended. When I brought this to their attention, SHOWING THEM THE MANUAL ONLINE, they simply said they don't have it. What a huge liability to offer car seats that are unsafe. We ended up needing to purchase new ones at Walmart, since there are no last minute rental companies on the island. Terrible system and terrible service. They need more staff and a much better system. The line was incredibly long and slow, reaching far out the doors to get in. After an hour in line you finally get checked in, only to wait another hour for them to actually bring your car. They pull the cars around and just yell out the license plate. If you don't hear them or you were in the bathroom, you may be waiting longer because you don't even know your car is there. We witnessed this multiple times while waiting for our car. read more

Awful, expect to wait 1-2 hours for your car, workers are over worked, tired, and grouchy. How can Budget adford to let their business and reputation suffer. read more

One star is too much for them. Very very very slow staff. It took 1 hour 45 minutes to get the car mind you I have a reservation 2 weeks ago. read more

Grouchy people at the counter. Over 30 minutes wait to get your car. Car still needed to be cleaned. Horrible. Allow extra time to get to and from the counter. Definitely pay a bit more for a better experience. read more

There is complete chaos and lack of organization at Budget rental car at the Lihue Airport. Never in all my years of traveling and renting a car have I had to wait over four hours to get a rental car that I reserved a year in advance. I have never seen lines this long, as well as the extreme amount of time it takes once a customer gets to the counter, and never had to wait out front for a long time for your car to be pulled around. This budget rental car cannot keep up with the amount of reservations that are made and don't have the cars available/washed and ready for customers when they show up. Nobody even says I'm sorry for the wait or thank you for waiting, we apologize. Worst customer service ever! Then, the week we had the Jeep Grand Cherokee there were cockroaches coming out of the air vents and were in the center console. This was just the worst experience ever! read more

Budget Rent a Car - The line of customers was out the door and wrapped around the side of the building. - Car Rental Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

Unfortunately our first car they gave us (Nissan Altima) only lasted us a few hours before it wouldn't start. We had only made it 6 miles away from the airport when the battery died on us. Had to call emergency roadside support which the guy was nice on the phone. When we backtracked and drove to the rental office, the guy gave us an upgraded SUV same price luckily but it did hinder our experience and we lost a few hours waiting for the tow truck and having to drive backwards back to the airport.... Unfortunate experience. PS the tow truck who came told us he'd been seeing problems with Nissans all week...beware if you're renting one. read more

Just a quick compliment The first car we got had a transmission issue and smelled like cigarettes. We traded it out for another car, only to realize it had an ant problem like, a full-on ant infestation So we returned that one, waited 30 minutes for a new car, and while inspecting it before driving off, we found a nail in the tire Now we're on our 4th car. We've been to Budget 3 times in the last 2 days and have yet to even see the beach lol read more

If I can do no star, I would. From minimum number of shuttles from airport to the rental car, to the wait time... it couldn't be worse. My reservation was at 2:30PM. We got off the plane on time. Waited 3 shuttles and still couldn't get on. Too many people, not enough spaces. They don't have a specific place to park, so I can be at the front of the line, then next minute, I'm at the back of the line. So we ended up walking to the place. Took 10 minutes to walk. Then stand in line waiting for our turn took another 2-1/2 hours to get to the front of the line. Then after we're done with the paperwork, another hour of waiting for the car to be ready. Only 1 person work. Occasionally, 2 people. DO NOT book here unless you don't mind the hassle and the wait. read more

Very slow. Unorganized. Barely functioning. I have purchased a car faster than it took me to pick up my rental Update: had to return first car due to bug infestation. The second cars key fob died after 24 hours. After I was on the phone for an hour and a half, I was told the only way to get a new key fob was to uber back to budget to get a replacement or pay to have to car towed read more

Horrible. Do not rent from Budget at LIH airport. Dirty car, gas tank almost empty. We complained to staff, told us to call 800 number. We sent pictures to Budget and still no response. read more

Budget Rent a Car - Car Rental Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

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This is currently taking place on April 7, 2026 at 4 PM. Not something I'm particularly excited about after enduring a 10 hour travel day of flying with a one year old. No sense of urgency from staff. There's probably over 100 people here. If a manager wants to find me outside, holding my baby to help expedite our registration process and experience I'll be happy to change this review to five stars.! read more

Budget Rent a Car - A crowd of people inside waiting to be helped. - Car Rental Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

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I'm sitting at the airport waiting over an hour for my car to be delivered. No one at the counter is friendly or willing to help. I can't believe Costco included such a poor performing car rental company as part of their vacation package. I will never use Budget again. Their management team should be ashamed! read more

This was the worst car rental experience of my life, and I've had some bad ones. Waited more than an hour in line to get to the counter, only three people working. I believe the general definition of "reservation" means something is kept specifically for you, but hey, car rental companies play fast and loose with definitions, so we accepted a different vehicle than the one we reserved. No biggie. We were told a 20 minute wait, which seemed doubtful considering the large crowd waiting outside, but ok, we've already waited well over an hour at this point so 20 minutes is doable. We wait. And wait. And wait. Another hour goes by. We walk the entire property multiple times to see if our vehicle is even there. It's not. We ask the desk agent and they say it's actually coming from Avis, it's on its way and should be here in five minutes. Another hour goes by. My husband gets on the shuttle and goes over to Avis to get the car. The car isn't there either. I go in and talk to Budget again, they call Avis, Avis says it's on its way. Thank goodness my husband calls at this point and says he got a car at Hertz (at a much higher cost) within minutes, so I cancel with Budget and confirm there are no fees because we hadn't pre-paid anything. The car finally arrives at Budget when my family is loading our luggage into the Hertz rental and I'm waiting to confirm the cancellation. So we've lost nearly four hours of our vacation at this point, missed planned activities, our kids are starving, and we had to pay significantly more for a car at a better rental company. Then we get home to find an email from Budget stating that we were going to be charged a $50 "no-show" fee. 0/10, would never recommend renting a car here. read more

Processing is terrible. The line is easily 100 feet long and barely moving. It's hard to believe that customers have to stand in line for over an hour to leave with a car that you prearranged. C'mon Budget, you can do better. read more

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I read all the bad reviews and thought my experience would be any different. Be prepared to wait roughly 2-3 hours in line and for your vehicle. They do not clean the vehicles interior and only wash off the car. They will try to upsell you at the counter. Enjoy your vacation and stay away. read more

Infested Rental Car & Zero Customer Service I usually only leave five-star reviews, but this experience with Budget Rental Car in Kauai was so bad, I felt obligated to share. First, the car we were given had noticeable damage -- small scratches all over -- but that wasn't the real issue. The real issue was the cockroach infestation. Yes, you read that right. Cockroaches. At first, we thought maybe we brought a few in ourselves, but after seeing 15-20+ roaches, including tiny baby ones and full-sized adults crawling all over the car, it became clear: this car was infested before we ever stepped inside. One literally climbed into my pants -- I'm not joking. My wife and I screamed. We jumped out. We climbed over our infant's car seat trying to get away. It was disgusting, unsafe, and completely unacceptable. We called the Budget location over and over again -- at least 15 times -- in the middle of the day. No one answered. Not once. I even saved their number in my phone in case they called back. They never did. We felt stranded, disrespected, and deeply disappointed. Budget, you need to step it up. This was a health hazard and a total customer service failure. read more

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After 6hours flight came here and wait for an hour to pick up a car ?!!!! You have two options either we can do everything online or have more people to help !! read more

Wait time to get checked in took over three hours. Standing in the sun half that time. Not enough agents to handle the number of people. Suggest you book with a different agency like Hertz. read more