Cheap Car Hire at Santa Barbara Airport

Santa Barbara, CA, United States - Santa Barbara (SBA)

9 Feb — 16 Feb

Same drop-off

Thu 9/2

Noon

Thu 16/2

Noon

Driver's age:

26-65Other

What is the cheapest time to rent a car at Santa Barbara Airport?

January

AED 220

February

AED 264

March

AED 304

April

AED 286

May

AED 271

June

AED 275

July

AED 279

August

AED 257

September

AED 253

October

AED 271

November

AED 257

December

AED 257

Currently, the cheapest month to rent a car at Santa Barbara Airport is January. The most expensive time to rent a car is March. The cheapest prices for each month are shown above, but prices will vary based on availability, how far out you book your rental car, and of course, car type.

Top rental agencies in Santa Barbara Airport

All major car rental suppliers in Santa Barbara Airport

Budget

7.5

Good

59 reviews•1 location

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Overview

Recent reviews

2.0

Poor|Sep 2022

Didn’t honor the reservation from a 3rd party. Terrible customer service

10.0

Wonderful|Sep 2022

Gas prices! 😵‍💫

4.0

Mediocre|Jul 2022

Showed up and they did not have the Ford a mustang car we reserved . At first they tried to offer an “upgrade” but that was a hybrid or Chrysler which is a joke. We ended up taking a Chevy Camaro. Car was filthy and covered in dust and bird poop. I returned the car full but they still charge me for 3 gallons of gas totaling over $35! It was a good deal for a sporty car but not worth the hassle and extra fees.

10.0

Wonderful|Jul 2022

So easy and convenient to get a car a few steps away from the airport!

10.0

Wonderful|May 2022

Tyler at SBA budget was an awesome customer service agent.

10.0

Wonderful|May 2022

Seth is an amazing agent. Friendly, professional, kind…really outstanding and memorable.

1 out of 20

Dollar

7.4

Good

45 reviews•1 location

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Overview

Recent reviews

10.0

Wonderful|Jun 2022

Fortunately not a long wait and we enjoyed the car!

2.0

Poor|Nov 2021

ended up somehow being a non changeable/transferrable reservation and I had covid related travel issues. I will never book with Kayak or Dollar again after this, and have been enjoying working directly with Enterprise

3.9

Poor|Sep 2021

Dollar in Santa Barbara, California did not have a car ready for me, where I was told there would be a 45 minute wait. It turned out to be 30, but in the meantime the staff seemed to indicate I had all this trouble since I went through PriceLine. I wanted to reduce the number of days I would keep the car, and they proceeded to name 3 different prices as a result of the change, each was more than I had paid through PriceLine. The additional cost were a host of taxes that were not included in the PriceLine amount I paid that amounted to an additional 20%.

10.0

Wonderful|Sep 2021

Manager at the Santa Barbara Airport was very helpful. 7 am pickup, car ready by 7:30 which was perfect. Their cars are older, mine was a 2019 with over 50K miles but got us safely from Santa Barbara to LA and then to San Diego.

2.0

Poor|May 2021

My flight got in at6pm, the desk had closed at 5pm. No car for me!

Knowing that I cannot get a car from Dollar after 5pm, I would have rented from Budget.

10.0

Wonderful|May 2021

The check in and check out was very quick and easy, and they were very helpful when I had questions on the vehicle.

1 out of 15

Hertz

6.6

Okay

35 reviews•1 location

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Overview

Recent reviews

10.0

Wonderful|Aug 2022

One of the best values in car rentals during these outrageous times.

2.0

Poor|Jun 2022

There was no car available when I arrived. So I rented a car with Budget instead.

2.0

Poor|Dec 2021

Hertz had no cars available to rent in the price range of my reservation. They wanted to put me on a waiting list for a car to come in before completing my reservation (how many hours?). I asked they upgrade me to an available car but they would not do without making me pay for the upgrade. Slimy bait and switch tactic. Not what you'd expect for a class company

4.0

Mediocre|Dec 2021

Air conditioner did not work properly which made it uncomfortable.

2.0

Poor|Oct 2021

The car was not ready when we arrived, the front desk attendant charged us for 2 extra hours because we ended up getting our car slightly earlier than the time that we scheduled. Will not rent from SB Hertz again.

1.9

Poor|Oct 2021

I reserved a Hertz rental car through Kayak several weeks in advance. On the evening of my reservation, I had to take a Lyft from my hotel to the airport ($30) and when I arrived at the Hertz counter they said “Sorry, no cars left.” No call, no email letting me know and saving me a trip. So I had to take another $30 trip back to the hotel and scramble to find another last minute car reservation. Had an important meeting to get to in the morning. Just an overall very stressful situation. Will book directly with car rental agencies next time and call to confirm car availability before picking it up next time I guess!

1 out of 12

Alamo

8.1

Very Good

28 reviews•1 location

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Overview

Recent reviews

2.0

Poor|Aug 2022

Terrible booking , no explanation why I could not book , left counter walked next counter to hertz to get a car … Fk Alamo

10.0

Wonderful|Aug 2022

easy processing. great staff.

1.9

Poor|Sep 2021

Despite having a confirmed reservation, there was no cars available to me when I arrived at the counter. I was referred to a competitor at the next door counter where I ended up paying more, but at least I got a car!

5.9

Fair|Aug 2021

My rental car was not clean on the inside or outside. I’m not as concerned with the outside because I understand that’s harder to control, but I expected the inside to be spotless given the current state of the world. Instead, it was dusty, had sticky spots from a spilled beverage (I’m assuming), & dirt footprints throughout the car, such as on the passenger side (where I have not been sitting, or had a passenger). Additionally, there were no disinfecting wipes in the car for me to use to clean, which I’ve received in other rentals during the pandemic, so I had to use the ones I’d packed myself to clean the inside of the car to my comfort. It felt as if the car had just been dropped off by the previous renter, then handed off to me. I know there is a rental car shortage, & cars are in much higher demand right now as travel resumes, but as a renter I would hope that my safety is the highest priority! Adding this on top of what I paid for this rental car, I will not rent from Alamo again.

2.0

Poor|Jun 2021

I only had a debit card, no notes were given on needing a actual credit card online ( unless you are flying into SB airport lol) but was told that the down town location would take debit. ( which makes no sense.) Desk person would not help call downtown location to see if they had any vehicles like I had reserved at the airport location. Not willing to help. Poor customer service.

8.0

Very Good|May 2021

The woman who helped me with drop off was incredibly helpful

1 out of 10

Avis

7.8

Good

12 reviews•1 location

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Overview

Recent reviews

10.0

Wonderful|Sep 2022

Easy pick and up and drop off. New and clean car, gas tank full, great experience as always!

8.0

Very Good|Jul 2022

The pick up line was pretty Long at SBC. Attendant worked as best as able with number of people.

10.0

Wonderful|Jul 2022

Seth was excellent

6.0

Okay|Jul 2022

Loved the Mustang. Perfect car for a California road trip. I had reserved a convertible, however, and because I arrived 6 hours after my reserved pick-up time, I had to settle for a hardtop. My fault (though I really had no idea about timing when I booked the trip months ago), but I felt a bit overcharged paying the same price as a convertible. Sure, Avis puts them in the same class, but obviously, convertibles are far rarer as leased vehicles and should cost more. That's life, I guess. My other comment is I dearly wish Avis rented vehicles with manual transmissions. I realize it's a dying breed because fat, lazy Americans only know how to drive automatics, but why encourage such sloth? Distinguish yourselves in the marketplace by offering a few sticks. At purchase, such cars are a bit cheaper anyway, and you can rent them for the same or more than an automatic, so it's win-win for everyone. Giving in to American tastes is just lowering the bar. These people still buy minivans and eat at McDonald's, and no one ever went broke underestimating consumers in this nation. All of which is to say, offer more manuals, please.

10.0

Wonderful|Apr 2022

The line at the counter was long but the staff moved it quickly. It didn’t have a car that I reserved, so I took a Frontier compact truck. The price was good and the return at a different location in Southern California was easy and painless.

5.9

Fair|Jul 2021

Avis did not have the car I reserved when I arrived even though I called them that my plane was arriving an hour late and they assured me they would honor my reservation. It took an hour before they had a car that was within the size range I reserved and were trying to give me a much larger, uneconomical car. I refused it and they finally gave me a suitable replacement. The car I finally ended up with was great... Hopefully, this is all due to pandemic problems because the price was also triple of what I have paid in the past...

1 out of 4

Enterprise

7.7

Good

18 reviews•1 location

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Overview

Recent reviews

2.0

Poor|Nov 2022

They did not have a car available and we could not reach our destination as scheduled. Our vacation was ruined.

10.0

Wonderful|Apr 2022

Fast service, no hassles, good value

10.0

Wonderful|Dec 2021

Everything was easy.

6.0

Okay|Jun 2021

Drop off was east

vehicle could have been cleaner

4.0

Mediocre|Oct 2020

The staff was able to point me in the right direction after they recognized their mistake.

9.6

Wonderful|Aug 2019

Gentleman who helped me was professional, courteous and efficient.

Only thing that was a VERY MINOR problem was my lack of knowledge that the button to open gas tank cover was located on the car door (had not encountered this in other vehicles).

1 out of 6

Thrifty

6.6

Okay

4 reviews•1 location

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Overview

Recent reviews

2.0

Poor|Apr 2022

They have a pretty rough operation, an ugly office in a trailer away from the airport. The staff was confused and argued with each other on pickup (did they have a car for me?, where's the key?, etc). Difficulty with computer and paperwork, The car had 125,000 miles on it, but it was fine.

10.0

Wonderful|Sep 2020

Yes, staff was helpful, service fast, individual ride back to airport, free upgrade.

the weather

7.2

Good|Jan 2017

The van was nice. Reserving the car was easy.

An employee gave us the wrong van. It was not completely clean, the tank was not full and all 4 tires were low. I was somewhat frustrated when I had to top off the tank and put the proper air pressure in the tires. When we returned the van the manager felt very bad and was very apologetic. He handled the situation in a professional manner and ultimately gave us 50% off of the rental cost. Even though the experience started off poorly it was handled very well in the end and I would rent from them again.

10.0

Wonderful|Sep 2016

They were very accommodating and friendly

1 out of 2

National

2.0

Poor

1 review•1 location

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Overview

Car Rental FAQs

Which car rental providers are at Santa Barbara Airport?

There are 8 car rental providers located at Santa Barbara Airport. The following companies can be found near the Santa Barbara Airport car rental counter:
Alamo (8.1)
Avis (7.8)
Enterprise (7.7)
Budget (7.5)
Dollar (7.4)
Hertz (6.6)
Thrifty (6.6)
National (2.0)

Which car rental company is considered to be the best at Santa Barbara Airport?

Taking our users’ ratings and reviews into consideration, Avis (8.3 rating), Alamo (8.1 rating) and Enterprise (7.7 rating) seem to be the best car hire companies at Santa Barbara Airport.

How much does it cost to hire a car at Santa Barbara Airport for a week from Budget?

Budget is one of the most popular car hire companies at Santa Barbara Airport, offering car hire for around AED 1,363 per week on average.

How far in advance should I hire a car at Santa Barbara Airport for the best price?

Booking your car hire early can save you up to 4%. Aim to book your car hire at least 86 days in advance to take advantage of a below average price at Santa Barbara Airport.