Budget - Atocha Railway Information, Car Rental Instructions & Policies

A very pleasant car rental experience. I booked a Volkswagen GOLF, but they gave me a BMW 1 Series with only 3200 kilometers on it, essentially a new car. The staff at the store were very friendly. They checked my driver's license, notarized documents, passport, and I prepaid the deposit with a credit card. All the procedures were completed in less than 5 minutes. When returning the car on Sunday, the store was closed. I just parked the car in the designated parking lot and put the keys in the box at the door. Very convenient.

The price did not match the quote, additional fees were imposed on customers.

The car pickup and drop-off went very smoothly. Pretty good.

Very convenient, great service! They upgraded our vehicle.

The customer service was very friendly on the second floor of Atocha Station. I purchased full insurance from them and received excellent coverage. Picking up the car was very convenient in the parking lot across from the station.

Everything went smoothly with the rental and return. There are two issues to note: 1. The map indication for the Budget rental location in Madrid is incorrect. There is no rental point in the city center, only at the train station. Fortunately, I confirmed this a day in advance. Also, during the rental process, the car rental staff will inform you that the driving license translation provided by QEEQ is not legal in Spain. They can still rent to you, but if any issues arise, the police will treat it as driving without a license.

Quick

When I picked up the car, it had only half a tank of fuel. I returned it with a full tank. The rental company acknowledged this but only refunded me 22.08 euros. I believe this is too little. I asked them to show me the basis for their refund calculation, and they said it was automatically calculated by the system and that they couldn't change the result. They suggested I file a complaint on their website afterward. Since it was quite late at the time, I had to accept the refund. The average fuel price in Madrid was 1.35 euros per liter at the time, which means their refund was only for 16 liters—far less than the cost of half a tank. I later negotiated with them through the rental platform for two months, but they insisted on not providing any further refund.

Terrible rental company. It took me 40 minutes to complete the process even though I was the first customer in the morning. The front desk was a Black woman who clearly discriminated against Chinese people; she was very impatient. When she saw I had reserved a BMW 3 Series, she immediately said they didn't have any BMWs available and offered me a Renault instead. This was the first rental of the day, and I had seen a row of 3 Series and 5 Series cars in the parking lot. I asked if I could at least get an A3 or a B-class car, but she refused. When returning the car, another Black woman was extremely strict, the strictest I've ever encountered while renting in Europe. She inspected the car multiple times and even asked where I last refueled, requesting the receipt. Overall, this is a very small-minded company. No idea how the Madrid branch has such high ratings.

No Chinese instructions or service, unreasonable extra charges for additional drivers.

Terrible experience. The headlights did not work, and the engine noise was as loud as a tractor. By the third day after picking up the car, it became unbearable. I called to request a replacement vehicle but couldn't get in touch with BUDGET. Even using a local phone to contact roadside assistance, no one answered. I have no idea how this company got a 9.2 rating. When I returned the car at 4:30 pm, which is still within working hours, no staff were around. Budget was extremely disappointing.

When I arrived at the store, I was informed that I needed two credit cards under my name. Since I only brought one, I was forced to pay an additional 20 euros in rental fees.

I rented a car in Madrid and picked it up in the city center. They neither mentioned in the contract nor told me verbally that the car did not have an A-class environmental badge, which meant it could not be driven in the entire city center. As a result, I unknowingly entered the restricted area and received a penalty fine. The rental company should bear full responsibility for this.

The pick-up process was smooth, but I almost got scammed during the return. Here's a reminder for everyone: 1. During pick-up, you need to get a number and queue up, so it's best to go early. This place shares the same location as Avis; they asked if I wanted to purchase insurance, but I declined since I had already bought it, and they didn't try to upsell further. To get the car, you need to walk to the P3 parking lot. The staff kindly pointed me in the right direction, but I still couldn't figure it out and wandered around for a bit. Eventually, I asked a parking lot employee who directed me to the correct place. Picking up the car was relatively smooth; it wasn't the model I reserved, but I didn't mind as long as I had a car. It was a new vehicle with less than 1,000 km driven. The staff confirmed it was full of fuel, and when I started it, the fuel gauge was full, showing 520 km. 2. Returning the car was where the issue arose. When I picked it up, I took photos and videos of the entire car, including the dashboard. At return, the fuel gauge was full, showing 570 km. However, the first staff member did more than just check this; they accessed the car's smart display and claimed I had driven an additional 60 km after refilling, meaning the tank wasn't full. They said I either needed to go to a nearby station to refuel or pay €35.15 for the missing fuel. This was unacceptable to me. How could 60 km cost that much in fuel? And this process seemed unreasonable—why only use the dashboard to confirm the fuel level at pick-up but then rely on the smart display during return? I immediately called QEEQ customer service to explain the issue, staying on the line for about 20 minutes. QEEQ's team told me to hand the phone to their staff to clarify. The initial employee was busy with other customers, so a second staff member took the call. He seemed unaware of the problem, so I briefly explained and showed him the dashboard photos I took at pickup. After checking the car again, he stated, "I think there's no issue with the fuel; you're good to return it." He inspected the car for damages, found none, accepted the return, signed off, and refunded my deposit immediately! What a surreal experience. Thankfully, I stuck to my position from the start. Everyone, take note: Make sure to take photos of the fuel gauge, and if there's a smart display, ask staff upfront which measure is considered definitive.

Satisfied