If I could give the Budget car rental in Richmond zero stars I would. I booked a car with Budget via Costco travel. I received my booking price and confirmation. The day night of my reservation, about 4 hours before, I get a phone call stating that "there may not be a vehicle" for me. I was in complete shock because I was traveling with one of my kids and my final destination was about an hour away from the airport. There was absolutely nothing I could do and I was told the best they could do was for me to return the next day. I was given a customer service number to fully cancel my rental without penalty and that was it. Speak with other customers, I learned that this has happened a few times to people on more than one occasion. Needless to say I do not plan on booking with them in the future. read more

This place is terrible. I rented a compact car months in advance, and when I arrived there were TONS of cars in their lot, but they insisted that the only car they could give me was a full-size Chevy Suburban. This thing was intensely large, and it made parking anywhere in the city a miserable experience. They were unfriendly about it, acting as if they were doing me a favor by giving me any car, despite my reservation. I had to go to another location, taking time out of my vacation, to trade into a more reasonable vehicle. (It also wasn't full of fuel, despite the paperwork saying otherwise.) I found out at the other location that they had done the same thing to another customer the night before, obviously trying to rent these vehicles that no one had wanted and refusing to honor reservations. I don't mind a free class upgrade, but I also don't need or want a vehicle that is completely unreasonable and unlike what I reserved! When I needed to extend my reservation one day due to a flight delay, I was quoted one price for the extra day, but they failed to mention I would be charged a late fee and other charges. Adding to the insanity, they never sent me a bill, so I had to track it down on their website to see why I was charged significantly more than quoted. Finally, there was also a creepy guy dressed like a rent-a-cop at the exit, claiming he needed to see my paperwork, but he was intentionally not speaking in full words and acting so bizarrely that we still don't know if he was a real employee or some sort of scammer.. read more

Do not rent a car online if you live in the Richmond area. I reserved a car online to be picked up at 1:00 pm. I paid online and received a reservation number to pick up the vehicle at my preferred location. I had to take an Uber to get their. Once I got there, they stated it was reserved at the "other" location in which it was not. The only vehicle they had was a Tahoe. Unfortunately used my last money to rent this vehicle. As I was sitting there waiting for an Uber to go back home, the lady at the "other" location called and said they did not have the vehicle that I reserved and she did not know when it would be turned back in. From all this, DO NOT reserved a vehicle from Avis/Budget because it probably isn't there, and when your put in a request for refund you will be getting your money back in 7 to 10 business days. With that said, Caveat Emptor! read more

Customer service at check in was horrible. She was rude and obviously didn't want to be there. I was the only one in line. I went through Costco and she would not honor the price change as the date for reserving it was wrong. I had to go online cancel and rebook. Then she said I needed to wait an hour. She just needed to go home with that type of service! Why are you at WORK if you don't want to work!? Clearly management does not read or care of their reviews. The ladies at the car pick up were ok, the person who I returned my car to was the one who had the best service. The car upgrade was nice, giving. Service is everything right now. Car ran smooth and enjoyed driving it around. The prices they charge for a gas refill is outrageous so make sure to fill up before you drop off. read more

See all

On May 2,2025 the lady working the front desk in the morning was very rude and difficult. She needs to be retrained on customer service.

My car reservation was set up for an 8:30am pick up. It's after 11:30am and our car is not ready. The staff has not been empathetic whatsoever. I know it's not the staff's fault but they do represent the company. Maybe Budget should stock their busy locations especially airports. I'm shocked and do not plan on using Budget in the future. read more

Budget - People are standing waiting for rental cars because this location does not have vehicles and is understaffed. The wait times are 1-2 hours. - Car Rental Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

No staff at the window and arrow pointing to get help from the Avis window...I was told it would be a long wait to get a car due to staffing shortages. Come on Budget, get it together! read more

The location received 1 star because 0 stars was not an option. This location is woefully understaffed or mismanaged. I would hope it's the former and not the latter. Upon arrival there were approximately 50 customers with reservations still awaiting a vehicle; some had been waiting as long as 4 hours. The staff was unable to tell customers much more than merely indicating there were no "clean" cars. The young lady at the counter was very pleasant and obviously had been there alone for some time. There was no manager around for customers to speak with. In the end I spent $67 on a taxi and an Uber ride the next morning to obtain a rental vehicle so I could drive 2.5 hours for my grad school graduation ceremony. As per other reviews I saw last night, this appears to be an ongoing issue for at least the past 10 months. A letter was already sent to the CEO of Budget/Avis. read more

See all

This is really pathetic. One line for a minimum of three businesses. They know how many reservations they have yet they staff with one person. There is a line 15 deep. I have been here for at least 15 minutes and the same person is still being served. Do yourself a favor and use Enterprise, Hertz or National. They are intelligent enough and care enough about their customers to staff up. This place deserves to be shut down. Btw. Minimum review = 1 star. Couldn't give this dump a 0 read more

I would give them a zero but that apparently is not allowed. My truck was in the shop for an extended period, so I rented a car for 6 days. I made the mistake of pre-paying. When my truck was ready after 3 days I took the rental back. Much to my surprise, I got no refund or credit for bringing it back early. Well, hell. If I had known that I would have just kept riding around in it and saved my truck some miles. They got their vehicle back to rent to someone else, and I got the shaft. I have called 3 times on this, and I get the runaround. When I ask to speak to a supervisor, I get put on hold for 30 minutes, then the person comes back on, says no one is available and they will call me back. You guessed it. No call back. I will never rent from this company again. read more

We prebooked and they have NO CARS -What???? So they tell you to stand around and wait 30 minutes and they will call you back to the cou ter? Sooo unprofessional. Fosomewhere else. Still waiting... read more

31 Oct 2022-No correspondence from Budget despite multiple attempts to contact them. Disappointed

When we arrived at the Richmond Airport we waited in line for 30 minutes and finally were given keys for a vehicle. Once I opened the trunk there was a strong smell of marijuana. My wife said it could be the smell of a cleaning agent. After driving 10 minutes she turned on the air conditioning and then agreed with me. There is a sticker that said it's a non-smoking car and a $450 fee would be charged. Did they hold the last driver accountable? If so, why didn't they clean it properly before renting it out again? We called them and were told that we can go to any Budget to exchange the vehicle but it was inconvenient since only Budget Truck Rentals were close by. Please maintain high standards for your customers in the future and hold inconsiderate rule-breakers accountable. If not, you are only enabling their behavior. read more

I get off the plane, grab my bag at the baggage claim, and then proceed to the Budget counter to pick up my rental car. There is a sign that states see the Avis customer representatives. The line for the Avis counter is fifty deep with three customer representatives. I have been waiting for forty minutes and am currently number 35 in line. Wow (not a good wow). Update: It took 2 hours and 15 minutes to get my rental car. My buddy who landed and hour before me waited three hours. read more

LITERALLY THE WORST COMPANY!!! When we returned the vehicle there's no one to direct you, we waited for at least 5 mins and no one came, we had luggage, car seats and a babies to handle. My husband left his sunglasses in the car (I know!! Our mistake) but when we realized we ran back to the counter and they said they didn't have them! We know the glasses were there, it was a sunny day and my husband took them off entering the garage. Very disheartened and dishonest workers. We were told to file a report and bla bla bla which we did and to this day no one has gotten back to us. NEVER EVER AGAIN!! read more

Waited for a car for two hours booked months ahead was told one hour if you can't support the Reservations then don't book them

Hours online do not reflect actual budget hours. I don't consider budget being open simply because 2 employees are covering ALL car rentals from ALL rental companies. In the end, I got my car, but it's good to know I might be getting into a line of 15 customers at 10:45pm. It was chaos in the parking structure. read more

Awful business, it's shocking to me that this place is still up and running. I'm embarrassed to say I trusted this place and will never be using their services again. I rented a car through the budget website and reserved a car a week in advance to be picked up at this location. My plane landed at 1120pm and I had an hour drive to my destination. When I went to pick up my keys, the lady at counter took 15 minutes just to acknowledge me and then proceeded to tell me all cars were rented and I couldn't have one until the morning. I was shocked at how rude she was--claiming this happened because I booked through a third party website, but when I told her I didn't she shrugged and said "no car, move along". I never got an email or call from the location telling me I'd need to find alternate transportation. I ended up taking a lyft 70 miles so I could make my interview the next morning. This is a horrible business with atrocious customer service and no person should ever do business with them, avoid at all costs. They need a serious restructuring in professionalism and how to run a business. I will never use this company again and will make it a point to steer people away from Budget. Don't make the same mistake I did. read more

I rarely give a single star to a business, but this one is richly deserved. I reserved a car, arrived at the airport and, after checking in at the counter (the representative was quite professional) went up to the garage area to pick up the car. The Budget rep told me the car wasn't available, and kindly agreed to give me a free upgrade. So far, so good. When I drove off, however, I noticed that the car had less than half a tank of gas. I took a date and time-stamped picture of the fuel gauge with my phone. Later on that evening I filled the car with gas and returned it the next morning with about 3/4 of a tank. On checking in I told the representative that the car didn't have much gas at the time of rental and showed her the picture to confirm it. She said 'no problem,' and I walked off thinking that everything was fine. Imagine seeing the invoice later that evening, showing that Budget charged me $38 extra to fill it up, even though I returned the car with more gas in it than when I rented it. In most states this is called theft. Live and learn I guess, but Budget ought not to be in business if this is how they treat their customers. read more

How? Seriously how? Every time I'm here (with a reservation) I have to wait 40+ minutes to get a car. Here I am currently at 9:30pm with a reservation, and I'm told "sorry, we over booked. There are 13 people ahead of you. It should be at the worst 30 minutes" here I stand over a hour later and I still have 6 people ahead of me. Budget, correct this location please. read more

After poor signage I found the office they share with another rental company. I waited 20 minutes at 11:00 in the night to rent. The agent was unfriendly. I drove 41 miles. Used 1 gallon of gas and was charged $17 more. When I asked yet another unfriendly employee to give me a break he said he would. But then could not because I had prepaid for my car. WTF! Prepayment helps them not me. I've never had this treatment with Enterprise and won't use Budget again read more

Horrible service and shady business practices. If you have another car rental option, go with that. The employees at the airport location are very rude from the first minute and dishonest. I specifically told the associate who was helping me that I did not want extra insurance coverage, yet was charged anyway. When I called Budget customer service, they informed me that because I signed the rental agreement, they could only refund half the amount of that fee. I agree that I should have read the agreement line by line (and will do so in the future), I just didn't think someone would be shady enough to add it right after I told them explicitly I didn't want it. Also, I was charged a refueling fee even though I had just filled the tank. That charge was removed in full. I will choose a rental car company that isn't so deceitful next time. read more

These guys are ripoff artists. I recently rented a pickup from this location. When I picked it up it had a noticeable chemical smell in the interior, which I assumed was cleaning liquids. About a week after returning the vehicle, I got a letter from budget saying they were going to charge me $450 because they detected a "smoke smell" in the vehicle. I don't smoke and never have, and nobody who was in the vehicle with me when I had it smoked either. I called their customer service line and the guy said no sorry this is a valid charge you have to pay it. So beware that this is a company that will try to relieve you of $450 of your hard-earned money just on the say-so of one of their local employees. Needless to say, I shall be boycotting them for the rest of my life. read more

I would give no stars if possible. Reserved a budget car thru Southwest Airlines. Off plane at 1215 and ready to claim car. Informed no cars avail and it should be no more than 45 min. Forced to leave budget line and go and stand in Avis line so they could write down my info, and promise to call me when car is available. Took 10 min in 1st line, followed by 20 in 2nd line just to get my name on the list. Would not commit on how long it will take. Counter folks at budget were horrible. Uninformed, uncaring, and incapable of doing anything. No apologies, no concern, basically didn't care!! Still waiting! read more

We have been waiting for over one hour while three people have been helped. There is a man who has been occupying the line . Rude staff and ridiculous waste of my time. I am beyond frustrated with this shit show!! DONT SPEND YOUR MONEY OR TIME HERE!! read more

Make sure you go over your receipt with a fine tooth comb. You're bound to find charges that should not be on there. In my case, before returning the vehicle, I refilled the car to FULL one mile from the rental car garage. When I looked at my email receipt later that evening, I noticed they snuck in a $15 "fuel fee." This is not the first, but the SECOND time this has happened to me. First time shame on them, second time shame on me. After the first time, the manager emailed me and said the car was initially "overfilled" so it showed up as having a fuel deficit. He told me it was a training issue with the employees and refunded the overcharge to my credit card. He also asked that I give Budget another try, which I did. This same issue has happened. This time no one is answering my emails. What a racket!!! read more

I want to pass on an unpleasant issue I recently had with Budget Car Rental so others are not financially taken advantage of like I was. I recently traveled from my overseas military base in Germany to Virginia in preparation to my permanent move back to the U.S in June (house hunting, vehicle purchase, etc.). I rented a vehicle from Budget Rental at Richmond Airport via USAA's travel services web link. The reservation was made for 8 days, which I thought was an adequate time to find and purchase a new vehicle. I actually purchased a vehicle within 24 hours, so I returned the rental vehicle. When I returned the vehicle, the clerk printed me a receipt with the amount I was being reimbursed. After a week of not seeing the reimbursement on my USAA credit card, I called Budget. I was informed they recently changed their policy and rental contracts that are "pre-paid" no longer receive reimbursement if the vehicle is returned early. I didn't even realize I pre-paid for the car when I made the reservation! The customer service representative said they were keeping my entire $401.19 for a one day rental. I asked to speak to a supervisor who agreed $401.19 was excessive for 1 day, so he agreed to work to get me only charged for the one day since my rental rate was not based on any pre-paid discount. Today I noticed Budget only reimbursed me $55.31, so I still paid $345.88 for a one day rental! I again called Budget customer service who restated their non-reimbursement policy. I again asked for supervisor, but one was "not available." Of course not.... I went back to the Budget website via USAA's link to re-step the booking process to see if their reimbursement policy is clearly explained. Here is my warning....just before confirming your rental reservation an option to "Use your credit card to pay now and secure your vehicle" is provided. If you select this option you will not be reimbursed for any changes or early returns. This is NOT explained in the terms and conditions until AFTER the booking has been accomplished (hence the scam). I highly recommend never to use this option, or better yet, don't rent a vehicle from the unethical company Budget. read more

BEWARE!!! The Budget rental car on Broad Street in Richmond are CROOKS and FRAUDS!! They sneakily charged us TWO days on a one day rental!! When my husband and I agreed to it the begrudgingly agreed to refund but NEVER did!! Do not do business with these thieves!!! read more

I don't think I experienced as bad of service as others mention here. I will say I called budget all day long the day of my rental and no one answered which certainly deserves 1 Star. But it's because budget rentals must go to the Avis counter. They should have a way to address incoming calls. The lady was very pushy in trying to get me to pay more, but I get that that is her job. I would come again if I was desperate for a rental again as I was in this day but probably not otherwise. Was quite a long wait at the desk also. read more

WATCH THESE GUYS LIKE HAWKS, PEOPLE. It could be the Budget standard operating procedure these days, but I was effectively tricked into agreeing to pre-pay for a tank of gas. An eagle-eyed employee at another location where I returned my rental car noticed it and she adjusted my contract/bill as I returned my vehicle with a full tank of gas. She said that they never explain that properly and I've seen plenty of complaints about this online. Be careful! read more

I rented a car from Budget for the first time. The day after I rented it a large crack formed across windshield while I was driving. I was not hit by any rock so it's obvious the rock chip was there. I am now held responsible and was billed $718. When I picked up the car it was filthy inside. There was food all over between the seats and food smeared on gearshift. I complained but was told it was the cleanest it's going to get. The women at the rental counter were terribly rude. Not only to me but others around me as well. They were extremely rude to two guys who did not speak English. Instead of trying to find a bilingual employee they berated the men when they walked away for all customers to hear. I would not have these women working for me. I have rented cars many times by other rental places and have never had a problem. When I sent in a complaint I received a reply thanking me for helping them to improve their processes but no help to my situation. I should not be held responsible for the window. I did not get the rock chip while driving. I will never rent from BUDGET again. Horrible customer service. read more

by far the worst experience.. no one answers the business phone.. do not waste time or money here they are very unprofessional