Budget Car Rental

I have rented from Budget Car Rentals three times over the past two years. I have also had one rental from Budget Truck Rentals. All of these experiences have been good, with a minor glitch on my first car rental at LAX two years ago.

I flew into LAX in 2007, expecting a friend to pick me up at the airport. He was tied up which meant I was stuck trying to find a ride. There are shuttle buses that come by the airport to take travelers to the nearby car rental businesses. Budget showed up first, so away I went.

When I arrived at the Budget rental location I was greeted by a line that serpentined around the lobby all the way to the front doors. Intimidating to say the least. I did not have a reservation and worried that I was wasting my time in the tediously long line. The line moved quickly for the length...there were several terminal operators processing customers. It took me nearly an hour to get to one of the operators, who was cordial and knowledgeable. She quickly assessed my needs and got me into a rental car with very little trouble. I provided the necessary documents and was told to wait out front for my car to be brought around. A few minutes later I was dumped into LA traffic...at four in the afternoon on a Friday. At least the car was comfortable and the brakes worked good. The brakes got more use than the gas pedal as I trudged through traffic.

Returning the car during my first rental was a breeze. I filled up the gas tank at a nearby gas station, having left ample time for the pit stop, rental car return, shuttle ride and airport check in. I was still concerned about the turn-in process considering the extensive time I spent waiting to get into the car. I pulled into the lot where several lanes were marked for turn in. I was quickly approached by a man holding a handheld processing device. He examined the car for damage, entered the mileage and printed a receipt by the time I had unloaded my sparse luggage. I was puzzled. Is that it? That's it. Just as quickly as I could get out of the car, it was processed back in and I had my receipt.

My next experience with Budget was last Spring when my sister received her Master's Degree. My children and I flew to her graduation, picking up my brother on the second leg of our flight. My brother handled the rental car arrangements with Budget before our flight. We arrived at the pick up desk located inside the airport and were quickly processed (there was no line). The attendant asked if we wanted to pay for a full tank of gas in advance, which we agreed to do. The price per gallon for the full tank was a few cents cheaper than the going rate outside the airport at that time. In exchange for paying for a tank of gas (which at that time was around fifty dollars), we were permitted to return the car with an empty tank. Returning a car to the rental company with an empty tank used to be a sure recipe for sticker shock. So fifty dollars was a great deal.


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