Car Rental Beware

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Original Message:

Re: Car Rental Beware (by Bryan W.):

I have rented cars in Mexico and other countries many times. I have rented cars in the U.S. and driven to Mexico probably 100 times or more.

I rented a car from the same Hertz office while in Cancun as well. In summary, many countries require you to purchase insurance, or they will not rent to you. It may either be their policy, or some obscure law aimed at fleecing visitors to Mexico. As another poster said, it is better to get the insurance and not deal with an unfair system that you will ultimately lose on. Don't ever expect to get the same rental car deals that you would find in, say Orlando. Just accept the fact that renting a car outside of the U.S. is going to cost a lot more. Sure, we all know that purchasing additional insurance from a car rental company is where they really make their money, just like buying an extended warranty on an appliance. The difference is that there are not as many consumer protection laws to prevent the abuse.

If I am not mistaken, the Hertz in Cancun is a franchise, and if you placed your reservation directly with them, your contract was made in a foreign country. Your credit card protection may not apply. My recommendation ALWAYS is to place the rental with the U.S. Corporate office of the rental company. That way if there is a dispute, you have a better chance of claiming that the contract was created in the U.S. Worst case scenario would be that you allow them to charge your card with the damages, and then mount a dispute with the U.S. office. If you rented directly from the franchise, you may not be able to do this.

I have heard of the rental car companies trying to confiscate your passport when there is a damage dispute. Don't ever give it to them, because you have a hard time getting back home.

I communicated with a person who hit a tope at about 60 mph in the Yucatan and tore off the oil pan. They were told that their insurance purchased when they rented would cover it, but later they were charged $1500 for a damage bill. Since it was a rental that was made through the corporate office, eventually they didn't have to pay, and had the charge reversed. From what I recall, the credit card company backed off, and didn't want to help, claiming that the damage and claim was originated in a foreign country.

Ironically, while in Merida, our car was backed into in a hotel parking lot. The plastic bumper was dented up. I resigned myself to just pay what they were asking (after haggling as much as possible), but after a few days in the hot sun, the dent popped out, and we returned the car with a bunch of dust and mud, hiding any scratches left over from the dent. We were lucky.

Driving a U.S. rented car into Mexico will let the U.S. car rental company rip you off for Mex. insurance. You cannot buy a policy from a local Mex. insurance co. like GNP for $13/day, so you either pay $25/day or don't rent. If you have your own car, you must also have Mex. ins in addition to your U.S. policy or you run the risk of having everything you have confiscated because of a fender bender, and a bunch of payoff money to get it returned. I have had employees have this happen. We even had to pay off the police to write the report in favor of the employee. I have also had employees have their car impounded at the border for bringing in items that were not declared to the Mex. border guards. Longest impound was 8 weeks, loss of the undeclared items and about $2800 in fees.

Just remember, you are not in the U.S. when you enter into these type of contracts, and if possible do your homework before arriving. I believe Hertz corp. will help you wade through the insurance confusion before you arrive, rather than standing there having a guy try to fast talk you into the full coverage for $40/day.

The U.S. car rental companies do the same thing when you rent. They always try to upsell you to a bigger car, scare tactics about being responsible for damages if you don't buy the $18/day insurance. It really isn't much different here, other than you know your rights.