Budget Car Rental — Local services in Miami

Update: Budget reached out to me on social media to appear like they were working to make things right. It was purely to make themselves look better and they had no intention of rectifying the situation. They had me submit an email about what happened and then said “sorry that happened.” They did absolutely nothing to try to make things right or compensate me in any way. I’m even more determined that I will not use Budget as a company in the future.

Absolutely horrible. This was my worst rental experience and we’ve rented a LOT. The shuttle is supposed to run every 20-30 minutes when a ship is in port. My family of 6 waited at the pickup spot for almost two hours. You only get a recording when you call. The shuttle service is supposed to be included with your car reservation as you are charged for this service. We eventually ubered to the car rental location. I asked why they weren’t running the shuttle and the lady repeatedly argued with me and told me I didn’t see it. That is not true- it wasn’t running. They need to check on their driver bc he was not at the port and port authority confirmed that they hadn’t seen budget or Avis shuttles at all. I stood at the very front of the pickup so I couldn’t miss it. Only the one ship was in port so it wasn’t overly busy. The shuttle was parked in the parking lot when we arrived at budget. I don’t know if they have multiple but if so, it certainly wasn’t at port. Anyways after finally getting to the rental agency, they gave us a mini van that hadn’t been cleaned. It had chewed gum in the cup holders, Vaseline jar had been left in the door and it a half full tank. Vaseline finger prints were all over the car and the seats. Gross. The outside was dented and dinged and the electric door on the driver side didn’t work. Parts were actually falling out of the electric door. I told the guys working there and they told me just to take pictures which I did. We refilled the tank upon return to 3/4 full (remember it was half empty) but were still charged upon return since it wasn’t a full tank. I did stand in line, then waited for a manager who was great and they refunded the gas as well as the shuttle charge but so much of our vacation was spent dealing with Budget and Avis and wasting time. I will never go through them again and in the future I would avoid using this car rental. There are plenty of other agencies that have shuttles to the port. I can’t believe I paid $150 for a filthy car with a broken door for less...

The WORST rental car place I have ever been in my life! Like others here said, I would have given zero stars or negative, if I could. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this rental car agency! The shuttle from the port never arrived after waiting for more than an hour, we had to get an Uber there.

I waited in a long line outside in the heat to see the only rude employee that was working in the counter on one of the busiest days of the year. December 31 in Miami!

When my turn finally arrived , he simply told me not only that there was no SUVs available (which I had made a reservation for) but also that there weren’t any cars available that would fit a party with 4 with only carry ons. I told him that I was wiling to get any car that would fit us and he asked me to stepped outside and wait outside for the car. He did not give any estimated time to wait, he said it could be a couple of hours if I wanted to wait.

He never asked me for my driver’s license or credit card which it is standard practice, just to wait outside and they would call me when the car was ready. When I asked, he said I would show when they gave me the key which I have never seen before.

I noticed that the other customers that were behind me in line left holding the contract in their hands. When I went inside to inquire, he was ruder and asked me to wait outside if I wanted a car, like it was a favor!

For my surprise, about 5 customers that were behind me in the line left with cars (even SUV’s! ). I was either discriminated or I am wondering if it is because my reservation was through Expedia and the rate was good for a busy day( although I never had a problem before using them). Either way, it is unacceptable!

While waiting outside, I asked the worker that was handling the keys to the “lucky customers” to get updates from the rude guy inside, Juan. The only thing she said (at least politely)was to be patient to wait for other renters to arrive with their return rental vehicles. She did not speak English and since I know Spanish, during my waiting time in the heat, I was served as a translator helping her communicate with other customers.

In summary, my reservation was for 8:30am. I finally gave up waiting around 11am without any rental car and with a lot of reasons to NEVER return...

There are no Negative Stars, so I had to give them a 1 to continue...... This place is running a scam!! They will not pre-check car condition before you take it (they say to just take pictures) and will not check it upon return for milage or gas level. They just say is't all good, nothing to do. They seemed to be offended that I didn't trust them. I filled the car up within a mile of returning it, yet they charged me $17.11 for gas. When I called to dispute the charge, they said that I didn't fill it up and that was the charge for them to fill. They rudely old me to call Customer Service if I had a problem with that. (I did call CS, and I had to prove that I bought gas, location and the time of purchase) The 2nd scam is that they will charge you an additional port fee and upgrade, if you are coming from the Miami port, even though they knew this and I had pre-paid all fees to pick up the car. They also charged me for an upgrade, saying the car I paid for wasn't not available. How is this my fault? I felt like I was held hostage to pay more money for the port fee and upgrade, because if I didn't, I would forfeit all money that was prepaid. I was basically told if I didn't want to pay the extra money, I could go somewhere else and they'd keep my money. And again, told me to call Customer Service if I had a problem with it. Be aware also, of what you are signing, they will try to double charge you for the car, even though it is pre-paid. They run a double charge on me, even after I made them aware of this before signing the agreement. It finally dropped from my account with no additional dispute needed, but may have been harder if recognized after I left. (Customer Service did not care to take action on this, indicating they have a business to run and these are acceptable charges, and would not take any responsibility on the additional charges, basically told me if you signed, you agree. I saw no other way than to sign, or else forfeit all pre-paid money)

I will not never do business with Budget again, and neither will anyone I can tell of my experience.

The address where this took place is 89 SE 2nd St, Miami, FL 33131

The other Negative reviews are no...