Page 1 of 1

REPEAT ? - Budget or Dependable on STT

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 2:10 pm
by Tracy in WI
Sorry to rehash this question, but I am getting ready to book my car rental and have used Dependable on St. Thomas twice with no problems. I was planning on just using them again, but saw that Budget is about $100 less for the week. This is their online rate and I am unsure if this includes tax or not.

Anyway, to help me decide between the two, I am wondering if one has better quality vehicles than the other since we will be taking the vehicle to St. John.

It seems that it would be easier logistically to rent from Budget since they are right at the airport.

Any opinions are appreciated!

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 3:52 pm
by gibber161
Hi Tracy, we have rented from Budget 4 times without any problems. We like the idea of being able to drive away from the airport after our plane lands as well as driving up to the airport for our return flight. Twice I just left the keys at the counter when they were busy and I was short on time and there wasn't any problems with the bill later on. Once we arrived an hour before our scheduled time and our vehicle wasn't onsite, so they gave us a better vehicle. Maybe we have been lucky, but we prefer to rent at the airport with Budget. The vehicles were always in good shape as well. We also stock up on provisions on St. Thomas, so having the car right away is a big plus.

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:01 pm
by Sun4MySoul
I also just noticed that Budget was cheaper than Dependable for our upcoming trip which is not usually the case. I have rented from both and have not had any problems with either, so I usually go with Dependable because they are cheaper and I feel more like I'm supporting the local economy. I wonder what caused the rate change?

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:17 pm
by mahojim
We rented from Dependable last year. An '06 Suzuki Vitara. It was in great shape, and were plan on using them again this fall.
Good luck!
Smiles-
MJ

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:34 pm
by Cid
We rented from Budget in May o8 for our honeymoon. We had no problems with them at all. We had a nice, clean and new Jeep. Here's me commenting on how hot it is in St Thomas (duh) while standing behind our rental.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9T ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_AjE8pZat5pg/SEjQG ... 2.jpg"></a>

I was trying to remember just how new it was, and I remembered I had an accidental shot...

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Jm ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_AjE8pZat5pg/SEjQS ... 4.jpg"></a>

I've heard more good things than bad about both those companies. It was nice to just walk out of the airport and drive off...on the left of course!

Budgets has always been good to us

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:44 pm
by melwill530
We have used Budget about 6 times now with no real issues. We did get a car once that seemed to be having some transmission issues. We noticed before we got out of the airport area good. We simply took it back and they gave us another car that ended up being an upgrade. Plus I don't know if they still do it or not, they used to provide a neat coupon book to save at different resteraunts and tourist locations on island. :wink:

Yes, they still have it. Check out budgetstt.com to see who they have savings for.

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 3:43 pm
by Tracy in WI
Thanks everyone - I appreciate the responses. I am going to go ahead and try Budget this time around. I'll report back with my findings!

Also, the rates on their website do not include taxes or fees - just an FYI.

Tracy :D