Budget Car Rental Ireland Reviews 567

I rent cars on a very regular basis, but I’ve never received a vehicle in such an appalling condition. I regret not taking photos, but honestly, it was enough to make you cry. After driving roughly 100 km in an Opel Crossland, the engine cut out due to oil pressure issues. Upon inspection, there was no—I repeat—no oil in the reservoir. The coolant level was so low, even an ant couldn’t drown in it. The rest of the engine block had more rust than metal.

Following this incident, I tried contacting Budget multiple times by phone, but after letting it ring several times, they simply hung up. After consulting with a mechanic, I took the risk of adding motor oil myself. When I returned the car at the airport, no one really listened to my concerns, and frankly, I expect this car will be handed off to the next poor soul without any inspection.

They did promise to reimburse me for the motor oil, but Budget—why am I doing your job for you? I’m sure the standard response will be that all your cars are thoroughly inspected before being rented out, but save it. None of your customers believe that anymore.

I used Budget for my recent trip to Ireland 10/09-15/09 (Dublin Airport Branch) and I cant speak highly enough of my experience and so glad I wasn't put off from negative reviews, as this was my first time ever using a rented car. From the moment I got to Dublin the people at the desk I found to be really friendly and weren't in anyway pushy about upselling. Didn't have to wait very long for the bus shuttle and the drop off was just as easy and efficient. My security deposit was also returned to me within a couple of hours after drop off. Even during my stay I had to ring budget to change my drop off time and the guy I spoke to was extremely helpful and nice and changing the time wasn't an issue.

From a lot of negative reviews I see on here there seems to be a reoccurring trend, so I will provide some tips.
DO YOUR RESEARCH. This was massively important for me I knew exactly what to expect from the moment I got the car to the moment I dropped off because any of my queries I emailed budget customer support this way I had everything in writing and knew exactly what to expect. I used the same credit card to book the rental and the same credit card for the security deposit

BOOK ON BUDGET.IE DIRECTLY, do not book through a third party website such as booking.com ect. If you do book on booking.com and you use their 3rd party insurance this doesn't reduce your liability to 0, you must still use a credit card with a high enough credit limit to hold the security deposit. The only way to reduce your liability for damages to 0 and avoid the security deposit is to take out Budgets insurance. Any 3rd party insurance will reimburse you if there's any damages but you must be the one who takes the hit first then make a claim separately with that 3rd party (I personally used Cover4Rentals). If you do it this way and you understand the terms you are under no obligation to use budgets add on insurance. Again from my research I was aware of all this and was prepared to have the 2000 euro security deposit held on my credit card. Also side note they do add a fuel deposit on top of the security deposit I believe this to ensure that the fuel is returned as like for like from when you got it, again I personally took no risks and just topped the fuel tank all the way up before returning

If you follow my above advice I can assure you that you will no problems with using Budget and not be "scammed". If you're ever unsure contact them via their Irish telephone number or their Irish email which is all on budget.ie

I will certainly be using budget again for my next trip to Ireland without a doubt

They use broker called car jet , which is misleading people and they do not take any responsibility for that. Paid deposit and can't get it back...

I was scammed when I went to pick up the vehicle I had reserved.
Since the rental amount (around €1 000) and the deposit (€2 000) were significant, I suggested to the employee that I pay the rental with one credit card and the deposit with another card, both on my name.
The employee, who was rude and arrogant, threatened not to give me the vehicle unless I paid both amounts with a single credit card. This clause wasn't in my rental agreement; it was made up on the spot, late at night, when I needed the vehicle urgently. This forced me to pay for insurance I didn't want (€300+).
My experience with Budget at Dublin Airport leaves me with the impression of an arrogant employee and an unscrupulous company that invents clauses not included in the rental agreement to force customers to pay for additional services.
Never again with Budget Dublin Airport!

I wish I’d have read the reviews before I booked.
Do not use this company they are not transparent at all.
We booked through Cost-Co and wouldn’t have expected they’d sponsor such a poor company.
Basically I booked a car for pick up at Knock airport and it cost £224.
There was one member of staff and a queue of passengers/customers. The staff member said I could leave my credit card details and they’d put a hold on it for £3,5k or I could pay an extra €30 per day which covered ‘everything’ plus the fuel which would be credited back returned full so I opted for that. On rerun home there’s additional charges for roadside assistance and windscreen cover which takes the invoice to £400.
I’ve raised a complaint but they’re not in a rush to communicate they’ve said I signed the document .. which I did. Of course I’ve not read the small print as I wasn’t made aware there was additional charges.
They have total control as you have to leave your card details on picking the car up.
To be clear … the add ons were added at the airport and were certainly not discussed! We were clearly told €30 per day covered EVERYTHING! and they did not
There was one staff member on the desk for a queue of passengers.

My partner and I used Budget Rental at Dublin Aiport back in early August. We will not be using them again. The previous year we had used Alamo car rental but unfortunately this time they didn't have the availability we needed, in future we will be returning to use them. We were charged an additional days rental fee for returning the car an hour later than it should have been returned. However as explained below, there were reasons why this occurred as a direct result of Budget's customer service.

Budget seem to offer flexibility on their terms, but are unwilling to show flexibility the other way around. This creates total inconsistency. Regrettably, we have been let down by individuals working on the check in desk at arrivals, and those in the car park where you return the vehicle.

We picked our car up on the Friday at midday. We arrived just after 11.30 for a 12.00 start with the car, but the car was ready and so we were able to collect early. Nobody told us this meant our return time had changed... this has only been bought to our attention since contacting customer service. The car we had reserved and paid for was a Nissan Duke as there was 4 of us, however the car we collected was a Citroen...... So flexibility is clearly possible!

We asked the lady at the check in desk what the credit card hold would be having taken our their insurance. The hold would be if we didn't return the car with a full fuel tank. We asked what time the car had to be returned on the Monday. Crucially, she told us that "anytime" on the Monday was fine, but to be as early as possible for our flight because Monday's are busy at Dublin. Later it would become apparent our rental ended at midday. We signed the agreement at 11.40am. By the time we got the shuttle to the office, and collected the keys from a busy office, we were away in the car at around 12.00. What we didn't know was that the rental had started at 11.40. Despite being a mile from the car and in the airport...

We returned the car on Monday to the car park at around 12.45. We were processed before 13.00 waiting for a bus to the airport. We'd stopped to get fuel just outside Dublin. This was after dropping the rest our party to departures to save time for them. Our car was checked by one of the support team for any scratches/ issues etc and fuel was checked, before giving us a slip. We were then directed to a cabin and handed our slip to one of 4 customer service agents... this was checked and again, nothing was said to us. At no point did anybody explain that we were being charged another full day's rental despite the opportunity. This is really frustrating as we could have dealt with the issue there and then.

This was only realised when the credit card had the full amount taken. Thinking this was an error, WE had to reach out to find out why we had been charged the full amount. Despite a number of attempts to call into Budget customer service we couldn't get through, so used the email. Nothing came back for nearly two weeks. We then called the front desk at the airport who connected us to customer service, the line then went dead... We called back and were advised of a new email address and that they would pass our number on. No call came back which I'd requested but suddenly customer service emailed us back.

Various emails went back and forth, with Edel stating we'd broken the agreement and now OWED Budget money... As I pointed out, not sure how Budget would have told us, as we'd only found out 3 weeks later having contacted them!

Most disappointingly, our requests to show some compassion and understanding about the above fell on deaf ears. Customer service pointed out the stated written agreement, but failed to answer adequately some of the points above about advice given, and why we weren't told of the extra day's charge by any of the customer service agents on the Monday.

16 days ago I asked for the complaints policy & contact details from customer service. No response as of yet.

All we've wanted to do is speak to someone on the phone, to no avail.

Don't book with Budget.

I prepaid €219.85 for an Economy car. At pickup (Dublin Airport, 27 Aug 2025) staff said the €2,000 deposit could only be placed on a credit card. I had only a debit card, and was told my only option was Excess Reduction for €330.11 (10 days).

Key issues:
• Budget’s T&Cs show Excess Reduction €24/day, I was charged €33.011/day.
• Debit card accepted for a fuel deposit (€123.75) but not for the main deposit.
• Staff repeatedly said they were “happy to cancel” my booking if I refused — effectively coercion.

I request a full refund of €330.11 and a clear explanation of the deposit/card policy and price difference.
I have contacted Budget directly, but will escalate to CCPC and ECC Ireland if unresolved.

I had a terrible experience when I hired a car from Budget for two weeks in Dublin Airport. Great service getting the car which was only one year old but had many dents and scratches which I photographed.
I had no incidents during the rental but when I returned the car, I was rudely told there was a tiny chip on the windscreen. When pointed out I did see it but would not have noticed it during my initial review. It was a tiny surface chip which is repaired easily by glass vendors for around €50. However, Budget decided to bill me for €881.
When I asked for details, what I got was an estimate detailing that the windscreen should be replaced. The estimate was from another car rental company in the airport not from a functioning garage. I asked for an invoice showing the work had been completed but was told that Budget is not obligated to share any further information with me. In fact, under Irish and Eu law charges must be supported by evidence and reflect actual loss.
I suspect there is an ongoing practice of ripping off customers for repairs that are not carried out.
I believe this may constitute fraud by misrepresentation and I will be reporting this matter to the Gardai Siochana as well as the CCPC and ECC.

Horrible. Charged me for gas even tho tank was full until I protested with Amex - thanks Amex. Insisted I sign a consent to an accident - I didn’t have one - and when I refused fillowed me to the terminal to try to force me to say I had damaged a wheel cover that had no damage. DO NOT USE

In response to their response, I have emailed this address below instead of Budget Customer service which has had an open and non resolved ticket since August.

Avoid at all costs the Budget rental car office in Galway, Ireland. From the start, the customer service was horrendous and the entire interaction felt like a bait-and-switch scheme.
The only reason they even have 1 🌟 is because there is not an option for negative stars.

They tried to inform us that we had prepaid our reservation and we were unable to make any changes to the drop-off. We knew we did not pre-pay the reservation because we never do. A quick call to our credit card company confirmed that no such pre-payment had been made. This blatant lie was infuriating and extremely unprofessional. Additionally, the staff attempted to pressure us into purchasing extra insurance, claiming that our credit card only provided basic rental
car coverage. They wanted to either put a £3000.00 hold on our card for entire rental period or make us pay £60/day for rental coverage. Once again, our credit card company confirmed that we had full coverage, not basic. When we confronted them with all of this information, with the credit card company still on the phone, Budget suddenly changed their story about our reservation being prepaid, but still claimed they couldn’t make any changes to our rental.

Ultimately, we went to our reservation online, while standing in the office as they were telling us they could not cancel or make any changes from their computers in the office. We canceled the entire reservation online, more proof we did not pre-pay the reservation.
We then asked them to book a one day rental to Dublin. The guy at the counter told us it would be £700+ for the one day rental.
We checked booking it online and it came to £200, including all taxes and fees. So yet they lied again. In the end, we just took the train to Dublin. We refuse to do business with crooks.

As I said before, avoid this rental company at all costs. We will never use Budget for any rental car future needs. I hope this review helps others avoid a similar ordeal.

Worse rental experience ever. It took longer to fly to Dublin than to hire the car. Queued for the desk in the airport, queued (for best part of half an hour) for the bus to the rental pick up location, queued to check in at another desk, then queued to be given the car keys (as the car needs to be driven to the rental location?!) Takes well over 2 hours to pick up a car!! Strongly suggest avoiding

I wish I would have read the reviews before booking a car rental with Budget At the Dublin Airport. The service is terrible. The car they gave us was a 2020 Skoda which had scratches everywhere. We paid for full coverage. The car sounded like a wagon while being driven. I’ve used Sixt, Emterprise and Avis before. This is the first time I’ve rented a car from Budget and will not rent from them again.

Worst experience
Firstly they charged me 60 euro a day for insurance because I booked from a US site.
Then I got a Fiat Panda which feels like a car from the 1990's. There is no dashboard screen to connect the navigation system from your phone to.
The car was a manual. I haven't driven a manual in years and asked to change (assuming I would have to pay more) but they didn't have any automatics (on a random Thursday afternoon).
For the amount I paid I could have had a luxury car from any other car rental service.

I have always used Budget when holidaying in Ireland.
And i always pay the extra for the full insurance.
This time though (July '25), I booked thru' Ryanair (as they were cheaper than booking direct) and paid £138.77p.
When i picked up the car, I was charged 250 euro's for the full insurance which was nearly twice what I paid to hire the car.
I feel that the charge was excessive and was inflated as I didn't book direct with them.
I felt scammed, and there was nothing that I could do, as I was not willing to have thousands blocked on my card.

Underhand company. They apply unnecessary insurance to your booking if you don't have a credit card. Annoying and expensive. The solution is to not rent from them. Why did I rent from them again? Forgot about the last time. Anyway. Avoid them

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.

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.

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.