Budget Car Rental

T. Toda

6 months ago •

TL;DR: Avoid. Dishonest practices, dirty vehicle, and a complete lack of customer service. A one-day rental at $61 ended up costing $146 — not worth it. Reservation I made wasn’t ready when I arrived. I was told only available option was a minivan, which I declined and offered to wait. After waiting 5–10 minutes, I was told a vehicle was available. In hindsight, this should’ve been a red flag, as the rep was insistent just a few moments before there were no other cars. I was handed a rental receipt stating car was good to go with full tank of gas. In reality, the car was in poor condition — visibly dirty with dust throughout the interior — and the brakes made a loud creaking sound when pressed. At drop-off, they tried to claim the vehicle had been cleaned and vacuumed prior to pickup (see photos), which clearly wasn’t true. Gas was also not full — it was just over halfway. I didn’t notice until after leaving and, unfortunately, didn’t take a photo of the gauge. That part is on me, running into twenty-four hours of international travel and exhaustion. Still, Budget charged me for a full tank, resulting in the cost of the gas being higher than the cost to rent the vehicle. I contacted customer service to file a claim and found there was no way to speak with anyone at the local rental location or someone in-country. I was transferred 4–5 times before reaching an offshore team that offered no resolution beyond a coupon — which would require renting from Budget again. I will not be doing so and hope this helps anyone else from making the mistake.

Mashroor

2 months ago •

This was my first time renting with Budget, and I have to say what an amazing experience! I’m a Fastbreak member, so everything was ready for me when I arrived. I simply picked up my contract from the Fastbreak shelf and was on my way, zero wait time and no counter interaction needed, which was super convenient. That said, I did stop by the counter because I needed a small favor, and I was helped by Mr. Charles and another gentleman (I believe his name was Atif or Alif). Both of them were incredibly kind and professional, but Mr. Charles went above and beyond to help with my request and truly made me feel valued as a customer. The two other team members I interacted with in the lot were also friendly, attentive, and welcoming, something I honestly haven’t experienced at any other rental car facility before. Overall, everything was smooth, quick, and pleasant from start to finish. I’ll definitely be renting exclusively from Budget from now on, especially since I rent regularly. Highly recommend the IAD Airport location they’ve earned a loyal customer!

Ap M

4 months ago •

Had the most terrible experience with this Budget location. The staff behind the counter are extremely slow, careless and under qualified for the job. The cannot seem to process basic things. I had to wait in line for 2 hours given how slow the staff was working. After all the wait, I was given 2 faulty cars that were non functional with one of them requiring a jumpstart. I cannot believe the staff was so reckless to assign non working cars. This is such a life threatening thing and people should consider this more carefully. I had to go back to return multiple times within the span of 2 hours and caused me a 4 hour delay in total. Despite having good working cars available, they just seem to assign faulty ones. Extremely useless given how the staff there do nothing but slow everything down.

Gavin Smith

2 months ago •

Absolutely the Worst Rental Experience – Would Give -5000 Stars if Possible I rented a car through Costco Travel with Budget Car Rental at IAD for one week, with a total quoted price of $397.47. My flight arrived late at night, and I had to wait 70 minutes at the rental counter to complete the process. There were over 20 people in line and only one staff member working. The wait was excessive and showed a complete lack of regard for customers. The next morning (May 10, 2025), the rear right tire pressure dropped to 16 PSI. I had to stop at a gas station to inflate it. That afternoon, the tire pressure dropped again, so I contacted Costco Travel for assistance. They transferred me to Budget’s roadside assistance, but my call was disconnected twice for no reason. No one followed up. I had to inflate the tire a second time just to keep using the car. On the morning of May 11, the tire pressure dropped again to 17 PSI (see attached photo). I took the car to a local Budget branch at the Marriott Hotel in Tysons Corner, McLean, VA, hoping to swap the vehicle. They refused to help and told me to return the car to the airport location, which was more than 30 minutes away, one way. I didn’t feel safe driving a car with a recurring tire issue on the highway, and I didn't want to spend hours dealing with more lines. With no other choice, I returned the car to that local branch—not because I wanted to, but because Budget’s service left me no safe or reasonable alternative. To make things worse, the final e-receipt showed a charge of $445.90 for just 36 hours with the car—$48.43 more than the full-week rental I had booked. It felt like daylight robbery. I contacted Costco Travel for help. After 70 days of back-and-forth, they told me Budget would only offer a $40 adjustment, citing that the issue “wasn’t reported to the customer service team or pickup location”—even though I clearly tried to contact Budget and had my calls disconnected. Costco Travel offered no meaningful support and seemed unwilling to advocate for the customer. Disappointing, to say the least. Even though the car didn’t break down completely, I returned it early due to safety concerns, and I should have been charged only for the time I used the car, prorated. Instead, I was charged more than the full-week rental for a car I had less than two days—and that had issues from the start. I will never rent from Budget again. Their customer service is terrible, their response to problems is nonexistent, and their billing practices are downright dishonest. Thankfully, there are other rental options out there—and I will be using them from now on. Updates on Sep 24, 2025 I tried to dispute with my credit card company on this insane and dishonest charge. After months waiting, I was informed today that my dispute failed. Again, Budget car rental sucks. Avoid it by all means. Waste of time and money, no service.

Flora Edwards

a month ago •

They didn't have the car I reserved they gave me a full sized vehicle for same price as compact until I returned. Make sure you inspect the vehicle fully before leaving the parking lot. The Truck had chargeable damage that was not made aware by the employees I caught it and had to go back to have the damage annotated Then I was charged for full-size when I disputed the charge they them said I returned the vehicle empty. So if you rent from them make sure you keep documentation and take picture of vehicle upon return especially if you can't get the valet to check off on it. They overcharged me a considerable amount. Not worth the hassle.