Book Budget car hires in Galway

Pros: Staff at counter was personable and professional.

Cons: Two block walk to pick-up location, agent did not disclose specific location, vehicle was on the fourth floor. Instructions for drop off equally uncertain.

Pros: My experience at Budget in Galway last week was pretty abysmal. Adrian met me out front and asked if I had a reservation, which I did. He then started off by demanding who I stayed with the previous night and where they live (really not sure why they need this information). Next he asked about insurance at which point I provided my letter from Chase (PDF on my phone) outlining my eligibility for "worldwide coverage under the Auto Rental Collision Damage waiver benefit." I had called Chase before my trip specifically to confirm that Ireland was not excluded from their coverage (given past rules) and they assured me that Ireland was included in their worldwide coverage benefit, and sent me this letter as proof. Adrian insisted that the letter must specifically state Ireland and refused to rent me the car I had reserved until I was able to provide one. The other options he provided were to go elsewhere or to get coverage through Budget and quoted me $500. At this point I would have loved to walk away but really needed the car and to get on the road. I called Chase and the woman I spoke with kindly offered to speak to Adrian but he declined, stating it would do not good without a letter. I then asked for his name but he refused to give me his last name saying he was not required to do so (was not wearing a badge or any form of identification). I then asked to speak with someone else and he called his manager, who confirmed that "worldwide coverage" is sufficient, and told him to move forward with my reservation. He proceeded to go through the steps and never once apologized for his misunderstanding of the policy. I am not one to write reviews and generally give people the benefit of the doubt- but I do feel like feedback is warranted in this case in hopes that others can avoid this experience. Adrian and Galway Budget aside, the car I rented was great and I had no issues with the drop-off at Shannon Airport. Despite this I will be avoiding Budget in the future.

Cons: Better treatment of the customer and understanding of the policies. Wearing a name badge seems appropriate, and apologizing for the error would have also gone a long way.

Pros: Dropoff difficult. Busy street. No instructions on how to park.. once I over came that, courteous and simple return. BUT see below.

Cons: I was given a credit on my credit card for the tank of gas that had been reserved. Two days later and the credit has not shown up on my account.

Pros: Drop off very easy and quick at airport

Cons: Budget charged us $ 289.00 more than confirmed on the kayak booking site. They claimed 1) I had not turned down the insurance at the time of booking and that it could not be changed when I picked up the car and 2) they had not included extra charge for rerurning to a different location

Pros: The car did not break down

Cons: Service was not great at galway. Car was a bit small. High price and new drop off fee. I am also being charged 119$ for no reason and it has not gone off my credit card yet. I would like a call from someone at budget to clear this charge because I refuse to pay it since we dropped it off with fue

Expensive, No Return Instructions, Dirty Windshild

Pros: Car was easy to drive and nice size.

Cons: Dirty windshield and exterior. Expensive.

Confused about where to drop

Pros: The drop center was in a 24 hour parking garage.

Cons: After parking the car in the garage and dropping the key in the office, we were asked if we left it on the 4th floor - there were no directions stating to do this. They were okay when we stated we didn't know that, but it would have been nice to have better directions.

Pros: Fuel efficient car

Cons: Customer service agent tried to stuff us round, trying to charge exorbitant prices. Said I was happy to go elsewhere then started offering a more reasonable price. Pick up/drop off not convenient in Galway.

Cons: Picked Budget because drop off I picked said it was in Eyre Square It wasn't It was in a public car park in a congested area Drop off took over an hour

terrible car and service for car that was sub-par

Pros: good price

Cons: The rental agency told me the car was new and had no scratches. It was new--it had 79,000 miles and scratches all over it. I had to walk quite a way to pick it up and had to stop again at the agency to show them all the scratches. The car screeched and had no power in first gear. It stopped working and we were stuck for almost 5 hours as a result. The agency insists on having someone come out to say it is not working (when it is clear it is not because the clutch stopped). That took 3 hours. It is only after that time that they then called a tow truck to come. The tow truck driver lost his glasses and we helped him search for it. We initially were stuck at 7 pm and didn't arrive back to our B and B until close to midnight as a result of all this. Budget initially told me I had to pay for the car that broke down and the tow because I did not have insurance. They need to find service people around the country so one does not have to wait for 3 hours to have someone certify that your car doesn't work when it is obvious that it does not. The problem is that people say "I just got this call" and "I tried to call you but couldn't reach you" when this is incorrect and you end up waiting for hours. It took several calls the next day as well to get a new car towed to our B and B because Budget never answered their phone or my voicemail calls to them. I spent a lot of money calling people as a result of this problem. Totally awful service when something goes wrong and they give you cars that don't work and need mechanical fixing. They need to look over cars to make sure they work before sending them out. Don't use them.

Pros: The location in Galway City was very convenient.

Cons: The service was poor. We were told we had to pay a drop off fee of 100.00 Euros even though if you rent in Cork or Shannon this is not the case. We had a letter from our bank allowing us to refuse insurance and it was not accepted because Ireland was not specifically mentioned even though Enterprise, Avis have accepted it in Ireland in the last 6 months. The young man working in the office did his best but the over all policy and procedures of Budget are not conducive to an easy rental. Will not be using Budget again.