I love budget BUT The checkout counter at STL Airport offsite is a little corner of hell on earth. I showed up one time and was 4th in line. 90min standing there wondering how much slower these counter people could possibly be was my only entertainment. These people moved at the speed of frozen tar. Pure chaos. Last night, Christmas 2022 I saw the entire building full of people. The dispatch was telling the driver to not pick up anymore people at the airport. People at airport were waiting 45 minutes outside waiting for a bus to take them to a little corner of hell on earth: the counter. Do whatever you can you avoid this hell. Use fastbreak. Buy a car. Do not stand in that line. Remember I love budget. read more

Horrendous AVOID at all costs CRIMINAL activity as well. This is the worst place I have ever done business with in my life. Not only was the service terrible but they are also CRIMINALS that billed us for over $3000 for what was a $400 bill. They lied and charged our credit card for driving the vehicle over 30,000 miles in a week. Thankfully we had mile IQ on our phones and could show that we drove less than 300 miles while in St Louis visiting family. This is a CRIMINAL operation, and they should be charged with felony theft. Talk about inmates running the asylum. They give N. St Louis the corrupt bad reputation it already has. They make East St Louis IL look good. AVOID this place at all costs! read more

Horrible is the only word that comes to mind. Rented a car for 24 hour period; prepaid & prechecked in. Arrived at the rental car location at Lambert International at 9:30am & there were 13 people in line ahead of me not accounting for the ones already receiving service. There were three agents working the counter; one female & two males. I stood in line for 1 1/2 hours & during that time the one female agent had only helped the couple that was at the counter when I arrived. One of the males helped two while the second male helped 13 people. Around the hour and a half mark the brought out three more agents. When I left about 15 minutes later only one of those agents was actually helping customers. The line of customers was literally out the door & wrapping around the front with shuttles continuing to drop people off. Totally unacceptable! read more

Worst car rental experience ever. Had a reservation for noon and when we arrived had to wait 45 minutes for them to get the vehicle we reserved. We were told the reservation time doesn't mean they have the vehicle available at that time. read more

DO NOT RENT A CAR HERE! It was a 2+ hour wait for a car when you have a reservation. Poor service and soooo far from the airport. read more

"Fastbreak?" We waited 20 mins for a shuttle from the STL airport to Budget. We finally took a Lyft to get there. We had rented a Fastbreak vehicle but could not get the vehicle through the app. The one person behind the counter got into an awkward argument with one of the other frustrated customers who had already been through the line and gone to get his car only to have a problem with it, return to the counter and then get sent to the back of the line with the threat that if he did not do as the counter agent required, he would not get a car at all! I had not seen this sort of "I have the power" customer service before. I guess at Budget insults and rudeness are free. It took an hour and 15 min to get a "Fastbreak" car. Not so fast but plenty weird and frustrating! read more

If I could rate zero, I would. While driving a rental car through Budget, we experienced hazardous, winter weather. We turned on the windshield wipers as the snow and ice was falling and the wiper blades apparently had little to no rubber and it cracked the windshield. We immediately contacted Budget and continued to drive the remaining 8 hours with hazardous wipers. We called and reported the wipers twice. Three weeks later we get a bill for the damaged windshield. HORRIBLE! We were unsafe in their vehicle and it was our fault. NEVER AGAIN! read more

Had a one-week car rental and was going good until the evening before return. started with the front tires being very low on air pressure. When returning the car to the rental yard, we went to the outside waiting area in 22 degree weather. We waited approximately 15 to 20 minutes and were then informed that there was no shuttle bus to take us to the airport. The current driver had just finished their shift and the replacement driver had just called off. We had to wait in the reservation area for at least 30 minutes before they could get hold of a manager to find a replacement driver. All the personnel could tell us was that they were working on it and finally we were able to get into an SUV for a ride to the airport. Fortunately, we had a little extra time before our flight left but I don't know about all of the other travelers. read more

Run away! They will do a bait and switch on your daily rate. I was offered a daily rate of $181.06 but was then billed at $281.60 rate. It's been over a month of asking for a refund and they have yet to understand the issue and offer the refund. Their customer service agents on the phone can't explain how a rental agreement is calculated or tell you where the charges come from . All they say is we're sorry, offer to have a supervisor look into the case and have you call in 7-10 days. read more

Budget loaned us a defective white Honda sedan car on June 19 around 6:30 pm. The window on the front passenger didn't work, the maintence light turned on and says tires need air pressure once we were 50 miles away from Springfiel, IL which was our final destination. The car was dirty and it got so many scratches and dents ( which we took a picture and video with the budget attendant before leaving the lot). We called the following day to request to change the car, we were told to go to swap it with another car at the Springfield,IL Airport Budget rental car. Once we got there, there was no car available, and the guy behind the counter says he can't help us since that was his second day working there. What could improve? Test and check the damn car! We had good experiences with Enterprise so we will go back and give our business to them!!! read more

Booked a car at this location on July 4. Walk up to the counter and the man says I have bad news for you. It's gonna be a 3 HOUR WAIT". Never again Budget. I guarantee you that. Be warned read more

I've been in line for 45 min, and I doubt I have less than an another hour to go at this pace. At 30 min in, only one person was working at the desk despite the line going out the door and into the lot. Unreal. I feel deeply for the lone employee facing this crowd. This issue is above their pay grade and they deserve better. read more

Wouldn't recommend this specific car rental service to my worst enemy! First, I've never had an issue with budget or renting a car in general until I tried this one at Lambert airport. I rented a full size SUV and had my boyfriend drop me off to pick it up. The first issue I ran into was the fact that there is no real designated place to be dropped off at. The entrance says "rental car only" and obviously you wouldn't enter through the exit. We were confused and called the number listed on Google and was immediately transferred to the national customer service who had no clue what I was talking about. We asked to be transferred to the specific location and they said there wasn't a way and that they'd have to just answer the phone when we called. Finally I just decided to walk up there through the car exit which seems to be the standard way. Then when I went to return the car, I parked in the return lane and realized there was no workers around to check me out. I finally flagged down a girl who told me to leave the key in the car and that I'd get a receipt. It's been 2 days and I have yet to receive a receipt. This really screwed me as I needed to rent another car but because I didn't "have proof" I couldn't. The manager did come over and made sure to tell me it was his decision on whether to rent me the car. I said there has to be cameras or something as I most certainly returned it. Shame on me for not standing in the freezing cold to demand someone check out my car. Lesson absolutely learned. This place is poorly managed, extremely unorganized, and rent here and your own risk. read more

I would put negative stars if I could. This was one of the worst customer experiences I have ever had. We waited and hour and a half after our reservation time for our car. The staff was incompetence and unresponsive. The price for the car was significantly more than the initial agreement. To top it all off, they are trying to charge me a $450 cleaning fee! We returned the car in perfect condition. The car was completely clean, no garbage, no crumbs, no stains. Their audacity is mind blowing. I will NEVER use budget again, and I will make sure everyone I know is warned not to use Budget, or any other company from their parent company Avis Budget Group. Do yourself a favor and stay away from Budget and especially this terrible branch in St Louis Missouri. Literally use any other rental car service! Do not use Budget! Rent a horse and buggy! Walk! Do anything but use this terrible company! read more

0-STARS! I picked up my car at the Aurora, IL off of Lake Street. when I got in the car it smelt like week, not something I want my young kids to deal with. mentioned it to him, he annotated my sheet "smoke smell"... nah dude, it's pot. Driving from Aurora, IL to McKinney, TX I started to use my wipers around St. Louis and within 10 minutes of torrential downpour, the drivers side wiper stops working on the highway, almost causing me to crash. THIS IS A 2024 Nissan Altima with 34k miles.... When speaking to roadside assistance my two options were 1. get a tow and wait for mechanic to fix. drive to St. Louis Airport because no closer places had "my exact type". They refused to upgrade For the inconvenience. 2. Pay $200 and get a 24 hour extension that "may be refunded". So I'm sitting at a quiktrip waiting for the rain to slow down before driving dangerously about 600 miles. you get what you pay for and this is a hard lesson I won't forget. If I make it home alive, I'll make sure to chose enterprise. read more

Budget - Only passenger side works. Wish me luck. - Car Rental Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

There were only two people working as the line kept building up and there were more people being dropped off to get cars. It got so bad that the line was out the door and people were leaving to go somewhere else for car rentals. read more

Complete garbage!!! Don't rent from budget/Avis. Random Wednesday, took 30 minutes to wait in line to rent the car and another hour in line outside waiting to get the car. No sense of purpose or urgency. Utter lack of professionalism and competence. We had a reservation but still waited over 90 minutes which caused us to miss the the dinner we flew In. If you include the shuttle from the airport you need at least 2 hours if you want to use these clowns. Also, I reserved an EV but of course they didn't have it. Quicker to walk wherever you need to Go. How they stay in business I have no clue. read more

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT rent a car at the St. Louis Lambert Airport location!! March 4, 2025, I had a reservation and they had all customers wait outside in the cold under a tarp for an hour!! It was cold, drizzly and there were 8 customers ahead of me. Finally got a vehicle which had water tops and dirt on the floor. When I returned the vehicle, they would not give me a receipt and said I would get the receipt in the mail. I did not get a receipt. Since I ordered the vehicle as a package with a hotel room through Costco, Costco was able to send me a receipt. Budget charged me an extra $53 because they claim I turned in the vehicle 26 minutes late. It is appalling that it was okay to have me wait in the cold and rain for an hour to pick up the car, then charge $53 for what they say was 26 minutes late. Who knows if 26 minutes was correct since I did not get a receipt on the spot. They are the most unreliable, cruel, and unprofessional Budget location. DO NOT USE! read more

Budget - Car Rental Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

Shuttle service from the airport was ok. The rental facility was a disgrace and as another user has commented, just chaos. The facility was dirty, the staff clearly did not want to be there or just don't care and don't think for a second the counter staff understand the meaning of customer service. I suggested to Budget that they mystery shop this location and read the mountain of negative reviews. This place is a joke. There are other choices in STL and I would strongly urge you to use another rental car company. read more

They have no business renting cars at all. Got to rental car office at 11 am with a reservation. It is now almost 2 pm with no car in sight. No visible manager and understaffed. No one taking charge-total mayhem read more

After flying in on a 3+ hour flight, the last thing you want to do is arrive at the car rental site to see you have to wait in line over two hours just to get to see an agent. They had people behind the counter doing nothing, just standing there watching the line traverse through three layers and still go out the door. Apparently Budget and Avis operate together, so they are both useless. Unless you like waiting in line in the sweltering heat wearing a mask so you can barely breathe with the humidity and AC barely working, rent elsewhere. In addition to taking way longer than it should, the place was dirty with gum and other gunk on the floor. The two hours+ of my time wasted was not worth the few bucks saved. I highly recommend going with another rental car agency. Avoid this place. To top it off, after standing in line, we were told now we had to wait for a car. They did not have any available. So after checking in, we were herded off to the side to wait even longer as the got cars from somewhere. All the cars were coming out wet, so I have to assume they were just that behind on washing cars. Seriously, don't rest from here. Pay extra and save your time and money. This was on a Monday and I am a Fast Break member, whatever that means since it certainly did not help. The staff member who helped us was good and sympathetic, which was the only saving grace. read more

I was here two years ago and there was a long line. Deja vu! Still a two hour wait. Why??!!! Why??!!

The customer service is absolutely horrid. The worst of the worse. Slow to process rentals. Make people feel as if they're doing you a favor by renting to you. I do not recommend this business but if your flying into St. Louis, you probably won't have much of a choice. read more

The car I rented in Grand Rapids smelled so bad of marijuana it was hard to drive. I would of went back in and dealt with the agent to get another car but it was going on Midnight and I had to get to my hotel. I could smell it on my close and my hair the next day during my meeting. Also the car had no gas in it. I didn't realize it until I was around 6 miles from GRR and the light came on. I had to pull over and fill the car. I was only going about 40 miles round trip but was stuck having to put over 67.00 in gas into the car. When I returned the car, I told the Girl about everything and all she said was "I'm sorry about that, are the keys in the car." read more

I would recommend not renting from this location even if it saves you a few dollars. The Budget Counter is shared with Avis. Arrived to pickup my car and waited in a 40 minute line to get my car...then was told to go to the "White tent." At the white tent was a line of about 20 renters being told to "Talk to the manager" and that there may or may not be cars available. Meanwhile Budget continued to check people in for their rentals and then sending them out to the tent during a Tornado Warning! One worker was working very hard to serve the people in line....while another worker kept laughing about the situation, dragging her feet and telling folks to "talk to the manager." At one point she pulled up in a car to the line of angry customers and yelled out the passenger window "Who wants this car"....causing chaos and ignoring the people at the front of the line. Meanwhile her coworker was working extra hard to make up for the other employee's laziness and bad attitude. Finally got my car after waiting another hour. Exited the rental lot with a car that was marked as gasoline "Full" and noticed it was a third full. Had to return to the lot to get them to gas it up. To add to my frustration they charged my reservation $39 for gasoline/Marked the reservation as to be filled up by Budget on return....even though I had declined the pre bought gas. So there is some scamming going on there and I noticed other Yelp reviewers have had this happen. When I returned my car on a Monday afternoon the same chaos/Long line was in the parking lot with many angry customers hoping they will get a car. Avoid at all costs. read more

Was a very busy location. Only 2 staff members were working. While waiting in line for an hour I noticed 2 customers come in with complaints. Both of them were given cars with dead batteries or check engine lights on. When it was our turn the associate was polite and helpful. But we waited in line for over an hour after a 3 hour flight. The car was dirty upon getting in it. Would def recommend going with another company for an all around better experience. read more

0 STARS! I was sent out to a vehicle. I noticed that the passenger side mirror was badly damaged. I went back in and was given another vehicle. This one smelled like fish; the map was a blank white screen on the dashboard display. The driver's side window would close then fall back down. I drove back and asked for a replacement. I asked if an upgrade was available, since I've already had trouble with two vehicles. The representative just shook his head at me, while continuing to tap on his computer. Another customer came in to return their vehicle as I waited. She said the vehicle she rented start shaking badly after a certain speed, and that she was pulled over because her taillights did not work. I finally got another vehicle. This is not the experience I expected. After a long flight with my wife, and two tired children I just want to get in my car and continue to my destination. Do you even check your vehicles, maintain them. I shouldn't have been issued two broken vehicles. The other customer should not have a vehicle with broken taillights, that's a huge liability. Looking at all the bad reviews on Yelp I can see that corporate doesn't look at this, or doesn't care. I'm reporting to the Federal Trade Commission. read more

Whatever you do, DO NOT rent a car from Budget/Avis at the St. Louis airport! It is the worst customer service you will experience. They are extremely short staffed and you will typically be waiting in line an hour plus just to get your car. And then they will likely be out of what you reserved. And on top of it they billed more than you were quoted when you made the reservation! Never again! read more

Horrible and disgusting! the vehicle we rented had not been cleaned in a very long time. It had soda spilled all over the dash, paperwork from a customer above the sun visor that was from a customer that had rented the vehicle when it use to be in the Avis fleet in Kansas City. Crap everywhere. Dented doors. Just a really gross experience. read more

The worst rental car company I've ever come across- Waited 2 hours on a random Wednesday in November for a car- Do NOT use them if you need a car in St Louis. read more

I waited in line for quite a while since the employees were discussing a "light duty employee" not being able to type... After finally getting the car, and driving in the rain..it was noted that I was sliding on the wet pavement..I got out and looked at 4 nearly bald tires on the car. Not the way I expect to find a rental, plus the car was almost 5 years old. needless to say,I'm not a happy person.. read more

If I could give zero stars I would. o rented a car at the Myrtle Beach airport one week ago from today (tuesday). I booked a rental through Costco travel a month ago.arrived at Myrtle beach and walked over to pick up the car. the lines were so long and slow ( but this is not what the review is about). I was asked for the payment I stated I had a digital card (in my Apple wallet) in which I use to book rentals. the associate Marvin stated that I could not use it. I was confused because this information is not in the contract. (I read policies for work and it's not there). I even asked what if I show them my card and give my numbers. they stated they had no way to type it in. I then asked what if I had a physical card and my strip didn't work marvin stated that I would not be able to use the card and I would have to pay with a debit card with the deposit. I specifically use the credit card I had for a rental and my debit card for our vacation expenses in which I call cash. MARVIN WAS NO HELP AT ALL. I explained that there was no where in the policy that you could not use Apple Pay/digital cards and is really strange in a now progressive digital world. even debit cards are digital. he kept ignoring my question telling me to sign. I was asking what am I signing and how much was the deposit. he state when I sign he ca tell me. I then saw that in the contract they were charging for an extra driver however when booking Costco travel extra driver is free. Marvin states he did not see any of that so I had to tell him to look at the reservation which doesn't seem like he done so. I asked for a supervisor he retrieved Tamy. Tammy also did not offer any other option except to use my debit card which would have depleted my cash that i had taken to spend with my family on our vacation. she said there was nothing she can do or help me with. I ended up placing my debit card because no other option was given. I spoke with Sebastian from corporate (that's where he said he was from) and he asked if they gave me the option to pay online. they did not and I actually thought about that. they were rushing me and not trying to come up with a solution. the customer service and problem solving skills were horrible and the lack of empathy was diabolical. I have been back and for with emails from a auto email. No one from the store nor corporate ever reached out to discuss this matter. even Sebastian stated that the information is. it listed in the policy. I have been emailing and I keep getting generic emails back. no one tried to smooth the situation over and I was left with no cash only a digital cc with less money to enjoy my vacation because between the amount for the rental and the deposit i could not afford things that I had to pay cash for. this caused me so much stress and anxiety for my 5 day trip to myrtle beach with my fmaily. I was in shambles and was not able to enjoy myself all because of a poorly written contract and horrible customer service. I of all people understand that there are rules and contracts but when you have a contract/policy like budget that omit payment information how can you enforce something that is not in the paperwork. if I would have seen it (had it been written) in the contract I would have known to grab another card. the staff could not even show me where it was in the contact only that it was there... until I forced then they thres a section out to me that's it's listed I read the area and stated it does not say that. it say that debit cards would be charged a deposit and no prepaid cards. I waited for days for this to be resolved and there is no resolution. they do not call back. they staff is untrained, corporate dose not respond, and their policy is not accurate and they do not stand by their mistakes. jamie read more

Prepaid for my rental car. They held 250.00 deposit. I returned the car it was scanned and supposedly checked in by a worker. I flew back home and 3 days later get a text saying that I had not returned the vehicle. it was never checked in. Budget subsequently went in to charge my credit card an additional 800.00!!!! I had the car for 48 hours it was returned as stated in the contract. on time full gas. I have contacted customer care 6 times. I still have no refund and in fact they charged me twice. I have proof of my flights, pictures of the vehicle (dashboard mirror fell off while driving in the highway by the way) and I'm contacting attorney at this moment for class action suit. read more

unfriendly worker, did not get the car I booked online, car broke down during my one day trip in St. Louis.

The inefficiency and unprofessionalism here is astounding. No employee was courteous or helpful at pickup or return. At pickup, dozens of customers were waiting in line for nearly an hour after paying to get a car. What is the point of having a reservation? read more

Should have read the reviews before renting from Budget at STL. The only good thing was the shuttle service very quick and friendly service. But everything else was awful! First off I paid through travelocity and the price included all mandatory fees and taxes but after I returned from my trip I realized I was charged another $72 for some other fees. I was also charged $8 because the gas tank was 1/8 lower than when I rented it! Um ok so I guess moral of the story is you need to bring a gas container with you when you drop off the car so you can fill it up when you drop it off. The customer service at the counter was atrocious also. Oh yeah I also got the insurance through travelocity and Budget told me that they don't accept that. Would NEVER rent from them again. read more

I rent cars for business routinely at airports across the country. This was the slowest and worst experience I've ever had. I had a reservation, and despite this, it took two hours to get my car as I waited in a crazy long line. Apparently, after speaking with the staff, this is just normal operating procedure for them, as they apparently simply don't bother having cars ready for their reservations... A complete joke. read more

Rented a car for my father in law's funeral and was heading to the funeral when I was pulled over for a tag that was almost 6 months out of date. Was also told that I had to return it full tank of gas, however I got the vehicle with an almost empty tank. Unless you want to be out money and time DO NOT RENT FROM BUDGET. There is a reason they are budget. Also don't expect help from the company you will just be told that the person you are speaking with does not work for the location where you rented the vehicle. Oh and they didn't care that the rate was out of date just wanted a picture of the gas to prove that the tank was empty. read more

The Budget/Avis group is nothing but a massive scheme to defraud their customers. The low price they advertise is simply the amount they would like to steal from you. They took my up-front payment, failed to deliver a vehicle then ran a bait-and-switch on me knowing I had a hard travel date. The Budget truck they rented me instead cost twice as much as the Avis vehicle they failed to deliver. See? Then, even though they promised I'd get an immediate refund for my upfront payment, 6 months later (six months!!) they refunded my $$ after I threatened a lawsuit and complaints to federal and state authorities. Oh, and perhaps you heard how Avis defrauded the US Government but didn't get away with it?? https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/avis-budget-group-pay-101-million-settle-false-claims-act-allegations-overcharging-united and... not to mention that their regional manager working out of Pittsburgh was running a stolen car for heroin scam. https://triblive.com/local/monroeville/monroeville-woman-fraudulently-rented-avis-cars-for-heroin-cash/ Can it get worse? Sure it can! The Budget truck they rented me had headlight problems, was filthy and dented all over, had a wobbly wheel and steering problems. Still want to rent from Avis/Budget? You must be insane. read more

I honestly wish Budget would go out of business. Send all of their employees to a different rental company so they can get the proper training and better management. Quite literally the worst car rental or in general customer service and support system I've ever encountered. Gave me a car that barely worked after I drove it off the lot for 10-15 minutes. Customer service is junk!!! read more