Budget Rent A Car

Rip off. Avoid this company. Look for mistakes in the contract that will cost you money.

This place is garbage. First off our car was full of ants!!! I don’t know where they were coming from or how they got in there, but they were everywhere.
When I rented the car I verbally declined the additional insurance two times. However I guess I did sign for it so I was charged anyway. Stupid me for trusting the employee on what I was signing. Guess I will read more closely next time and never rent from Budget again!

My family had no issues with Budget. I have to admit that the negative reviews and low rating scared me, but I decided to go with Budget anyway because of the low rental rates for a last-​minute booking. We booked a SUV for 5 days during the Memorial Day weekend and even drove our car to Vegas and back to SD. The check-​in and return process were both so quick and easy. The staff we encountered were also very friendly. My family was highly satisfied with Budget and we would rent from them again in the future.

Honestly, shockingly good customer service. Car was great, lines were fast, and the one issue that we had with a carseat, they went out of their way to rectify in a timely manner. Will gladly rent from Budget SAN again

No problems with our 6 day economy rental. Budget shares Level 3 of the parking structure, though the check-​in counter is on the ground floor towards the left when you get off the airport shuttle. Our Nissan Versa had been well-​maintained, and we experienced as good mileage as expected of a commuter vehicle. Their prepaid tank was a fair charge of 25 cents per gallon under local pricing at the time, and we used most of the three-​quarter tank it came with, with a mini-excursion’s worth to spare. No walk-​through upon pickup, just during drop-​off.

Terrible customer service online via chat. Spoke to a Jill. She kept trying to change the subject and not answer my question. Also tried to end the chat when i did not respond in about 30 – 45 seconds. Won’t ever do business with Budget if this is a representation of their company and culture.

No stars for San Diego’s budget customer service team. Absolutely the worst, would never rent from them again.
I booked online and paid in full and after I completed on the same reservation, a coupon code for an additional $ 20 popped up. I called and the discount of $ 24.70 was applied to my reservation, but was told I would not see the credit until the car was returned. Car was returned on 4/​2/​16and called on 4÷9÷16 and was told it was overlooked and would be processed ASAP. Not going to bore you with all my documentation of follow calls, but called weekly with no resolution and was provided a case # to escalate my resolution and was guarantee a follow up call in 3 days. Days passed, no follow up call, called again on 4/​26, heard same apologies again and guaranteed would be processed within 3 days, nothing again. Called again yesterday and after research was advised the credit was applied towards the purchase of my gas???
No one after all the calls advised me and it definitely wAsnt explained to my at time of rental.
A supervisor, Robin, called today and again was worthless and was sorry for lack of follow up on Budgets end and the best she could do was provide me a $ 20 certificate to be used toward a future rental. I clarified can be used in addition to on line coupons and she said no, it’s one or the other. That means nothing, anyone can go on to get a discount? I’m very frustrated and will look elsewhere for car rentals.
This was only a refund of $ 24.70, couldn’t imagine how poor they would of handled a real issue. Safe yourself the trouble and book elsewhere.
Very frustrated, Tammy Cervantes in PA.

Short review. Don’t trust them (especially jenaie). She has a funny way of making you think that you have to get insurance without saying it. $ 17/​day. Luckily, I caught it on the contract and told her to take it off. That makes me think they get paid extra for signing people up for it. Don’t forget to checks your car before driving it out if the garage. You may end up paying for a scratch that was from the previous driver.

I had a vey good experience here for last minute rental. Prices are very reasonable including their insurance. I used my insurance as well. We were able to get Kia Rio as economy car. Too bad it did not have cruise control for our Vegas trip but the it was great on gas and the AC worked well.

We had a good experience at Budget Rent a car. Since we were staying 4 nights in San Diego at the Hyatt, we wanted to have a car. It was a smooth process to pick up and return. One of the nicer car rental places, as Budget and other companies keep the cars in a secure garage.

This was my first experience renting from Budget and I do not believe I will be returning. The rental process was complicated by an employee that was patronizing, hostile, and simply disrespectful. I had never received this type of customer service before.
The employee by the name of Rodrigo Ortiz (Rudy) was working the fastbreak counter and from the beginning he treated us like we were children, explaining things in one word answers. He wanted us to get more add ons and the daily insurance. He gave us a hard time when we refused and tried to scare us and listed the amount of fines we would deal with if we even scratched the car.
He was completely rude and unprofessional and made us jump through his hoops in order to just attain the key although we already paid for the reservation in advance. I felt a mix of sexism and racism in the way we were treated. After finally receiving the keys, he threw a pencil at me after I asked for one to finish paperwork. When we returned the car a few days later, he was there and gave us a smirk and laughed at us when we encountered each other. I do not believe this is the type of employee that should be hired in customer service.
There are plenty of other quality car rental locations near SNE. Do not waste your time renting here.

I am so disappointed with Budget. The experience I had here will forever keep me away from renting with this company. Customer service was absolute shit. They charged me more than I was told when I first reserved my car. On top of that, they refused to give me the car that I reserved and offered me a different one. I asked them why they couldn’t contact me and tell me ahead of time that they couldn’t offer me the car that I requested and they responded with a «honestly, I don’t know.»
When I was waiting in line, a lady from the back window called me over. In the middle of assisting me and settling my reservation (very poorly by the way), she then tells me to go back in the line I was initially waiting in, saying they would take care of the rest… I don’t understand why she called me in the first place to make me wait in line twice…
I have legitimately never been so upset with customer service in my entire life.

HORRIFFIC! Two Enthusiastic thumbs down! Comparable customer service to a concentration camp! They made us a reservation with this location because they accept debit cards, but failed to inform us what supporting documentation would be required. When we arrived we were informed of their mistake but they offered no recourse or assistance. The manager was called, we happened to have 4 official government issued documents proving our residency and still they said without an electricity receipt they would not release a vehicle to us and called security to remove us from the property. Even recounting their ridiculous behavior is exhausting.

Well they are not even worth one star. We booked car online and when we went to pick up they charged us 28 $ more Bcoz we picked up from airport location. Moreover customer service sucks. It took 45 mins to get car even though it was pre booked. Was so disappointing.
Would any day prefer going one block ahead and book from Alamo as they are closer to airport too and never charged us extra. Reasonable and good service.

My husband and I booked a rental twice with Budget this year for long distance travel within CA. There were no issues, but I did use a third-​party for discounted rates. The check-​in and return process went smoothly both times. No complaints on their customer service, and no issues with the vehicles we received. When the sedan we reserved wasn’t available, we were upgraded to a compact SUV at no additional cost. Our pick-​up times were during off-​peak hours (10 pm and 6 am) and we were the only customers at the time, so that definitely played a part in our positive experiences.
You do have to put a credit card on file, and they will put a temporary hold on your card for the amount of the rental + a little extra, and I believe they don’t accept debit card. A lot of customers are caught off guard by the temporary hold and complain because now those funds aren’t available for them to use. This is a common practice for rental places and hotels though to ensure they will receive payment at the end.

My experience of the San Diego airport Budget Rent A Car location was perfectly adequate. I don’t know why so many other reviewers had such a bad experience, but perhaps it has to do with unrealistic expectations about what renting a car should be like. Or perhaps I had very good luck and most people reviewing this location did not. As background, my rental was picked up on a Wednesday evening and returned one week later in the morning.
The process started when I was picked up at the airport within a few minutes of stepping outside the terminal. The drive to the office was quick and the driver was fine. Inside they were a little short staffed but, even so, I was assisted relatively quickly. I got a car corresponding to my rental reservation and off I went. The car performed fine for a whole week and my return process was very quick — just drove up, gave a man the keys and stepped onto the van which left for the airport within 2 minutes.
No one was discourteous to me, and there was no undue waiting at any time. I find this rather remarkable considering how poorly paid people working in these rental car offices and on their airport vans must be, and how unappreciated they are. Rental car work seems truly thankless, so it is something of a wonder that they can even attract people to fill those jobs.
Before exiting the rental parking lot at the start of the rental period, I do recommend checking your car very carefully for any damage inside or outside and making note of that on the form provided. If it’s dark like it was when I rented, drive to a brighter part of the lot before exiting so you can see the dents, scratches, etc. My car had a large dent in the fender and I was very happy to make note of that so I couldn’t be accused of having caused that damage.
Renting a car is a bit of a crap shoot no matter where you are. A little patience and understanding can go a long way when dealing with people who take a fair amount of abuse for very little compensation.

Made reservation via hotwire. Email says payment option are debit/​credit. At location they say they can only take debit with a utility bill and if I pass a credit check. Won’t even put a hold on on the account (like Enterprise or any other car rental agency I’ve ever used). Though this did not effect me it is also important to note that they only support car rental for CA, NV, AZ and will charge you additional amounts for milage and their insurance doesn’t cover other states. There was nothing about this online or in my reservation. Will not rent from here again.

Worst rental service. I travel for work frequently. They add many charges after you turn in the car. Check your credit card! Calling customer service was no help!
Warning!!!

This place has the worst customer service ever. No one answers their phone at the local branch. It’s ridiculous! I had to call their 800 number and by the way they don’t even live here in US. They’re from India. The conversation was awful. The guy names Jerry can’t even help me and he supposed to be a manager. All i’m trying to do is trying to add a driver and have my boyfriend go to the local branch the day before our pick up date so he can provide his license and credit card. I tried to tell them that he won’t be available when I pick up the car because he works 8 – 5. It was very inconvenient. I tried to reschedule the time and make it 7pm pick up as opposed to noon, and they said there will be no car available for me. They will need to charge me and get a bigger car.

Horrible customer service. I booked my reservation through Expedia for a different Budget location. When I got there, they did not have a car for me. So they transferred my reservation to the airport location and she told me Budget always price matches and nothing would change. When I got there they wanted $ 270 more for the reservation! The manager told me his rates were higher and there was nothing he could do about that. I asked about the price matching and he said the other lady lied to me and they don’t price match. Crappy customer service and I will never book a car through Budget.

Never ever ever rent from budget. They are literally the worst car rental company there is. Terrible customer service, terrible people.

Go anywhere else. The process here blows. We’ve been AT THE COUNTER for 20 minutes waiting for a reserved car. Not to mention the 40 minutes standing in line. It wouldn’t be worth it if it were free.

Renting from this location was subpar. The customer service was not great. I reserved an Explorer and she tried to convince me that a Hyundai Santa Fe would suffice. Um, no, actually not for $ 400, thank you. I asked her if all the Explorers were gone and she then called to someone and they brought us one. Then she typed up the contract and said the total was $ 398. I asked her why the quote changed from $ 377. She then asked a manager who had to explain to her how to do something correctly… not sure what, but then the price went back down to $ 377. She asked us if we wanted to have Budget refill the car for $ 3.57/gl. My husband asked her if that was the going rate and she said «it’s cheaper, if you don’t believe me go around the corner». How about I don’t, and you just answer the question politely like you are getting paid to do.
The vehicle itself was ok… had a lot of dings and scrapes (which I noted and took pics of)…not going to be charged for those items. Glad we test drove it, because we need an SUV… but not a fan of this one. Will rent from Alamo going forward… not from Budget.

Sometimes (or most times) cheaper = not a good experience.
Customer centered service is definitely not a priority for this company. It started from the customer phone reps that were impolite and not informative/​helpful. The line to pick up the vehicle was pretty long too. To top it off I had to deal with one of those front desk people that don’t ever think that technology is not perfect and sometimes it is not the customer’s fault a reservation input was processed incorrectly. I had to speak to a supervisor who helped me and it is the only reason I’m giving an extra star. He was very helpful but why do I need to go to a supervisor to solve a problem? This should be taken care of beforehand.
I also dislike you are unable to drop off the vehicle at other locations within San Diego.
Never again renting from Budget.

I returned my rental today and there were 6 agents at the counter, doing nothing but picking their noses.
6 agents on a Tuesday afternoon (July 21), when there are no customers waiting for a rental, versus 2 agents on duty Sunday evening (July 19) with 15 customers in line waiting to get processed for a rental.
This place is MISMANAGED!!!

Budget Rental Car in San Diego and Budget Rental Car as a whole is a dishonest company but what they are doing is probably legal. I was recently in San Diego for business travel. I had a rental car from Budget. One evening I parked in downtown San Diego and it was after 6:00pm so it was not required to pay the parking meter. When I got back to the car I found a violation for $ 59.50 for not cramping the wheels since I was parked on a hill. It’s an automatic transmission car in park. It’s not going to roll down the hill into another car. I paid the violation to the city of San Diego after I got home. I check on their website and nothing further is required of me. Paid in full.
Fast forward to yesterday I received this notice from VMS (Violation Management Service) and after reading it more closely I found out that this company is just a service that Budget uses to process parking or toll violations and add additional fees and charges an additional fee of $ 50 just to «process» the fine from Budget. So a $ 59.50 fine has cost me $ 109.50. It was already processed from the city of San Diego and the fine paid for! It was not a moving violation, it was a parking violation. Not a big deal. I guess they feel it’s necessary to charge extra money on people when they already paid the initial fine. Just another way to separate people from their money. It is complete BS! Budget Rental Car just lost my business.

Horrible!!! One star is too much for this place.
Where should I begin? The car was extra tiny. I realize this was a budget car, but seriously? There was a super smelly air freshener thingy somewhere in the vents of the car that was making everyone sick. We had to drive with the windows down every time we used the car to avoid getting a headache. I couldn’t find the source of the smell.
Driving the car was not without issues. The brakes sounded like they were rubbing the hub with bad break shoes. We didn’t know if we our brakes might go out on us. We risked it to avoid having to go back to the rental place to exchange the car and therefore having to endure more hassles. My advice? Find another rental car company
I don’t know how a place like this can stay in business.

I books a car online for 3 days through USAA for only $ 57.44 including taxes. When I got my car, I was billed for $ 82.61. When I returned I was charged $ 127.99. I emailed a complaint and was told I was charged because I brought the car back early. They lowered my bill to $ 82.61.
The car I rented was brand new with only 462 miles on it. The facility was fine. The customer service was prompt. They do try to weasel you out of your money though.

Aweful service. Horrible experience.
The shuttle left us waiting at the airport for a while. All the other car rental agencies had multiple of their shuttles come by before a budget one showed up.
The rental agent was overly aggressive, rude, and put my car on the wrong credit card.
It’s worth it to spend the extra money and go w a different car rental place

We returned a car at 10:30pm on sunday but forgot an apple ipod in the car so we returned first thing monday morning to retrieve it. I know, I know. They are not liable for things that are left in the car, so make sure dont leave anything behind.
Update: we got the ipod back after days of bugging them and checking on them. Changed the star from 1 to 4. Again make sure not to leave things behind to prevent the hassles.