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Hi, I need to rent a car and I tried the company with the trackers that you suggested. He is booked up. Can anyone give me another place to try please?
I can recommend two other car rental agencies. Not as good as Dean’s, but darn good!
Jim Hughes who lives in Escazu. He has older cars (about ten years old) but they run very well. His phone numbers are
011 (506) 228-5827
011 (506) 825-9694
011 (506) 302-1242
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Here is another one. She rents mainly 4x4s and is a Tica.
Xinia of A4 Auto Rentals
Email her at: a14_rentacar@yahoo.com
011 (506) 388-7616
011 (506) 839-9024
011 (506) 273-1178
Have a good trip!
Scott Oliver
WeLoveCostaRica.comWe just returned from CR (bought a beautiful piece of property by Arenal) and had rented a Tracker from “Rent a 4X4 in Costa Rica”. We were very disappointed in the condition of the vechicle. Would never rent from them again – no matter what the price.
DaveTthanx for your help. the problem now seems to be the ones I call don’t go to Quepos and we are taking a plane immediately from San Jose to there. I will remember what you say Dave.
I’ve rented from Alamo in Quepos several times and never had a problem.
http://www.alamocostarica.comCindy
ALAMO rent a car in the airport, near hotel Mango and in Arenal have been nothng but EXCELLENT!
Great help, great price and your Visa Platinum card picks up most of the insurance! Kenny S<I’ve had good experiences with Tri-Color, Avis and Payless.
At tip: Don’t rent your car for pick-up at Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose. There’s a significant tax for airport pick-up. Instead, when you make your car reservation, arrange for the rental agency to pick you up at the airport and take you to their office. They’re all close to the airport. Or take a cab to the rental agency. Either is a cheap alternative to the airport surcharge.
The last time I was there(December) I was told by dollar that the government was cracking down on collecting the airport tax. And that basically there are no rental car agencies at the airport they all take you to there remote location, hence the tax must be paid. Other times in the past they have waved the tax. Just had a thought, I guess if they shuttle you over you must pay, if you get there on your own you don’t..perhaps? David can you give your thoughts on the full coverage insurance issue or take the minimum required by law and get the additional coverage from your credit card etc..It seems there is no full coverage offered by the government but the car rental agencies take on the risk themselves if you pay the higher rental rate. Also what do you do if you own a car there, what type of coverage is offered?
Lotus, it’s my understanding that if you have a Platinum VISA credit card (or probably its MasterCard competitor) and pay your rental car bill with it, that credit card will cover all the additional insurance you need. In fact, I once opted for all the additional coverage offered and when Tri-Color went to swipe my card and saw that it was a Platinum, they re-wrote the contract to exclude the cost of the additional coverage.
My understanding of the car rental agency-renter relationship is that in matters of liability it’s heavily slanted in favor of the rental agency. So . . . First off, take a very careful look at the car inside and out and make them note any existing damage or the absence of any equipment (spare tire, jack, etc) and give you a copy. Then, if your card doesn’t take care of additional liability, buy the insurance.
We do own a car in Costa Rica, and we are among that 10% of owners who carry supplemental insurance. The governmentally-mandated basic coverage is very minimal and affords no protection against physical damage (collision, etc) or theft. If your car’s worth stealing, it’s worth insuring.
Having said that, let me add that we have friends whose car was stolen three months ago and they’re still fighting through the INS bureaucracy to get their settlement. It has been an unholy nightmare. LESSONS LEARNED: Try not to leave your car in a vulnerable position. Add some sort of physical security system like a transmission lock, steering wheel lock, ignition lockout switch, fuel pump lockout switch, aggressive dog (or two), or something obvious that may cause car thieves to go elsewhere. Put on two or three, if you can. And if your car is stolen, get your attorney out of bed if necessary to start doing the INS paperwork right now (!), not tomorrow morning.
Oh! And if your car is stolen, call every cab company in town to report it. They have more eyes on the street than the police, and if you offer a reward for its return, they’ll have more interest in its recovery.
Thanks for the insights, in the past I have used my platinum card to provide the additional insurance but there are limitations when you read the policy.One of them being they do not cover you if an accident occurs on a dirt or gravel road…and then if there is an accident that is not covered by the mandatory insurance, the rental company charges you card for the estimated damages and you present this to your credit card company…a bit scary!! To date we have not had any problems and of course you sleep well when taking the “full” coverage, but it s so darn expensive!! We are usually there for a month or more at a time and the cost of a rental car with full coverage can be half the cost of the whole trip! We love having the car so we can go when and where we want at the drop of a dime, but since we stay on the beach we are considering forgoing the car and just taking a taxi for short trips and just renting a car if we plan on exploring.
Hi Lotus,
I was refering to a post on this thread by DAVETANS on 6/7 in which he complained about a company named “Rent a 4×4 in Costa Rica”. I am researching car rental agencies for a trip in December and came across a company called “4×4 car rental costa rica” and wondered if this is the company he was talking about. I could not find “rent a 4×4 in costa rica”.
Hope that clears things up.
thanks,
rich
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