Budget Car & Truck Rental

Reviews 5

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Red X

Hi, Im Redx and this is my review of Budget Rent a car at Victoria International Airport. My observation is more or less in line with others. The easy part first, they earned a star because they came to the Swatz Bay Ferry Terminal to pick me up and they did it fast! Thank you! The driver was really friend and social. My Car rental was Fri-Sun at $27/day total: $142. When we got to the airport it was all downhill. Outright dirty sale tactics that disgusted me to a point where stars had dropped way below recovery. I had asked for a compact car and was assigned the Sonic. I asked if the car has USB and/or Bluetooth and the VERY WELL informed agent said she doesnt know for certain but she has anothet car she can set me up that will have everything so she got me a Ford which was fully loaded although I didnt get the extra gadgets like the onboard GPS. I asked how much it would be and she quoted "it will be $20/day" and I was shocked as it was less than what we were paying so I asked for the total and she said $280. I asked her how it got to $280 at $20/day for 3 days and she said "I meant that its an additional $20 a day" (dirty dirty sale tactics) so I declined it. Then she said oh OK I might have something else and she "found" a Malibu which she said was $15/day extra and had Bluetooth and USB which made me wonder "why offer me the more expensive car with a lot more gadgets than I need rather than offer me what I asked for?" She mentioned the Malibu has leather seats and we are anti-animal products so we rejected the Malibu and she said that is all she has to offer. I asked if I could have a look at couple of Sonics to see which one does have a USB at least and she said they are all exactly the same. I accepted the Sonic and we got things signed. I noticed through the contract there was some shady business for example if you get into an accident and its NOT your fault you are still fully liabile for all damages and must pay then you yourself go after the owner to get your money back! Like what? Budget should coordinate that with the icbc not the customer who wasnt at fault. TERRIBLE. The best part is here. We got out to the car did our check and everything was good. Got into the car and started to settle in and BAM There is a USB and there is a Bluetooth. WHAT?? The b*tch try to upgrade us for no reason at all when the current car had everything we needed!! I could of potentially paid $100 extra for no reason at all! Thanks Budget for trying to rob me of my hard earned cash. Budget is now on our boycott list next to animal products. If youve read this far I got an EXCELLENT Tip for you. Budget tends to be the cheapest. Next time if you are tempted to book with budget because of its price DO IT but then when you arrive at the airport go to a different renter and show them budgets offer and the rental place WILL most likely price match Budget and so you got your cheap car and not from Budget. Good luck and thanks for reading.

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J Att

One of the worst businesses weve ever dealt with. We made our reservation online, using air miles. We declined the extra insurance as we were covered through our own insurance company. When we got to the counter, we were asked if we wanted to purchase insurance, and we explained that we didnt need extra insurance because we were already covered, and we had already declined the insurance. The (con) man behind the counter told us that for a flat one-time fee of $18.00 we would be covered for our time there. We double-checked that it was a one-time fee, and he assured us it was, so we said sure. I handed him my credit card, and when he passed the machine to me, it read "enter pin", not a monetary amount with the prompt to press "ok". I noticed it, but didnt question it. A few days later I checked my card balance and noticed that Budget had taken over $500.00 off! It wasnt a flat fee of $18.00, it was $18.00/day! We phoned the location and head office to complain and were told we were lying and that by punching my pin in the machine we had agreed to the charges. We will NEVER use or recommend Budget again.

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Kashif Usmani

Google please allow me zero rating. I rented a car with them around 2 weeks ago. The lady at the counter was super smart at upselling and offered me only 2 choices for fuel - either I make the tank full before returning or let Budget refuel it. Never gave me option to pre-purchase the gas. On the day of return, I wasted my time on gas station trying to open the gas tank slot but there were no buttons inside the car..well I ended up returning the car without refuelling and these cheater charged me 2.99 per litre when the gas price was around $1.07. I called the company 4 times and eventually and was told that I should have pre purchased the fuel. I told them I was not given this option and instead of believing me, they said they cannot go back to what conversation tool place. Oh about the car, they told me that I should have opened the gas tank slot by inserting something like a key (so that I end up making a scratch on the car and they could charge me even more) - sweet business. Stay away from Budget Victoria Airport and their crappy cars.

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Rodney Stephens

If I could give a half star rating I would! This location repeatedly fails to provide the class of car I reserve (months in advance) and lies to me about the availability of vehicles, then offers rental rejects or more costly vehicles that do not meet my needs and charge me for the vehicle before I even return it. This is a franchise and they did not answer one of my 12 calls to their offices. I was repeatedly disconnected from their automated phone lines and when I finally did get through to a live person (twice) I was put on hold and my call never picked back up!!! I will never - I WILL NEver - I WILL NEVER - rent from Budget car company again for any reason whatsoever!!! They are liars, they are cheats and their cars are lemons. I need a car that meets my driving needs and is able to safely hold my belongings and transport my passengers safely - I am NOT renting the vehicle to line the pockets of Budget employees or just to keep you employed. It is what I need that counts NOT what you need!!

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Dean B

My experience was the same as the last fellow. I had called and made a reservation for a vehicle that could fit my grandmas wheelchair whom I was picking up for a funeral. When I arrived they said my reservation was for the next day and my vehicle was not available but could upgrade me for twice the price to a SUV. Classic bait and switch. As I was in town for one day and had a funeral to attend I had no choice but to sign the contract and get to my family. When I returned I tried to discuss with the manager whos response was "well you signed the contract". Sitting at the bar waiting for my flight I encountered another gentlemen who said he had the same experience with Budget. I have raised the issue to corporate office but really the police should be involved in this scam.

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