Budget Car Rental Ireland Reviews 567

On November 8, 2023, I reserved a car to be picked up at Dublin Airport. On the site, I saw no place to refuse CDW and at that time our credit card covering same had not arrived so I would not have been able to check that option anyway. I thought when I arrived with a credit card letter in hand covering the full bumper to bumper coverage, I could change things. Upon arriving at the airport site, the arrogant (no other word to describe him) agent refused the letter and stated coverage had to be refused at time of booking - a full eight months before traveling. I was more or less forced with taking full coverage.
Upon return to the States, I contacted my credit card company to ascertain what charges had been applied to my card. I was informed that the bill was about $400 more than the quoted price. For several days, via phone with Budget locally and internationally, I have been trying to get a breakdown of this additional cost. It is not that I feel it exorbinant, but want a breakdown. While I received a statement saying they would be in touch with that info, I have yet to receive it. It should not take days to provide this information and I want to put the matter to rest. Please respond

Be very careful when renting a car from budget, Dublin Airport.
I booked a flight to Ireland and had the option to rent a car at the same time it was with budget Rent-A-Car Dublin airport. When I got to the counter, everything went OK I signed the rental agreement for one week they swiped my credit card and took a deposit. Then I got a shuttle bus to the outskirts of the airport to pick up the car. I went inside the office to pick up the keys. The lady at the counter told me I would receive the documents and damage report by email. When I went out to the car I noticed a lot of scratches,dents,badly fixed front bumper, and stained seats. So I checked my email to see if I had received the rental agreement and damage report. I did not receive it. I went back to the counter and spoke with two girls. i asked for the rental agreement and the damage report they said they can only email it to me. The reason I did not receive it is because they took down my email incorrect. The girl took a screenshot of the damage report before I picked up the car and on the damage report was far less scratches and dents on the report. so I asked her can I have an up-to-date one she told me no just go outside and make a video of the car. I explained to the girl I was dropping the car back at 4 AM. I asked her can somebody come outside to look at the car and give me an up-to-date damage report. (Apparently the damage report was one week old )The two girls got annoyed because I was asking for an up-to-date damage report she arrogantly said make a video and it’ll be OK when you return the car. I asked her can I have that in writing or can I record you saying this. Again she got very annoyed and canceled my rental contract. I asked to speak to the manager. I told him I did not agree with them canceling my contract, the manager was equally arrogant, so I asked him to print me a canceled contract with no cancellation fees. he was very annoyed that I asked him for this. all the staff at this office were extremely rude. The manager signed his name to the contract Martin Kilmainham..I am pretty sure this is a made-up name. (I noticed on the rental contract the odometer has 96150 kilometers on it. the cars dashboard has 86163 km not sure if it has been tampered with)They left me stranded at the outskirts of the airport at 9:30 at night.(they don’t care look at all of the reviews not good.) when i went outside i could hear all the staff laughing. They thought this was very funny.. Customer service does not exist.. Avoid this company.










If I could give zero stars I would
If I could give zero stars I would! Have ripped me off for a late return charge of 56 euros even though I got the car back in line with the time on my rental agreement. Their staff incorrectly recorded my return time (by 3.5 hours) and now they won’t refund the charge even though I can prove I got the car back hours earlier than they are claiming. Stay clear of Budget at Knock Airport, Ireland - total rip off merchants and looks like they have targets to raise extra fees from unsuspecting customers. Will never use them again.

Rented a car from Budget at Dublin Airport. The desk officer pushed hard to sell their full insurance which I declined. I received a car that had numerous scrapes and scratches on it and was the worst quality car I have rented in the last 20 years. On return the receiving officer picked out one of the scratches and marked it down as new even though none of the other scratches had been previously registered. An amount of more than 800 eur was subsequently charged to my credit card, even though the work has never been carried out. Customer service has been appalling and there is no one who you can deal with. I have shared with the company photos of the numerous examples of existing damage to the car which have been ignored. All I can say is that beware using this company at Dublin Airport. And if you do have to use them, make sure you don't accept an old white Dacia which is the best earner on their fleet!

Hidden fees with Budget. I had purchased car insurance with booking.com, however I was told at the rental desk that without a credit card to hold a €2000 reserve, I would have to purchase additional €30 a day insurance from budget. I told them they could take the reserve from my direct debit, but apparently they cant do this. This was not made clear at the time of booking, and a cheap rental ended up costing 3x as much with the additional insurance. Absolute scam.

Initially ordered my car through booking.com as a Toyota Corolla hybrid. When I arrived at the desk to collect the car, we went through all the paperwork and such and then they handed me a key for an Opel Corsa. I was not once notified prior to pick up that the car I selected was unavailable. Zero communication.

I asked if this was a hybrid and they said no. I then asked for a hybrid car and the older gentlemen with glasses starts ranting about how "We don't have these cars in stock, I keep telling these third parties we don't have these cars in stock but they keep listing them, it's their fault". I did a bit of digging and actually it's budget.ies fault, you have a problem with your stocking system that these third parties pull the stock report from, so, well done on trying to incorrectly shift the blame.

I then asked for the next best available hybrid and he said "The only hybrids we have are automatics and you're not getting one because they're more expensive". I should have been provided a hybrid regardless.

In the end I was fed up and just took the keys for the Opel and I arrived to the most banged up piece of metal in the carpark. I then went back to the desk to ask for a different car as the one provided was an absolute state.

The reason why you're getting an additional star is because the gentlemen didn't argue (he knew it was a piece of tat) and worked on replacing it straight away.

However, he then decided to make the comment "If we had to repair our cars then we'd have none on the roads now, would we?". That was just an utterly idiotic remark to add fuel to an already incredibly frustrating interaction.

I was then provided with a new Dacia Sandero and had further sarcastic comments like "This one has only done 5k, is that new enough for you?". Again, it was completely unneeded.

Finally, that Dacia Sandero was the most gutless bag of sand I've ever driven. It was incredibly difficult driving it round the gaps of dunloe. It had absolutely zero technology inside it (which I specifically ordered a hybrid as I knew it would have all the carplay, parking sensors, etc).

I'm glad you saved a few quid by giving people the bottom of the barrel budget cars instead of honouring it with another hybrid. I was not the only one at the counter with this issue and the staff couldn't have cared less. Ticket ID is 515776 before someone responds saying "Sorry, email us".

Easy to book, collect and drop off. Nice car. But your asset is your staff - they are friendly , efficient & helpful.

Avoid would be my advice or book with them direct and be very careful about what cars there are in the class. Paid £25 extra per day for a Toyota Corolla or similar and was given a Dacia Duster which was way cheaper. Company saying it’s the same class. God awful cheap SUV. Complained and told to travel another 200km to exchange the car if I want…

Straightforward dealing with this company and their reps, quality product and staff, my go to rental!

Good, reliable service. I rent from here several times a year and find the service and the cars consistently good.

Very tatty car.
Blue Renault Clio 221 D 9577
Hired this car for 6 days on 13 June from Dublin Airport.
1. Missing one hubcap and the same wheel is damaged. Within a few miles the tyre pressure sensor warning light illuminated and I’ve been having to top up the air ever since on the damaged wheel.
2. Overwhelming stench of Nutradol air freshener in the car.
3. Passenger seat has been soiled in the past and marks are still clearly visible.
4. Scratches to most panels on the car.
5. Would not “block” the same amount of money on my debit card as they would normally do on a credit card (for potential damage). I do not have a credit card so they obliged me to take out full insurance which itself was nearly 1.5 times more expensive than the daily hire rate.
A very budget experience. Won’t return.

In response to Budget’s glib response:
The condition report may have been emailed to me after I picked up the car but the document, at 1.3MB, is beyond my Iphone’s ability to download as no doubt you would know. Regardless, the car was and is unfit for rental. A seriously damaged wheel was left on the car which leaked air. Is that in the damage report? A badly soiled passenger seat masked with overpowering air freshener is also not acceptable. Scratches are to be expected. I was not expecting a garage queen but was expecting something that would not embarrass me when I had passengers present.

Thank you for not leaving me stranded. No other car rental company in Europe has had an issue with putting through a pre-authorisation on my debit card. I don’t know why it would be different in Ireland.

The online booking process was easy and the cost of hiring a car (a Fiat Panda, in Ireland, 14-17 June 2024) was reasonable. Collecting the car at the airport was stress-free. Returning the car was equally quick and easy. The car was very clean and in excellent condition. I would not hesitate to use Budget again.

I would like to commend the staff at Dublin Airport for their exceptional service, deserving of a five-star rating. They were a pleasure to deal with, both when picking up and returning the car. Their professionalism and friendly demeanour made the process seamless and enjoyable.

However, this review focuses on the quality of the car and the response from customer service management. I book four to five cars a year through British Airways, which exclusively partners with Budget/Avis. Unfortunately, this partnership compels me to return to Budget/Avis despite consistent disappointments.

Each car I receive is of a lower standard than expected. This time, the vehicle was so subpar that it seemed to require a tin opener rather than car keys. It was supposed to be a Renault Clio or an equivalent model, a basic i.e. no bells and whistles Skoda Fabia is not that. It fell significantly short of this standard.

When I enquired why a returning customer consistently receives lower quality cars and whether there is a loyalty or customer retention programme, I was met with an unhelpful response. I was advised to accept the vehicle provided and, if I had any issues, to address them with the staff on the day.

This lack of a loyalty programme and dismissive attitude towards repeat customers is disappointing. It indicates a need for Budget to reassess their customer service management and consider implementing a retention programme to better cater to loyal customers. At the very least their marketing should reflect the cars on offer. You cannot compare apples to oranges.

While the staff at Dublin Airport excel in their roles, the overall customer experience is marred by the quality of vehicles and the passing the buck game by "customer service management."

In answer to Budget's response (illustrating how they pass the buck and never take responsibility) this is my reservation. And nobody believes their response about a Clio being substandard to a basic Skoda Fabia!

Model Budget: Medium (Group B) - Renault Clio or similar
Pick-up 11 Jun 2024 16:55, Budget, Arrivals Hall Dublin Airport, Dublin
Drop-off 15 Jun 2024 17:55, Budget, Arrivals Hall Dublin Airport, Dublin

Great service

Excellent customer service at Knock Airport as always.

I booked a car rental for Knock airport through Ryanair. The staff at both pick up and return were efficient and friendly. The car was in good condition and great value

I was attended by the rudest lady at pick up. Completely ignored my observation that I was already a Budget client. Imposed an unnecessary, expensive, over the counter full insurance, (which I already had acquired through Rentalcars) or a nearly 3k holding deposit, far above market.

When I mentioned that Budget never retained large amounts like that before, she angrily replied that "well, this is Ireland. We're a totally different branch, and we play by our rules". The car provided was a beaten and quite dirty (inside and outside) hatchback with an alert light on the panel, even though I booked a Corolla sedan or similar. By this point, i was too tired ans too late to complain, so I just took it as I also had a two year old crying while waiting. I booked this vehicle (even with LOTS or cheaper ones by other companies) because I always had great experiences with Budget in the UK. I also thought that being a loyal client would make a difference. Not impressed at all.

Quick service, very good quality of car, very good price

Good staff, great service and choice of cars. Speedy transport back to the airport

Great to deal with.Good clean cars and staff are great.Worth getting the windscreen cover as well . I'll be back May 2025 and hopefully get the same car😁