Budget Car Rental Ireland Avaliações 591

Budget rent a car is one of the worst companies I’ve had to deal with in the state. I rented a car from them for use by my partner via company benefits portal. The car was competitively priced and I assumed Collision insurance was included as it wasn’t an option to select on the portal page.
Well turns out the car wasn’t insured by default and the scammy company wanted another €200 per day to cover the insurance cost when my partner went to pick it up.
Avoid this company at all costs, it appears to be predatory.

Very poor experience renting a car this summer with Budget Car Rental Ireland. I paid for a higher vehicle class than the one I received. Desk staff didn’t bother showing me to the car and had me sign a ‘no damage’ agreement before I’d even seen it. I returned the car with a full tank 16 days ago and still haven’t received the refund for the advance fuel payment. The final receipt was supposedly available online within 36 hours, but my rental agreement number isn’t even recognised on their website. Apart from a few words from staff at drop-off, I have no written proof that I returned the car or what the final bill was. Attempts to get answers by phone or email have gone nowhere. I expect this review will get the standard stock response — the problem might even be resolved eventually — but I have never had an experience like this with any other car rental. There are better options out there.

As many other reviewers note, the Galway location is absolutely terrible and way overpriced. I rented from Enterprise (a short taxi ride away) last year, and my experience was exponentially better and waayyy cheaper. Budget rental in Galway was FOUR TIMES the cost due to:
1) higher daily cost (Enterprise €31 - Budget €43)
2) forced collision damage insurance (€441)
3) forced theft protection (€181)
4) forced charge for 3rd party rental (€102)
They were bullying me to accept all the other extra insurance options as well, and threatened that if I returned the car "with even a little extra scratch, we will take the entire €2000 deposit."
Also, you will have to tote all your luggage several blocks to the garage to pick up your car.
I called for assistance during my rental and was told to email customer service. I emailed 2 separate email addresses, and no one replied for an ENTIRE WEEK.
This location has the worst customer service I have ever encountered with a car rental, and I have rented cars in numerous other countries and all over the USA. Do yourself and your wallet a favor and find any other car rental option in Galway.

Expérience catastrophique avec Budget à l’aéroport Dublin. Dès mon arrivée, les deux membres du staff se sont montrés froids et désagréables. Ils ont refusé ma carte bancaire classique (à débit immédiat), imposant l’usage d’une carte à débit différé… que je n’avais pas.

Derrière cette “exigence”, en réalité peu claire lors de la réservation, se cache une pratique abusive : on vous oblige alors à souscrire une assurance supplémentaire qui coûte deux fois le prix initial de la location. Aucune solution proposée, aucun geste commercial, juste une attitude sèche et inflexible.

Résultat : une facture finale scandaleuse et la sensation d’avoir été piégé.
Je déconseille totalement Budget en Irlande Dublin : c’est inadmissible et à la limite de l’arnaque.

This review is about Budget Car Rental GALWAY. The location of the office is convenient, at Eyre Square. They gave us a nice car. But the scam is that they charged - at the pick-up - 146 euro's for a full tank! This is the very last time we're going to rent a car in Ireland: there are always hidden costs and none of the rental companies that we had during the last few years (when prices started to soar in general) could deter themselves from putting extra costs on to the original price.

Non posso dare neanche una stella un servizio pessimo, dopo la prenotazione fatta ol line siamo andati oggi all' autonoleggio e ci aspettava una fila x firma e solite garanzie su carta di credito, finito questo ci è stato detto di attendere 15 min mentre ne sono passati 120 e cioè due ore..un pratica mezza giornata buttata per la loro scarsa organizzazione

Puts additional charges on without any communication. Impossible to get ahold of for further communication. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY.

THEIR REPLY BELOW IS ALSO A LIE. HENCE, DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY.

Budget Car Rental are the worse company I have rented a car from in 25 years. We collected the car in Faro airport. The car was damaged in a number of places including a small crack in the windscreen. On day 7 of the rental the crack grew to half the windscreen. I emailed Budget Ireland which was the email address on the documentation and never received a reply. When returning the vehicle it was inspected by a member staff who looked at the windscreen and said it was ok. He then inspected the interior of the vehicle and told us there would be a €85 charge as the car would need extra cleaning. The car had sand in it as obviously we were on a beach holiday. I took pictures of same and refused to pay for extra cleaning. The following day I received an invoice for €1074 in Portuguese. I contacted Budget Ireland who told me they could not help and I had to contact the office in Portugal. I checked my bank account and €1126 had been taken from it (unauthorised). I have emailed them with my complaint and photos. I have called them every day for 2 weeks and the phone is engaged. I then checked my bank account and the amount had gone through for €1477. The payment is being disputed with my bank . I will NEVER use this company or Avis again . WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

Ho noleggiato un suv per 13 giorni, ma dal primo giorno si sono presentati problemi, la ruota posteriore destra si sgonfiava ed ero costretto a regolare la pressione, una volta capito che non fosse un caso isolato (visto che il problema si presentava tutti i giorni), ho provato a contattare il servizio clienti senza ottenere alcuna risposta (Ticket ID — 591898).
Passata un’altra giornata, ho riscontrato che l’aria condizionata era scarica, dopo alcune telefonate senza risposta ho potuto finalmente esporre i miei problemi all’addetto, il quale mi ha consigliato di andare a fare il cambio della vettura all’aeroporto vicino.
Con la nuova vettura non sono neanche uscito dall’area dell’aeroporto che si è accesa la spia di rischio rottura del motore, quindi l’ho riportata immediatamente indietro.
La terza macchina che mi hanno dato appena le temperature si sono alzate, ha ripresentato il problema dell’aria condizionata non funzionante e oltretutto si presentava con le ruote posteriori altamente usurate.
Doveva essere un viaggio “on the road” all’insegna del relax (ho anche pagato l’extra assicurativo per evitare qualsiasi pensiero) ed invece a causa dei mancati controlli pre-consegna mi sono trovato a viaggiare con delle auto non perfettamente funzionanti che mi hanno fatto perdere tempo e soldi durante il viaggio.
Alla fine del viaggio, come consigliato anche dall’addetta del ritiro dell’auto, ho scritto al servizio clienti (Ticket ID — 594924 e 594925), è già passata una settimana e non ho ancora ricevuto nessun feedback.

Hired a car from Budget Belfast City via a third-party travel provider. Was incorrectly told to return it an hour earlier than the confirmed, prepaid return time.

Shortly after joining the motorway, the vehicle began rattling over 50mph and emitted a strong burning smell. Pulled over to check — nothing visibly wrong — but the smell persisted. Couldn’t reach the rental desk by phone. The 24-hour helpline connected me to the AA, who then transferred me to a “Duty Manager” who was clearly unprepared and frustrated to receive the call.

Eventually, another location arranged a replacement car, which arrived after about 40 minutes. While that effort was appreciated, the overall experience was chaotic and concerning from a safety perspective.

To make matters worse, an unexplained charge was later applied to the payment card with no receipt or explanation. Two weeks later, Budget has still not responded to the formal complaint — only automated messages. Completely unacceptable.

Updated response (30Jul25):

1. Booking Time Discrepancy:
You state that when booking via a third party, it is important to ensure the correct times are selected. I would like to be clear — the time I booked was correct: 10:00 collection to 11:00 return, and this was confirmed in my documentation. The issue lies not with the booking but with the agent at Belfast City Airport, who informed me the car must be returned by 10:00 or I would face additional charges. Please explain why I was advised this, when my confirmation and payment clearly included the later return time. This is not a third-party issue — it’s a failure of internal communication or training.

2. Vehicle Condition and Contact Issues:
I appreciate that vehicles are routinely checked and serviced, but even a recently serviced car can experience faults — which is exactly what happened here. The car began rattling and emitting a burning smell shortly after joining the motorway, creating a serious safety concern.

What I find more troubling is your reference to contacting your team “should an incident happen.” I attempted to contact the Belfast City Airport desk, the very location I collected the vehicle from, but no one answered — despite the number being listed on all your documentation. If customers cannot reach your teams in an emergency, then that number should not be promoted as a contact point. Please explain this failure in communication.

Furthermore, the AA could not fully assist, which is why they transferred my call to a Duty Manager — who was clearly unprepared to take the call. This is not the level of emergency response I would expect from a company of your scale.

3. Unexplained Charge – M50 Toll Reference:
You suggest the charge may be related to the M50. Could you kindly explain how this would be possible when I travelled from Belfast City Airport to Sprucefield? At no point was I anywhere near the M50 motorway in Dublin. Please clarify exactly what this charge is for, and why no receipt or communication was issued regarding it.

Definitely the worst car rental company I've ever encountered. I'll tell you what happened so you can stay away from these terrible people. I arrived in Belfast with a Rentalcars reservation that specified a security deposit of £1,200 (approximately €1,370). My credit card's monthly limit is €1,500 (which I never used that month), so we were fairly comfortable, confident it would cover the deposit. But no. Through incomprehensible and mysterious charges, the sum rose to €1,600, my credit card was unable to pay, and Budget forced me (since we had already paid for everything: rental through Rentalcars, hotels, etc.—it's a coercion) to take out an insurance policy with them for approximately €200, equivalent to the cost of the entire seven-day rental. My heartfelt advice: stay away from this company.

I rented a small Toyota for three days - the car worked well - but was poor in terms of condition - scratches, dents, damaged tyre, missing door handle etc. The car condition report appeared to show the majority of these (multiple but vague comments around the whole car). Luckily before driving off I took photos of the car - not easy later at night in a multistory car park). On returning the ar the agent questioned a couple of random scratches and a paintwork blemish on the car (from the extensive number of small marks all over the car). When I noted I had photos of the car at pickup these were not re reviewed but the "problem" went away with my deposit returned. Watching the agent carrying out the same process on other returns it is clear the site is trying to boost their income by charging for pre-existing minor damage on old cars (86000km is my case). This is sharp practice at best and I have not encountered it using my usual rental supplier at the airport (Sixt). I would ask avoid this supplier if at all possible.

Terrible! Problems with the car, rang over 25 times to no avail, not even the roadside assistance line picked up so good luck to anyone without breaks down with this lot. Had to return the car as standard things a car has didn’t work. No apology when dropped off. Then given an alternative which was even worse! Got shafted for all kinds of fees and also the tolls back and forth having to return the faulty car. No offer of these being refunded neither! Terrible service overall and a complete and utter rip off. Ruined our stay in Dublin and left us massively out of pocket through no fault of our own. Bunch of con artists at this company.

Your response to my review is laughable. Your team aren’t on hand to help atall, I rang them over 50 times and no one picked up!

Hired car at Dublin Airport but hit with stealth charges when picking up. New car (25 plate) was faulty, no air working in car. Tried for four hours to speak with anyone in company and was met with automated responses from 7 options telling me to write an email.
Returned faulty car in my own time and met with hostility by Budget manager when I tried to explain the reason I was returning vehicle.
Given a downgrade replacement vehicle without a word of apology or even an acknowledgement.
Wrote letter of complaint on our return to England and waited 2 weeks for a response.
Offered 1 day rental as compensation but again the fault was not acknowledged.
Have written back to explain that 1 day's car hire charge as a refund was not acceptable as we had incurred toll charges returning the vehicle and paid for a breakdown service was was clearly non existent.
Have heard nothing back since.
I would avoid using this company like the plague!

I rented a car from Belfast international airport on 28th March. It was a Clio reg number: ***-D-7823. The car was extremely unsafe for the road because the brake disc was severe worn off and was causing grinding noise. I tried to contact the number provided to me but there was no reply. I wanted a full report of the fitness of the car and was given an email address. I received an acknowledgement regarding the complaint and was told will be replied in few days and nothing happened yet. I was very disappointed with the car and am concerned about the safety of other customers if it is further rented our without safety check. I will not use this company again and surely not recommend to any one. They don't care about safety.

A notre arrivée à budget car rental, nous avons été accueillis par un employé hautain et désagréable, qui n’a fait aucun effort dans la communication, on se demande pourquoi il continue à travailler auprès de touristes s’il n’apprécie pas cette démarche. Nous avons du prendre une assurance supplémentaire car nous n’avions pas de carte de crédit différé alors que cela n’était pas indiqué clairement lors de la reservation.
Au retour, la jeune femme qui nous a accueilli et a ouvert le bureau était dans un état d’énervement palpable, elle s’est montrée extrêmement désagréable.
À fuir absolument, sinon l’Irlande c’est merveilleux, les Irlandais sont sympa sauf chez Budget.

We received a rental car that had a crack in the windshield that could not be noticed from the outside and could only be noticed once the windshield wipers started, which they did about 30 minutes into our trip. At the counter they had told us to simply take pictures of any damage and it would be easy to rectify this. We called budget and they instructed us to return the car to Cork Airport where they could get us another. At cork, they commented that dublin had dumped their problems on them and were not joking and treated us as such. They kept insisting on showing us the initial damage report despite us telling them that we already knew that budget had missed the initial damage on the car. They charged us 660 euros to pay for a new windshield that we had not damaged. I appealed this twice and got no favorable response. Budget took the line that because they didn't notice it and we didn't notice it in the lot that we were responsible for it when it was clearly much more likely that good customers like us would not have noticed it until 30 minutes into our drive and that we did not cause it. I would not rent from budget.

It’s was an absolute disaster, I was quoted €59. I knew it was going to be more when I got fully insured but not (€444)then had to get a car seat for €45 which was flirty.

Budget car rental Shannon airport
5 star
Excellent 👌 staff
Professional
No crap talk
Definitely recommend
Will be using again
Thank you girls at Shannon Airport

I recently collected a car from Budget Car rental at Dublin airport. I have to say that the service (or lack of!) I received from 'John' on the service counter in the terminal was appalling. No customer care at all. He threatened to cancel my booking on two occasions just because I questioned the insurance and his reply to my questions. I was calm and spoke politely, but this guy was rude and should not be working in a customer facing role.