Kevin,

Thanks for the heads up regarding Budget at the airport. We have a 4WD vehicle reserved for November that we plan on taking over to St John for the week. I rented from Budget.com. With 5 people and luggage, we just thought it would be easier to get a vehicle right at the airport and then when we are ready to come home, we would have someplace to keep the luggage while we shop in St Thomas before our flight leaves late in the afternoon. Now I am having second thoughts..... Since we are going to St John, we really need a 4WD and can't settle for anything less. I didn't have to reserve with a credit card, so I guess we are not locked in to Budget. I may check out some other options. Anyone else have comments or suggestions?

Carolmo

We had a great experience with Dependible Car Rental in April. Took it to STJ. They were great and pretty close to the same price as Budget.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, Kevin. You must have gotten the cranky crew. Last Thanksgiving I rented from Budget at the airport and they didn't have the economy car I reserved. The desk person upgraded me to a Jeep Wrangler with soft sides and AC. The AC was handy because the windows were the type that unzip and hang down inside to get in the way. The rate was the same as for the car I had reserved. I think I got a good deal. The coupon book they gave me was useful too.

Glad that the rest of your trip was more enjoyable.

Bassman

I can relate to your experience Kevin. We rented two autos through Budget during our trip to STT on June 18 thru 25. We were 2 hrs late getting out of SJ airport because they couldn't find a crew to fly the plane. When we got to the Budget counter the lady asked quite rudely if we had called ahead to let them know we would be late. We told them that we called the only number we had for Budget and got an answering machine and left a message. We had actually called the Hertz counter at the STT airport to see if they had the number for Budget but they said they didn't. Come to find out the Hertz counter is right next to the Budget counter and all they had to do was lean over the counter and ask the Budget people their phone number. Maybe they were afraid to speak with the clerk.

Anyway, the Budget lady was extreme rude as she prepared the paperwork and did not give us a very good first impression of STT. Once we got our cars we noticed that both cars had several scrapes and dings on the sides and we went back to make sure that they would document them so we would not get any damage charges. She didn't really seem to care and refused to go look at the vehicles.

When we returned our vehicles at the end of our trip, there was a different counter person. We informed her that we had incurred a flat tire on one of the vehicles. They politely asked if we had gotten it changed, which we had, and things were fine.

I think that we must have had the same cranky crew that you got. After we got to our villa and had something to eat, and a few drinks, things were great. We didn't let this one incident spoil our trip. It would take a lot more than this to overcome the beauty of the islands. I think that Budget might want to look into some customer service training. I would be happy to make an all expenses paid trip to STT to conduct a seminar.

That does seem like an awful way to start your vacation!! We too used Dependable & they were very nice. I sent an email & they called ME back to go over everything. I ordered a jeep wrangler w/ac - that is exactly what I received.

I hope someone from Budget reviews these type of forums to hear feedback.

We have always rented our vehicles from Dependable and did so again this year. The new owners are as helpful as the past owners and we look forward to doing business again with them next year. Everyone and I do mean EVERYONE that works there has always gone out of their way to be helpful and make sure we are satisfied with our vehicle(s).

I too experienced the rudeness at the budget counter as well. I was the only person at the counter and stood there for about 5 minutes before anyone of the three people even acknowledged me. One on a personal call...one filing her fingernails and the other was shuffleing through some paperwork.

I then stepped up to the plate and said "good afternoon" and had three sets of eyes shoot daggers at me. They still ignored me and made me wait another couple more minutes then grabbed all my paper work (still not a word).

The only time she spoke to me was when she needed my credit card and signatures on the contract. oh...and told me where the car was.

Ahh who cares...I'm on VACATION! :O)

If I were you, I'd cntact someone higher up in ranking at Budget, be it corporate, whatever. This is something I'm sure they are unaware of, and would be embarrassed about. The people behind the counter are company reps. They re the image of the company. If it were my company, I'd try to take care of my interests, which are customers. See wha you can do to alleviate troubles for other STT guests, and maybe a refund for you.

Wow, good feedback here. Sounds like Dependable Car Rental is a little more friendly and accomodating. Still not sure if we want to go ahead and rent at the airport and take the car to St John or just rent on St John - we still have time to make a final decision on that. I so appreciate all the comments - thanks!!

Carolmo

Rent on St John. I've heard nothing really good regarding getting the car from STT to STJ by car ferry. Not a great way to start the vacation. And, if you rent in St John then in most cases you can park in the rental agency's lot. Waaaaay easier than circling Cruz Bay like a vulture trying to find a spot.

To all of those who rent on STT and use the ferry. You might want to reconsider. Having just returned and having many friends on island who use the car barges between STT and STJ they are finding it more and more difficult with all of the construction traffic taking up most of the barge traffic.

As a native I am aware that [some] of our folks can be quite rude when they're ready and for that I apologize. Interpersonal skills are lost on a few of them OR they are not too good at keeping their mood in check when they're having a bad day. Granted, I'm sure they come across very rude people in the other end and might in turn develop a foul mood themselves.

Just glad to know you had a good trip overrall. I'm sure it is not Budget's policy or style to be rude to their customers so it must have just been a rather miserable representative.

Ahhh, Budget. It's just not a welcome to STT until you have been hissed at and dissed by the Budget counter crew. If it didn't happen I would think that the pilot had made a wrong turn and we had landed on another island. We almost look forward to it in some masochistic way - it means we are THERE. Before we go, tho, I do everything I can to try to get a good result with Budget. Here's a previous thread:

https://www.vinow.com/wwwtalk/read.php?4,32653,32909#msg-32909

BTW, when we arrived in early May it was on a really busy Sunday afternoon and supposedly there were no cars (Budget, Avis or Hertz). New arrivals were steamed and vocalizing it. The Budget crew was vocalizing right back. I was doing a slow freak over a cold drink at a table in the arrivals snack area with my 86 year old aunt and our villa escort while my husband tried to work his calm friendly mojo at Budget. However, Budget did have our previously reserved Jeep Liberty ready and waiting for us which was great as the STT villa we had rented really needed a 4 wheel drive. So, for this recent trip, all was resolved quickly and ended well, but, there's always next time to look forward to...

For us, renting at the airport is still the way to go, even if we are ferrying to STJ. I really hate the loading and unloading luggage thing, the time lost, and we once lost a nice luggage cart on the ferry with all of the confusion of unloading and accounting for luggage and stuff for 8 folks. Getting on the car ferries is a separate issue and I think that has been covered in other posts.

I am so glad that I checked out this site!!

My husband and I are going to a medical conference in November and I will DEFINITELY NOT use Budget Rental!!

Question... is it s NECESSITY to have a rental car at St. Thomas?

Any input will do... Thanks!

Josephine
...Wisconsin

Hey Josephine...we are from Wisconsin too...& going to St. Thomas in November too...but not for a medical conference!
We rented from Budget at the airport at the airport last year and had NO problems. We even got into a fender/bender with the car...NOT our fault, & had NO problems with Budget.
My say is YES, get a car while in St. Thomas. Taxi fares will add up real fast!

You definetly should rent a car. The taxi association on the island is about the closest thing you can come to a legal mafia. In the long run you will save alot of money and aggravation by renting a car. You get to know the island alot better and it can be fun learning to drive on the wrong side of the rode.

Thanks for the replies. In some way I am glad I am not the only one who has experienced this at Budget STT airport.

In the end for us it was better (and cheaper) not to rent a car for the full week on STT. 2 days we did full day charter trips and two days we went over to St John - all from Red Hook. Staying at Secret Harbour the total for taxis those 4 days/2ppl was $80. The other days we used a taxi to get to Coki and Megan's Bay and downtown to Charlotte Amalie. In the end we spent a lot less on taxis then a rental and didn't have to worry about parking.

The construction situation at the Red Hook ferry is probably pretty well known at this point. I am SO GLAD we didn't have a rental to try and bring to St John for the day trips. If going over for a week then it was probably doable at the right times.

As for the off airport rentals versus on-airport agencies. I watched many people get on shuttles for offsite rentals while I was stuck in the terminal. I had talked to dependable before leaving and it was being more comfortable with the onsite agency and longer hours that made me go with Budget. Obviously that decision was not the best for us. I would go with dependable the next time.

Kevin

I am now starting to lean more toward Dependable. Are they one of those who have a shuttle to their office? That would be easy to just grab our luggage and hop on the shuttle to their office to pick up our vehicle.

We rented with Budget at Sapphire last November and we did not get the car promiced. We ended up with an Escort instead of the jeep, which worked out OK on St Thomas. However, we had a heck of a time getting them to adjust the difference in price. I just waited unitl I got home and emailed them and they did refund the difference.

I just want to make sure that we get the vechicle requested because there will be 5 of us and luggage and we need something to accomodate all of us. May bring bungie cords to tie the luggage on top as we will have 2 teenage girls who may not understand the concept of packing light!

Thanks to everyone for this great feedback!

Carolmo

I am no longer loyal to one car rental company or another. I start out months before my trip pricing rentals for a two week stay. I input discount codes from various sites: my union, the different airlines and others I find on-line. I also check for special promotions and coupons. I nab the cheapest I can find at the time. I continue to check periodically and if one comes up cheaper, even with the same rental company, I cancel the reservation and create a new one. By the time I go on vacation I usually have the best rate. For the past couple of years Avis has had the best. I checked Dependable and Discount and they didn't even come close. This year again, Avis had the best rate and an additional 1,000 American Airlines FF miles and a coupon for a one-class upgrade. If I can save a significant amount of money that can be used toward dinners or an excursion, I'll put up with surly personalities for a few moments while arranging for my car.

I've had a variety of rental experiences from Budget, Discount, Dependable and Avis from having to wait an hour for a car (not the one I reserved) to getting a car and having the tire go flat within an hour, to having a dead battery, but never have I had what I would consider a vacation-busting experience. For the most part even those who initally appeared grumpy turned around and gave appropriate service. And if they didn't, well, I guess I just didn't care that they weren't so friendly as long as the job got done. Perhaps I've just been lucky.

Gerie