Once we returned home we took the 2nd van back to the Budget location at Tri-Cities Regional Airport per the agreement. When we asked about the status of the crashed van we were TOLD that the inspection hadn't found anything wrong with the brakes (though they could not and would not give us any sort of maintenance report stating so). They didn't really have an excuse for the tags being wrong other than that the new ones were "being processed".
As expected, my grandfather receives a ticket for failure to maintain control of the vehicle but the troopers inform us that once we get a statement that the brakes had failed that he should be able to get the ticket thrown out. The officer then proceeded to issue another ticket to my grandfather stating that the tags on the van did not match up to the vehicle. Budget apparently did not have the permanent tags where the vehicle was brand new, SO THEY JUST SLAPPED A DIFFERENT SET ON AND SENT IN ON DOWN THE ROAD!!!
Super friendly service, its a little weird returning the car to a spot yourself and bringing the keys back to the counter, but the airport is super small. Good car, no complaints.
The man behind the counter, who I assume was the manager since he wasn't the first person we spoke to, seemed to have absolutely zero remorse for his company renting out a van with faulty brakes; even using the excuse at one point saying "well you drove it 200 miles". Apparently 200 miles is all you're guaranteed by Budget. This company should be held liable for the vehicle having faulty brakes and should be responsible for getting my grandfather's tickets thrown out. I knew they would try to fight us with that but I never expected to be treated so rudely by the people at the location we rented the vehicle at. Needless to say I will never use this company again and will be taking my business to Enterprise from now on and as well that I will be looking for a lawyer to see that this issue is resolved.
Once all matters had been settled with the authorities and everyone went about their way, we were still stuck on the side of the interstate waiting for the replacement vehicle and the tow truck to haul away the van with the bad brakes. What we were told would take around 2.5 hours actually took closer to 6.5! Speaking to the tow truck driver we learn that he is from the Tri-Cities area and that the company had sent him all the way from Blountville, TN to Beckley, WV instead of sending someone local. This wouldn't be that big of an issue because I am not sure what their availability was like at that 8pm on a Thursday; but a courtesy call stating how long it would actually take would have been nice.
Will never rent from this company again, the customer service is terrible. They also did not refund my money. I do not recommend them.
After calling the police to get an officer on site, we called the rental company to explain the situation. They then put us in touch with the proper people so that we can get a replacement vehicle, upon which they inform us that they would be there in roughly two and a half hours. While we sit on the side of the interstate the state troopers on site review the crash and take statements from all the parties involved. We explain about our brakes which continued go out as we moved the vehicle to the side of the interstate.
Great Car! No pressure to buy extras, was understanding when I was late, Incredible customer service and courtesy. Will use again and recommend them in future!
My grandfather recently rented a van from this company for a trip our family took to Niagara Falls, NY. The company rented us a brand new 12 passenger van (less than 40 miles on the odometer). We drove the van roughly 200 miles (Abingdon, VA to Beckley WV) where we ran into heavy traffic to the point where we were stopped on the interstate. As traffic begins to move forward we discover that THE BRAKES HAD GONE OUT ON THE VAN!!! Sitting in the first row of seats behind the driver, I had a clear view of my grandfather pumping the breaks over and over and watched the pedal go straight to the floor. Thankfully because the traffic was slowed to a crawl, when we plowed into the car in front of us (and we did) we were only doing around 5mph. This did however send the much smaller car in front of us flying into a pick up truck in front of it. Luckily nobody was injured in the crash. Minimal damage occurred to the van and to the truck in the front, however the car in the middle incurred a large amount of damage.
Budget Car Rental is a US Car Rental based in Blountville, North Carolina. Budget Car Rental is located at 2525 Highway 75, Tri Cities Regional Airport, Blountville, TN 37617, USA.
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