This past weekend ( 5/1 - 5/4) I rented Budget for the third time. I will NEVER do it again. While the cars are nice and the employees good, the wait times to get to an agent have been at least 60 minutes to 75 minutes long. There are plenty of computers and NEVER enough staff. I see others have had the same issue. Why ask what time our flight gets in if you don't staff accordingly? I understand your rates are generally lower than many other companies, however that's your issue when you don't have enough support staff. I am 75 years old and cannot stand (in line) that long. Thank goodness my son has been with me and he stood in line until our turn in line came. Others will continue to rent from Budget, i will never do that again. Natalie Swanson read more

Budget at the Milwaukee airport sucks. My dad had a rental reserved for 6/21/26 at 1pm. Nobody was at the counter for at least 2hrs which is unacceptable. It is an airport location. He is a 70yr man with breathing problems with a reservation. I will not make this mistake. Thankfully Almo was able to get him a car and send him on his way. read more

One would think picking up a car you have a reservation for would be the easiest part of your trip. I'm in Milwaukee and have been standing in line for 45 minutes and still have about 15 people ahead of me. I feel sorry for the lone Budget agent who is tasked with checking in this line of eager-to-get-out-of-the airport people. The average time to process the transaction is 6-9 minutes. Budget, you've got some work to do! read more

Picked up on 08-09-23. Counter only had 2 employees and a line of customer's trying to pick up their vehicles. Took us an hour just to pick up the car which is awesome after being on a plane for 4 hours. Car was a relatively newer Toyota Corolla, but the inside of the windshield and windows were filthy. There was a grimey film on the windshield which is awesome when you're driving through a Wisconsin thunderstorm. The interior of the vehicle otherwise was relatively clean with no odor. $286 for 5 days was the going rate which isn't horrible. Returning the vehicle at the MKE airport was very easy and very self-explanatory. Plenty of signs directing you where to go and what to do. I also thought it was odd there was no one that did a walk around on the vehicle prior to us taking delivery. We noticed an enormous hole in the fabric of the rear seat. I don't think they'd try to blame us for that and are likely already aware of it, but again, there was no walk-around. That seemed quite odd to me. read more

Budget Rent-a-car - New-ish Toyota Corolla. - Car Rental Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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I had a reservation to pick up my car at 11:17AM. My plane was slightly delayed out of Dallas but I arrived to the counter at 12:15. The person in front of me and I were told there is a delay on cars. If you are a National Chain and you have a set reservation should you not have a car ready for when we arrive? I'm here because my dad is dying and every moment matters in getting to him. I made the appointment and Budget could not live up to their end of the agreement. I would advise to NOT use Budget if your time matters. Btw, im hearing Veronica telling others "we can only work with what we've got." Well then get more. Why did you make reservations on cars you don't have? Never again read more

I arrived in Milwaukee on 4/23 to rent a car and drive to Green Bay to attend the NFL Draft. My initial reservation was for a luxury vehicle, which I had made several months earlier. When I arrived, I was given a Jaguar F-Pace. While I was looking for the keys, another renter came out with them and was told they had been given the same vehicle. I went back inside to speak with customer service. After about an hour of trying to find another vehicle, I was eventually given a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Upon inspecting the vehicle, I noticed a strong smell of stale smoke. I spoke with two different attendants on-site, one of whom took a picture of the VIN and entered some data into her phone. Both assured me that they would make a note in the rental record so I wouldn't be charged for cleaning upon return. On May 2, I received an email from AVIS stating that I would be charged $450 for cleaning the vehicle. I called and spoke to a customer service representative, who told me that the attendants on-site aren't able to handle those issues, and I should have called and spoken to them before taking the vehicle. I had no reason to believe the employees were lying to me. I would advise staying away from Budget and AVIS, particularly this location in Milwaukee. read more

about a month after we've dropped off the car we got a $450 charge on our credit card for no reason at all and not authorize at all. They don't answer the phone so we just have to dispute it with the credit card. Be warned. read more

Ok, tbh the wait was gross. No lie. However, the service was incredible. Tatiana was impecable. She handled about 20+ customers with an even keeled grace and never broke character. Her counterpart was overly chatty and not as efficient (he handled 1 to every 4 of her customers). I get it. I could be complaining about customer service being asshats. It wasn't. #budgetcarrental you have a rockstar in your midst. The crew in the garage was very nice. read more

Terrible customer service. Not near enough people to handle both Budget and Avis customers. Waiting over an hour to get our car.

We rented a car for a trip to the east coast. When we were picking the car up they asked if we wanted an EZ pass to pay for the tolls along the way. We said yes to make it easy for us not knowing how many tolls we should expect. After we returned the rental, we saw a charge for $74.95 for tolls. We called to ask about this charge and they told us THEN that the way they pay for tolls is to pay to rent the equipment. So our $9.00 of total tolls ended up adding a charge of $74.95. In their customer service members words "it's a valid charge." We explained that no one told us at the counter that it was $75. We assumed they gave us a pass and we paid for the tolls applied- not a blanket $75 charge. Absolutely horrible! Will never rent from them again. read more

waited over an hour to get my car. Finally got to the car, attendant noted it "smelled a bit like smoke, can I spray it for you before you leave?" I asked that the smoke smell be noted before we leave along with any other noted damage. I was charged a $450 "vehicle cleaning fee" for the smoke smell in addition to "some dust and pebbles" found upon my returning the car. Customer service could only send me the photos, couldn't answer ANY questions about the photos. They also couldn't provide ANY other support but to say "the charges are valid on our end." Wouldn't transfer me elsewhere, wouldn't offer any additional support. Absolute TERRRIBLE service, not to mention unethical business practices. If I have to pay $450 on top of the payment for the rental, I should be able to get answers about WHY I am spending that much money. If I could leave zero stars I would have. read more

Customer service!! Employee couldn't care less about customers Arrived at the counter- only 2 employees...well maybe 1.5 appeared neither had full brain function. They kept stopping to help each other. Line kept getting longer. Finally one of them says "anyone with "fastbreak?". I don't know? Do I ?.. Yes! "Proceed outside to the booth"....ok finally moving after standing in line 15-20 minutes. I'm third in-line when I arrive. Employee finishes up with customer and then 2nd customer approaches (some flirting happening) ugh!! Move it along people!! I get to windows- "license "....yeah hello to you too! Starts my processing but then another employee shows up...they start chatting. He has questions about signing in on computer- she stops processing me and begins helping him. SURE let the customer wait while you two chat about his inefficiency on logging in. She finalized my processing at the window where she's logging in the coworker- slides my paperwork over to my window and sends me on my way...."ok where is the car?" Coworker tells me "go that way(signal with hands) and then that way". Geez thanks..we wander around aimlessly because nothing says Budget all slots say AVIS...ask an employee in the garage for help. ". "I think it's this way". WOW!!! You work here!!!!!! Finally find the car...just as we arrive another couple arrives to same car! We compare paperwork- yep same car issued to both of us! Back to the booth of information...ugh! I cut the line and go back to employee "we were issued the same car?"..."oh"..no apology no anything..I ask " can he just take it and you give me another car so that way there's not two of us delayed." She proceeds my new rental..never apologizes or anything for her mistake. Just a fact of life I guess! Guy at the gate looks at us like we're supposed to know the drill. My husband says "what do you need?"......"license". Ok maybe you should start off with that instead of just starring at us". Terrible experience!!! Clearly employees couldn't care less about service. I have to be here attitude is quite evident! Don't care if I serve one or ten of you...just doing my time. Terrible work ethic! read more

FRAUDULENT CHARGES & WILL NOT REFUND I have contacted Budget more than four times asking they refund me for the overcharges (See attached images from rental receipt). I explained several times their charges based on the calculations and rates on my rental agreement were wrong. Every time I have explained the calculations and correct rates, the representatives are left speechless, they hang up on me, or tell me their supervisor will call the next day (although they never do). IT'S SIMPLE MATH PEOPLE! They will charge you whatever they want after you have dropped off the car. They will not provide you with a final receipt when you drop off the car. When I dropped off the car, I asked for the receipt with the final charges but was denied this. I was told my receipt would be emailed the next day. Never have I ever had a rental agency tell me they can't provide me the final receipt upon drop off and it's no wonder why, because the place is FRAUDULENT and they will charge you extra for whatever they feel like, behind closed doors. read more

Budget Rent-a-car - FRAUDULENT CHARGES - Car Rental Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Rented a "premium" car for business trip. was given a Nissan something that wouldnt be a Full size car anywhere else. They wouldnt change the car.. Preentered in my cc number, Drivers license day before. they still needed to enter my data in.. Im FastBreak.. they dont have that at MKE. Return - As usual, Hand helds not working. Told I would get receipt emailed in 1-2 hrs. More than 24 and - no receipt. Tried to call direct # to counter at MKE for 2 hrs. goes right to corp. Spoke to them - Cant help. Rental Still not closed out. read more

Updated because service has improved, which isn't to say it is friendly but at least it has been more efficient. I have received clean vehicles the last several times I have picked up a car here. Dropping off a car is easy, the parking garage is well marked for the different rental companies. Park, drop off key, and head straight in to the terminal. Worst Budget car rental I have ever experienced. The company I work for has a corporate account and RapidRez Fastbreak. It doesn't seem to matter here. You still have to wait in line and fill out forms. My car hadn't been cleaned inside and was sticky, the console was greasy, crumbs everywhere and it smelled like fish. When I returned my car before my flight and tried to drop off my keys the employee at the counter literally yelled that I had parked in the wrong place. She said, "What are you doing here?!" She told me that I was supposed to drive into a section of the garage that had "Do Not Enter" signs on both sides of the entrance and park. Seriously? Another (friendlier) employee told me, "You can drive past the do not enter/wrong way signs you just have to watch out." read more

Budget Rent-a-car - 19 people ahead of me in the Fastbreak line. - Car Rental Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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One employee at the counter, slow as molasses, long line. Each customer takes up to ten minutes. Ridiculous! Hire MORE employees, especially at an airport location!! read more

They will keep your $200 deposit after returning your vehicle back. Don't get scammed like me on your travels. read more

Budget Rent-a-car - Car Rental Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Made a car reservation months ago here. Got here and there were 50+ people in line at the Budget counter. Only 3 clerks, and whatever their system is, it's faulty. Folks walk up to the other counters, rent a car, and leave. We haven't moved in over 30 minutes. I'm sure my wait far exceed 1 1/2 hrs. Never again. read more

Budget employees did not check in the car I returned right away because they were "busy" so they checked it in 2 days later, said there was damage and is now charging me $142.93. When I dropped off the car my friend and I checked all around the car and there was no damage. I had a flight to catch and I couldn't wait. I should have taken a video of the car before I left but I didn't, that's on me. But for the car to have sat on Budget's property for 2 days before anyone checked it in is irresponsible. Who knows what happened to that car while it sat for 2 days. I have rented many cars in my lifetime and this is the first time this has happened to me. I will NEVER rent from Budget again. Even if that means I have to give up my AARP discount. This is not the right way to do business. read more

Reservation for 2:00 on a Thursday. Arrived to find no less than 33 people waiting to be assisted with their reservation. 2/TWO poor employees working!!! RIDICULOUS!!! Not like Budget didn't know all these customers were coming! Don't rent here! read more

Just want to write a quick thank you to the Avis/Budget team at MKE - especially Pam who was such a gem! Upon my arrival to the counter Wednesday I discovered joined a long line of less than enthused customers waiting. One by one by one by one we all tried to use the QR code for faster check-in, each snickering as we watched the next poor soul try to use the inactive system. Helplessly we stared at the three lackluster counter agents working at a snails' pace to process reservations, while 3 more "supervisors" dallied behind the wall, oblivious to the sea of people trying to hand over their hard earned Benjamins for a vehicle they'd secured well in advance. After some time I noticed the priority check in for Avis Preferred members. As I have preferred plus status, my heart skipped a beat and I hopped over to the "fast" lane, excited for the extra minutes I would have with my dying grandmother if I got through the line faster. When I was called, I walked up to the counter, handed the woman my Amex platinum and DL. She asked if I had preferred plus status and I said "Yes, ma'am. Would you like my number?" No - she said she could look it up. She then pulled up my reservation and stated I had to go to the back of the line because my reservation was with Budget. I politely asked why...Budget and Avis are the same company and the sign says either member can utilize that line. With a scowl on her face she said "I can't help you go to the back of the line." Again, I asked calmly and patiently why, if I have status with their company, would others who don't have status get help first? She cut me off and said she didn't have my reservation ready. I then told her I'd been trying to do the Pre-check in on the app and with the QR code and both said the system wasn't working. Again she cut me off and said go to the back of the line. To this point I still has zero explanation as to why she wouldn't help me. I said to her, fighting back tears, "Ma'am, I know this is of no concern to you but my grandmother is in her final day. I flew up here from NC to say goodbye and I am trying to get to her as quickly as possible. I have status with the company that pays your paycheck. Is there not any way you can help me out?" She said again "I would have to pull up your reservation." I said "yes - as you will have to do for the next person in line who DOESN'T have status with your rental company." She then stood up, interrupted me and yelled at the line "Make room for this person." I very quietly muttered a curse word under my breath and walked back to the line. At that point, who wouldn't? What kind of service is that? Is this how Avis/Budget treat their preferred members? What is my incentive for frequenting their business? And what happened to the days when people simply tried to do the right thing and help a person clearly in need? The "manager" Alex came out minutes later, pulled me out of the line and informed me they would refuse to rent to me. I asked her why and she said I called the counter agent a name. I said I did not. She continued to state they were refusing me service. I asked for her to document in writing that they were refusing me service. She said she had to speak to her manager. Made me wait several more minutes and came out with someone who wasn't a manager. She then lied and said she had documented statements from people stating what I did. This was a lie as I was standing at the counter the entire time. No one gave any statements. I then informed her if she had written statements of defamation of my character I had a legal right to see them. She lied again and said the statements did not include the customers' names. Hmmmm. Cuz that made sense. I videotaped her refusal to service me and refusal to document her choice at which point she walked away. What I can tell you is this: To Pam, agent 28367: you did me a massive favor. I hired a private driver for the day for less than the cost of the rental car and didn't have to pay gas or deal with returning a car. So thank you. Your rude service saved me time and money and gave me time to relax in the car and thank the goodness lord my career isn't a car rental company. Furthermore, the unorganized, illogical, understaffed and unprofessional behavior of the entire Avis/Budget team at General Mitchell Airport saved me any consideration in the future as from now on I will be solely renting with Hertz and Enterprise. They offer 10 times the level of service to their status members that your team does. read more

Budget Rent-a-car - Clearly an unhinged supervisor - Car Rental Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Car broke down and Budget called to get a taxi for us (no uber available). Budget asked that we pay for the taxi and they will reimburse us. Told me she had great notes in the system so it won't be a problem and gave us the email to seek reimbursement. Emailed the receipt and getting answers that don't answer the question, telling me to contact this dept. with no information on how to contact that dept,...just giving us the run around. Poor, poor, poor customer service!!!! read more

I dropped off my car here and everything went like a breeze. I noticed that the counters were not backed up or any one complaining as I moved towards the terminal. That's unusual these days with most rental counters, so I'll assume they are doing a good job. They definitely do a good job on the drop off side. read more

Wow- long day of travel - slowest service. Should have more people working the counter. Taking forever!

Awful! Rented a large van for a road trip, waited 1.5 hours for rental. When we arrived at the location (on time for the pickup!) we waited in line and it wasn't even ready because it needed to be pulled from a different lot. Nothing was prepped in advance even though payment/ reservation was submitted in full 3 weeks prior! Only 2 employees checking people in! Unbelievable! After the long wait, We finally get the vehicle and drive away thinking everything is fine. We get home to start packing the van for our trip and find out the front seat is BROKEN and can't be adjusted properly at all. A part of the seat even fell off! Did anyone check this when it was dropped off the last time!!!We call back and after waiting again on the phone we are told to bring the van back to exchange it for another one and are told it may be another hour before we can be helped! Not only that but the employee on the phone reminded us to fill up the gas tank before bringing it back otherwise we would be charged additional fees! We only drove 15 miles!!!! Update 1 We are now waiting in line again to get someone to help us and are being told the manager is looking for another van. WORST. RESERVATION. EVER. Update 2 Got another van finally after basically 4.5 hours of waiting. We drive it home and the blinkers went out which we had to replace the next day. Not only that, as we were driving on our trip we found out that it was 5000 miles past it's oil change, had zero windshield washer fluid (like bone dry), and was low on oil. While we were driving we also had the air conditioning stop working and the blinkers died again and had to be replaced. I cannot tell you how ridiculous and awesomely bad this rental experience was. F- all the way. read more

Budget Rent-a-car - WAITING! - Car Rental Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Worst place to pick up your rental. At least 20 people waiting and only one customer service person. It's the day after Christmas and they are short staffed. People have been waiting here for over an hour. My entire flight was shorter than this wait. Pay extra and use another rental service. read more

Budget Rent-a-car - Car Rental Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! I accidentally made a reservation while on the phone with a customer service representative. They are making me pay $50 to cancel the reservation that I did not intend to make! I only noticed that I had a reservation because I saw it in my email. I called within 15 minutes of when I saw the email and they will not let me simply cancel without a fee! read more

I rented a car from Budget last weekend. The car had a massive oil leak and left a ton of oil on my parent's driveway. They are refusing to do anything about it. Beware and maybe rent from someone else as they don't consider damage their faulty maintenance causes to be their problem. read more

Budget Rent-a-car - Car Rental Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Budget gave us a minivan with two front bald tires which put my family in extreme danger if they happened to need to stop abruptly or needed to drive in rainy wet conditions, which they had to. My wife and kids drove through a rain storm and even after dropping to a safe speed they still hydroplaned making it difficult to control the van. It was very scary for them as I was not with them. Luckily no damages occurred but if they had Budget would be under new ownership right now. And despite their negligence and lack of vehicle safety, they only refunded us one days worth of rental fees. I will think long and hard before going with budget again... at any location. read more

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Got to the downtown Milwaukee location for a car I rented a week prior only to be told there were no cars to be rented. With no car, was told to somehow get to the Brookfield location. Once at Brookfield, was able to get a car and had a lovely experience. Downtown location is blaming other locations for their lack of cars to not be held accountable. Just skip using Downtown Budget all together. What a headache. read more

Budget was very responsive to an issue I had. I didn't ask for anything, I was just stating what happened, but they helped out anyway. I will use them again! read more

Hey this location of Budget wasn't bad! There was a line when we arrived, but the service was fast! In and out. And the return was easy, too. read more

Why don't you have a working phone number for the MKE Budget rental desk? Anytime we try to call, the extension is invalid.

Unbelievable!!! They lied! Simply horrible service! I booked a car at Milwaukee's Mitchell airport from Budget to be picked up on July 4th at 5pm. I even paid in advance to make sure I got a car. I arrived at 5pm which is exactly the time I told Budget I would be arriving. And no one was at the rental counter! I waited 20 minutes but no one came out from the offices. I called Budget customer service and Anissa, employee number 43240, told me that she was going to call the local rental counter and get right back to me so she put me on hold. About 10 minutes later, she came back on the phone and said not to worry. She said that the person that was supposed to be behind the counter was out in the garage cleaning cars for the next rental customers, which of course included me. Anissa informed me I should wait 10 minutes, and that the person would be back up front to serve me. 30 minutes later I was still waiting. I finally realized that Anissa lied to me. She lied!!! So I went over to the Alamo counter, and I rented a car. It cost me about $130 more than the rate I had with budget but at least now I had a car. The people at Alamo were extremely gracious and understanding especially Corey and they were working on the Fourth of July! I was told by other rental counters' staff, that still had cars, that budget ran out of cars at 4:15 PM and simply left and went home. They didn't even bother to take down their sign that said cars available. Later I complained to budget customer service to see what they would do in terms of a future credit to compensate me for tremendous stress they caused my wife and I, but they said no. I will walk 1000 miles before I ever rent from budget again. read more

We rented a car here recently. We had pretty decent service at the airport location. It was a bit annoying how crowded the car return was a bit challenging given that someone had gone the wrong way and got stuck, but that's not Budget's fault. We weren't happy that our rental car (with Ohio plates) didn't have winter tires. It would have been very useful had the car had winter tires given the weather. Otherwise it was a good rental experience. read more

The whole rental process from ordering on the site to returning the car went quite smoothly. I was particularly happy that I could so easily change the rental details (i.e. what protection plans to add). The only thing I was a bit frustrated about is the length of time it took to pick up the car... there was a decently-sized line that took a while to go through. read more

My preacher insists there is a hell; if he's right, then the management folks at Budget Rent A Car might want to study up on Praying the Rosary big-time. Background: I had RESERVED and PRE-PAID for a car rental with Budget; car to be picked up at the Milwaukee Airport. After arrival at the airport, we got in the Budget line. After about 15 minutes of no movement, we learned that there were NO cars for rent!! Three people in front of us had mobility limitations, and all were having issues with their Budget car rental; note that the outside temperature was in the 20's. Why no email warning us of this little disaster? I had previously received numerous reminder emails from Budget regarding the rental; so why not one warning that our agreement was not going to be honored? After a bit more time in the line, I talked to an agent and said that since they had no rentals, I wanted to cancel my reservation and get my money back. I was given a phone number to call, which I called. This was not a total disaster for us; we just used Uber to get where we needed to go. As we left in the Uber, I noticed the same three people with mobility issues still waiting in the Budget line; one lady still waiting in her wheelchair. Pigs will fly before I trust Budget/Avis for any future car rental needs because a paid upfront reservation apparently means nothing to them. read more

1 hour still in line Power went out Computers inside and out went down 4 people ahead of me Never again read more

I was almost billed for damage that was not associated with my rental agreement! I felt like the pickup/billing experience at the front counter was disingenuous. But the worst part is how weeks later, I got a lettter stating that my card on file would be billed for glass damage, roadside assistance, and towing. The letter scared and astounded me as I turned in the car with no damage and did not use any assistance or towing. I called the phone support right away and she said that she'd email me a confirmation that I would not be charged; and that sometimes they're not sure which rental agreement was the source of the damage. Again, I was astounded. ...and then I didn't get the confirmation email, so I emailed them. All in all, a terrible experience. I will never use this location again. read more

Warning - side effects of using Budget Car Rental may cause a waste of time, money, increase fatigue and frustration and worse yet - has the potential to turn you into a "pun person." This will all become abundantly clear, so let's dive right in. We were charged double what we were quoted with several hidden fees, and an overall service that wasn't explained clearly, with a "charges glossary" full of acronyms that showed up on my bill but not within the actual glossary itself. The only thing worse the absence of value in Budget's deliverable was their (lack of) customer service response: it took nearly a week to hear anything, when asking for detailed description and responses to my inquiries I was told essentially "thanks for choosing Budget, but your bill is what it is" and "our competitors would charge you the same." So, yeah, I guess you could say we were having fun. But, oh you thought the joy ride ended here? Buckle up, we in for a ride (in an overpriced rental car apparently.) You don't spend more than your mortgage on a rental car and not get a FULL ride from hell. Oh no. Not today, friends. Not today. Now, where were we? Oh yes - upon my trying to reply to the same email address I've been communicating with all along, my response came back as "undeliverable" - with no way to continue conversation with them. Appears we've been blocked from responding. So, what do I do since I've already wasted time with this clown shop, well, like anyone who loves spending their days and nights battling with Budget Rental Cars, I try to forward on and retype the email address. Because at this point - I'm invested. Same thing, blocked. Just another sketchy lack of transparency and dishonest business practice. Save yourself the headache, money and time and select *literally any other* car rental agency. Renter beware! Oh, and we mustn't overlook the irony of their name being "Budget" but their deliverable being anything but read more