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Budget Rental Car - are they really that bad?


mommalee
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We're planning to rent a car at most of the ports. I just booked one at Hilo through Budget because they had a rate no one else could beat. I've done my research on reviews of Budget locations in Hawaii on Yelp and Google. They get really poor ratings compared to other car rental companies. The complaints I'm worried about are people waiting hours (1-2) to get their vehicle because of line ups and slow service. In reading the reviews, most people are coming off the airplane. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with renting from Budget coming off a cruise ship? How long did you have to wait at the counter?

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We were on the POA in Nov. and rented a car in every port with Thrifty who owns Budget (same shuttle and location) . We never had any lineups at counter nor long waits for shuttles. I would join their Fastbreak program(was called Blue chip for Thrifty) this will allow you to skip lines if there are any. Good luck

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We were on the POA in Nov. and rented a car in every port with Thrifty who owns Budget (same shuttle and location) . We never had any lineups at counter nor long waits for shuttles. I would join their Fastbreak program(was called Blue chip for Thrifty) this will allow you to skip lines if there are any. Good luck

 

 

 

Avis owns Budget- Hertz owns Thrifty. Thrifty and Budget aren’t related at all.

 

In regards to OP- Budget and Avis share most cars in Hawaii as they do most places- you’re experience at one won’t be hugely different from the other. Join one of their programs- Avis Preferred (I think is a slightly better one) or Budget Fastbreak and you’ll at least mitigate waiting at the counter.

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I’ve not been to Hawaii yet, though will be using budget in one port when we are there in April. But I’ve used budget in Florida with no issues. I didn’t know that hertz owned thrifty, but I’ve had issues with both of them in the past so not surprised. Would take budget over hertz in a minute.

 

 

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We used Budget earlier this month in a couple of ports and enterprise in another. Didn’t notice a difference. No real long lines or waits. Sometimes wait for shuttles but seemed to depend on timing since they all run continuous during shuttle hours. Do book ahead as it seemed supply of cars was limited.

 

 

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Do book ahead as it seemed supply of cars was limited.

 

 

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This is a good point as we’ve seen sometimes that all of the rental companies can actually sell out in a way you don’t see anywhere else. On the mainland they just move over more cars but there is a finite supply on each of the islands.

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I can only speak of renting a car through Budget in Maui. We arrived at Budget and signed the papers at 8:25 AM. By the time they found the car and brought it to us it was 9:30. There was no other customers at the desk or in the building. Very very slow service. The car was fine, a minivan with 39K miles but it had a lot of dings and scrapes. We made sure to video all sides of the car before we drove off. When returned the car a week later, they made a comments about the dings and scrapes. Having the video saved a potentially huge hassle. Other than that we had no problems with the car. Ohhh...and one last thing. if you plan to rent a car, book as far in advance as possible, look at all cost options, discount codes, such as AARP, AAA, Costco. I rebooked my car 3 times and saved $400 from the original booking fee!!

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I can only speak of renting a car through Budget in Maui. We arrived at Budget and signed the papers at 8:25 AM. By the time they found the car and brought it to us it was 9:30. There was no other customers at the desk or in the building. Very very slow service. The car was fine, a minivan with 39K miles but it had a lot of dings and scrapes. We made sure to video all sides of the car before we drove off. When returned the car a week later, they made a comments about the dings and scrapes. Having the video saved a potentially huge hassle. Other than that we had no problems with the car. Ohhh...and one last thing. if you plan to rent a car, book as far in advance as possible, look at all cost options, discount codes, such as AARP, AAA, Costco. I rebooked my car 3 times and saved $400 from the original booking fee!!

 

 

 

Yep- service moves at a glacial pace. Rented a car 2 days ago at the Avis near Kapalua (which also houses a Budget at the same desk) and there were two people in front of me and it took 35-40 min from arriving to driving off. It’s sort of jarring compared to the mainland- I’m Avis’ highest tier and I’m used to the car waiting for me running in front of the office with the manager waiting to say hello. Nothing like that here. But that’s just Hawaii- go with it and plan ahead to avoid disappointment.

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I can only speak of renting a car through Budget in Maui. We arrived at Budget and signed the papers at 8:25 AM. By the time they found the car and brought it to us it was 9:30. There was no other customers at the desk or in the building. Very very slow service.

 

Perhaps you have seen cars of residents here sporting bumper stickers that say "Relax - This Ain't The Mainland". They mean it.

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My experience at HNL was horrible. Long line and long wait 90 mins. However, at other island airports not so bad. I would pick a company that offers "fast break" or "gold canopy" I have those with both Budget and Hertz. It's great, never go to the counter just go direct to the lot and take your car. You have to set everything up in advance so it might entail a trip to a local outlet at home to verify your credit card and license. If not they will do it the first time you get a car, which could defeat the whole purpose.

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