It shouldn't take almost as long to pick up my pre-reserved rental car as it did to fly into Sky Harbor from two states away, but it did (90 minutes). There was no long line (in fact, I was attended to immediately), it was just a HORRIBLE comedy of issues, one after another. This was my first experience with Budget, and will absolutely be my last. Here's a summary: I reserved an electric vehicle ("Ford Mach E or similar") through Budget using Costco's travel website. The rental fee for the entire 6 days was roughly $377, a phenomenal deal. I told the Budget employee that I had a reservation through Costco, and he couldn't find it. He asked for my confirmation number from my Costco confirmation e-mail, and found my reservation that way. He rung me up (took roughly 10 minutes), and said the total cost would be right around $1,700. I showed him the confirmation e-mail showing the $377 total, and he said that the "prices must have reset since it's now after midnight". He was unable to adjust the price because he needed a "manager number", and there were no managers on duty. He sought assistance from a coworker, who was able to help him (another 15 minutes), and got the price adjusted, but said that the car was no longer available. He looked for cars, and found a Genesis GV60, and said he could give it to me for another $10 / day, and I excitedly agreed. He went through the same ten-minute ordeal, and again, reported that the car was no longer available. This cycle went on over and over for over an hour, and I added that at that point I don't care if it's an electric car, I just want something to drive. He said he'd put me in a Mercedes, and would give it to me for the same $10 / day premium over my original price. He wrote parking space #140 on my pickup ticket, told me the keys were in the car, and to just go to spot 140 to pick it up, and show the QR code he'd texted me on my way out. So, off I went to the garage, found space 140, and in it was a Genesis, not the Mercedes on my contract. So, I went for help from the in-garage attendant, and he repeated the same "here's a car", "I'll update the contract", "Oops, that car's not available" a few more times. He eventually was able to transfer a "car over from the Avis side", and I went to the parking space to get it and it was a Ford Mach E, just like I'd reserved. Budget corporate responded to my "how did we so" survey, and refunded one day's rental fee, and apologized, thus the extra star. read more

This is an update to my last update. More than a month later NO ONE has responded. Budget did give me a refund for 2 out of 8 days of my rental. When they first offered it, I turned it down. It wasn't enough. They gave it to me anyway. Sky Harbor is complicit in that they never even acknowledged my complaint to them. So much for the friendliest airport in the country. They basically gave me the Don't rent from Budget. Like so many corporations today, they don't give a crap about the people who hold the money. Use anyone else, just not them. read more

Ay yay yaay! Where to begin.... Maybe at the end of the longest line I've seen since Disney's Rise of the Resistance! From all the reviews and pics on Yelp, I should've known what to expect if I did my research properly. Sadly, the car rental came in a package and Budget Rent a Car couldn't be avoided. As soon as we landed, we picked up our bags and took the train to the rental terminal. Quite a trek if you've ever been to Phoenix Sky Harbor. After entering the lobby, we noticed all the rental desks were minimally crowded. Budget was the last one at the end of the terminal.... Walked into a line that zigzagged in front of the desk and extended out toward the doors. Not sure exactly how or why but looked for options. Noticed a sign near the entrance to the zigzag of the line that said, "Fastbreak members may proceed directly to the Fastbreak counter in the garage to pickup your vehicles". While I wasn't a current member, I went online to become one and proceeded to the garage. Filled out the form and waited in line. There was a line here too, but maybe 15 people of so. Literally after about 45 minutes of waiting, they made an announcement saying if we just created a Fastbreak membership, our vehicles wouldn't be ready and we had to go back to the line upstairs at the main counter. UUUGGGHHHH! Went back upstairs to the main counter. Waited close to 2 hours to spend 10 minutes at the counter to pickup keys and get my rental car. The car itself was in good shape. A hybrid Prius. Great on mileage. That about sums up the experience here. If I can avoid it on future visits, I would. Spent more time in line waiting than the actual flight in from So Cal. Keep on Yelp'n! read more

Budget Rent A Car - Line at the Fastbreak desk - Car Rental Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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The Most incompetent ppl I have ever met in my life 45 minutes to process the rental. Then his that she processed a gas Car not ev. The guy Garrett in the garage is a compete maga deplorable. I hate this comment read more

WOW had to wait in the longest line I've ever seen in all my travels for well over an hour. Meanwhile all the other rental counters in the mall were empty. When we got to the counter, I mentioned to the guy, but I've never had to wait so long and asked if there was anything special going on in town, he just tried to tell me that that's fairly normal and they are busy there. Again, looking at the other counters that were visible, they were the only ones backed up. We finally got our vehicle and noticed inside where the armrest were and a few other areas, it was a bit dirty, but not anything we couldn't handle, just less than we expected. The vehicle was full of fuel and performed as expected. The picture and description on the reservation was for a Ford Explorer sized vehicle, we ended up with a Kia SUV. Probably not what we would have picked to be an unfamiliar with it, but it did everything we needed it to do. While I am sure we will rent through budget again as I travel frequently, if I'm back in Phoenix, I may go with a different company because of this experience. read more

Budget Rent A Car - Car Rental Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

It was hard to find where to pick up at 530 am but once we did the customer service was good. They did not have a lot of inventory but he did his best to accommodate us. read more

Check in was a mess! Over an hour wait because they didnt have any cars!!!???!! Terrible service

I reserved a car months ago with insurance. They snuck in their own insurance when we checked out so we double paid for insurance. So beware and try to read the tiny screen of charges! When we arrived there was a 2 hour wait. They didn't have the car we reserved so we were offered a "free upgrade". We ordered a Tesla and got a Toyota Prius. We're a family of 5 with a toddler. The car was so crammed for us and smelled like cat pee, and car was dirty. The screen in the car would go out randomly when we were driving. read more

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Fast break is a joke. The validation desk in the parking lot-- that signs direct you to from the main counter-- is closed Meanwhile there are about 75 pissed off people budget offered cars to-- many fast break members who didn't magically receive a code this time. Even though we called the reservations center and confirmed that fast break was active and we could head directly to parking deck in order to avoid this same situation. I would have paid more for better service but now we are stuck. Thanks Budget Phoenix sky Harbor for nothing. Book with another firm even if you have to pay $50-100 more. It's not worth the hassle and poor customer service. read more

Budget Rent A Car - Angry fast break members who still have to wait in line - Car Rental Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I had never rented a car personally, but have been in the company of people who have rented cars for our trips before at enterprise and where their pick ups were 30 min tops. The wait time was absolutely horrifying and dreadful. We landed at 10:20pm (earlier than expected). I had set my pick up time to 11pm, but I was like no big deal since we still had to take the airport train from our terminal to the car rental center. We'd never been to this part of the airport before so we made a wrong stop- no big deal since we were super early anyway. Once we got to the center, the line was SO long. We were so surprised that that many people were picking up a car so late into the night! There were 5 people working with 40-50 people waiting in line, granted there were groups together or couples, but a lot of the groups weren't standing in line but sitting on benches waiting. It was 2am by the time we finally got our slip letting us know where our car was parked. THREE HOURS WAIT TIME! There were still a good amount of people landing and trying to get in line to pick up their car but were turned away since they closed at midnight and the employees were all working overtime. There was no map for the garage, so it took us a hot minute to even locate the car in the garage. And the people who were turned away had to go down there to wait in line to pick up a car. It was about 30 degrees out at this time and the line was also just as long. Terrible system. They need more cars, more employees working to make this a smoother process. They employees were even saying that this is nothing new and they are usually on overtime because of how backed up it gets. Horrible. I will never be using budget again. read more

Budget Rent A Car - After waiting for 1.5 hours - Car Rental Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

They were out of cars when I got there. I reserved my vehicle in June which was a sports car. Since they didnt have any vehicles my only two options were a mid-size or full-size vehicle with no options of a credit. So they gave me a Malibu. I opened the door and was smacked in the face by a smoke smell. I went to the desk downstairs to let them know. She then switched me to an Equinox but someone was already in it and was getting ready to pull off. I went back to let them know and was put into a Jeep Cherokee. I was on the phone with customer service the entire time and she was super nice along with the people downstairs. read more

Budget Rent A Car - Car Rental Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Horrible service. Literally waiting for 4 hours for a car that we didn't reserve that was a EV. Simply unorganized and uncoordinated.

Great customer service and very friendly people, very knowledgeable and professional and the whole car rental center was just amazing

I hope the Budget manager is reading this. The experience I had was so disappointing. Waited over an hour in line. Clearly there are logistical issues. This business seems fully staffed yet everyone seems to be confused. I know is a busy holiday weekend, that's why I made a reservation and planed ahead. The lack of communication from the staff just leads to frustration for customers. I should have just took at Uber or rented with Turo. read more

Long lines, poor directions and they had us switch cars three times. Definitely won't use this service again.

Let's start with the good as that's the shortest list ever: * the price was competitive (probably the cheapest of all); and * the return process was stellar Now for the long list of "not good". But first, in case you're a doubter, note the dismal overall 1.4-star rating (based on 780 reviews of this location). I am not alone in my opinion. Here's why: * I didn't count, but the line easily had 50+ people in it, ahead of me, and took a solid 1.5-1.75 hours to wade through; * When I was first in line a man tried to cut and the staff immediately began helping him until I intervened; * Once at the counter, ambient noise and a voice that didn't project made the employee assisting me almost impossible to hear; * Having moved though the 1.75 hour line I was directed downstairs to where? Another line (estimated 10 minute wait) to look at my paperwork and point me to a car; and * Once in the car, yet another Budget line, this one so unmoving that I began honking my car horn and yelling out the window. Don't judge; I was now 2-hours into my Budget rental car experience and I hadn't even exited the parking garage. I recall comparing prices when I rented this car and noting that the differences on the low end weren't hugely significant. This review will serve as my reminder to pay pretty much any amount on future visits to Arizona, just to avoid the Budget Rent A Car experience. I would recommend that you do the same. read more

I had a really disappointing experience with Budget. The lines were extremely long, barely moving, and the waiting area was hot and uncomfortable. People looked frustrated, and one person several rows ahead told me he had already been waiting 45 minutes and still wasn't even close to the counter. After standing there watching the line crawl forward at a painfully slow pace, I finally gave up and walked over to another company--SIXT--where I was helped immediately and had keys in my hand in under five minutes. I understand busy days happen, but the lack of movement and the uncomfortable conditions made the whole situation incredibly frustrating. I ultimately had to take my business elsewhere. read more

A Memorial Day weekend, one of the busiest travel weekends of the year I stood in line waiting for a car that I had reserved and paid for in February for five hours. Only to be told that there were no cars left to rent out. I don't know what kind of business model they're running, but it's not working. I complained and got an apology with an excuse for my troubles. read more

Agent was friendly and efficient, explaining each step along the way. Got an upgraded vehicle without asking and return was completely smooth, even including pre-checking our bags at the car rental place, so we didn't have to carry them into the airport. read more

Quick and easy pickup and drop-off. Price was reasonable. Car was clean and new. Price point was very good. Will use next time in AZ.

terrible service. do not rent from this location. we were told our car was ready via text to find out that there were no cars available. passanger vans were only available, but you had to wait over an hour for one. and it wasn't guaranteed to get one with how many people had reservations. read more

Arrived the afternoon of May 23rd to the front counter person telling us in line that it would be a 5 hour wait, in line, and a 1-2 hour wait once you get to the counter. We had prepaid and had a confirmation number. What more could we do? Budget does not care about their customers. Budget does not care about their employees. No company should put the customer or employees through what was happening on the 23rd at Sky Harbor. Thankfully we were able to get a refund. Hertz will have a car for you and if you get a confirmation number. Never, as long as I live, will I use or recommend Budget for renting a car. read more

Wasn't even open. They make you wait in a long line of another company. Awful service. Do not recommend.

Bait and switch - NEVER USE BUDGET RENTAL CAR! We booked through Kayak with a price around $250 for our total trip. Checkout went smooth, but when we checked in, they charged us over $1,200! We were never notified of this increase, but they said it was in the fine print of the contract. We were also never provided a copy of the contract that we electronically signed on their screen at check out. When we called to dispute, they just said that's how they do it, and we should review the contract. We were never provided any verbal or written notification that our price would not be honored. Save yourself the money and hassle! Don't use this dishonest company. read more

2.5 hr wait for car on Saturday afternoon They had manager come out and apologized but didn't add any more agents 100 + people in line read more

Once again another awful experience!!!! We show up with fastbreak and are supposed to have a car ready as soon as we arrive. We walk down to Zone 3 and the whole lot is empty. Then they proceed to tell us we have to wait in an extremely long line to see if we're able to get one. After waiting for so long we had to turn around and book a flight back home because we weren't going to make it to where we were going. What a waste of a day, spent $1000 on the flight and $100 on the rental for the day. NEVER WILL BE USING BUDGET AGAIN! read more

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Terrible experience with Budget. Got it in Phoenix and used it in AZ. They charged over $115 so that I wouldn't have to fill up the tank when returned. A fill-up costs no more than $40 so that was a rip-off. Then I just got a letter from them saying they were charging $125 to clean the vehicle. That car was clean when we dropped it off. AZ is dusty desert so of course our feet tracked in some dust...not enough dirt to charge for!! If you want a company that will nickel and dime you, Budget is for you. read more

Budget is a little cheaper when I booked online, but the line is so loooong! If you're worried about time, don't book with Budget. The guy at the counter convinced me to change the type of car in wanted to rent due to where I was going. It was a very good recommendation, but he should have been more explicit about the actual cost. I was shocked when I saw how much it was on my credit card. And definitely check with your car insurance if you have car rental insurance so you don't have to purchase it here because it's pricey and per day cost. Other than that, the process is simple. You can get here from the airport with the Sky Train. Returning the car was easy as there was a guy directing people where to go. read more

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Wendy was amazing. she helped me rather quickly and took care of the swap since the other car wasnt available. didn't like the fact i had to use my debit card because the tap to pay was down (for my credit card), but it wasn't her fault. if that was fixed, itd be a 5. read more

Four people at 11:30pm at night- pathetic The wait is at least 3 hours. People are tired and this company doesn't care I deserve it! I did not read yelp read more

Budget Rent A Car - A lot of pissed off people - Car Rental Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Booked a car over the phone with them, paid for everything and insurance, and when I showed up they didn't have the car and the insurance they told me to get over the phone wasn't going to be valid to go over the border even though I specifically asked about that and they said it was exactly what I needed. Pathetic company. read more

Scam alert! Do NOT rent a car from here or return your car to here. This rental place engages in false claims scams to squeeze more money out of renters. The way the scam goes is that you return the car, they claim that you damaged a part of the car that you likely don't have photos of (e.g., a corner inside the car), then they bill you for the "repairs" cost unless you can provide evidence that you didn't damage that specific part of the car. This "repair" cost cannot be overturned. read more

I rented a car in January that was poorly maintained and left me stranded in the desert when it completely malfunctioned. Little did I know that would be the highlight of my interaction with Budget. Through multi channel complaints, I was able to get a refund of all the fraudulent charges I was then billed. Completely unacceptable but I moved on. Now it's 10 months later and without warning Budget has sent a collection agency to bill me $1300 for body work that same vehicle needs because it was in a collision 6 days after I had it towed. When I pointed out that the documentation Budget provided had clearly been falsified (mismatched mileage), the collections agency wanted no more involvement. I have spent hours on the phone with Budget and been hung up on three times alone today. An agent read my file out loud to himself and it says "Do not handle. Executive only". Not sure who this executive is because it is not being handled. Do not rent from here. The cars they have are dangerous to drive and they can't even falsify their own documents without making mistakes. Their entire business model seems to be taking advantage of customers who don't have the time nor resources to push back on their criminal activities. read more

Absolute worst experiences I've had with car rental have been Budget. It's my own fault for forgetting. Price never matches what you booked, they NEVER have the car you want. Thanks I'll put my family of 5 with a car seat in a tiny SUV-always a downgrade from booking and WOW they'll give you $100 discount-which puts your total at more than it would've cost to just book the smaller vehicle in the 1st place. Specifically this location had some real terrible employees that took 20-30 min with each customer and were 0% helpful. Would rate at 0 if I could. Have had few customer experiences that were worse than this. read more

Whatever you do, do not rent a car from here. I've had my reservation for over 3 months. I get here and the line is about 60-70 people deep. I had a reservation to pick up the car at 1pm and I've been waiting in line for over an hour and am only about half way to the counter. They say it's another hour delay once you get to the counter. I just wasted my entire day of vacation waiting in line to get my rental. There are many other car options here that had no line. Choose another rental service than Budget. Horrible costumer service. read more

Budget Rent A Car - The line of people I'm still in line behind after waiting 70 minutes already. - Car Rental Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Rented here 3 times and each instance was maddening! First time they didnt have my reservation and we paid way so much more. The second time we prepaid but they didnt have the car we wanted. The third time we had to wait 1 1/2 hours to get to the counter for them to tell us they didnt have the car we paid for. Not sure how they can stay in business with such HORRIBLE service. read more

I would not recommend using Budget Rent A Car at Sky Harbor Airport. We were told that we could get an upgrade at no charge and that we would receive a brand new Subaru. We were charged the upgrade for 2 days and we did not receive the car we were promised. Additionally, at drop off, nothing was said to us whether we we were good to go, etc. In total, we paid over $600 for a 2 day rental. Outrageous! read more

After all of the previous issues in my first review, I am continuing to receive text messages that my renal. Is now 6 days late to be returned. Customer service says it will take up to 7 days for this to be handled even tho the previous agent assured me it was already taken care of on 3/7/25. Yeah, this has been a pathetic experience. Sad they can't do their jobs. read more

Budget Rent A Car - Pile of car seats - Car Rental Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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Rented a minivan from Budget at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport from 3.12.2025 to 3.15.2025. Fastbreak member. Vehicle was returned and I was later charged $450 in damage. The "damage" was dry dirt on the floor from the Arizona/Sedona Parks...mostly confined to the removable floor mats. I challenge anyone to return a vehicle after 3 days of visiting Arizona parks without some red dirt inside. None of it permanent or anything that would not be addressed by a thorough vacuum job. A nominal cleaning fee may be warranted, although have returned vehicles in similar/worse condition in the past with no issues. $450 indicates some sort of actual physical damage to the vehicle and/or loss of service, which I do not believe occurred. NO mention of a problem was given during the return of the vehicle by the attendant. This is clearly a money grab by Budget. Also, I called to complain on this issue, and the representative *clearly* and repeatedly stated no fee will be incurred as this fee seemed unnecessary. However the charge was applied anyway. Attached are photos, provided by Budget no less, of the horrific damage they feel cost $450 to address. Warning to anyone if you rent from this location...you better get the vehicle detailed before you return it. read more

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Stood in line for over an hour, had a reservation. Got lightheaded and sick and had to leave the line after an hour. Rushed to the restroom and was sick. Ended up getting a car in 5 minutes from Alamo. Every time we go to Phoenix the Budget counter is awful. Will only use Alamo from now on. read more