Budget® Reviews
The truck I rented was filthy on the outside, many dents, dings, and scapes and the windows could hardly be seen through. We had to stop early in our trip to buy window wipes to clean the interior of the windows. The center jump seat did not move all the way back or lay down which prevented us from carrying a cooler and snack bags with any comfort. The weatherstripping around the windows was not in good shape which made our entire 900-mile trip very noisy. We had to basically yell to each other over the top of the bags and cooler blocking our sight of each other. There was no floor space to put anything. The woman at the booking company was very nice and helpful. Use Budget because they offered an AARP discount. Would I use them again? Only if I had a selection of trucks to choose from to get the cleanest and least noisy.
Truck was disgusting at pick up and there were damages on the rental. I work for Enterprise and would never rent out a vehicle in such condition. I was miserable driving 15 hours with the condition the truck was in. The Budget agent did not leave the desk to show us any features of the truck or make sure we were comfortable before pulling off the lot.
They gave me a truck in which the door didn't close. I have pictures and video to prove it. Driving down the highway, the door would rattle like it were going to swing open. Terrifying. The cab was dirty and smelled like cigarettes, even found a cigarette in the ash tray. I called and they only gave me a $175 refund which I thought was not enough. When I first called, they offered me $60 and said they could go now higher, then after some argument, it went up to $75, then after speaking to a manager it went up to $175. If it couldn't go any higher, how did it go up each time I talked to someone new? If I would have gotten hurt, there would be a lawsuit. Shameful. Should have been at least 50% off.
I had a terrible experience with Budget. I made a reservation for a 26ft truck. A week in advance. I was notified the day before the move. The truck wouldn’t be available. After finally finding me a 16 ft truck. Which was not large enough for my move. It broke down 3 times. I was compensated 150 extra miles. Which I did not need. I think I should have been compensated for this truck period. Or some type of discount. I will never used their trucks again! Kay T Galveston, Tx
We had ordered a 16 foot truck with ramp. When we went to pick it up a 16 footer was not available and we didn't have the time to wait or travel to another site. Thankfully, they did have another 26 foot at the same price. It would only do 65 mph and I don't know how much more it cost in gas. But it drove well and carried everything we needed. They are on their way to drop off the vehicle now. Hopefully without incident that would change my review.
I went with Budget for this move since they were the cheapest- I usually do Uhaul. The truck was a lot older and had more miles than the ones I get from Uhaul, and of course doesn't have the lower loading decks. It did the job though, and it was just a little more expensive than I expected because I had to put a few extra miles on it!
Budget provided me a truck with a bad battery that died within one hour. Their roadside assistance was on a 90 minute delay, and I ended going and getting jumper cables to start the truck. This added an extra hour to my move, making it more expensive. The company did not resolve the issue to my satisfaction and did not seem to care about a truck breaking down in the course of a move (with paid movers on site).
Have rented with budget before. Mixed experiences. This time around the 16 foot truck we picked up stalled 6 times just on the way home and then check engine light came on. No way it was running correctly before we picked it up. Move delayed about 5 hours while they brought a new truck (which thankfully they did). Once on the road with the second truck we had a few issues as well: 1) the windshield wiper came almost entirely off during a heavy rainstorm. Had to stop using wipers because the wiper was going to end up on the road and couldn’t pull over as we were in construction with barriers on each side so that was lots of fun. Was able to get out in the pouring rain and get it back attached but I shouldn’t have to be doing that. 2) the truck was rated for 3 people in the front seat - NO FREAKING WAY. The seat tilts forward and there is a large immovable plastic bump out in front of it. Maybe a child could sit there but we moved from Florida to New York with 3 adults and the middle person had to lay down sideways almost the entire time. DO NOT RENT the 16 foot truck and expect 3 adults to fit! 3) the thing rattled, shook and was pretty darn loud. The “quiet cab” sign on the side of the truck was a joke to us by the time we arrived. 4) had to clean the floors out before we loaded, had charcoal and dirt everywhere. The interior was grimy and sticky - used plenty of Clorox wipes before we took off! Good things: truck had plenty of power (although limited to 75MPH electronically which was fine for us), engine ran fine (on the second truck!) company was responsive when we had problems, and return guys were very helpful and friendly.
The clerk at the supposed pickup site was ill, probably with pneumonia! They did not have the truck ready. We had to go clear back across town to pick up the truck just 2.3 miles from my home! The truck had an check engine alarm and the 2nd clerk said it was OK and to go ahead. My big complaint is the maintenance and operation of Budget Truck Rental is terrible and will never use them again. Next time I will use Penske!
On my way to pick up my truck, I called for directions. The woman says, "I tried to call you. I don't have a truck for you. I have been trying to get one for three weeks." She called me, supposedly, and hour before I was scheduled to pick up my truck! Are you kidding me? She said that all of their trucks were tied up with Fed Ex and UPS with deliveries this time of year. Then why are you booking private rentals? She said that another location would have a truck available at 3pm that day. I had movers coming at 11!! She then said that there were lots of truck at a Uhaul location (a competitor). I said that they were $150 more that Budget which is why I originally went this Budget and she said, "Oh, it won't be that much today" So, I call Uhaul in tears and they were able to help me! Very helpful in not only calming me down, but getting be a better price than budget and the truck for twice as long! THANK YOU UHAUL!
I reserved Budget Rental Truck two weeks in advance. I received an email stating that my reservation was ready. The day I went to pick up the truck with my mom, I came to the pickup location and there was no truck. I called customer service, and they attempted to locate another truck. After calling back hour after hour, I was told that that I would receive a call early the next morning, the day of my move. I received a call, and was told the nearest truck was two hours away one way in Chicago (I am moving from Milwaukee). There may be another truck closer by later that day. As expected, I was livid as this had been set up weeks ago. I was told that I was to have confirmed the truck rental 48 hours prior to the day of rental. However, not a single email, nor anything during the reservation had stated this. In fine print, it says a truck is not guaranteed. I have never heard of a business model that asks for a reservation, but then does not provide the service. I will never use Budget Rental Truck again, and I will advise anyone I know that is moving to not use this company. I was able to locate a truck from U-Haul, and they had amazing customer service. They found me a truck, and I was able to move. If you require moving and you are doing it yourself, use U-Haul.
After picking up a Budget Truck 6 hours into our trip the check engine light came on and stayed on. There was no heat in the truck and the ashtray was full of cigarette butts. I didn't keep the truck for the full days as it was jerking and I didn't want to be inconvenienced by a break down. When I called their customer service and spoke with a manager I was told that I was merely inconvenienced by the vehicle and because I didn't call and say the engine light was on there was nothing they could do beyond give me $85 back after I had the rental 2 or the 6 days I rented it for. They were a complete joke. I would not recommend them again for any reason-not even a local move. The customer and service is nowhere near their primary focus. Also to put in context the day before I was supposed to pick up this truck I was told it was unavailable and later told it would actually be there.