Budget JFK INTL Airport Review: Pickup/Drop-off Excellent, Cleanliness Excellent, Customer Service Exc......

Search for Budget Car Hire in New York

Tim Richards

United States

Reviewed: Fri, Sep 1, 2017

About Budget: 6.0 /10

My previous experience renting from Budget was fine; there weren’t many people in line, and the overall situation was relatively good. This time, the line was much longer, almost reaching the door, and we waited for nearly an hour. They initially gave us the designated car, but we couldn’t find it after searching for a long time. When we asked an employee at the pickup location, he said the car wasn’t available even though it was clearly the one reported to the counter via the radio. For some reason, that car had been taken. We had to go back to the counter to talk. After waiting for the counter staff to finish assisting other customers, they offered us a replacement car. However, when we started it, a yellow light on the dashboard indicated an issue. We found the same employee again, and he said the light was faulty and told us to go back to the counter to get another car. On our third trip inside, the line was still extending to the door, and then we found out there were no more cars available of the size we booked since many people had reserved full-size cars. We waited and waited, but no one from the rental company offered us an upgrade. Eventually, they said they had a Chevrolet Malibu available, but it needed to be washed first. We waited for another hour before finally getting the car, spending a total of two hours, the longest I’ve ever spent renting a car. Because of this experience, I might not rent from them again. Additionally, I discovered another problem: the EZPass in the car didn’t work when passing through toll roads, so we had to pay cash, worrying about fines and whether Budget would charge additional service fees. Later, when we returned the car, the counter staff assured us there would be no fines or service fees, but I’m still unsure what will happen.