Budget Car & Truck Rental Picton Ferry

Late March 2023 we had our Cook Strait ferry crossing cancelled due to dangerous seas. Our problems were minimised by the extraordinary service extended to us by Budget, who were VERY flexible. Allowed us options we hadn't planned for. GREATLY APPRECIATED guys, above and beyond. Cheers from across the ditch. BTW, it was a really nice vehicle, too.

We had a great experience with this rental car location. My husband and I had made a major mistake with our booking, and Susan went above and beyond in helping us get on our way to explore the South Island.Just a heads up to those looking to rent a car in Picton (with any company) that most of them don't open until 8:30am, so if you're taking the 2am ferry in from Wellington, make sure to plan accordingly! There are a few cafes in town walkable from the rental car area that open up at 7am with a great breakfast!

Superb customer service from Susan! Thank you sooo much!

The worst customer service I jave e er experienced. Susan was the employee. Should probably hates people, life & definitely her Job. I would strongly recommend to train her up or give her the sack.

Not event worth a star. Please never trust these guys. There is a middle age lady wearing black frame glasses, dressed white uniform, with no expression face and super calm voice. SHE is coldest and rudest stuff I've ever met before. I guess she got low paid and pass the neg to her customers to revenge her boss? Believe me budget" means cheaper

First and foremost, we would like to point out the lady behind the counter was excellent in providing customer service. The reason for the low rating is because of the lack of staffing at this particular rental stop. One person behind the counter cannot possibly attend to customers for both Avis and Budget. It was due to the lack of staffing, we waited in line for two hours before we were able to pick up our car.

The location in Google Maps is wrong. Getting directions to it takes you to a restricted area. The right way to drop your rental car is to take Auckland street, follow signs to Interislander ferry and then to rental car parking lot.There was nobody there, so I just parked the car on a spot with the logo of the company and dropped the keys in a hole on the wall. Felt lucky to have found the right place, the signs are quite small and you have to actively and attentively look for it.

Don't expect this car hire company to stay open if ferry is late, or answer any phone number given on their door. Hertz, Europa and every other car hire place was open when we arrived off a late ferry back in Feb at 6.30pm. Asked in the other offices if any keys had been left for us, was told Avis/Budget customer service is terrible, come 5pm doors are shut and they go home. Our accomm was booked and paid for 2 hrs drive away, Picton was full because of ferry problems. Even the ferry terminal was closing so we couldn't bunk down there. Not fun when you are elderly. If owners feel they and their life come first, they should not be making a living in the tourism industry.

They refused me the vehicle at check-in, because my card was in prepaid, yet the rental had already been made and paid with this card in advance...They left me without any possibility or help at their door. Worse still, they told me that I was going to get my money back and that it would take a few days, unfortunately I trusted them and then I found out that I had to contact the website through which I had booked the vehicle... What I did but unfortunately too late, having waited and not contacted the company the same day, I did not respect their conditions of the contract...Anyway, if you are reading this review to rent a car, don't pay before you check in, you never know what will happen... And I sincerely think that it is not a coincidence that 80% of the vehicles still available for last minute rental are vehicles from this company ....

I booked an economy car with Budget for a month and I was told the morning I came to get my car that they couldn't accept my credit card and they couldn't give me the car. They also told me that was very likely that no other company would have accepted it. Please note that my card is a completely normal credit card (I even double checked calling my Italian bank, afraid that something was wrong).The reason behind their rejection is still unknown to me.Of course I was desperate: I was travelling alone and I had a full month of already paid accomodation around the south island.The staff wasn't helpful at all. I get it's not their fault if the company doesn't accept a specific credit card, but they could have helped a little since it was just me and no other costumer in that moment. Even just a little advice other than just go and ask the other companies" would have been kind enough. Instead they even told me that no other company would accept my credit card