Budget Rent A Car

Second time traveling to Tucson and got into town at a decent time. As we walked up to the counter, a tall guy with a belly stared at us with no greeting. Not sure if he was a manager or something but he kept spinning around to grumble at other employees. On the other hand, the attendant who help was nice. She was from Castle Rock (Colorado) and struck up a conversation. She upgraded us to a full size vehicle at no charge and proceeded to tell us how much she missed Colorado. The check-​in process was super quick and painless. However, it was so fast that I had to look through the amounts charged to make sure they were not sneaking in any hidden charges. Overall an OK experience.

+ great price (good deals on Southwest)
+ easy to find car rental center from TUC airport
+ agents give you the insurance and gas options but aren’t pushy
— have to walk outside to another lot to find your car; no agent present to check the car
+/​-​weird to just drive off with the car without another agent
+ overall quick and easy process to check out and check back in

We had a 6 hour trip to Tucson and rented a car from Budget. The staff person was great — he saw us waiting «in line» and immediately took us from another counter. He sped through the stuff that you have heard a million times and don’t care to hear again. He upgraded us to a «fun» car for our VERY brief trip. And, he greeted us with a smile when we got the car and when we turned it in. I would definitely rent from budget again if flying into the Tucson airport. GREAT service!

Review #900:
«Okay, pay attention and listen carefully because I’m going to tell you this disclaimer very fast» aaaaaannnnddd GO… Wow he was not kidding. The salesperson at the counter was sounding like one of those legal disclaimers you catch in the last five seconds of a TV commercial — he had it DOWN! Part of the disclaimer was to make sure I had my own insurance paperwork — so I agreed to that and shortly thereafter (next day) contacted someone back home to photograph some insurance cards and contact info in the event I would need my own insurance.
There was a good deal of trying to upsell — rent a gps (we brought our own), let Budget fill the car up when we return it (at $ 9+/gallon???) buy insurance coverage (discussed this with my insurance agent prior to the trip, so a solid «no» here, thus the reason for the disclaimer), but there was no attempt to upsell a vehicle upgrade or even offer a free upgrade in this case.
This was the least expensive rental rate for a week long rental of a small SUV, and frankly, I thought the car was adequate, but some nuances were unexpected. I was pulled over that first night having the car, doing 1mph over the speed limit, so I didn’t become a blue light special for speeding. The headlights were on, dash lights were on etc… so I thought the lights were on automatic — apparently, Ford has tricked us all — tail lights were not on. Pushing midnight in the middle of the desert I get pulled over for the tail lights not being on. A bit of an inconvenience, but no ticket was issued and I was schooled in the intricacies of how headlight switches work on new Fords.
At the end of the day, Budget was okay — like I said, the car was adequate and it was the least expensive rate despite being almost as much as a monthly car payment. Had I added the insurance and rented a GPS, it would have been almost as much as two monthly car payments. I suppose I would rent from them again if the circumstances required it but I will always shop out a rental to find my best option.

So, all I did was return my vehicle to this location.
I had rented a BMW in Seattle for my honeymoon, and THAT location was great. Super nice and very willing to help us.
Then we had to return the car in Tucson. This was on the day of that super horrible storm, where there was a state of emergency declared and all? Yeah, that day. So, my husband drives the BMW, and I followed him in our truck so we could get home safely, since Budget insisted we return the car that day.
I pull in right behind him, since it’s pouring like the freaking apocalypse outside, and an employee with an Australian accent comes up to my truck and pounds on my window with his fist. So I roll down the window and tell him I am just waiting for my husband to give him the keys.
He proceeds to literally scream at me that I can’t park there, I must be some sort of cretin for not seeing how I shouldn’t be able to park there, and gets incredibly close to my face while screaming.
He carries on for a good, solid four minutes, the whole time I keep trying to tell him I am tying to back out, and the whole time he keeps screaming over me.
Now, I will say, it takes a lot to frighten, especially if I have my husband near and am in public. I don’t get fearful easily. I was legitimately frightened for my safety. He would not stop screaming at me. I kept trying to back out to go to the next aisle over, so I could be out of the way, but he was so close to my truck, with his face inside my window, that I was concerned I would run him over or injure him.
Finally, he gets his head out of my window just enough that I can back out, and THEN he proceeds to go over to the car we were returning and yell at my husband about how dumb I am.
You can’t even make this s**t up. So, I am left wondering why he took SO long to yell at me, when the only thing my husband had to do was give him the keys and we could be on our way. Why stay at my truck, yelling and carrying on and such when all I have to do is back out? Why keep on when I have told you several times I am trying to back out?
I will never go back to this location, and I strongly urge anyone who does not want to be verbally abused to avoid this location as well.

Pros: Receptionist informed me about the Fastbreak Program, which allowed me to get a free upgrade from a compact vehicle to a SUV. Check-​in & Check-​Out was fast and hassle free. Forgot to include my mileage number, but receptionist promptly inputted it when I called.
Cons: N/​A

First let me start by saying that it was the cheapest rate for three days … With that said. It all started with the longest line in the Tucson airport. Stood for 30 minutes just waiting but when we got to the counter the person was pleasant and tried to do their best. We decided to get a GPS bad call all of their GPS are some of the oldest units and they don’t update the map. Old maps = Lost in the desert and they charged us 12 bucks per day. Car was clean and ok but given the GPS nightmare I give them a poor rating