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for my father in law's funeral and was heading to the funeral when I was pulled over for a tag that was almost 6 months out of date.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 Oh and they didn't care that the rate was out of date just wanted a picture of the gas to prove that the tank was empty.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

This is a Review for https://www.budget.com. I was a victim of a Bait & switch. I needed to rent a vehicle that could hold 7 people. I picked a cadillac escalade and used Budgets "PayNow" and saved a few bucks. I did everything online, reserved the car and paid. My email confirmation said I rented a Jeep Wrangler.- I NEVER even looked at that vehicle. WTF. Long story short after calling Customer service 1 min after confirmation, they said I had to pay $50 to cancel the reservation or $922 to upgrade to a cadillac escalade. This is what I get from straying from alamo.....I paid the $50 and now I hate them! read more

Polite, helpful, personable staff. Understaffed, terrible system, extremely slow, cars not cleaned, damage in cars not documented..... 2 hours to rent a car. But! Service was great! read more

Well, looks like overall reviews are pretty bad for Budget. I guess adding my own poor experience isn't going to change things. When I rented on May 24, there was only one agent at the counter, and seven people in line. Took over an hour to finally get my vehicle. The car absolutely reeked of marijuana, and had gum stuck on the backseat. It was obvious that little attention was given to cleaning it, much less disinfecting it. Returning the car was simple, as is the norm. The agent asked me how the vehicle was and I told him it smelled like marijuana. He apologized for it and sent me in my way. I will probably stick with Hertz from now on. Tried to save a little bit of money, but I ended up paying for it anyway. read more

In line now for almost an hour. some asked what is taking so long and the agents gave all kinds of attitude about theyvare moving as fast as they can't - Um, they definitely are not. Basically acting like they could care less how long it takes. Amazing what passes for customer service these days... read more

Horrible customer service, lots of attitude the wait was ridiculous over hour and a hal, nobody seems to move fast, and extra charges on my bill. Should have rented through Enterprise like I normally do #NotAHappyCamper read more

Had to wait 2hrs and 18 min. in at the Orlando airport. So did many elderly, who had to stand for more than two hours. Budget only had three representatives, not nearly enough. I seen a couple of elderly people who were actually looking very uncomfortable and hurting. Hey Budget, are you responsible if you cause a dearth or stroke. There were families with small children also in line, having difficulty with that long a wait. This is simple DO NOT RENT FROM BUDGET. It's not worth the couple of dollars you save. Go to the local junk yard, you will get better service. Oh yea, I just had back surgery and after an hour I was also in sever pain. read more

I've got no beef with Budget. No beef at all. NBWB. I've rented a ton of cars from this location since it's super easy to do through Orbitz. I take a LOT of trips to KC, Chicago and Nashville, and I hate putting miles on my car so I occasionally rent. Options are usually very affordable, and what I love the most is that I only spend about 15 minutes on the entire pick-up process. You fill out a few quick things and you've got your keys in hand. You can park at the airport, but since I usually find that whole process annoying, I just cab it from my apartment in Clayton. You're there within 20 minutes and you don't have to worry about shuttling back to your car after your trip. Not a whole lot more to say. They're very reliable. The cars are great and you get what you were promised during the reservation. Employees are nice as long as you have what they need. Easy as pie! Look forward to renting many more cars from Budget in the future. read more

I received first class service from Lamont. My wait was less than 5 minutes in line and received friendly service with a smile. All the staff present -4 in total were pleasant. The gentleman who provided shuttle service ensured everyone was safe with suitcases properly stored and that no one was trying to lift their own cases. He explained the two Budget/Avis stops so no one exited prematurely. I would definitely rent from this location again read more

FYI....This place is ridiculous waited in line for 30 to 45 minutes. When you get to the counter the agents don't look to happy. Their attitude, body language and overall demeanor is like they Don't give a fuck! Further more the the wait for the car was an hour and 15 minutes. Over book, Not enough car and not enough workers to clean the cars. The overall, operation was poor. I have never experienced this at other Budget rental properties. read more

We recently traveled to St Louis, Missouri. Royce was our desk representative that assisted us. He did a great job. Had us in and out quickly and made sure I had my dream car on this trip. Thank you Royce for the Ford Mustang Convertible. We traveled in style and had a great time. I can wait to come back again. If I could give Royce TEN STARS I would. read more

20 or more people in line waiting to pick up cars. And only one agent behind the desk. They need to hire more help. Poor customer service. read more

Budget - Car Rental Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

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I would like to report to the public about a rental my sister in law rented back in November 2023 from the private owner at the Brentwood location she paid for a rental on line with her debit card and once arriving here to St.Louis she was told she needed a credit card to take her paid for rental so neither her or my Brother had a regular Credit card both only had debit cards so I went in with her and spoke to the woman that was working and asked her could I provide the credit card for her and she said that was fine all she needed was a 250.00 deposit and I would get this back after she turned in the car I told her I did not want to be responsible for nothing in her contract and she said I would not have to pay anything as long as it was filled up and not dirty inside bring back like you picked up she said the only thing she had to do was add me to the contract I was ok with that we did this and after the car was returned the no good owner turned around and charged my credit card 71.01 and I was pissed I called her today on 1/15/2024 after coming across my credit card statement and she asked for my credit card number to look it up reservation number and told me that charge was for me as an extra driver mind you I had my own rental from national car rental and never drove that vehicle and didn't need too she claims she told us that which she lied and begin to tell me it's in the contract and I told here she a lie and if I had to pay anything I would not have presented my credit card cause I could have added her to my own rental instead but she needed her own car to drive with that being said everyone please be aware of how this owner operates she's a two face lier and I want the world to know don't rent from this Budget Rental in Brentwood Missouri ever and she rude to customers on the phone she hung up on me and I called her back and put her in her place I don't like dishonest people and don't trust her she's out for you money and to keep from going up there to give her a piece of my mind in person I thought I would write this review instead so people please listen and beware thanks. read more

This place is horrible. Do yourself a favor and walk where you need to go instead of renting from here.

ZERO STARS! By far the worst experience ever! Right off the bat the manager gave us the wrong rental and agreement! Vehicle got flood due to a storm and this location refused to get me a replacement even after they had already token the flooded one! Took me 2 hours on the phone to get a receipt! Will never use them again! read more

Almost contemptively understaffed, like they are going out of their way to waste your time.

We are originally from stl so have used this car rental place lots. Recently noticed a charge for fuel. We always fuel the vehicle post rental. I looked back at other receipts and sure enough multiple times they charged us for fuel when we had in fact fueled the car. I think this is a bit of a scam. Looking back, always comes with " go ahead and go we will scan you in". We now take a pic with the fuel level and mileage. Buyer beware. read more

This was the worst app experience I've had at a rental car that I can remember. After a 45 minute wait in line, I proceeded to listen to an upgrade sale for another 10 minutes because as I expected, they didn't have a mid sized car in stock. After another 20 minutes I was offered an upgrade to a mini van. When I asked if this ea read more

Budget Car Rental St Louis Airport is a complete cluster. Even though I had rented and paid for a vehicle online, I've been in line for 30 minutes and it will likely take another 30 to get the car -- still in line. That said, Buyer beware: good price, terrible experience. read more

looonnngg wait for Budget or Avis at St. Louis Airport. 45 mins. to 1 hour - after waiting for shuttle. not exactly a comforting experience. recommend another company which values client experience more. read more

Long wait for the airport shuttle to take us to their offsite location. Now we've been here over an hour and and still haven't made it to the front of the line. read more

I should have heeded the all the negative reviews. I got a $250 cleaning fee charged (by mail) after the rental was returned. We got a dirty car and I made the grave error of not returning it. Ended up with a stiff $250 cleaning fee. Be careful with this company and this location. Budget "customer service" ranted at me on the phone and was of ultimately of no help. I will definitely never rent from Budget again. The reviews about long lines are also accurate. Be prepared to wait. If you get a car that's dirty, you should return it immediately. I wish I could have done that. read more

Crooks!!!!!! I AM DISGUSTED. As all my Yelp people know, I am quite the traveler and I have had enough of these Car Rental Crooks. Stay away from this place. Working for an airline, I encounter a lot of car rental places slipping in extra fees under your nose, for the most part it is quite harmless, but this one beats them all. The guy in the counter was a BOLD FACE LIAR- one of the worst kind of people. After booking via Priceline, we checked in and inquired if I can use my corporate airline discount towards it. I even handed the guy a coupon that was stapled to my printed receipt. He then proceeded to tell me that he is not sure if this is something he can apply, but he will see what he can do. We then had a very friendly chat - he was smiling and joking with us and at the end of the transaction, he tells us he was able to do his 'magic' and was able to lower down our total at $8 and some cents. I looked him straight in the eyes and asked him how did he manage to do it? And he says, WITH A SMILE, he doesnt really know how but he was able to apply corporate discount and that's what showed up. We then signed it and he handed us the FOLDED CLOSED receipt, and like fools, we trusted this company and didn't bother to question any more. When we were handing the paper work at the gate guy, before leaving the lot, I caught a glimpse of the bill breakdown, and I uncover the DISGUSTING truth: The guy didn't apply the coupon at all! Come to find out, my car was already paid for via Priceline so there was no way they could reverse that payment I have already made prior pick up. THE GUY SLIPPED IN AN UPGRADE and passed it off as my corporate discount. The guy at the gate was genuinely embarrassed when he confirmed that it was indeed an upgrade fee, and he said that THEY DO THIS ALL THE TIME. I called in and they reverse the charges. At this point I have no trust over this company any more and I emailed corporate. I told them how I felt about this treatment. Correct me if I am wrong, but truly, there are times when it is not about the amount they charged. It is about respect to people and not just customers. It is about stealing money FACE TO FACE. We were only going to be in the area for 6 hours and had no time to turn around and argue with the people at the counter. I believe that I should have been comped more than the reversed unauthorized charged of $8 (since this was my money that they should've not taken to begin with) from aggravation and for Budget to show that they want to keep my business, but the email that was sent back to me from corporate was yet another regurgitated apology and they pretty much said "Here's your $8 and some cents back. You signed the contract, and you better be thankful we even gave it back to you. We will not make any effort to retain your business. Good day." Here's a tip: When renting a car, OPEN the PRINTED FOLDED receipt they hand to you IN FRONT of that agent and have them point out to you CHARGE PER CHARGE all the way to the TOTAL AMOUNT. Payless once slipped in some kind of upgrade fee for $2.50. I let that slide by, but that's what these companies are doing, and seems to me, ENCOURAGING their employees to do. I think they have a rule that as long as the EXTRA FEE is less than 10 or 15 bucks, people are not going to bother since it is not worth the time arguing with. And they're right. It really isn't. But it is stealing when I asked him face to face what these charges are and he passes it off to me that it is MY CORPORATE DISCOUNT. You see, I was foolish enough to think that I can trust Budget's employee - THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMPANY - to tell me the truth, and not have to look over every single detail to make sure I am not being duped. My friends and I are flying to San Francisco this weekend, to Milwaukee the next weekend after that, my mom is flying to chicago in 2 weeks, and that's just for the month of June. I plan to never use Budget again, and if, so help me god, I have no choice but to use Budget, I will stare down that receipt to a point it will feel ashamed of itself. Also, I plan on sending a letter to BBB and forwarding this complaint to their local news station. When I told the customer service rep via phone how ticked off we were over this, she says "OVER EIGHT DOLLARS?" well, you're damn right. ALL of this for $8. Because that's my 8 dollars that I worked hard for, and that's the $8 your employee stole by passing it off as a corporate discount knowing full well what he was up to - and now, that's the $8 that cost you my respect and my business. I am one DISGUSTED customer. Read all my other reviews, and you will know that this is one honest review. read more

I also had a horrible experience with this Budget location. I was only the second customer in line and the one in front of me was already complaining because she had been overcharged by SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS. It took them 20 minutes to deal with her complaint, and in the end she was just told to call corporate directly because "they weren't going to take responsibility for it at the desk". When my turn finally came, the Budget clerk made me wait an additional 10 minutes while he was completing the previous customer's file on his computer, all the while grumbling that he didn't plan on taking the fall for the overcharge complaint. After that was done, he took 15 minutes to give me my keys, even though I had booked and paid for the car through American Airlines. Of course, they tried to push insurances and upgrades on me, which I wouldn't normally mind - business is business. However, after an 18 hour trip from China with my handicapped daughter who was waiting next to me in a wheelchair looking clearly exhausted, I thought they could have been a little speedier and shown a little more care and consideration. Will not be using them again. read more

COMPLETE RIP OFF!!!! This location has over charged me multiple time after I drop off the rental.. ZERO communication about the fraudulent charges!!! read more

Responding to the customer review that sounds very familiar. Sounds like the same Budget I know, same location. I avoid this company for many of the exact same reasons you describe. (How can these employees even stand working at this place, if they are forced to mess up every single customer... isn't it just easier to do the right thing and get more happy customers?) Unfortunately, sometimes I get a car rental on websites that say it's "a reliable company that well tell you the name of, right after you pay this excellent low price". Then I find out it is Budget and say bad things under my breath. I KNOW how bad this particular Budget location is before I even walk in the door, so I bring along my spouse and we, as a couple, raise *** VERY LOUDLY the second something goes awry. (I expect exactly what I was promised on my reservation, nothing more, and certainly nothing less.) So far, I've raised *** four times in the past 18 months. Fortunately, I'm not typically in a hurry like many airport passengers and I "stick to my guns". I've even gone so far as to get customer service (Budget) on the speaker phone turned up full blast and let them know what the counter agents are doing, play by play, and that I don't like that kind of service so will they get a supervisor to help me fix it? I've also demanded the site supervisor deal with the problems. PROBLEMS: Forced upgrades (every time), wouldn't recognize my perfectly legitimate driver's license and wanted to cancel the transaction and have me suffer the penalty for a canceled prepaid reservation from above said web transaction (like Hotwire, Priceline, etc). They won't recognize my ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL insurance company with $100 deductible for damages, put an unusually high hold rate on my credit card ($250 for a $30 local rental), lost my reservations, deleted the entire transaction, lost it, and had to recreate it from scratch at STILL the wrong rate (I didn't accept the rate until it was at or below my reservation rate... amazing how many rates they can come up with for the same transaction.) Meanwhile, my spouse is loudly restating all of our previous interactions and how it demonstrates this company is totally messed up. (Bad enough the other customers in other lines have stopped to see what's up with us.) At a certain point, you can be sure, management is really wanting to just get us out of there so it doesn't affect their other customers listening in who will shortly be getting exactly the same treatment. Now, I find it beneficial to post my experiences online, like this. GO BUDGET! (By the way, the truck rental company by the same name has been nothing but spectacular and I've used them many times as well, I can't believe they are the same company!) Yeah, the last trip of refusing to accept my driver's license because it "could be fraudulent" really got me going... don't even go there, Budget. Believe me, I would never voluntarily rent from this particular location if I had a choice. NEVER, EVER. read more

The car was okay, a Ford Fusion. Budget's rental agreement was deceptive in the way they present the charges, and the way their online reservations is structured. I signed an agreement that looked like i was paying $50.00/day for a 3 yr old Ford Fusion. Because of the deceptive rental agreement layout, I ended up paying $100.00/day. Beware, and be very careful if you use Budget. Once they have your signature, they will not budge if you have a billing complaint. read more

I have rented from this location before and I choose it because it is open 24 hours, unlike other Lambert rental car places, and I typically fly to Saint Louis late in the day. I've not had any issues recently. The shuttle guy helped me load my bags from my car to the shuttle when I was returning a car! He got a tip. Budget gets a positive review. read more

The Budget/Avis counter had two people working on a Sunday afternoon, in the summertime, at an international airport. We waited in line for 75 minutes. When we got to the counter, the car we reserved was not available. They couldn't have cared less, but for minimum wage, would you? I wonder if CEO Larry De Shon could spare some of his $7 million annual salary to pay his employees a living wage which would motivate them to work more efficiently. I will never use Budget again. read more

So, so bad. I was first in a group of folks off of the airport shuttle (next up as folks were at the counter), I waited for over 20 minutes... the line stretched almost to the door behind me. One of the gals saw the waiting line and she "joked" that she was going to take a lunch. The guy said "well help with the line first...". There was also a person waiting for a return. She looked at all of us waiting and laughed and said she was going to "take the return then"... (add ten more minutes). There were no apologies, no sense of urgency, mediocre attitudes and to add to this, the place was kind of run down. I checked three rental agencies and went with Budget because of the price but the savings wasn't worth it. I'll go elsewhere next time. read more

I have never waited this long in line for a rental car, ever. There's a line out the door and yet only two people appear to be working. With the option to make reservations online why is there such a line? How could they not know this many people would be here - especially since I overheard one employee say there were no more cars to rent. read more

DO NOT GO HERE! I decided to rent a car from this location because they were the only ones open on the weekend for extended hours. I was going to my son's wedding in Peoria. Upon arrival, it was so unbelievably confusing as to where to park my car. Well guess what folks, they have this HUGE facility and NO PARKING. They have this small lot near the highway that's good for THIRTY MINUTES. Then you have to PAY to park somewhere else. So parking ended up costing me 20 dollars extra. Not to mention, the attendant said, 'oh we have no idea how much it is to park in that lot.' REALLY??? When I just heard THREE other customers ask you the same thing? I have NEVER had such a bad experience with a rental car agency before. And I guarantee you I will NEVER return to this location!! read more

Under staffed longest lines I have every seen for a rental car place with such a small airport. Typical budget I only use them when someone else makes the reservation for me. read more

We are a military family stationed in Germany. We came to St. Louis for vacation and rented from the Budget location at Lambert airport. I asked if there was a military discount which I just was told no. I rented the Chevy and went to pick it up at the lot. It seemed like it wasn't even services after the last renter. The check oil light even came on after a couple miles of driving! During our vacation, we got word that our grandfather was as ill and he ended up passing away. We drove down to Mississippi for the funeral. We had to change our flight back to Germany to leave from New Orleans since we don't have enough military leave to drive the 12 hours back to St. Louis to leave from there. I tried to call the St. Louis office of the issue but received a busy signal several time for two days straight. I contact corporate and was told to drop the car in New Orleans would be over $300 for a one way fee. That would almost double our total price! I asked if there was a way to help with the price since we are military and hear for bereavement but was told no. I was told he might be able to take off $100 a few days after drop off but that still seems ridiculously high! I then tried calling the St. Louis office and got yet another busy tone. I got the manager's number from the airport's information and left a message on his answering machine with the information too. I have yet to hear from him. read more

What a colossal mess! We show up with 6 bags in 20 degree weather to the counter to be told we are on a do not rent list. Something about our drivers license information being incorrect. We recently moved to California but have rented with them since then. We are told to call a number and give a reference code. We call and are told we have to email to resolve the issue. Basically stranded and told to drag our stuff to the curb for an Uber to take us to a different rental company. Across their icey parking lot. No sorry. No manager. Did I mention the trip is for a charity fundraiser? read more

RENTER BEWARE- the only reason they are getting one star from me is because the staff was pleasant and efficient . I want to warn you about the risk you take with them if you happen to have an unfortunate situation arise and you did not opt to pay for their insurance . I rented the vehicle in St Louis and I drove it to Osage beach approximately 3 hours away. Unfortunately I lost the keys in the lake and when I called their roadside assistance I was told that I would not be able to get another set of keys . My last resort was to have them tow the vehicle, they had it towed to the Budget location in Springfield, MO. They sent the tow company to the wrong address and the vehicle was lost for approximately a month and they are unable to explain to me where it was during this time . As a result they have billed my credit card for over $3,000 for a vehicle I had in my possession 2 days. I have called several times to explain the situation and contest the charges and I am told that the issue is "pending" investigation. I tried to contest the charges through the credit card company I used to rent the vehicle .Please note that if you have a credit card through Bank of America they only offer coverage for collision and not incidentals . Unfortunately I am still fighting the charges months later and I never received an explanation from them to justify the exorbitant charges. They take advantage of your unfortunate circumstances and they see this as a blank check to rip you off. I suggest you rent from Alamo or any other company but them. read more

An embarrassment in the at rental industry. I wouldn't come back I the car was "free". I was first in line and it took 40 mins to get a car