A & B Motors Group

One star is still one star too many.
After a 2,000 mile drive from Chicago, I dropped the budget truck off with A&B. Filled the gas tank up before I went and was ready to get this over with.
All was fine and well until the attendant told me «the tank isn’t full enough» (the tank was as full as it could be.)
The attendant said «you have to go to the gas station and put two more „clicks“ of gas from the pump in the tank.»
«No. I’m not going to do that, the tank is full.»
«I’m going to charge you $ 30 and the cost of gas if you don’t. «. — he said.
What a scam artist. «Two more clicks.» Will never use budget trucks or A&B again. Rude, slimy, scummy business model.

These guys are sleazy, rude, and unreliable.
I made a reservation to rent a truck, and when I called this office to confirm, a guy calling himself Bill said he could not guarantee me the truck. I explained that I already had a confirmation email from Budget and needed the truck for a very important event, but he said he would not guarantee it.
When I asked how I could get a guarantee, he got upset, said he was sick of customers always wanting guarantees (!!!), and hung up in my face.
Enough said. Like the other reviewer, I regret even having to give this place one star.

After my mother died, I needed to move some of her possessions from Oakland to my house in Los Angeles. I chose Budget because the price was more reasonable than U-​Haul. I picked up the truck in Oakland, 10′, clean and in good condition. Loaded it and made the trip down to LA. I chose this place, A & B, because it’s walking distance from my house. I got finished home earlier than expected, mid afternoon, unloaded the truck and wanted to drop it off because there is absolutely no place to park such a big vehicle in my neighborhood. I call A&B and ask them if I could drop the truck off, the employee said yes but told me they closed at 4pm. I considered that extremely odd, 4pm closing time for a car and truck rental company. I was unable to make the 4pm closing time, so I did find a spot on the street but was going to have to move it by 8 the next morning because of street sweeping. I figured I’d return the truck around 8 to 8:15 the next morning after filling up the gas tank.
I find A&B motors, the gates to the lot with other Budget trucks were closed and locked. I parked the truck on the street where only 1 hour parking was allowed. It was then that I called the company to find out what time they opened. Someone answered and told me they opened at 9 am! So, open at 9 am, closed at 4pm? What the heck kind of business hours are those? The employee did tell me that «his guy» would be there at 8:30am and to wait. It was then I started reading all of the Unilocal reviews and realized I had made a colossal mistake dealing with this operation. I learned that the company’s entrance is indeed in the mini-​mall opposite the lot where the trucks are parked. I walked up to the entrance, and even those there was a neon sign that said ‘Open’, they were very much closed. I also noticed the hours of operation posted on the window, weekday the hours were 8:30 — 5:00. But, when I called, the employee said they opened at 9, and the day before told me they closed at 4. So, their hours of operation seem to depend on when they feel like showing up. Then there all these signs posted on the window that say if you’re doing an after hours drop off, the truck must be legally parked. Well, it’s LA, the only options are metered parking, 1 Hour Only parking and permitted parking. Further, if I can’t be sure you’re going to show up at 8:30 or even 9 am, the truck will most definitely be ticketed no matter where I park. Oh but wait, there’s another sign that says all renters will be charged penalties and processing fees for all parking tickets. And another sign that says don’t park any Budget trucks in the lot of the mini-​mall or the truck will be towed and the renter will be responsible for those fees too.
Someone finally shows up and asks me if I have any paperwork. I got out of bed so quickly that morning to move the truck I forgot the paperwork the Oakland Budget place had given me. He takes the keys and tells me that he needs that paperwork to check the vehicle damage report. I’m stunned. The truck had no damage, I brought it back in pristine condition. He says the owner won’t be there until 9:15 — 9:30 but they need that paperwork, he then tells me to «Take my time» returning and «Get some coffee». I don’t want to take my time! I want to return this truck so I can go take care of my business! I walk a mile back home and return with this stupid paperwork. One of the proprietors is there, 2 people already lined up in front if me waiting. I had to tell them to read the Unilocal reviews. I gave them the paperwork I had, after reading these reviews I took pictures of the odometer reading and every inch of that truck just in case they wanted to try something funny. Finally gave the woman my paperwork and she closed out the contract. Awful experience. Won’t ever do business there.

If i could give this place a 0 I would… The guy told us to bring the truck at 2 pm and closed the place at 1:45pm then told us to come back Monday and their hours after 8:30am and we showed up at 11 am and he place was still closed !! I had to wait 30 min outside and he didn’t even apologize

Moving is exhausting. Even with hired help, the whole process is one that I try to avoid. And with that said, I’ve now managed to move twice in 6 months, and will have another move by the end of this year.
ACK. I know, I know. Better make it count.
Well, while I clock some extra sleep in anticipation, it’s also good to prep logistically. I like Budget mostly because their funny stick figure Dos and Don’ts posters are fun to read while waiting to fill out paperwork or drop off a truck. Literally, that’s it. Otherwise, I don’t see much difference between the rental companies; it always comes down to the local vendor. I’ve had terrible experiences with Uhaul, and great experiences with Uhaul. Same with Budget.
This particular location is kind of tricky. I was just dropping the truck off after my one-​way from Sacramento to L.A., by way of a Public Storage place in Echo Park. By the time I was dropping the truck off, I was pretty drained mentally and physically. So when I rolled up Western looking for the address or some indicators of where this location is, I was flustered. I did a couple circles and spotted a parking lot full of Budget trucks, but no office, and no open driveway (the parking lot was gated and chained up).
I parked nearby and started walking up Western trying to figure out what to do. As I headed up the block I saw a Korean gentlemen head out a backdoor of an adjacent minimall to the closed parking lot – somehow he had spotted my truck, and he was clearly looking for me. Apparently the entrance to this Budget rental office is in the mall facing the opposite direction of the parking lot of trucks. Hope that’s helpful!
Anyway, once we figured out that he was the proprietor and I was the customer, I gave him the key to park the truck and headed inside. The lady inside promptly sent me back out to get the mileage reading from the old guy. Sigh. I’m sure that’s not the first time that’s happened, come on folks.
Otherwise, I handed over some paperwork and that was that. I can’t really speak to the actual rental process, but if you need to drop off a truck, it may save you some time to head into the mini mall first.

I went to return a Budget truck to this location on the day it was due and it was closed. I called Budget’s 1 – 800 number and asked them what to do and they said it is no problem and just to keep it and turn it in the next day and they would put a note on my account where there would be no charge. When I show up, this place wanted to charge me an extra day and they were very rude about it, insisting that I should have parked in the street (at metered parking) and just have left it there. I had to call the 1 – 800 number again (myself, they refused to talk to them or try to resolve the situation in any way) and they had to make a deal with this local place where A and B motors would charge me and Budget will refund it. It doesn’t make any sense and it’s just ridiculous that Budget does not communicate or oversee their branches. I do not recommend this location or Budget rental and in the future I will definitely use a competitor.

My former boss used them when they had to do some moving. This place was chosen because it was very convenient.
The budget trucks are definitely several levels above the terrible U-​Haul trucks you can find at any of their run down U-​Haul locations.
Why the 1 star? During one of the many times we rented trucks from them, they automatically charged us insurance which doubled the final cost. I’m not sure what happened when my former co-​worker went to rent the truck that was automatically charged for insurance because he had always declined it in the past and definitely did NOT agree to or want the insurance. Most likely the owner saw an opportunity to rip us off and did just that.
Bottom line: The trucks are good, the rates are reasonable, but the Korean owner is unethical. Be careful if you go there.

I will NEVER go back here. I booked a rental truck through Budget, and while I had a fine time getting the car, returning was a truly awful experience, both with the person on site, and the Budget customer service representatives. I was hung up on by the onsite person, and the customer service rep was unable to connect me to anyone who could help me, because apparently at 1pm on a Friday there is no one with any authority available. I will NEVER use either this location or Budget again.