Cairns to Port Douglas and back

High deposit, slow refund

The basic insurance was initially said to be over 1000 AUD, but it turned out to be over 2800 AUD. They told us that for any accident, they would deduct more than 2800 AUD, so we reluctantly paid an extra 34 AUD per day for insurance. As a result, the rental fee almost doubled. The service quality of international car rental companies is generally average; it's often difficult to reach them by phone.

The gentleman who attended to us was very courteous and friendly. We made a reservation and got the car on the spot. Very convenient.

Customer service was excellent, process was easy and smooth and car was perfect for our needs.

I booked a medium SUV - Mitsubishi ASX or similar - and received a Holden CHR which is a small SUV. For the price I paid I feel I didn’t get value for money. The CHR didn’t even fit 2 large suitcases in the boot, which was a key consideration of my purchase. The CHR also had dents on the passenger side. Apart from that the car was clean on the inside, fairly new and easy to drive. The customer service was good, even though we noticed an available Mitsubishi ASX sitting in the Budget carpark.

The booking was easy to use. I used the live chat to notify Budget my plane was running half an hour late. At first I didn’t think the customer service staff helped me but in the end she notified the local Budget agent, which was great.