Budget Australia Reviews

Booked a car through Budget Australia for a UK trip. While traveling, I needed to adjust my pickup date by one day but keep the same drop-off, plus switch to an automatic transmission. The email responses took forever, and each agent seemed to start fresh instead of continuing the conversation. I tried their chat feature, which just told me to resend my email for 'immediate' help. Six hours later, I got an email asking which car I wanted, but still no pricing. After calling from abroad to complete the booking, I thought we were done until another email arrived offering me one of the same cars for eighty dollars cheaper. After exchanging twenty emails, I gave up and booked elsewhere.

The initial experience seemed perfect. The car looked spotless, felt comfortable, and the checkout was hassle-free. The price looked right, and I felt great about my choice. But when I returned the car, everything changed. I handed back a vehicle in excellent shape and right on schedule, yet my final bill had surprise charges I couldn't explain. The staff at the counter wouldn't give me clear details, and my questions got brushed off with vague responses. A deal that appeared affordable suddenly became expensive and stressful. The mystery fees and lack of honesty really soured my impression. I've rented elsewhere and never encountered this kind of shock at the end. It's disheartening to feel let down after being happy with everything up to that point. This experience has broken my confidence in Budget Rent a Car, and next time I'll definitely check out other options. I'd tell anyone considering them to read every detail in the fine print carefully because what seems affordable upfront might turn out much pricier.

The absolute worst service I've experienced. Do not get their insurance. Spent over an hour trying to remove my ex from the account, and they never properly completed it. I've called back repeatedly with no results. I can't even access the online system to file a claim. Their AI chat assistant is useless, just sending me links to the same page I can't log into. I'm paying roughly one hundred seventy dollars every month just to be frustrated.

My wife and I rented a vehicle in Mackay, Queensland. It was a Corolla, normally a dependable choice, but the front tires were completely bald. The wear was so severe that the metal cord underneath was visibly sticking out from the edges. The tread was gone and the steel wires were showing, which is both illegal and incredibly reckless on Budget's part to send out. They have a duty to make sure all their vehicles are safe to drive. Fortunately, we didn't encounter rain while we had the car over the holidays, but the mountain roads and tight curves west of town could have been dangerous with those tires in wet conditions. I filed a damage report but doubt they'll take action. Budget shouldn't be trusted, and if you rent from them, inspect the tires carefully before leaving the lot.

The phone representatives were genuinely helpful and friendly, and Bronwyn in South Australia really went above and beyond. Staff at both Adelaide and Darwin airport locations were fantastic. The rental cars were parked close to the terminals, were in great shape, and spotlessly clean. Choosing Budget worked out really well, and the prices were competitive with other places.

What a terrible and disappointing experience. I rented a car last week and was billed four hundred dollars more than I should have been when returning it. Every time customer service responds, they act like they haven't read my previous messages. It's completely frustrating.

The actual rental experience was wonderful, but returning it turned into a nightmare. When my bond needed to be refunded, they charged me the entire amount we'd already paid, totaling eighteen hundred seventeen dollars. We had a receipt proving we'd paid in full when we collected the vehicle. This second charge hit our account four weeks after we turned in the car with absolutely no communication, just appearing out of nowhere. Losing our bank account over this was devastating because we couldn't afford to fix the damage, and we shouldn't have had to since we'd already paid everything upfront. Now the bank won't work with us, and we're fighting a massive debt collection case. Never again with this company.

Never rent from Budget at Brisbane airport. They stole money from my credit card. Complete daylight robbery. I booked with my airline, picked up fine, drove just forty kilometers, and returned the car hours later. I topped off the tank at a nearby gas station just before returning it, and the tank was completely full and couldn't hold more. The next day they charged me fifty dollars for extra fuel, which makes no sense. I kept my receipt for my records. I refueled at 5:18 PM and my return was processed by 5:40 PM, so that extra charge is completely false. I made numerous calls to Budget trying to fix this, but each time they fed me excuses about leaving notes with departments, promised emails that never came, and avoided actually helping. When I asked for proof that the car needed more fuel, I kept hitting dead ends. I also tried emailing their customer service address, but I got no results.

These people operate like criminals. On pickup day, they withdrew seven hundred dollars for the rental and deposit. Almost five days after we returned the vehicle, the two hundred dollar deposit never showed up, but then they charged us another six hundred dollars. It took countless calls to customer service and eventually speaking directly to the rental location before they agreed to process a refund when we threatened to involve authorities. I've since read dozens of reviews from customers in the exact same situation. If this happened to you, push back because this isn't acceptable. The main office is absolutely worthless. Do not use this company.

Like so many others, I had money withheld from me unfairly. They wouldn't even apply it toward damage from an accident I caused with my spoiler that was way too low to be street legal. Absolutely disgusted and disappointed. I have no idea how they operate this way. Do yourself a favor and stay far away from Budget and Avis.