Budget® Reviews
We used a 26-foot Budget rental truck for our move along with a car carrier trailer. The truck was in great shape, and everything was operational. We had no issues with this rental. The only call out is the location we picked the truck up at did not have furniture pads or a hand truck. Other than that, the rental truck and process were great.
The truck got a flashing check engine light as soon as we got it. Customer service and roadside assistance were short with me on the phone, provided inaccurate updates when they updated at all, and were not timely in my replacement- took 23 hours to get a new truck. They also charged me differently than I was quoted, which is against the guarantee. The facility was closed where we needed to return the truck, and we were not given instructions on how to do so. The gas mileage was also terrible, and it cost over $200 in fuel. The truck leaked when it rained, and didn't have A/C that we could change, so you just dealt with getting it whenever the truck decided it was time for you to have it.
They did not have the truck I had reserved, and gave me a cargo van with a half-drunk cup of old coffee in the cup holder. The truck was damaged all the way around, including having duct tape to hold on the windshield. I had arranged pick up in one City/State, with drop off in another City/State. When I tried to return the truck before the time stated on the contract, the place was closed. I was told by Budget on the phone to return it fist thing the next day, which I did. They tried to charge me for an extra date, but I got my money back. I will NEVER use them again. Very lousy customer service.
This is where it gets even better. Budget gave us a truck with a check engine light on, claiming it wasn’t an issue and to ignore it. Well it overheated while fully loaded with our possessions while going up a mountain. We had to have police and the fire department come. Then the truck was impounded with our possessions in it. We had to get a new truck in the morning while waiting for that one to be towed to our new house. The reservation for the new truck wasn’t in the system when we arrived to pick it up and that location was sold out so we had to drive across town to another location to get a different truck that also has the check engine light on. Also, it’s impossible to get through to customer service for help and when you do, they are clueless and dismissive
This was my 2nd try at renting a 16 ft box truck. The first time was on June 29, 2023 but even though I had a confimation number I was told they did not have a truck for me on the day scheduled. This caused me to have to pay another months rent at the Public Storage Facility. This cost me $363. The second time went ok and I was able to pick up the truck and carry out the move from Novato to Clearlake.
The Budget Rental process online is straightforward and easy enough. I picked up my vehicle at the Citadel Mall location. The rental process on-site occurred without incident. While the customer service interaction was certainly nothing worthy of praise, the truck itself drives and rides very nicely and super comfortable seats. I was also impressed by the rearview mirror reverse video vision that facilitates maneuvering the truck. The price of insurance is quite high in my opinion. Truck = $20/day. Insurance nearly $70. :/
The truck which was provided by budget was very dirty and not in good condition. It seemed the truck had not gone through proper maintenance. Apart from the driving and cleanliness, we had booked 16ft truck which is sufficient to move 2b2b apartment. The trailer of the truck we in good shape, with some store bought straps every item stayed in place and was not much hassle during transport.
I received a last minute email that my truck would not be available for 4 hours and they did nothing to help me find another truck. I had paid help arriving and no truck to put things in. I had to call Budget and get the ball moving on another truck which that particular person was very, very helpful. We wound up being over two hours behind schedule once we picked up the truck and they had NO hand truck available even though I paid for one. Very frustrating and made the move so much harder.
Unprofessional organization and bad planning. I booked 2 months in advance, but was still left dangling at the last minute leaving me to run around town because of bad coordination on the part of budget even though I confirmed 24 hours in advance. I move a lot and have never had such an unprofessional experience.
The gentleman assisting me was incredibly helpful. The truck was prepared and ready before I arrived. When I realized that it would be too small for the job, I promptly requested an upgrade. The location was fantastic and accommodated my request, truly saving the day. Returning the truck went smoothly without any issues, and the staff at the location were exceptionally friendly
The truck cost came in $200 more expensive than quoted when I picked up the truck. I reserved a car hauling trailer for the back of the truck weeks in advance. 2 days before my move Budget called and told me there are no car trailers on the entire west coast and that Im out of luck. They offered no discount or anything to remedy the situation, just told me to go figure it out. 16' truck basically fits a 1 bedroom apartment, was very difficult to pack our 2 bed in this size even though it advertised it to comfortably fit this.
I cannot explain to you the trouble they have caused me. The locations are managed poorly. You may or may not get what you reserved (even if you called to confirm the day before). The locations tell you one thing then customer service another. Nothing was clean and the truck rode horribly. It was the cheaper option but it was NOT worth it. You get what you pay for. Cheap, poorly run, innacurate, mishmash chaos.