4071 miles over 11 days

Extremely dissatisfied. The store staff had a bad attitude, the reserved car was not available, and I was told to either pay extra or accept a subpar vehicle, specifically a MiniVan. The car looked terrible, with scratches all over the body. The next day, the car broke down, and the engine wouldn’t start. I immediately called for roadside assistance at 2 PM, but the tow truck didn’t arrive until 9:30 PM. During this time, the car rental company and the roadside assistance company delayed and passed the responsibility back and forth, which was extremely frustrating. The breakdown location was only about a 10-minute drive from the rental store, so they could have easily brought a replacement car, but they didn’t intend to do so and instead passed the issue to the roadside assistance company. By the time the roadside assistance company finally got us to the rental store, Budget, it was almost closing time. The staff said they didn’t have a car ready for us, even though the roadside assistance company had told me the store had prepared an SUV. However, the store staff said otherwise. Fortunately, someone returned a Toyota Corolla, which was then given to me. It was already 11 PM by this time. From calling for assistance to getting a new car, it took 9 hours. The entire day’s plans were ruined, and I couldn’t check into my reserved hotel, resulting in a no-show charge. Budget might be struggling, merging with AVIS. Many locations have either dual branding or only AVIS branding. I picked up the car at Union Square in San Francisco, booked via Budget, but the store only had AVIS signage. The breakdown happened in Monterey, and I switched cars at the local airport, which also only had AVIS signage. This might explain the bad service. I advise everyone to avoid Budget if possible.

It's okay. They gave me a new hybrid car that is fuel-efficient, but it has many features I don't understand. I wanted to switch to the model I had reserved, but they refused. The new system and model are a bit challenging for a middle-aged woman who doesn’t know much about cars.

I've rented cars many times in the US, but this place required a Chinese driver's license and a photo record of it, the translation alone wasn't enough. Consequently, I had to go back to the hotel with my luggage to fetch it. Also, the reservation name, driver's name, and credit card must be the same person, which is not required elsewhere. They tried to sell us fuel without even checking our order. I told him we've already bought fuel, but he didn't listen and used a translation app on his phone to tell me that the car must be returned with a full tank. It was quite disrespectful to us. Finally, they insisted on selling us insurance, although I've already bought comprehensive insurance. It took a long time. San Francisco is not very friendly to Chinese people.

The car we received was a downgrade, without prior notice. We were told our reserved car was unavailable, yet we saw someone who picked up their car after us driving our reserved model! It was extremely frustrating.

Great! I originally rented a small Hyundai, the cheapest option, but when I picked up the car, it was a new Toyota Prius hybrid. It was really exciting.