Needed a 1 day SUV rental and had found a great deal online at the W 49th St location that would allow me to drop off here in the Upper East Side without additional charge. A security guard at the garage facilitated the efficient drop off. Keep in mind if you're driving less that 75 miles, these city Budgets may have an automatic fill up charge if you can't produce a receipt for your own refill like I showed the guard. That charge can be possibly significantly more than you paid to refill the tank to the level you got it in. Definitely, I'd rent from Budget again. read more

Budget Rent A Car - Budget E 86th St Car Return - Car Rental Near Me - New York, New York

They will take your money to prepay for a "reservation" but then they say they have no cars when you show up but "hopefully" within 30 minutes. read more

DO NOT BOOK FROM HERE! Showed up 5 minutes before by reservation time and saw a long line. Then had to wait almost 2 hours as the only attendant working took forever. When I got my car it was only 3/4 full of gas and they charge you if you don't return it full, so definitely check that when you get in the car. If all of these negative reviews haven't dissuaded you from renting from here, at least don't pay in advance. I would have loved the option to just cancel and book with someone else when I saw the line, but I had already paid read more

Budget Rent A Car - Had to wait in line for almost 2 hours. Only one attendant working - Car Rental Near Me - New York, New York

Always a line out the door and only one person working. They DO NOT have have a fast check in. Expect to wait an hour minimum. GO SOMEWHERE ELSe read more

I reserved a car for 3:00PM on 7/7/26. I arrived at 2:45PM waited on line when I got to the front of the line, the woman told me she was leaving for the day and the gentleman next to her who was working with another employee would help me. They proceeded to ignore me for another 15 minutes.. I asked them at what time would I expect to get my 3 pm reservation? The employee told me clearly I'm helping someone else.. I didn't realise he was helping an employee Rent-A-Car why everyone else was waiting. He finally decided to give me attention. I pre-booked my car so there really wasn't much to do. They told me I had to wait outside for my car. I waited an additional 15 minutes for the car to come up from the garage. I was renting the car to see my granddaughter for her birthday. I explained to them traffic was building minute by minute they didn't care. Today I return the car and I pulled the car up to the sign that says stop here. I was then told by another rude employee to get back in the car to move it out of the way cause he had to pull a car over there. I would never ever go to this budget again they are disrespectful, rude and unprofessional read more

When I got to the office the staff inside were nice. Once I signed my contract I was told to wait for the truck as they were "cleaning" it. I waited about 10 minutes until someone in the office said something in the radio after asking if I was still waiting and about 10 more minutes later the car came up. The condition of the car was beyond not clean and there was even what appeared to be a used bandaid in the passenger door. After waiting and being told I was specifically waiting for cleaning is why I called and reported this right away to the people I just spoke with at the desk at budget and they told me they will report it to the manager. Will report back after drop off. read more

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Congratulations to Budget, the only company that can take a confirmed reservation and still hand you the keys to... absolutely nothing. That's right: we reserved a car, showed up on time, and were rewarded with the privilege of staring at an empty lot like contestants on a bad game show. The prize? Missing our family event while the staff shrugged like we had just asked them to solve quantum physics. Budget, you are not a car rental company--you are an experimental performance art piece about disappointment. A masterclass in how to ruin someone's day while still charging them like you delivered. The slogan should be: "Budget: We Take Your Reservation, Then Take Your Dignity." To the employees: thank you for reminding me that customer service can be an Olympic sport in apathy. Truly inspiring stuff. I've seen DMV clerks with more hustle. To anyone reading this: if you ever want to experience the unique thrill of being stranded, humiliated, and explaining to your relatives why you missed their big day because your "confirmed" car turned out to be imaginary--by all means, book with Budget. Otherwise, rent literally anything else. Steal a shopping cart. Hitchhike with a raccoon. Walk barefoot. You'll get to your destination faster and with more dignity than trusting these clowns. read more

On a hot humid and sticky Saturday morning at 9:20 a.m. on 6/7 at your 302 E. 87th Street location, the highly unprofessional woman working there (I assume the manager) asked us all to leave the air conditioned waiting area and form a line outside the door. She seemed to be unable to cope with having 6 or 7 people waiting patiently in a well-formed line inside the air conditioned service area. WHAT AN INSULT TO CUSTOMERS. And HERE'S WHAT'S WORSE...by the time I finally got out of there, that line had backed out to the active lane of the parking garage where cars were moving in and out. At the end of the line was a couple with a baby and a stroller. read more

I had a really bad rental experience with this location. 1. My pick up time was for 12pm I get there at 11:50pm and was told I gotta wait cause they were going to lunch and I had to come back at 12:30pm ! I was like im here now can I just pick up the car quick and get out of here was told no cause it was their lunch break so I had to wait 40min. 2. I get the car it was filthy. Bird poop everywhere (I have video of car when I picked it up) the interior had soda spilled in the center counsel I asked the guy giving it to me and he said "DO YOU WANT THE CAR OR NOT" that was the reply. So I left and got the car washed cause I had things to do and needed the rental. 3. I get my family and go to the Carwash and my son finds a CONDOM WRAPPER.in the back seat. Disgusting !!!! I was taken back by that !! Thank god it was just a wrapper. 4. The tire pressure on the car was all over the place one tires had PSI of 24, 31, 41, 29 !! Like that's dangerous to drive like that !! I had to pay to get that fixed + the car wash. 5. It snowed during the time I had the car and the car had a warning light that had 0 washer fluid. I live right by the budget rental location so I drove by and asked can I get windshield wiper fluid for the car I was told "NO THEY WILL ADD IT WHEN I RETURN THE CAR" I was like it has none now. Was told no. So I had to go to a gas station and buy it myself cause I still had 3 days left with the rental and need fluids !! This has been a horrible experience with budget I don't think I'll ever go or recommend this location to anyone !! read more

Budget Rent A Car - Even though the car had NO washer fluid was told they will add when I return the car. So I had to go buy !! ‍‍ - Car Rental Near Me - New York, New York

horrible I arrived at 10:15 for a 10:30 reservation and the line is 20 ppl long and only one person is workin, this is unacceptable

I had a horrible experience. I live across the street and needed a car for the day to drive to Long Island. Pick up time was 10am. The line was soo long we didn't get it until 12pm. They had one person working. It ruined my whole day and my sons ended up with a terrible headache from waiting in the garage for so long. Will never use them again. read more

We had a confirmed reservation and when we got there, we were told there were no cars available. There were tons of other customers like us, it was midnight and they basically said too bad. If you want to cancel, they will only refund you 70%, you need to call to try to get the other 30% even it's their fault for not having cars available. Will not use Budget again. read more

Service is terrible. A 1 hr wait on line to get car. We rented from them again and were on line that wrapped around the building. It took more than 2.5 hours read more

Everything!! Budget is the worst . I stood in line at 300 E 87th for 50 miss to.pick up a rental car. When I finally reached the counter the employee said I needed a credit card which I didn't have , although I had my Chase bank card. To much to type. VERY DISSAPPOINTED , WOULD NEVER RENT FROM BUDGET RENTAL CAR AGSIN. read more

It was for Budget Rental a Car location in Queens, LGA location. Sorry selected the wrong location. "Car was oaky but service was not good and they arbitrarily overcharged the customer. I returned the car earlier, but the budget location was not open (before 6am), so they directed me to drop off at their parent company location Avis LGA. Told me to just leave car in the lot with key inside, no paperwork or other action needed. (I took photos as a precaution for possible dispute and it really happened.) They logged the return time 10 hours later in the receipt and charged me one extra day and a late fee. They also charged unspecified "non taxable product" of $30 I did not know in advance and did not agree. Will not use Budget again, maybe Avis too." read more

They're friendly and Jay was very polite and respectful. I will be renting from them again

Do not use this location. The workers are rude. The manager is useless. They will not have your car. They will not help you.

Zero stars. Prepaid for a car to be picked up on 7/21/23. Inept/incompetent. Was told they didn't have my car. They asked if I wanted to be put on a waiting list in case someone brought a car in a a Friday afternoon. Oh, the good news is I would be first on the list . I canceled the car on the spot because I needed to get to my destination. Now I'm fighting with them to get my refund. I WILL NEVER USE BUDGET AGAIN!!! read more

There is no reason to use this location: the agent was rude, indifferent, spiteful, and kept talking to someone on her phone while we were all there. To be clear: she was not speaking to customer service or to any of us. She was having a private conversation out loud, using her ear buds, while all of us were standing there trying to understand our options. The reason for the long line?--Because she said her system was down so she couldn't process any of our reservations to pick up our cars. Instead, she said we should call customer service--tho she didn't offer the phone number. Other options she offered: 1. Wait, for hours, she suggested 2. Come back in the afternoon 3. Change our plans 4. Go elsewhere She refused to give the specific address of other locations. She refused to speak with any of us waiting, except to speak in Spanish to a few selected customers. (She did not wear a name badge.) She never once greeted anyone who entered. After lengthy wait times and effort to get customer service, I was able to transfer my reservation to another location. Net-net: I lost 2 hours. Then I was overcharged and overcharged for gas. Other horrors abound: Having to wait in the garage in 90-plus weather because the agent insisted on Covid rules about 1 person in "her" office at a time. Not being told about available discounts and then being told to add them would cost me more because of having to restart the reservation. Et cetera. I simply can't find one good thing about my experience with Budget: from the time I made my reservation to the final bill, not one thing was pleasant, customer-oriented, or helpful. Budget is a misnomer. The company and this location add up to terrible customer care and to terrible customer experience. read more

This was the worst and most inconsiderate experiences of customer service I've ever witnessed.The attendant was rude and a total disservice's invalid.We booked a vehicle ahead of time to attend an Unveiling later on that day.Not only did we put a deposit on the car,but the snippy attendant mentioned he had to run a credit check(which makes no sense considering we just paid am additional amount for a deposit).When it didn't pass,the attendant was adamant about nothing being able to be done and to "read the fine print" as he circled it on a paper.I snapped back and told him that this was for a Funeral Service/Unveiling of someone very close to my family yet still refused to even get someone higher up to see if this can be made an exception;but he still refused to budge on his decision.Yes the refund for the deposit was given back,yet the amount we paid for the car was never refunded. Whomever the training manager is in this location clearly needs a lesson in how to manage and educate their employees about customer service and sympathy for the bereaved.Im sure you would want someone to pay it forward to you if you lost someone close to you.And i'm sure this lack of customer service is what has earned you the rating you deserve. My loved ones and I will never use your rental service as long as rentals are concerned,here or during travels read more

What is it with this location and Mother's Day weekend? Last year, they had no cars -- NONE. There was at least a two hour delay in receiving cars as they were being transported from a nearby airport. This year (2024), there's a massive line with no explanation as to what's going on? I waited a half-hour past my reservation time and NOTHING. Fortunately, I booked another car at Avis on 92nd Street. read more

Budget Rent A Car - No idea what's going on in this photo because there's nobody explaining what the hell is happening. - Car Rental Near Me - New York, New York

The rental took 1hr and 15min to pick up on a Friday morning. There was only one person working the front counter very inefficiently. The car was given to us with an almost empty tank. This was my first time renting a car in the city and the experience was extremely off putting. Would not use them again. read more

If you need a cheap rental, yes. Otherwise, no. Spend the money and get a clean car. The car also felt like I was driving in a tin can. When I picked up the car it had dirt and scratches on the outside. The concierge didn't want to document any of this. The tank was only 1/3 filled and the car wrecked like cigarette smoke. Like, wrecked like someone smoked 10 million packs of cigarettes in the car. The concierge put his hand on my arm to browbeat me into not documenting the condition of the car. He had no right to put his hands on me. They also tried to overcharge me by adding extra stuff to the bill (including an extra day, when I was told that I return the car 2 hours late, without penalty). So, cheap and is worth it because of that, but stand your ground. Don't let them overcharge you and make sure you document the condition of the car. read more

ZERO STARS. DO NOT GO TO THIS LOCATION. THEY WILL TREAT YOU LIKE A CRIMINAL AND CONTINUE TO CHARGE YOUR CREDIT CARD WITHOUT YOUR AUTHORIZATION. I don't even know where to start. The female attendant made the whole line wait outside in 90+ degree weather while she attended to one customer at a time inside in the AC. She yelled at the older gentleman who went in with me and told him he had to wait outside like everybody else, not sympathetic whatsoever when he pleaded with her and told her how hot it was in the garage. As soon as I pick up the car I notice that it's filthy on the inside, there was trash underneath the drivers seat and the passenger seat. As soon as I left, the car was noticeably shaky and also was occasionally making a weird sound. As the woman told me that this was the last car that they had, I opted to continue on my trip knowing that she wouldn't be able to give me another car. Driving from NYC to Vermont, the sound kept getting worse. I left unsafe getting out of the car in the middle of the road in the middle of the night, so the next day I took the car to a mechanic where I had to pay out of pocket to get a piece of plastic removed from the underpinning of the car. The mechanic said that this plastic was improperly placed after the car had had its last oil change, and it must have gotten caught on something in the road causing it to become partially dislodged and drag underneath. I called budget customer service who was helpful in noting my complaint and taking proper remedial action, and they gave me a Case ID number to give to the attendant when I returned the car. Upon returning the car, with the same woman who checked me in, I asked her if I could provide her with my Case ID number to which she responded that it wasn't her department. I told her about the plastic that at was sitting on the back seat, and she became extremely agitated, she accused me of the causing damage asking me what I did without having any sort of background information. I told her about the noise I was hearing on the road, to which she responded that it was MY fault because I should have driven to another Budget location instead of driving to Vermont. (Like oh I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't realize that should've been spending my vacation touring different Budget locations when I should've received a reliable vehicle in the first place! I digress.) Without even giving me a second to explain that the closest Budget to where I was was 2+ hours away, she unnecessarily called security, and she then told me to "get out" before security even arrived. I did nothing to warrant this kind of treatment. I was in no way accusatory or derogatory or aggravated, I was only relieved to have gotten through a 7 hour drive with a car that was falling apart and I was hoping to have her help in solving the problem, or at the very least put her on notice of the condition of the car before she rented it to someone else. With nothing else to do and wanting to get out of this extremely uncomfortable and targeted situation, I left. About 20 minutes later I get a notification from my Bank that Budget was attempting to charge my card, on top of the $300 hold that was already in place. At the end of the day, I would recommend going to Nike and getting a pair of running shoes before renting a car from this Budget location, especially if the car they want to give you is a black Toyota Corolla. read more

Shame on you, Budget. Absolutely infuriating. Claims that it closes at 11. We showed up at 8 to drop off the car. Street was closed due to NYC marathon. Could not get to it even though we could see it. Called multiple and multiple and multiple times. No one picked up the phone. Called budget. THEY couldn't get ahold of anyone at this location either... because they were C L O S E D! ! ! Budget customer service did not help. After speaking with three different people the best they could do was to take it to La Guardia. With two small children with me at 8 o clock at night that wasn't an option. So we had to park our car at the hotel for $50 then get charged an extra day even though we kept up our side of the contract, even though we had the car at the right place at the right time. Shame on you, Budget. read more

Ordered car without daily unlimited tolls. When picked up car and signed the paper where you have to sign/initial in many places I did not see that the paper the woman gave me had a daily charge of $26 for unlimited tolls. When I returned the car and was charged the extra amount (each day for 4 days) I told the woman I hadn't ordered the unlimited tolls. She said I signed the paper so had to pay. Avoid this location. read more

There's something wrong with this location. I've never ever ever had a pre-paid rental agreement not honored at the counter. Never. But I wasn't going to argue with the counter because 1) it's not worth the aggravation and 2) i'm lucky enough that tying up an extra $70 doesn't affect my finances and 3) i didn't feel like getting stuck with the oldest and dirtiest car in the fleet. So I smiled through gritted teeth and called Budget customer service when I had a chance. It took 30 minutes but they fixed it (after the customer rep ran through all the possible reasons they could jack my base rate up and came up empty.) So if this happens to you make sure you cross your Ts and dot your Is otherwise who knows. But this location is definitely on their bullshit. Seeing other reviewers mention that they didn't have their agreements honored is troubling and seems to indicate that this is some sort of scammy ass policy. Is your Internet marketing manger reading this? Y'all better stop before you wind up on 9 on your side. read more

I rented from here a few times. And I always have issues with the gas charge. My last rental the lady at the counter removed my discount from my prepaid reservation but didn't reform me. When I noticed it I returned the car, it was 4 day early. They had me speaking to one customer rep after another and after 3 weeks, they now say I will not get any of my money back. They are scamming people every day. read more

If I reserve a car for a period of time I would expect the car to be available for that period of time. Instead myself and 10 others waited in a line for any vehicle we could get. Absolute garbage service and a disgrace of a business model. read more

Turned my car in at nighttime (10:55pm) and the staff never sent me a receipt. Then they went and parked the car (after I ended the agreement and had already handed them the keys!!) in front of a fire hydrant 50 feet from the location. The city issued a parking ticket for $157 at 6:39AM the next morning. Then, because the staff was cutting corners and didn't give me a a receipt AND illegally parked the car, I get a bill in the mail telling me I now have to pay the $157 ticket! What a joke. I called multiple times and they tell me "oh... only corporate can fix it now". I have called corporate now 17 times and wasted a total of over 6+ hours. Their customer service staff is also full of people just transferring, dropping your calls, and saying "oh, um... just email your request and 'someone' will get back to you." But they never do! I've been going at this for over two weeks and NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Do yourself a favor, do not rent from these guys. If anything goes wrong, you'll be stuck with customer-service hold music forever and end up with their fraudulent charges from mistakes their employees made and refuse to accept responsibility for. read more

I have been to literally hundreds of rental car offices for my job. This one achieves to consistently be the worst. Today, I showed up an hour early and they made me wait until the pickup time on the dot, EVEN THOUGH they had cars available, just to prove a point (or God knows that the rationale was). I'm not disillusioned enough to believe that rental car companies strive for customer service excellence as their primary business objective, but the extent to which they go out of their way to be rude and mean is quite astonishing. read more

Convenient location, seamless check in, and courteous service. We were staying on the Upper East Side and decided to pop up to Niagara Falls for a day. Searching for a rental car location, we were alarmed by all the atrocious reviews for practically every rental car place in Manhattan! This Budget location had only one review, a disgruntled customer. But if only one patron was angered enough to post a review, compared to many angry customers at other Manhattan rental locations, Budget was our best option. We took the subway (the 6 line) up to 86th Street and walked east, finding the small Budget sign right where we guessed it would be on a parking garage just east of 2nd Avenue. They had a nice, clean, new car ready for us and it was a very easy process. read more

Irene at the E87th street Budget location is truly a living, breathing angel. She helped me get a car in a very stressful situation so that I could be on time for an important appointment. She is the best type of employee to find in a customer facing job. She was professional, empathetic, and kind. I wish there were more of her in the world! read more

All, I recommend you avoid. I paid in advance for a full sized car. They gave me a small tin can suv that was exceptionally uncomfortable after waiting 20 plus minutes for the car when I was the only person in their lobby. They asked for a review so I spelled it out. They then gave me a total BS response basically telling me I was lying. Their response is below. No offer to make it up just a word salad. I recommend avoiding this location! Dear Joseph, Thank you for responding to our survey regarding your recent rental at our Budget location at East 87th street. I am very sorry that you were disappointed with the vehicle you received. Delighting customers is our top priority. We clearly did not succeed in your case, and we are determined to exceed your expectations at your next rental. Our records show that you were provided with an Intermediate SUV. Please know that our policy is to provide you with the next available car class above your reserved car class if we do not have your car in stock. We hope that you will soon give us another chance to provide a vehicle that will help create an excellent experience for you at Budget. Sincerely, Michael M Budget, NYC Operations Manager read more

Look I know y'all be seeing a lot of one stars here and I can't attest to their experiences but if the gods favor you and you happen to walk in when Santana is holding it down, you will be met with a warm smile and above and beyond care. Don't believe me? Who else would give out their personal number when I lost my passport in one of the cars I returned ? Dude is solid and Budget is lucky to have him at what appears to be a less than 2 star spot. I'd leave his number here for y'all wishing to get him on your side but I don't know if he'd approve. I'd give 5 stars but he may be just the data point outlier. Bet read more

So when I made my rental, I didn't read the views about this place until I was on my way to my car rental reservation. I was honestly panicking on my way thinking "I'm about to head to Jersey and see family and I'll be screwed without a car". I'm not sure what it is with the morning staff of this company, but I picked up my car after work (around 6:45pm), I was willing to wait cause I didn't have my reservation until 7pm. I was seen right away and the guys working there were funny, kind and got me in and out and put me in a NEW 2021 car! Based off the reviews of this place, I think it's the morning staff that has all the issues. I just dropped off my car (5pm Sunday) and still met with kindness. Just handed the guy the keys, made sure all my stuff was out and left. My biggest advice, try booking for afternoon/evening - that seems to have the better staff. I'll be back...just in the afternoon. read more

This place os an absolute joke. I rent cars weekly and this by the far the most disorganized place I have ever had the displeasure of using. Over 40 people waiting over an hour and a half in a 98 degree parking garage. Get your sh*t together. read more

I live in NYC so frequently rent cars for weekend getaways or day trips, but this location, while convenient to my home, is a complete nightmare to rent from. We recently moved uptown and consistently have had a horrible experience and endless issues whenever we pick up from this location. Our most recent, their system wasn't processing a corporate work discount code I always use and Budget corporate's customer service manager was unable to understand after speaking to the location rep why they couldn't rent me a car for the reserved price. The location said I had to remove the discount code and pay $150+ for a 1 day rental or no car. After more than an hour of frustration we ended up picking up a rental elsewhere which I wish we did all along, because I refused to pay double the price especially after Budget corporate reconfirmed the discounted price the location should be renting to me for. Other customers are constantly complaining with issues, the line is usually extensive on weekends, the pickup process is very painful (their system takes about 1/2 hour+ to reboot when she has problems), they don't honor FastBreak, the staff are consistently as RUDE as they come, don't care at all about customers. If you want to start your trip stress free, I'd recommend renting from a different location. read more

We have used this twice and have gotten a better deal than taking a cab out to the airport and renting from out there.

Immediately upon arriving at Budget's station in Flushing the individual who greeted me was rude, disrespectful and completely sketchy. He tried to upgrade me to a larger car and I refused. When I went outside I saw the only car left for me was a larger car than I agreed to rent, meaning he tried to upgrade me when the only car left was larger. This is an unacceptable practice which I am sure all Budget's competitors use as well. That does not make it right. I will call all of you out for this unethical practice every time it happens. Additionally, when the insurance "question" came he did not present me with the option to refuse, only if I wanted liability or complete coverage. Again, shady and unacceptable. I told him at the counter that the initial estimate had me returning the car on the 17th. I told him that I had already arranged to return the car on the 16th. He refused to change the original quote. Quite simply, the guy was a jerk and I fell from the moment I arrived he was trying to scam me. I will never used Budget again and I will post this review to every website possible if my bill issue is not resolved. Your bill charges me $41.67 for an "additional day" when, in fact, I returned the car a day earlier! The deal is simple. Return the $41.67 you stole from me and I will not leave a review. Decide to shaft me and everyone will see these exact words. Your choice. Obviously Budget did not care enough to reach out to me. I hope this review causes this business to lose money. At least the $41.67 they stole from me. I'm a native New Yorker and don't take kindly to scammers and jerks who try to take advantage of anyone. Imagine how they'll treat non-New Yorkers who are naïve to these kinds of scammers and lowlifes. Disgusting. read more