Budget Rent-a-Car opens at Rehoboth Kmart

As if walk-in medical care, a pharmacy, to-go pizzas and an array of clothes, jewelry, household goods and lawn-care essentials wasn’t enough reason to make a trip to the Kmart on Route 1, Rehoboth Beach, the recent opening of a new Budget Rent-A-Car location will certainly give an added incentive.

Since coming to work at the new rental car location July 1, agency operator Vincent Iulianetti said the clientele has been steady enough that he is planning to expand into a larger location at the storefront of Kmart by the end of the month.

“We have been extremely busy,” Iulianetti said. “We do local and one-way rentals, and we do daily, weekly and monthly rentals with mini-leases available.”

Not to mention the shortage of other rental agencies in the Cape Region. With only one other rental agency in the area, vacationers like Connie Mansueto and Alma Bachen, both of London, England, traveled north from their vacation spot in Bethany Beach.

Mansuetto said she decided to rent a car at Budget for a few days during the vacation after researching her transportation options in the area and asking the family members she was visiting.

Eventually, convenience and price made all the difference, she said.

“They have a really good one-way fee to Dulles [airport],” she said. “And I can leave the car there since we are going back to London.”

Fellow Londoner Alma Bachen agreed on their decision coming down to price and was pleasantly surprised when the pair got a free upgrade to a Kia Optima from the rental car agency.

“We’ve got a Kia Optima; is that nice?” she said. “We came here because of the price; it was a respectable price to leave the car at the airport. Did you see we got an upgrade too?”

Iulianetti said his inventory of cars changes daily, with a variety from subcompact cars to large SUVs, minivans and soon, trucks.

The agency will be open year-round, he said, and with the move to a larger location at Kmart, Budget will also be merging with Avis rent-a-car, bringing in a large clientele and allowing the rental agency to grow with the new floor space.

“It’s going to increase our customer base,” Iulianetti said. “A lot of people are glad to see us here, and the price is reasonable.”

The Budget/Avis Rent-a-Car location at Kmart is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. Reservations are recommended and are available online at www.budget.com or by calling 302-227-3041.