Took over an Hr to get the car, when it was my turn at the Desk inside, they decided that I was a Preferred Customer which meant I was able to go outside in the garage and wait even longer for my turn in line. The Agent then said your car will be right up it is being serviced, 30 mins later the car arrived and it was nasty in the cup holders, I pulled away since frustrated after waiting over an hr and the Jeep shook over 30 MPH, can definitely say savings Not worth the Hassle. Not Recommended as I stood there with 8 other people waiting on car read more

If I could give negative stars, I would. I've never had such a spectacularly bad experience renting a car -- and I've rented from some questionable places before. I don't even know where to start. After waiting all night for the Budget counter to open at 6 a.m., like their website promised, I discovered... they just don't. Instead, there was a little sign off to the side that said to visit the Avis counter. No bridge troll, no riddle, just a scavenger hunt before sunrise. When I finally found the right counter, the poor Avis agent clearly wanted to go home. (I get it, I work in customer service too.) He tried to help, went out back to "ask someone something," came back around with his personal belongings, and told me "good luck" -- and left. Just like that. I had to step away, collect myself, and come back to try again. Eventually, we figured out my reservation issue. I'd booked a compact car through Costco, but apparently Budget's version of "compact" means "we ran out, here's a full-size car that costs more, but we'll call it a free upgrade." Plot twist: it also required premium gas, which I hadn't budgeted for. By the time the keys were finally in my hand, it was after 7:15 a.m. My 6-hour drive was already off to a thrilling start. The car itself? A treasure hunt of horrors. The touchscreen was sticky, the back seat was stained, the dashboard screamed for an oil change and a new key fob battery, and there was actual trash under the passenger seat. I couldn't even get the trunk to open -- I gave up and tossed my luggage in the back. Returning the car was the final test of patience: juggling my disabled parent, multiple suitcases, a wheelchair, and what remained of my sanity. In the chaos, I accidentally left my headphones in the glovebox. I realized almost immediately (at TSA), filed a lost item report within minutes -- only to be told, faster than humanly possible, that "no items were found." Shocking. I take responsibility for leaving them behind, but honestly, that was the cherry on top of an already miserable sundae. Between the broken promises, the filthy car, the "upgrade" scam, and the customer service equivalent of tumbleweeds, I can confidently say I will never rent from Budget again. And I'll make it my life's mission to warn everyone else that saving $20 isn't worth it. read more

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After a long direct flight from LAX, the last thing you want is to wait another 3 hours before you can drive away in your car rental and finally start your vacation.... Well if you rent a car from this Budget location (at the MDI airport), you may experience exactly that on a Saturday, in which we arrived early evening around 5 pm. My husband made a reservation online a month prior to our trip and had noted that we will be picking up our rental here at this airport but returning to another state. We have done this numerous of times on previous vacations (yes you do pay more but you do have the freedom to travel further without worrying about returning the car rental at the same location where you picked it up). Anyways, we caught the shuttle from the airport to the car rental. Because my husband is a Fastbreak member, he was informed that he could just head to the garage. However, when we arrived, on the screen, his name was not on the Fastbreak member board, so we waited in line. It took 90 minutes to finally reach an employee at the counter. During the time we waited, there were only 2 employees at the counter. However, one employee took his lunch during that time, which contributing to a longer wait time. When we reached the counter, the employee helping us said because we are Fastbreak members, we could head to the garage.... that was incredibly annoying to wait 90 minutes. But anyways, when we got to the garage, we found out that there were very few cars left and had to wait. We initially got a Cadillac Escalade (my husband chose a Toyota Rav4 or equivalent but they are out of cars so we take whatever we can get), After cleaning the car down and loading the car, we head to the exit booth and told we can't leave the state with this car. So we head back to get another car. We are then offered Toyota Tacoma. We had to wait for it to be cleaned. When the car was brought to us, it had less than half a tank in the car, so the employee said he would be back to refill it (which means more waiting). After loading our luggage into this car, we were denied again at the exit booth. The employee there was rude and gave me attitude when I asked her which car can we have that will leave the state. She just told me "I don't know".... and I asked her if she could look it up for us, that would help us out. She just said she won't know until we bring her the car... And so again we went back to return the car. Luckily another couple had just returned their rental, a Mazda Cx6. So the employees cleaned the car, filled it with gas and then brought it to us. Then we loaded the car and then headed to the exit booth. Luckily this car was allowed to leave the state and so we were finally on our way (the operations manager who helped us the entire time said he had called the woman at the exit booth to make sure this car was able to leave the state (he had spoken to her for the previous car and she had told him the Tacoma was okay, but she said otherwise). So we finally left after being at the car rental for 3 whole hours. We were so hungry and exhausted by this point and it was after 8 pm and still had to drive to our hotel in the next city over and maybe get some dinner... My husband regretted not renting from National, his preferred rental company. But wanted to save money since the rental would have cost double, but would have rented from them if he knew in advance it would be such a poor experience. Moral of the story: Do Not Rent From Budget read more

How did I let this happen twice, by booking Budget BWI and getting totally screwed? Trust me spend the extra 10-20% and go with literally any other company besides Budget/Avis (at least at BWI). The first time I booked, a year or two ago, you have 1-2 people to take care of 20-30 reservations at the same time. The first time I waited, not exaggerating, an hour and a half! Barely got a car (actually they put me in a huge truck, which was difficult to drive, because they ran out of cars), the people in line behind me were not so lucky and did not get a car. The next time I flew in to BWI I remembered the terrible experience and decided to go with a different company, which was fine. This second time I used Budget (I figured I'd give them a second chance because: maybe it was a one off before), it was closed, with a sign stating go to Avis. You go to Avis and wait an hour to find out... oops... no cars. Why the heck would you not have cars if people book a reservation? And why would you only have 1-2 people to service everyone? So no car. Of course customer service phone is closed. And... no other rental car place has cars at this hour if you have not pre-booked. Looks like an expensive Uber ride out of here. I look forward to a refund on my $200 prepay and look forward to never, ever, again giving my money and time to Budget/Avis. Company is a joke, and not in a good way. Please do yourself a favor and spend a little more to avoid BWI Budget/Avis read more

Budget Rent A Car System - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

Budget didn't have any gas cars in the segment that I reserved. So, they offered me an electric or I could pay extra and get the next upgrade which I eventually ended up taking. The wait to pick the car up was quite long even though there were only 2 people in front of me. The return was smooth though. The prices are pretty high here. So, it's worth it only if you can find deals. Didn't have to wait too long for the shuttle(maybe I got lucky). read more

Budget Rent A Car System - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

The desk was closed and we had to go to Avis. Lack of employees but manager was nice. We waited more than 1 hour for our rental - it wasn't clean. We found a beer bottle in the back. We will not be texting from budget in the future. read more

I reserved a car through the Budget website and paid up front and in full. When I arrived I was instructed to go directly to the parking lot an pick up the car there ( I have FastBreak). There were no Budget employees to be found anywhere, and it did not seem like there were any cars available. I went inside to the Budget counter, where a sign directed all customers to go to the Avis counter. After waiting in the Avis line for well over over an hour, I finally got to the counter and explained that I had already paid Budget for a car, and just wanted to be on my way. No problem sir, here's your keys. About a month later, I received a charge on my card from Avis (no refund from Budget) for the rental. So in essence, they charged me 2x for the same rental. Upon discovering this second charge, I immediately requested a refund and have been doing so for the past several months. They have been giving me the classic run-around (your request is under review, sorry for the inconvenience, etc.). I will never rent with Avis or Budget again, and would highly discourage anyone considering renting from them to rethink. Worst rental experience of any of the major companies. read more

time for me to leave Budget nearly 20 yrs with them. plan to wait in line no matter what preparing you make. I have FASTBREAK for years and no one is ever at the kiosk, just a sign that says go to the main counter. then wait in line and they rarely have the car you actually reserve. the company's loyalty program is broken! read more

Budget Rent A Car System - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

An hour and a half wait at BWI in Baltimore. One two agents serving a line that went across the big waiting hall. When we got to the desk, the line behind us was still just as long. We're looking for another car rental agency next time. And of course there was another long line to pick up the car. read more

Budget Rent A Car System - Waiting for the car after a 90 minute wait to check in. - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

Check in was great! Staff was super friendly and approachable. The cat had issues. Once I had to have a friend rescue me. On day of return it was still acting up. As a hybrid, the jeep grand Cherokee. Hint don't take it if they offer it. I expected it needs some computer or torque reset, as it would rev too high and not shift leaving me going 20 on the freeway. I expected I could share this horrible car experience at drop off. Except. Drop off experience was worse than the car. No welcome back. No thank you for your business. She spoke to everyone but me. I asked if she wanted to check the veh in. She tells across the lot, I'll email you. All while finger dashing her phone. I didn't hear her the first time. And she was absolutely rude. Until this check in. I was super happy..... even with the crap car experience. Business is built on service. Lot service is included. Even on Fridays at 0900. 6 stars for the stellar check in service. And negative stars for all the rest. read more

Be honest with customers. This location attempted to give us a car with damage and from a lower tier category without giving the lower price. They didn't even have our category of car at this location, but to try to give us a cheaper level car without adjusting the price and then lying by saying the car they tried to give us was in the same category was totally dishonest. Even when we showed the proof to him online, he tried to deny it. Don't get me started on the cracked windshield that they pinned on us, probably because the previous renter bought the insurance. Even the rep said it was barely noticeable so we probably missed it when we rented the car. Since we didn't buy the insurance, they had a sucker to pin it on. Word of advice. If you still rent from this place, video every inch of the car. Take it slow and get it all. You can thank me later. read more

Visiting Baltimore and just wanted to make sure everyone avoids Budget @BWI - cracker jack POS rental out - and Costco Members DO NOT RESERVE hete...trust me - MAJOR SCREWBALL - goto Enterprise/Avid - AVOID BUDGET!! Just don't want anyone to fall for this place. Truly BUDGET - as the saying goes you get what you pay for..SKIP THIS BUDGET. Don't know how the revirw beneath mine gave it 5-Stars, must be a friend or relative. Read the others - this Budget is absolutely miserable. Any manager from Budget BWI feel free to chirp in..yeah, that's what I thought - We went to Enterprise..smooth sailing. read more

Lanham MD, Location "We absolutely love our neighborhood Budget and Avis car rental location. My husband and I have been renting from them for the past eight years, and we've always had a great experience. LaMont, the owner and manager, is fantastic--he really goes above and beyond. Everyone there is always so polite and friendly. The young lady, Fransiel (I hope I've spelled her name correctly--my apologies if I haven't!), is also incredibly helpful. What I love most about this location is that they are always fully stocked with inventory, and their hours of operation are very convenient. Keep up the great customer service! ~Max. read more

Worse company ever! Reserved a 7 passenger van. Called the day before to ensure they would have one available. Was told they have reserved the vehicle we requested for pick up today. Went to pick it up and NO PASSENGER VANS available. Few years ago we were stranded in Colorado airport when they didn't have our reserved car! And....the man at the counter was so rude!!!! I would rather 0 if that were an option. read more

I tried to wait a few days to cool off before writing this, but I'm still furious. TLDR at the bottom. ------ I scheduled a car rental from 6/19-6/22 and provided my flight info at booking so they could track it. Pick-up was set for 4pm on 6/19, but my flight got canceled. I rebooked the flight for 6/20 and called Budget customer service to make sure I'd still have the car when I arrived--I had my newborn son with me and couldn't be stranded. 1st agent: They said since I gave flight info, they could track delays/cancellations and allow a hold of the car for 24 hours. However, my new flight arrived at 4:50pm on 6/20. All they said was, it should be fine--but that didn't inspire any confidence. 2nd agent: I called again just to be sure. I explained the 24-hour window issue since my new arrival was past that. She was rude and repeated they "hold the car for 24 hours", totally missing my point. She was extremely condescending. I hung up. 3rd agent: I called back again. They said the 24-hour clock started at 10pm on 6/19. Turns out someone updated the reservation on their end from 4pm to 10pm without anyone telling me!! I was furious but relieved it was still active. Arrival: As a "Fastbreak" member, I went straight to the pickup area--but the place looked closed. After 10 minutes outside with my baby, I found a tiny sign saying to go to AVIS for pickups (weird but whatever). At the counter, the Budget Fastbreak agent kept leaving the desk, making the line crawl. When it was my turn, she left again. After 15 more minutes, she finally came back and couldn't even find my reservation in the system. WTF!? I showed confirmation emails and called customer service again while at the counter. She walked off AGAIN, why?! I couldn't tell you. After nearly 2 hours total, I demanded a manager. Manager Don was a GODSEND. Compassionate, efficient, and the only one who actually helped. He found my reservation and got me the car. Give that man a raise! Everyone else at Budget and their customer service can eat a bag of d!cks and f@ck off--except Don. ------ TLDR: Reserved a car. Flight got canceled and rebooked 24 hours later. Called Budget to confirm car wouldn't be released. Three agents reassured me. Got there--no reservation found. Spent 2 hours trying to sort it. Only Don the manager resolved it. Everyone else was useless. GET IT TOGETHER, BUDGET. read more

Eight work stations for one employee and eleven people in line. Didn't realize my wait for a car would be longer than my flight, this morning. Who get paid to schedule the right amount of people at this location? read more

Have more employees, put up signs when a person needs to be directed to budget. The line is a 2 hour wait read more

Budget Rent A Car System - Long line with one employee - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

It's everything you would expect from a car rental place. Under staffed, random issues, lots of taking on phones talking about random stuff and not having the correct cars.. I'm regretting reserving a car here because it was cheaper but you lose 2 hours of your life waiting in line. The fast break quick pick up doesn't do anything and their website is slow. You are asked tons of questions on line then you fill it all out and when you get to the front, they will ask you all the exact same questions... Ai please help us read more

If you are using a debit card, they can deny you, and they do!No matter how high your bank acct. If you use a Debit Card and don't have an excellent Credit Rating ... they don't allow rentals!!! read more

Budget Rent A Car System - Warning they can deny your Rental if you don't have a high Credit Score - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

Beware! They do not hold reserved vehicles even if Fastbreak, and are extremely rude. I booked my reservation via Costco.com and used my FastBreak number. When I arrived to the Baltimore Budget counter it was closed and business shifted to their partner company Avis. My flight was 1 hour late arriving so Fastbreak access to the vehicles was not available without presenting all information again. The service person informed me that my vehicle had been given away to someone else. I asked her to cancel the reservation and went to another company to rent instead. My Mastercard on my Fastbreak account was charged anyway, which I did not provide or sign for and has not been refunded after 2 weeks. I am livid, and will never use this company again. --a once loyal customer read more

I have never, ever had a worse rental car experience. We waited in line for SIXTY-FIVE MINUTES despite having a reservation. Only two people were working the counters and one left 30 minutes into our wait because his shift ended. We are directed to go outside to the "booth" which is a folding chair. No one is to be seen for multiple minutes. Finally a person comes and walks us to our car. There is no choosing. There is no customer service. "Here is your car." Budget indeed. Then at the gate to leave the attendant asked for an ID, the key to the car, and a slip handed to us earlier. They should already have this information and in this combination. There was no time we were asked about any of the damage on our car. There are scrapes on our car. I have zero faith we won't be charged for these. I booked through Costco because it had the best price but you could not pay me to rent from here again. read more

Budget Rent A Car System - 6pm on a Wednesday. - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

It is interesting to read all the scathing reviews of this location from over a year ago, and yet nothing has changed since. We had just as horrible an experience as all these other people. Two hours waiting in line, and only two agents working the counter. I asked the agent why they were understaffed, and he said, "because it's the "Budget." That says it all. read more

August 31, Sunday .. I went to the BWI location at 9pm and they were already closed . A employee in the garage told me they decided to close early tonight .. but they are suppose to be open until midnight. Their website indicates that they are open 24 hrs , not true . Everybody be warned .. very bad management at this location. read more

They did not honor my reservation made through Southwest Airline. I finally received a dirty KIA SUV with no safety features and bad breaks. I also had to wait almost an hour. I will never use them again. read more

Unbelievable. Reserved a car with a infant car seat (for 4 month old). got to the Baltimore car rental at 5:30 and it is now 730 and we still do not have a car seat for the baby. they told us we could use a dirty one or just cancel our rental and go somewhere else! employee with Hertz said that they have infant car seats but they don't have a partnership with Budget, so 'too bad'. read more

The Budget Car Rental counter at the BWI facility is the perfect place to build up your stamina for waiting in line for several hours. You will be ready for Walt Disney World lines after your experience here. Enjoy the pop songs blaring from the speakers of an empty terminal as every other rental counter is empty, except Budget. Having a bad day? Get set for it to be worse at Budget. Where vacation dreams go to die. read more

Budget Rent A Car System - Long a$$ line of people trying to pick up a rental car. - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

I reserved a car for my upcoming trip to see family back East. The rate I rented the car for was 238.97. My bill at the counter when I picked up the car was $465.50. The agent added insurance coverage I Specially stated I did not want. They also sol me on a fuel charge. Thanksgiving Day no locations are open except the Airport. A mild inconvenience yet still not expected. There was no way to speak with a Counter Agent ! The line to rent a car was 25 deep And growing. My condolences to any unfortunate traveler who is caught in the Web of Renting a Vehicle from Budget. The staff on the phone were not helpful and unprofessional. I was treated as if it was My Fault. Perhaps my naivety got the better of me J this occurred at BWI AIRPORT in Baltimore!! Jeffrey Middleman Phoenix, AZ read more

No one there at the airport desk. Sent us to Avis.. over an hour line. Terrible service . Stay away. read more

It's going to cost you more in the long run, here you'll get very frustrated for a long time. One employee behind the counter and it literally hasn't moved past the one customer at the counter. Plan for a 3 hour wait... how much is it worth? (We pre bought through Costco.) read more

Miss having someone shout obscenities at you? Come on over to Budget at BWI. Picking up the car I never received paperwork. " it will be emailed to you" was the response. "We don't have a printer". Really?? Upon arriving at my destination, no paperwork so I had to call customer service. Dropping off the car I asked for a receipt. The same rep was working the desk. " no printer" was the response. He then accused me of telling him to F Off. I hadn't but he shouted that at me 3 times. I asked for his name, I was told F off. Bad day or poor customer service. Won't be dropping by here again!! read more

Counter was manned by two people. They were doing their beat but were very slow. Once i left the counter and went to pick up car it took another 15 min waiting for an employee to tell me which car to use. Their were very inefficient there and needed to have some kind of management present to assist with assigning tasks and making the process more efficient read more

Why do you make a reservation if when you arrive, they are sold out!???? 1-2 hours wait to get a car, this is ridiculous, 1-2 hours wait when my flight was only 45 min ... seriously the system is AWFUL read more

Budget Rent A Car System - counter - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

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Rented an "Economy" car (Ford® Fiesta™) thru the Costco® travel site for ±$290/7-days. We arrived after our flight from SJC and we got in a line of 12 people with only one employee working the register. 0_0 I hadn't bothered checking Yelp beforehand but when I looked it was like déjà vu... We looked at each other and our hearts sank, as we were in the same predicament other Yelpers had found themselves in. Fortunately, after only a few perilous moments a 2nd employee came out followed by a 3rd. All told we were in line ±20-25min, which really isn't bad. Check-in was very quick and they offered an SUV upgrade ($10/day) but I opted for a midsize upgrade ($5/day) to a Ford® Fusion™ Hybrid. The Hybrid was a good call as I ended up avg 45mpg for our whole journey and I ended up paying only about $30/gas for the entire week. Drop-off was pretty uneventful, as it was relatively quick and painless. Both employees were dead inside―aka SoP for "Charm City"― but managed to do their jobs in a expeditious fashion. So, kudos?? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm probably being kind with a 4-star review but our experience was fine. However, with that said, I do believe all the other negative reviews. So feel free to book here and keep your fingers crossed, I suppose. read more

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Yep. READ THESE REVIEWS. I should have read them before renting from Budget. Budget desk closed. You'll be sent to Avis. 30+ people in line. Scary wait. read more

Budget Rent A Car System - Waiting for Budget at Avis.... - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

Would give this place negative stars if I could, because they deserve it. Apparently reservations are meaningless and I don't think they could be slower if they tried. Avoid at all costs. read more

Booked a truck for $844 for 28 days online. Until I clicked (reserve) it added over $400 in "fees". This only happens only after you click (reserve). Very deceiving, when I go to a store to buy produce. I don't expect to pay more than 50% of the total amount minus taxes. FOR CUSTOMERS: Here are some screenshot of what the fees will come out to be after you fill out your credit card info. These "fees" will NOT be visible when filling it out. Beware: I will continue to update more, if customer service is excellent I will adjust my ratings. read more

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Do not use!! They are attempting to charge me after the fact for needing to balance and add air to a tire. They are referring to this as "damage to the car". Make sure you have a lawyer on speed dial. read more

Budget Rent A Car System - This is the alleged repair order. Does this not seem like normal wear and tear? - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

The worst rental car experience I've ever had. After my plane landed around noon, I spent over 2 hours in line waiting to be seen by one of the two front desk staff working at the Budget Rent a Car at BWI. Once arriving at the counter, the staff member informed us that the luxury vehicle we reserved was not available and that their supply of conventional cars was limited. We were urged to take an electric vehicle instead as that would be quicker. My partner and I were already peeved by the fact that we had been waiting for two hours so we just took the electric vehicle to avoid extending our wait time any longer. We were unfamiliar with electric vehicles and the learning curve associated with locating and using charging stations significantly disrupted our travel plans through the week. We are both environmentally conscious and want to own our own electric vehicles someday, however having to learn these skills on the fly at the start of our vacation was quite an inconvenience. It was hard to believe that this major company did not have a functioning supply chain or method for securing car reservations at what must be one of its busiest branches. Despite this, the 2 staff working the front desk were polite, which is why I gave two stars instead of one. read more

Budget Rent A Car System - The line at 12:15PM on 7-13-24 - Car Rental Near Me - Hanover, Maryland

My wife rented a car on Budgets website when she arrived to pick her rental car up they advised her she would need to pay a extra $250 deposit and refused to allow her to pick up the car when she called support for a refund she was told someone would call her back the call came and the guy on the phone advised her to download a app to get her refund to send too cashapp and they stole $150 from her account and bought bit coin when we called Budget about this they refused too help in any way there employees are scammers and useing budget to scam people out of money read more

We reserved a minivan to be picked up on Saturday morning to take my daughter and friends to a theme park for her birthday. When we got there to pickup the car, they said they already rented out the last minivan they had. Didn't offer any other options and didn't seem apologetic at all. Called budget customer service and lady on the phone told us that we would have to call each rental location and see what they have and literally hung up on us. Worst customer service ever! read more