Budget Rent A Car
Reviews and Complaints

Recently I had bad experience with Budget rental car in Anchorage, Alaska. At first I didn’t know why they charged $100 dollar to my credit card, so I call them up and ask them what they are for. Budget rental car explain to me it was cleaning fee for smoking in rental car. I told them I wasn’t smoking in the rental car, but their responds was they found evident of cigarette ashes and smells, so I ask them what happens if car smell smoke even though I didn’t smoke inside of car and reply was they will still charge $100 dollar. I am wondering what happens if non smoker get $100 cleaning fee because car smell cigarette? I write this because people who renting car from Anchorage Alaska Budget at airport should aware of this. I am not the only one who had bad experience with Budget rental car in Anchorage Alaska airport location but different issue.

On September 2, 2008 my daughter and I rented a Budget Rental Truck. We paid for two drivers, and a 'zero liability' insurance, should any damage occur to the truck. From the truck rental lot, my daughter, who was driving the truck followed me to the Nashville Airport to return a rental car that I was driving. Damage occured to the overhead of the truck during this trip to the airport. We immediately returned the truck to Budget Truck Rental. No replacement truck was provided, nor were we reimbursed for the truck rental costs.

Subsequently, we received a bill in the amount of $4, 410.45. This bill included charges for use of the truck for 7 days and two different lists of parts. We had already paid for 3 days use of the truck, which does not appear to have been taken into consideration. This bill is outrageous, in view of the fact that the agent who rented us the truck said the insurance would cover any damage to the truck. On returning the truck, he said that the over-head damage was not included in the insurance.

I would very much like to know if there is a class action suit against Budget Rental trucks for situations like this. If there is, then I would like to join in that class action suit.

These guys are the worst. Book it online with a confirmed rate? What a joke, Just wait until they overbill you when you drop it off with a bunch of hidden fees. And then after waiting for a 1/2 hour and spending another 30 minutes trying to resolve they issue, they bill you for an extra hour.

Try to clear it up when you drop-off and before they bill you? Forget about it. Here is what you get... "We are an independent agent; you will need to clear up the overbilling with the corporate office." But good luck trying to get anything done with corporate office. After being on hold for an hour, they simply state that you agreed to the charges and there is nothing they can do.

If anyone raises a class action suit against them for such fraudulent practices, by all means, count me in!

NEVER NEVER RENT FROM BUDGET!

While driving a Budget Rental Car we received a citation for not cramping our wheels (a parking violation). This was on 10/16 and payment was due within 30 days. We paid the $47 ticket on11/06.
On 11/25 Budget charged our bank account $119. I called to see what the charge was. Their Customer Serive said it was for an unpaid parking violation. I was told to contact their citations department to rectify the situation. No one has answered their phones for the 2 weeks that I've been trying to reach them. I've left several messages. I faxed proof of payment to their dept. I emailed proof of payment to them. The City of San Diego emailed proof of payment to them. NO RESPONSE from Budget!
BE VERY WARY OF RENTING FROM THEM as they keep a copy of your debit/credit card on file and evidently charge to it as they please.
I must note that their Customer Service Dept. was friendly, but unable to help me.

I rented a van so I could move a mattress, I returned the van 3 hours after picking it up with a full tank of gas. I calculated my expected total at no more than $80 which included a daily rate, insurance, and mileage rate. My bill came to $123 so I believe I was charged a $30 fee unjustly.

Then I got charged a $50 from a Budget office in Denver. I have no idea why this would be charged to me. I called the Santa Rosa office and asked for them to explain the billing. The employee asked if he could call me back and never did. I have since left them a polite message with my situation and no one has responded. I am filing a claim through my card holder.

In May this year I had the worst car rental experience in my whole life - I'm travel agent and rented more than 1000 cars in my life but never had such a bad experience and I cannot tell you how extremely upset I am.

I had to decide pretty shortly to fly to Guatemala City then rent a car, ride to South Mexico, pick up some stuff from a resort I'm connected to, get some paper work signed and confirmed by a lawyer and then by a notary, return back to Guatemala, head to the the Northern border, unload my stuff and return back to Guatemala City. I knew that it might be difficult to cross the border to Mexico and therefore I tried to find a reliable rental company that allow to take the car to Mexico.
I had to make maybe 7 or 8 phone calls from Europe, first found one company that later told me that it was not possible and then found Budget. I explained that I had to ride to Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, and then back to Guatemala and that I needed to be in Mexico for 3 days and everything seemed to be OK.
To confirm I asked for an email address and I confirmed to the counter of Budget in Guatemala, received a confirmation from them and everything seemed to work out fine.
I had asked to get permission for the days of May 23, May 24 and May 25, 2008 and they confirmed.
When I reached I was very surprised that they told me that I had to purchase the insurance immediately. I crossed the border to Mexico from many spots and knew that there were insurance companies in the border towns and usually purchased the insurance there for approximatly 45 US$ a week. I usually then buy an insurance from ING insurance - they allow credit card payment and include a total care package into their rate where you can call a number in case you have any problem and they pick you up and fix everything - Budget in Guatemala City told me I had to purchase the insurance from them for 45 US$ per day and there was no care package. (By the way: Now they told me that I would not be allowed more than 350 Miles into Mexico - they did not mention this before and it's not on their website - but that should not be a problem!).
I asked again for 3 days of insurance.

In the end they gave me a lot of papers, made me sign the rental agreement and handed a permission to me to ride into Mexico the requested days. But I didn't receive any insurance policy and I asked for it. They answered I would not need that - they never had problems.

I have been living in Mexico for almost 5 months and I knew that this could be a huge problem - if you cannot prove that your car is insured they sometimes arrest you and ask lot of money - so I asked for the written confirmation. They said I was the first one who asked for these papers and they could not deliver this now. They promised that they would send the papers to my email adress and then when I reach the border I could print out this paper. I was not very comfortable but saw no other solution and left the office.

The next day I left Guatemala City pretty early and reached the border around 9.30 am. I did all the immigration and customs and crossed to the other side - there was no Internet cafe in the whole village and I had to continue to the next town to print out my insurance papers. Within the first 5 Miles I have been stoped by a check-point - I didn't have my insurance and they asked 800 Pesos for violating Mexican law. I had a lot of discussions and in the end after trying and trying the policeman agreed that I paid 200 Pesos to him - he wanted more and it took a lot of words to finally make him agree.
It was a hassle.

I reached the next village and finally found an Internet cafe, checked my email and there were no papers. I had to phone from Mexico to Guatemala and asked for the insurance and they promised to forward immediately and I waited and waited and nothing reached. At 11.20 I sent an email and I called again. They said they would send and again nothing happened and I waited and waited. I could not continue as I didn't have the insurance papers. At 12 noon I finally received the papers and I was very surprised that I received insurance just till May 25 12.noon so just for 2 days.

I called again but then continued my travel as I had the confirmation of insurance now and could continue without hassle.
Approximately 40 Miles past the border there's another customs check-point where you have to purchase the tourist license and I wanted to get this sticker. The officer asked for the insurance papers and then asked me for how many days I'm going to need the turist license. I told him for 3 and he declined. He said he could not give the license for more than the insurance lasts and not have the car licensed longer than May 25 at noon. It was a catastrophe.
I had to return into the next town approximately 7 Miles and in the meantime called Budget in Guatemala for the 5th time. I tried to speak to the same guy - he had left for lunch. So I spoke to a lady and later to somebody who seemed a supervisor to me. We discussed more than 10 minutes and I told him that I didn't want to spend more money on phone calls as this was extremely expensive and I asked to get the insurance papers for 3 days right away and he agreed.
So I looked for another Internet cafe and checked my email account and nothing happened. I called again and it looked as if nobody knew about my problem and I really freaked out and yelled into the phone that I wanted my papers immediately. I hang up and waited and nothing happened. At around 2.30pm it was enough and I searched for a rental company to rent a car that I could use without risking to get arrested or pay high fines and I found Thrifty and rented a car - it was a bad solution as this car was too small but I thought I could leave some of my stuff over at the place and pick it up next year or whenever I see an option to pick it up. I had to leave as I was already much too late for a first appointment. I rented this car at 3.21 pm in Tapachula approximately 30 Miles from the border and left my Budget car there and continued much too late and with a car much too small - it was a pain but at least I could continue.
Maybe you get aware that I left the border 6 hours after I reached the Guatemalan side.
I tried to re-organise my first appointment and found out that the paper work that we had to arrange with a lawyer could not been done as the moment when I should arrive the lawyer would have left for a weekend trip. It was an even bigger catastrophe - I invested some money into this resort and I arranged that the lawyer would write the title and the notary would by exception finalize the statement on Sunday so that I could return with my investment safe and not worry - now as the lawyer could not wait 5 1/2 hours more the whole plan spoilt and I had to cancel the appointment for Sunday morning with the notary too - one part of my trip from Europe did just not work out and till today I do not have a confirmation to secure my money, will have to fly over again and get this done to have a secure way to get back my investment - this is so unbelievable but it's not the end of this horror story:

I reached my final destination completely tired and 5 1/2 hours too late and packed my things together the next day. I stuffed into this VW Jetta whatever I could and had to leave some stuff over there - knowing that I'll have to ride there again, have to transfer the rest again through the whole of Guatemala and then finally send all the rest of my stuff back to Europe.
As my appointment for Sunday did not work out I could return earlier on Sunday and droped the Thrifty car and continued with the Budget car and did what I had to do the next days.
I reached the Budget office in Guatemala City at approximately 2.45 pm on Friday - wanted to do some shopping in Guatemala City after returning the car but this didn't work out neither: Everything was Ok with the car and they checked out at 3pm. I told about my story, had already sent several emails - told the consequences and they asked me to wait till the sales manager returned which would happen in approximateky 15 minutes. After 30 minutes the lady at the counter said he did not return but wanted to talk to me on the phone and after I explained the story again. He offered to give one free day to me which I didn't want to accept. I told him that I spent 20 US$ for the policeman, approximately 50 US$ on phone calls to Guatemala, 7 US$ for Internet use and printing, approximately 5 US$ gasoline in addition and 196.43 US$ for another rental car and I would not agree to get 65 US$ refunded as a free day. I spent approximately 270 US$ in addition and lost 5 1/2 hours and would not accept.
I said that I then would not accept the invoice and would write "not accepted" onto the credit card slip. That was when they decided not to hand out one of the virging credit card slips that I signed for security reasons and I asked this slip back. They refused.
I asked them to call the police as now I wanted this to be arranged by the police but they refused. Mrs.Maria Gonzales either sales manager or marketing manager reached and said that my reservation was not clear and it was a mis-understanding from both parties and she would not refund more. Can you imagine that I spent additional 1 hour and 45 minutes there before they finally agreed to hand over the virging credit card slip? Can you imagine that these people even spoilt my last day shopping in town? Can you imagine that these people (don't let me call them by the names that come spontaneously into my mind when I think of those people - as it's all the bad words I remember!) spoilt more than 7 hours of my time and 270 US$ of my money and do not want to take responsibility?

I could prove that I made reservation for 3 days insurance for Mexico! Here's a part of their confirmation (In Spanish):

"...es un placer de confirmar su reservacion de un Kia Magentis
por xxxxxx
llegando al aeropuerto den Guatemala City el ... de Mayo 2008 a las ...
y volviendo con el carro el ... de Mayo a las ... con permiso por 3 dias para conducir a Mexico." this means exactly: "with allowance for 3 days to drive in Mexico..." and nothing else!
This is a very clear reservation and they confirmed!

But that's not all: They have an offer to get Miles for the rental onto your flying Miles account - I asked for it and they didn't give it to me.
It's not the end:
Some days later I filled the form of Budget Customer service with the matter. I sent the form and received an email to confirm reception of the form and they promised to get back to me, but nothig happened. 5 days later did the same, filled the form again, received the confirmation email and nobody got in touch with me.
I finally called Budget customer service in the States from Europe and got in touch with S..., a very friendly customer service representative and told the whole story (22 minutes call) and she finally asked me to send the whole story via email, told me that it could take up to 6 weeks.
I sent an email after 7 weeks - no answer, then one week later, no answer and I called again and she told me that some days before 108.57 US$ had been refunded to my credit card - wow - you spend 270 US$ additiobal for their ignorance and they credit you one day (65 US$) and 108 US$. So, as a customer of such a company you pay 100 US$ on your own, lose 7 hours, miss appointments and get pissed and they just give you some tips?
ooooops, sorry - it's not yet over.

I waited and waited and after some time sent an email to Budget: No refund received - no answer. I sent another email and received the message: "Please ask your bank why this takes so long".
Now, 3 weeks and 5 days after they should have refunded this money there is still no refund. I called customer service yesterday, asked for a supervisor, and got in touch with J..., and J... was not very friendly - in the end he even hang up on me. Can you imagine how much this company pissed me off and then the supervisor hang-up on me? and I'm still waiting for my money.
Man, I will be praying the moment this endless nightmare will be over. Do you think I'll ever rent from Budget again?

I rented a truck to move from Toccoa Ga the Lawrence ville, When I turned my truck in on Sunday the 24th, I filled the tank in accordance with Budget contract. I couldn't get another drop in it, it was FULL. Imagine my surprise when I noticed an additional unauthorized charge to my bank account, and upon calling the budget store found it was for FUEL. 3 gal of fuel and I was charged 41 dollars, the additional was for a fuel fill charge. Not only that the gentleman I spoke to was extremely rude, and I felt like he thought I was just a "stupid" woman, so lets add sex discrimination to the list.

A couple of weeks ago, on April 29, 2008 we returned to Canada from a wonderful three week holiday in Israel and Jordan. Our holiday was only marred by Budget s surreal response when our rental car broke down 25 minutes outside Jerusalem. What follows is a story of inconceivably bad customer service which left us stranded on the road for 6 hours, ruined our plans for our last day of our trip and left us frustrated and angry.

My wife, my youngest son and I had stopped at the Almog Junction for a cup of coffee shortly after 2pm on our way back from the Dead Sea. When we got back in the car it would not start. There had been no prior indication that anything was wrong with the car.

Sometime before 3 pm we placed a call to Budget and asked for assistance. We were transferred to the Jerusalem Office where Yael, who claimed to be the supervisor told us that we would have to wait (quote) -up to two hours- for a technician to inspect the car and determine what had to be done. I requested a replacement car so we could continue our trip but Yael, quoting procedure, told us that nothing would be done until the technician arrived and made a determination. When I asked if we could leave the car and deliver the keys to the Jerusalem office I was told that it would be (quote) my decision- for which I would be fully responsible if anything happened to the car. This warning was delivered in a threatening tone. Half an hour later I called to ask if they had an ETA for the technician and were told that the technician was on another call and could not be reached. An hour later, at about 4 pm I called again to ask about the status of our call and insist on a replacement car, and was told that my calls were making things worse for us and to stop calling. An hour and a half later we were told that although they had no information on when the technician would turn up, the -up to two hours- period had not yet expired and therefore we could not complain. When asked what would happen after the two hours were up we were told that only the technician could make a determination. We were also told that the office would close at 6 pm and we would then have to call the emergency number. Fortunately my wife and son were able to get a ride to Jerusalem on a tourist bus shortly after 5 pm. (Thank you again Ezra and Oda for your help)

Well, 6 pm arrived (three hours since we had placed the first call) and when we called the emergency number they had no record of our previous calls and had to go again through the remote troubleshooting procedure before they would record our trouble call. Again we were refused any other options other than to wait for the technician who would decide what had to be done. Obviously according to Budget this was a technical decision to be made by a technician, not a customer service decision

Four hours later (and after several other calls to Budget from friends and locals who took pity on us � by then I was exhausted, and feeling impotent in the face of overwhelming stupidity) we still had no word on the technician. The technician finally arrived at 7:20 pm, and without saying a word opened the hood, put his hand deep under the radiator and started the car ( raising our suspicion that it was a known problem with the unit), then spent about half an hour with it until it pronounced it fixed. I asked if I could trust the car to get us to the airport the next day for our return trip and was told that I should try starting the car an hour before we had to leave for the Airport just in case. I asked to test the car before he left: the car failed to start after the second try. At that point, the technician made the decision to give us a replacement car, after more than 5 hours of being stranded on the road.

By the time we arrived at the Budget Jerusalem office -across from the King David Hotel ( 8:30 pm) I had decided I did not want to have anything to do with Budget any longer. I was asked to fill the gas tank before I left the car (15 liters) and was given a full rental bill, including this last day. There were no explanations or apologies, not even an offer of a ride back to my hotel. Before I left I was given a printout of some form. I asked- What is this? And was told it was a document indicating (quote)-that it was not your fault-. Drained of energy and emotion I walked to the corner and hailed a cab to our hotel,

Our plans for the afternoon and our farewell dinner with family and friends had been ruined. I arranged for a taxi to take us to the Airport the next morning and started packing. I have not heard a word form Budget except for the posting of full charges on my Visa.

Budget is horrible there is no customer service avoid them like the plague beware beware beware. I reserved a truck one month in advance. I confrimed the reservation two days prior to the move. the night before the move at 6:50 pm budget national reservations called to inform me that there would not be a truck. Fine, I asked what they would do to help. They did not offer to help and told me to call reservations. I called reservations to learn that the inventory manager would call me. When I asked since I was moving in 12 hours? The Budget representative had no idea when I would be called. After forceful yelling at the idiot on the phone I learned that the inventory manager had left for the day and that budget closes at 7:30pm. I was told that if the inventory manager did call me it might be the next day but maybe not. I rented a large SUV from Alamo instead and plan to move without budget. BEWARE BUDGET AVOID BUDGET THEY LIE, THEY ARE HORRID AND NEVER ONCE DID ANYONE AT BUDGET OFFER TO HELP. IF THEY HAD JUST OFFERED TO HELP THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED. THEY ARE A MISERABLE AND DEPLORABLE COMPANY.

I reserved a 10 foot truck with Budget. I confirmed the pickup with the pickup location. When I arrived I was charged $39.80 more than the reservation price. I was given a 16 foot truck, which I didn't need. Budget's web site states that if they substitute a larger truck the charge is the same. Subsequently they charged me an additional $50 for not picking up the truck, which I did pickup and was overcharged for. Customer service has been abusive.

I have filed two complaints with the California Department of Justice. I suggest that any Californian with similar complaints do the same. Perhaps if enough of us complain the state will take action against Budget.

Any class action attorneys out there?

I called on 5/29 in regards to renting a 24' truck. An employee (Pablo) at the 2017 South Western location in Chicago said that he had one and I could come get it. I was relieved because I had tried 3 location before that one. I showed up with my father and we walked into the office and Pablo had me complete all the paperwork in his office trailer except the damage inspection report. He informed me that all vehicles are on a full tank of gas and that they must be returned on a full tank or I will be charged for filling it up. After completing the paperwork, he then took me outside to the lot behind the trailer and unlocked the gate where the truck was kept. This was the only truck in the lot. We walked around the vehicle and he pointed on the dents and notated it on the paper. He had me sign the damage form and handed me the keys and asked if I needed to be guided out. I said yes, because this is the first time I've driven a truck this big. I got in and was really nervous but he guided me out and after pulling off the lot, I seen that the gas tank was just a little over a 1/4 of a tank. I called Pablo from my cell phone immediately and informed him that he had me sign for a full tank but there was only a 1/4 tank in there. He said "Really?... I'm sorry I don't know how that happened. Don't worry about it, just let them know when you turn it in." I was leery of the situation and I asked was he sure. He said "you'll be fine... have them call me if you have any problems, I'm always here." I hung-up then called back again because I remembered that he forgot the hand truck. He was really apologetic and instructed me to come on back. My father and I came back and Pablo met us on the side with the hand truck. I asked if he could give me any paperwork to make sure I would be cool with the gas and he said, "don't worry, you'll be okay. If they give you a hard time, just call me." We packed the truck and hit the road at about 4:30am the next morning. The ride was long but we made it to Atlanta at about 7:30pm on 5/30/08. We unloaded the truck the next day but we didn't finish until after close of business at the Destination Dealer. I wanted to just drop the truck off at the location but my intuition made me want to make sure we wouldn't have any issues with the gas. Therefore, I waited until Monday at 2:45 (Est) to drop it off. I informed the dealer of the gas situation and they shook their head and said that they'll call the Dispatching Dealer but once you sign for it you're stuck. This let me know this is not an abnormal thing that happens. He said he would call back to Chicago. When he did, they said they didn't remember anything but they would check the paperwork. The guy on the phone also said that maybe it was his brother who rented it out. However, it sounded like Pablo because I was on the line. He came back and said he remembers the hand truck but nothing about the gas. I became furious and still am. I called Customer Service and they weren't very helpful. They said if the Dispatching Dealer denies it, there's nothing they can do. (I was speaking with Destiny). I was really upset and I asked to speak to a manager. She said she was transferring me, however, I was on hold so long that I ran out of minutes on my phone. Too make a long story short, they still charged me more than $100 in gas plus a $25 fee and they were not motivated at all about talking to their dishonest employee about it.

A 16' lift gate truck that we rented from Budget, would not start after we got to our destination to move something. When we picked the truck up from the dispatching dealer, he told us that diesels were slow to start but that if anything should happen, we should contact their customer service line. Well we did and they sent a repair truck to come to our aid. The repair man checked the fluid levels and was able to get it started within a minute or so. He then commented to my husband and my brother that he would write it up as it needing the idle speed adjusted. 40 minutes later, we were able to get back home, drop our piano off and return the truck. Later that evening, we received a message from Budget stating that we would be charged for the service call.

First thing Monday morning we called their customer service dept to explain our situation and we encountered very RUDE customer service people. They kept insisting that we should have kept the truck idling while we were in the process of the move as lift gate trucks require this and that it was our fault that we used the truck improperly. What a bunch of nonsense! No instructions were given with the truck that told us we had to do this. They said that the only way that they could take the $95 repair call of my credit card is if I could get the repairman to rewrite the service call ticket. We tried calling the garage twice and can not reach the repairman. This is just totally unfair. We pay for truck that we expect to work properly and when it didn't, they charged us. We have AAA and could have called them. Don't rent from Budget. They are rip offs and their customer service staff is RUDE!

I rented a car recently from Budget at the Minneapolis, MN airport. when I returned the car I accidentally left a $80 jacket on the back seat. When I got to the airport I realized I had left my jacket. I immediately called the Budget desk at the Minneapolis airport. This was 30 minutes after turning in my rental car.

I told the man at the desk that I had left my coat on the back seat and would pay to have it shipped to my home. He got my rental agreement number and said he would search for the coat and call me. I never heard back. A couple weeks later I sent an email to Budget via their web site and explained my situation. It took them a couple weeks to reply. They said they haven't found my coat and if they do they will contact me. My complaint is that a Budget employee had to find my coat when they cleaned out the car and they should have turned it in and then I could have gotten my coat back. Also, if the man I talked to at the desk was trained with any customer service savy he could have made contact with the people who checked in my rental car and found out where my coat was. I wonder if Budget really has a lost and found department or if they just have a lost and never found department.

I work for Budget car rental and I think the other side of the coin needs to be looked at here when it comes to customer issues. I see customers complain and cant quite figure as why they are being charged this fee or this fuel charge or damage we find on the car. I see so many situations where a customer just signs there rental contract and NOT even read what there signing and they also just hop in there car and leave WITHOUT looking the car over for damage. Then when they return the car they never seem to READ simple posted signs as where to return the rental car and yet they turn around and say the return process was confusing complicated all because they couldnt read a simple sign DIRECTING them where to return the car. Then they cant figure out why they are being charged for damage because WHOOPS they forgot to look the car over oh and it gets better they are wondering why there being charged so much for gas when there contract clearly explains if its not full they will be charged this much per gallon. All of this is going on a contract they signed and did NOT read.

I reserved a Ford Expedition 4x4 with a ski rack in advance for my party of 6 to drive to Whistler. The agency did not have this car upon our arrival at 9:30 that night. We tried to fit into an inferior minivan that would have cost less to reserve online (I had originally reserved one and then changed my reservation when our group increased to 6). We barely fit, so seeing that it was too late for us to hire a shuttle instead and that we were helpless, the Budget employee "Mickey," # [protected] (with surprising unpleasantness and an additional 1 hour delays in processing paperwork and mostly standing around) proceeded to charge us an additional $75 for an "upgrade," although this was clearly an inferior, less desireable, 2WD car. Knowing that we were headed to Whistler that night, the staff did not even mention that we might have any trouble driving to Whistler without the 4x4, nor did they provide us a map or even mere directions out of the terminal. So there we were, at 2 am, stuck in a blizzard on a hill about 13 kilometers past Squamish, in about 4 inches of snow. We seated two guys on the hood (to weight the front tires) and somehow managed to turn the van around and drive back to Squamish, where we took shelter in two $85 hotel rooms for the night and then (the next morning) bought cables to ensure safe passage to Whistler. We were already missing a day of skiing. So add the $75 charge from budget, the $170 in hotel rooms, and the $70 chains, and our costs had ballooned by $335. By the time we actually arrived in Whistler, we were exhausted, stressed out, and had colds from the harsh night in the blizzard. Budget rent a car, namely, the employee named Mickey, very nearly ruined our trip. Had it not been for the wonderful, kind people of Canada that we met, and the spectacular scenery, they may have succeeded.