Budget Rent A Car

Oh, look. an «F“rating with the BBB. You don’t even need to take my word for it!
In addition to this, they REMOVE ALL BAD REVIEWS from their facebook page. Do not count on that for an honest opinion
Looking to rent a car because you need to bring a furry friend? DO NOT COME HERE. They will, without warning, tack on a $ 100 «pet hair fee» for only a few hairs in the seat. I cleaned it and returned it THREE TIMES before they were happy, Literally having to pick out hairs by hand, combing the seats even after I took it to a professional. A ridiculous standard, and they told me they never vacuum the cars before giving it to the next renter, which is the reason I had to be so thorough. Ew.
Especially when the Chicago area bedbug issue is so problematic, how can you count on the last customer to clean the car? This was NOWHERE in the contract, and they do not warn you about it!
Oh, look, more reviews about why not to rent from Budget:

Now at 801 Chicago. Great service and very helpful. The manager allowed me the opportunity to fill the gas tank even though I had returned the truck and told him that it was full, which he didn’t have to do and was kind. Though he explained it would be expensive, I couldn’t manage because I was already running late and had to incur the cost rather than risk missing a flight. Again, I appreciate the thoughfulness. The only thing amiss was that when I called the main budget line late the night before to make sure I could return the truck after hours they told me the location did not offer a key drop off. When I arrived at 8am that morning I saw a note on the door that explained the after hours/​key drop off protocol. Probably not the fault of this location that the main office did not have the information, but it would have saved me the hassle of trying to make it work in the morning after a move that ended very late the previous evening.

Rented a car for graduation weekend – horrible experience from start to finish. I needed a minivan for my entire family, but when we showed up on time, they had no cars on hand, let alone our minivan (which we reserved two months ahead).
The manager was passive-​aggressive and rude, and kept referring us to call a customer service line, which in turn referred us back to the manager to secure compensation for waiting nearly two hours, and for getting an SUV (with one less seat than a minivan) with much worse mpg. This threw off our entire schedule for the day, putting us hours behind airport pickups and hotel check-​ins.
When we returned the car, we arrived exactly 3 minutes past closing time on a Sunday – because a street festival shut down the entire street in front of the store. We had to detour unexpectedly – manager had not warned us about it, and hadn’t told us what to do if we couldn’t drop it off in front of the store. The manager and his crony were rude and dismissive. He said «you were TOLD to be here at 3», and had to be reminded that you don’t command your customers to do things – you ask them.
This storefront is run and managed by amateurs who need refresher courses in professionalism and customer service.

The actual address is 805 Chicago ave, right on the corner of Chicago and Kedzie — I suggested an update to the listing.
Anyhow, i used them twice — both times made a last minute reservation online and reserved an economy car and got the mid-​size, more specifically Dodge Avanger (ironically the SAME one). Both times I extended the rental — it cost me an additional $ 10 only plus I paid economy price for a better vehicle.
Very satisfied, so far no complaints whatsoever — friendly and efficient service too.

Had no problems returning a car and getting a new rental done. The drop off location across the street is a little bit sketch at night along with all the pot holes. Overall though great service, no complaints.

I am very disappointed with the service provided by the management. I recently contacted Robert and Curtis due to a billing error — I was billed an extra day. I returned the car to the sketchy lot after their office closed but for some reason they didn’t check my car back in until the following day after I was billed for an extra day. When I contacted them to notify them of the error, they were not friendly or helpful. I was told that they could not print out receipts or access their computer. I was told to call back. I tried to call back several times but could not get anyone to pick up the phone. I finally was able to get a hold of them and was told that they could not help me, they didn’t want to help me and that I was to call customer service. Due to the locations incorrect information the national customer service line could not help me. They had me down for two rental days as opposed to the one day that I had the vehicle.
If you decide to go with this company, I recommend the following if you return your car after their offices close at 6:30pm, make sure to return the next day to confirm that they checked your car back in otherwise you will find yourself in the same situation as me. I am very angry with myself for not returning to get an updated receipt the next day but I didn’t want to be late for work.
I normally do not take to Unilocal to provide negative reviews, but the arrogance and lack of help on behalf of the local operators is something that should be noted for those considering renting from this location.

Like Patrick O., I, too, had a great experience at this location this past holiday season. I only regret that it has taken me this long to get around to telling folks about it.
Actually, I have been a regular customer of this Budget office for least least 15 years. But a friend’s sister was working at one of their competitors so I agreed to send some business her way for a Christmas eve rental. Unfortunately, when I arrived to pick up my car, I found that they had apparently overbooked and were short two cars for their reservations, and I would have to wait 2 to 3 hours before they could get one from another location. Sadly, this was happening about 2 hours before I HAD to be in Racine Wisconsin for dinner. Needless to say, I was livid.
I called my regular guys at the Budget office at 733 Chicago Ave. and they were on it in a heartbeat.
The moment I arrived in the office the porter took off to go get the car. There was some glitch with my card, but Curtis (one of the co-​owners of the franchise) spent about 5 minutes feverishly typing away on his computer and… problem solved! By that time the car was out front and ready to go.
For many years, if I needed to rent a car, I have relied on this office. And I have NEVER had a problem of any kind. Robert and Curtis are always 100% professional and dedicated to ensuring that their customers are satisfied.
(I don’t think they know it, but I took about 15 of their business cards when I turned in the most recent rental. I pass them on to family and friends. :))

12:00 pick up scheduled online.
Sign in the window «back at 12:30».
If you have a scheduled pick up, why would you not be there?
Called 800 number at 12:30, robot finally dropped me into «customer service» who after hearing what was happening forwarded me to «small business dept» who told me I needed to talk to «customer service». I hung up and drove off, and as I passed the store sign still in window, and it was 12:45.

Easy, fast, courteous service. I rented a 10′ truck to move a few furniture items. The truck worked well and was in fine shape.
My only complaint was that we accidentally left a metal bed-​frame bar in the truck. When we went back to see if it was still there, the truck was gone but we found that the bar had been tossed into the weeds. A call to let us know would have been a little more professional.

Working close to this Budget location had it’s advantages… I saved at least $ 20 when I rented here instead of in Chicago (thanks to those oh-​so-​lovely city taxes). I literally live next door to a Budget in the city, yet I preferred to rent here every time. The staff is friendly (though sometimes overwhelmed… it seems that the minute I walked in the door phones start ringing off the hook, or walk-​in customers want crazy truck rentals… making me stand around waiting to get on the road) but that seems par for the course at all car rental joints. The wait is the only negative, but again, that’s hit or miss & not really their fault.
Silly customers… wanting things and stuff. Psh.
They have a good selection of cars, cars are always clean, and 80% of the time I end up getting upgraded to a better car than the one I reserved on-​line. Score! Also, the new & improved location is much, much nicer than the old one down the block. Totally bummed I won’t be close to this location anymore.