Albuquerque car rental information
| Pick-up location | Albuquerque |
|---|---|
| Car types | Compact, Economy, Full-size, Full-size SUV, Intermediate, Intermediate SUV, Minivan, Pick-up truck, Premium SUV, Standard, Standard SUV |
| Rental locations | 41 |
| Airport locations | 21 |
| Popular agencies | Thrifty, Dollar, Sixt, Turo |
Cheap car rentals in Albuquerque
| Economy | C$ 53/day |
| Compact | C$ 47/day |
| Intermediate | C$ 49/day |
| Standard | C$ 50/day |
| Full-size | C$ 51/day |
| Minivan | C$ 79/day |
| Full-size SUV | C$ 77/day |
| Pick-up truck | C$ 65/day |
| Premium SUV | C$ 80/day |
| Intermediate SUV | C$ 52/day |
| Standard SUV | C$ 63/day |
Top tips for renting a car in Albuquerque
- Conveniently explore every other state in the United States other than New Mexico with cheap car rentals in Albuquerque. No restrictions apply for renters who wish to drive into Canada, including one-way rentals if available. However, Budget issues a Canadian non-resident auto insurance card if you intend to travel to Canada. Enterprise also permits travel into Canada for most vehicles except large cargo vans and exotics. One-way rentals are strictly not permitted to cross into Mexico. Other vehicles generally cannot travel to Mexico, but some exceptions can be made. Inform your rental provider of where you intend to travel before leaving the rental lot. If traveling to Mexico, you will acquire additional liability protection for the rental and your provider's written permission.
- The drive from Albuquerque Airport to downtown Albuquerque will take about 15 minutes. Exit the airport, take the middle lane of Sunport Boulevard, and head east. After about two miles, take the left lane and join Sunport Loop SE, then take the right lane to I-25N. Continue for about three miles on I-25N towards Oak Street NE. Use exit 225 to join Oak Street, then turn onto Lomas Boulevard NE. This road will take you to the heart of Albuquerque.
- New Mexico has unique weather conditions like heavy precipitation. Drive carefully on Albuquerque roads to avoid getting involved in an accident. Between June and September, flooding can happen on Albuquerque roads. New Mexico Highway 6 is the most prone to flooding, so avoid this road during your time in the city. Avoid driving on flooded roads even if the water looks shallow; you can be easily swept away. While driving during the rains, slow down and maintain a safe distance between your vehicle and the one ahead. Roads are dark, and general visibility is very low during these times, so always have your headlights on.
- Driving in Albuquerque is the most convenient and effective way of getting to know the city, as all the major interest points are sprawled out. While you may prefer to walk in the Old Town area, a car is a must when exploring the rest of the city. Drive along the iconic Route 66 (or Central Ave), which cuts through the downtown area all the way to the university area. A car is also the perfect option for those looking to explore other destinations outside the city such as the Sandia Peak, which is located in the Sandia Mountains area, less than 20 miles from Albuquerque. New Mexico's capital, Santa Fe, is also a short hour’s ride away from Albuquerque.
- All the big car rental agencies, including Alamo, Avis, Enterprise, and Hertz, can be found at Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ)'s Car Rental Center. There is a free shuttle bus service between the airport terminal building and the Car Rental Center, with shuttles departing every 5 minutes or so from the lane outside the first level of the terminal building. The shuttle service is handicap accessible.
- Fender benders happen quite often in Albuquerque, so watch out for reckless drivers. The weather gets pretty rough in the winter, which means you must be extra careful when driving during this season as accidents often happen due to strong winds, snow, or black ice that has formed. The roads are also quite dark at night, so extra caution is required when night driving.
- Although traffic is manageable in certain parts of the city, roads are all usually fairly busy throughout Albuquerque during peak hours -- so avoid rush hour traffic both in the morning (between 6 and 10 a.m.) and afternoon (between 3 and 7 p.m.). The worst commutes are for drivers heading to Albuquerque/East Albuquerque in the morning, and exiting that area in the afternoon. Traffic heading from the Rio Rancho area to East Albuquerque also tends to get congested during peak hours.
- 25% of our users found rental cars in Albuquerque for C$ 66 or less
- Book your rental car in Albuquerque at least 1 day before your trip in order to get a below-average price
- Off-airport rental car locations in Albuquerque are around 26% more expensive than airport locations on average
- Intermediate rental cars in Albuquerque are around 15% cheaper than other car types, on average
FAQs about renting a car in Albuquerque
Albuquerque car rental reviews and directory
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
8.5
Very good
199 reviewsBest rated
Cleanliness
8.6
Comfort
8.6
Pick-up/Drop-off
8.6
Value for money
8.3
8 locations in Albuquerque
Locations in Albuquerque
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Reviews
10.0 Wonderful
May 2021
Pros:
The Enterprise staff was efficient, polite, competent, professional.Cons:
Maintaining the standard is always a solid objective and worth recognizing.6.0 Okay
May 2021
Pros:
While most rental car agencies in Albuquerque had no cars available, this site did. The staff at the pickup location were acceptable in handling renting a car with some concerns; at drop off they were very courteous.Cons:
full tank of gas, windshield without damage, tire warning indicator not giving a false warning8.0 Very good
May 2021
Pros:
Staff at the correct office were great, competent, courteous and helpful.Cons:
Car rented in conjunction with travel. Assumption was that it was airport office of Enterprise where car would be acquired. It wasn’t. Had to Uber to city to get car.8.0 Very good
Apr. 2021
Pros:
Great staff and support personnelCons:
I confused rental site. Instead of airport I accidentally chose downtown. Downtown did not let me have the full size sedan I wanted due to lack of supply at the airport and authorized only a mid sized van which I accepted with disappointment.2.0 Poor
Mar. 2021
Pros:
Staff was friendlyCons:
HAVE A CAR. Kayak said they had cars... they did NOT.10.0 Wonderful
Feb. 2021
Cons:
It was one of the best car rental experiences I've had recently. Fast and thorough.Dollar
7.7
Good
141 reviewsCleanliness
8.3
Comfort
8.0
Pick-up/Drop-off
7.4
Value for money
7.6
One location in Albuquerque
from C$ 101/day
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8.0 Very good
Feb. 2021
Pros:
The ABQ airport only has one rep that covers 5 different companies. It would have been nice to know before hand that hertz was coving the dollar rentals.10.0 Wonderful
Dec. 2020
Pros:
We had a great experience. The staff was very friendly. Pick up and Drop off were extremely easy. The value couldn't be beat....we would use them again next time we fly somewhere!!5.6 Fair
Nov. 2020
Pros:
Staff friendlyCons:
Had to wait for car. Got a truck not a car2.0 Poor
Apr. 2020
Pros:
Trip was cancelled due to the pandemic. The cancellation process was terrible and stressful. Having to wait until 3 days prior to arrival in light of this pandemic was awful10.0 Wonderful
Aug. 2019
Pros:
Easy and nice car.Cons:
Nothing10.0 Wonderful
May 2019
Pros:
The Mustang GT is a beautiful car and rate was greatCons:
NothingThrifty
7.4
Good
122 reviewsMost popular
Cleanliness
7.8
Comfort
7.5
Pick-up/Drop-off
7.3
Value for money
7.1
One location in Albuquerque
from C$ 80/day
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Reviews
6.0 Okay
May 2021
Pros:
Great mileage on car.Cons:
Hard sell on upsells.2.0 Poor
May 2021
Cons:
Had to cancel the rental, with a lot of hassle because the rental counter was not open late enough. Staff to change rental was not helpful. not able to contact the local desk directly, which was a pain!!! will not be renting with you again8.0 Very good
Mar. 2021
Pros:
staff very friendly and helpful, made the process very quick and didn't waste any time.Cons:
the only major issue was that one of the tires of the car was severely underpressurized, and I noticed this several hours into my trip - had I not taken care of it myself, the trip could have been held up by a flat or even worse an accident could have occurred.8.0 Very good
Nov. 2020
Pros:
Staff was friendly and helpful.Cons:
Staff doesn't need to upsell so hard! The size I reserved was fine. I didn't need a bigger car!8.0 Very good
Nov. 2020
Cons:
No one was available to check my car out or in so I was unable to make note of the dent in the door or the burn hole in the passenger seat.6.0 Okay
Sep. 2020
Pros:
Quick to get outCons:
Still have not received a receipt...Advantage
7.3
Good
133 reviewsCleanliness
7.6
Comfort
7.8
Pick-up/Drop-off
6.9
Value for money
7.2
One location in Albuquerque
from C$ 52/day
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2.0 Poor
Apr. 2020
Cons:
They charged me over $200 for gas, when I returned the car fully fueled. In corresponding with them they said they would refund some of the money. I haven't seen a cent!6.8 Okay
Dec. 2019
Pros:
Car was clean and drop off easy.Cons:
They push the fuel option without explaining that you are charged for a full tank of gas regardless of what's in the car when you return, plus it appear that you are then charged taxes on this. Yes, the details are in the contract, but they carefully avoid explaining it. Never do that again. Also, they are less than candid about the insurance option, which probably leads most people to accept the "basic" plan not realizing that it adds dramatically to the cost. I believe that they do these things intentionally and many people end up paying much more than they anticipated. I probably won't use this company again.6.0 Okay
Nov. 2019
Pros:
Loved the staff in the morning when we ultimately picked up our car!Cons:
When we arrived approximately 3 minutes before closing time, with a reservation, the desk was closed. We were forced to hire an Uber that night and again in the morning to return and get our car. Two other parties also arrived when we did.5.2 Fair
Nov. 2019
Pros:
Price was ok.Cons:
Have the size of car I reserved available. Have more staff so the wait is shorter.6.8 Okay
Sep. 2019
Pros:
The pick-up was horrible due to the hour and 18-minute wait. Other than that, the agent was competent & helpful, the car was fine, and the drop-off was as well.Cons:
The pick-up was horrible. One person at the desk with a dozen customers on line. (It's not as if Advantage didn't know how many reservations they had that afternoon.) I waited an hour and 18 minutes (I timed it) to be served. No more Advantage for me.6.4 Okay
Sep. 2019
Cons:
I made the reservation but upon pick up, there were no cars available. They were overbooked by at least 15 cars.Budget
7.2
Good
140 reviewsCleanliness
7.5
Comfort
7.6
Pick-up/Drop-off
7.1
Value for money
7.0
5 locations in Albuquerque
from C$ 75/day
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10.0 Wonderful
May 2022
4.0 Mediocre
Apr. 2021
Pros:
The fellow at pickup could not have been more friendly and helpful. I have no issue with him.Cons:
1st. There was no mention during the online booking of the car that the rental location was not at the airport, despite my flight booking. I took the shuttle from the airport to the car rental center only to be told that my pickup location was a $30 cab ride away.1 1/2 hours would have been saved. 2nd.The car itself was miserable to drive. The alignment was so bad it wouldn't hold the road, it stunk of smoke, and there was an orange abandoned vehicle sticker on the drivers window obstructing view. For some reason I had trouble maintaining an even highway speed and the cruise didn't work. It made my 2 hour drive feel like 5. Driving this car was a white knuckle experience.2.0 Poor
Apr. 2021
Pros:
There was nothing I liked about this experience. Such a bad experience.Cons:
They made a reservation for 12pm for a location that closed... at 12pm. The guy was still there and informed me that they “have been trying to get this changed for sometime” and did nothing to help us. We had to get a ride to another location and they tried to charge us more than double the reservation price. When I asked to speak to the manger on site, I was told that it would be 3-4hrs before she could speak with us. I spent literally hours on the phone with National. When we finally did get the car, they gave us the wrong car and didn’t tell us. When I called to tell them they gave us the wrong car, they directed me to a new location to pick up the right car. Upon arriving at the new location the person on site told me that he “didn’t know why they told us that, I don’t have any cars to give you”. No one at any of these locations were apologetic or tried to help us figure anything out. National ended up giving us a $100 credit which isn’t really that much (IMO) for how much time I spent dealing with this nightmare.8.0 Very good
Feb. 2021
Pros:
Car was great, if a bit beat up. I appreciated the rep finding me an AWD vehicle in case of poor weather conditions.Cons:
The front seats were a mess, clean, but battered. Not what I expect from a rental, more what I expect borrowing a friend's car.2.0 Poor
Feb. 2021
Cons:
You did not mention that car had added charges based on mileage. I ended up canceling and felt tricked into it. Not fair2.4 Poor
Nov. 2020
Pros:
NothingCons:
The fact you need a credit cardPayless
6.9
Okay
114 reviewsCleanliness
7.7
Comfort
7.9
Pick-up/Drop-off
6.9
Value for money
6.8
One location in Albuquerque
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10.0 Wonderful
May 2021
Pros:
New Mexico was short on rental cars during Memorial Day weekend and I was a bit nervous when we had to rent from Budget because their reviews were the lowest. However, this was my best car rental experience by far. The customer service was amazing, the facility is in close proximity to the airport, the return process was a breeze. By far, this was one of my best rental experiences.4.0 Mediocre
May 2021
Pros:
pick up parking not friendly drop off very friendly Agent tried to upgrade us telling us a Toyota would not make it up the mountains. car worked fine. Car was filthy inside and out10.0 Wonderful
Apr. 2021
Pros:
Staff was very friendly and helpful, car was practically brand new and no cigarette smell!Cons:
Can’t think of anything.9.6 Wonderful
Jun. 2020
Cons:
Didnt have the car I picked8.0 Very good
May 2020
Pros:
The whole operation was very understaffed but the people I dealt with, particularly a young man in ABQ, were very helpful and polite. The drop-off was the same, the lot at DEN was closed, which made me nervous about missing my flight. There was no indication anywhere that I was to go to the Avis lot for drop-off. Again, nobody to explain anything but when the woman showed up, she was polite and helpful in a difficult situation for her.6.8 Okay
Dec. 2019
Pros:
Friendly counter help. Reliable vehicleCons:
I rented an SUV on line. When I got to rental place they had no SUV’s. Was given a minivan instead. Not what I had in mind for a winter weekend in the mountains.Hertz
6.8
Okay
312 reviewsCleanliness
7.5
Comfort
7.3
Pick-up/Drop-off
6.6
Value for money
6.7
6 locations in Albuquerque
from C$ 77/day
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10.0 Wonderful
Oct. 2022
10.0 Wonderful
Oct. 2022
10.0 Wonderful
Dec. 2022
2.0 Poor
Dec. 2021
4.0 Mediocre
Dec. 2021
2.0 Poor
Oct. 2021
Avis
7.4
Good
89 reviewsCleanliness
7.4
Comfort
7.8
Pick-up/Drop-off
7.2
Value for money
6.9
5 locations in Albuquerque
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2.0 Poor
Oct. 2022
8.0 Very good
May 2021
Pros:
ths atff was10.0 Wonderful
May 2021
Pros:
Efficient office, no hard sell, clean car, ready when I needed it.Cons:
Nothing, this was a great rental experience.10.0 Wonderful
May 2021
Cons:
We reserved the car on one credit card and wanted to pay with another, a concept too difficult for the counter person to understand (on pickup). We got it resolved at drop off. LOVED the car (Ford Mustang convertible).10.0 Wonderful
May 2021
Pros:
Price, staff and ease of pickup and drop off of rental vehicle.Cons:
Nothing.2.0 Poor
Mar. 2021
Cons:
I wish Avis was open to rent a car to us!! Thankfully National had one car left for us and it was a luxury SUV for a couple of hundred of dollars cheaper! Thank you National!!Ace
7.2
Good
46 reviewsCheapest deal
Cleanliness
7.4
Comfort
8.0
Pick-up/Drop-off
7.6
Value for money
7.6
One location in Albuquerque
from C$ 49/day
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10.0 Wonderful
Apr. 2023
10.0 Wonderful
Apr. 2023
10.0 Wonderful
Mar. 2023
10.0 Wonderful
Mar. 2023
4.0 Mediocre
Feb. 2023
8.0 Very good
Feb. 2023
Alamo
No score available yet
One location in Albuquerque
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Reviews
10.0 Wonderful
Aug. 2017
Pros:
The return was quick & efficient. Gave us a minivan which was really clean. Employees were friendly.10.0 Wonderful
Jun. 2017
Pros:
The Nissan Rogue was perfect for my family of 4. We put 1700 miles on that car going throughout the 4 corners. Was comfortable with all our luggage.10.0 Wonderful
May 2017
Pros:
Everything was great....smooth ride, great looks...loved the backup camera. Lots of options I wish I would have implemented.Cons:
The only minor thing is that when I would get in, I had to bend my head way down to clear the door sill..... just the way the car is made. Otherwise, it was tops in my book.2.0 Poor
May 2017
Pros:
nothingCons:
nothing10.0 Wonderful
Apr. 2017
Pros:
Check-in was easy. I signed up for a mid-sized SUV and was given a choice of a few on the lot. The car was extremely comfortable, great on gas and nicely equipped. The staff was friendly and answered any questions I had. Drop-off was equally as easy and only took minutes. Overall, I was very impressed with my Alamo experience!Cons:
Can't think of anything I would change!10.0 Wonderful
Apr. 2017
Pros:
They were great at the drop off. Easy process, no awkward interactions about our wreck, just good service.Cons:
Nothing, no complaints.Ace Rental Cars
No score available yet
One location in Albuquerque
Advance Car And Truck Rental
No score available yet
One location in Albuquerque
One location in Albuquerque
Locations in Albuquerque
3400 University Blvd SE, Suite N
+1 505 242 6154
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One location in Albuquerque
Locations in Albuquerque
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One location in Albuquerque
Locations in Albuquerque
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One location in Albuquerque
Locations in Albuquerque
Albuquerque Airport International ABQ
+1 505 242 6154
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One location in Albuquerque
Locations in Albuquerque
Please Go To The Advantage Counter
+1 505 242 6154
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One location in Albuquerque
Locations in Albuquerque
3400 University Blvd Se, Suite N, Albuquerque
+1 505 242 6154
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No reviews available
One location in Albuquerque
Locations in Albuquerque
3400 University Blvd Se
+1 844 366 0506
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One location in Albuquerque
from C$ 66/dayLocations in Albuquerque
3400 University Blvd SE
+1 888 749 8227
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One location in Albuquerque
Locations in Albuquerque
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1361 travellers who rented a car in Albuquerque gave the car agency they used an average rating of 7.4
Car rental locations in or near Albuquerque
Good to know
Most popular agency | Advantage |
|---|---|
Most popular car type | Intermediate |
Average price | C$ 77/day |
Good deal | C$ 66/day |
When to book a rental car in Albuquerque
Average daily price per month
Rental car prices as pick-up date approaches