Rental Vehicles
May 7th, 2004, 11:29 AM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Koa,
I hope you don't think I am "hogging" the board! I don't know what rates you received from Orbitz, but in the past I have written Ivan Segura at Dollar, and he has always given me better rates than what I found online. If you would like his e-mail address, let me know!
I hope you don't think I am "hogging" the board! I don't know what rates you received from Orbitz, but in the past I have written Ivan Segura at Dollar, and he has always given me better rates than what I found online. If you would like his e-mail address, let me know!
May 7th, 2004, 04:21 PM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 390
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No shillmac, I dont think your hogging the board. I look forward to all you CR experts for help. This is only my second trip so I am still a rookie. I wouldnt mind getting Ivans e mail. I just got a qoute of $500 for 11 days for a Terios from Dollar. If he can get me a better rate, that would be great.
May 9th, 2004, 07:48 PM
#7
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 226
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you are going to book through Orbitz, Expedia or any of the other online resellers you need to be aware of the same things as if you are booking directly or having a travel agent do it for you.
With a few notable exceptions the companies have similar low season rates for the rental. However, the total cost of a car rental in Costa Rica is determined in large part by the cost of insurance. In order to decide which rental company best meets your needs, you must first determine what your needs are.
There are three types of insurance. First you are required by law to purchase liability insurance from the INS ($7-18 per day). Second if you do not want to assume responsibility for the full value of the vehicle you are renting you will need a collision damage waiver either through your credit card or by purchasing it from the rental company ($12-25 per day). Third, if you wish to be able to walk away from an accident with no finacial responsibility you will need to purchase zero liability or full coverage insurance ($5-30) per day. It's possible to pay more for insurance than for the car, so you should decide what level of coverage you want and make sure that any quote you get includes the appropriate insurance.
There are no taxes on car rentals in Costa Rica so "tax included" shouldn't be an insentive.
Expedia and Orbitz both return prices that are very similar to what you get booking directly with any of the major companies.
With a few notable exceptions the companies have similar low season rates for the rental. However, the total cost of a car rental in Costa Rica is determined in large part by the cost of insurance. In order to decide which rental company best meets your needs, you must first determine what your needs are.
There are three types of insurance. First you are required by law to purchase liability insurance from the INS ($7-18 per day). Second if you do not want to assume responsibility for the full value of the vehicle you are renting you will need a collision damage waiver either through your credit card or by purchasing it from the rental company ($12-25 per day). Third, if you wish to be able to walk away from an accident with no finacial responsibility you will need to purchase zero liability or full coverage insurance ($5-30) per day. It's possible to pay more for insurance than for the car, so you should decide what level of coverage you want and make sure that any quote you get includes the appropriate insurance.
There are no taxes on car rentals in Costa Rica so "tax included" shouldn't be an insentive.
Expedia and Orbitz both return prices that are very similar to what you get booking directly with any of the major companies.
May 10th, 2004, 04:59 AM
#8
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 107
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ray, I'm a little confused. It is a given that all car rental quotes are 'basic' and do not include the insurance. However, all of them "*Includes estimated taxes and fees" (Expedia). Expedia's cheapest base rate of $414 has $228 "taxes and fees". Orbitz's $350 become $516. Whatever those taxes are, Payless calls them "Airport Access 12%, Payless compatible total is just $306, much cheaper than Expedia and Orbitz quotes. Where am I wrong?
May 10th, 2004, 07:10 AM
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 244
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
An airport tax of 12% will be imposed on all car rentals if the car is picked up at the airport. Best way to avoid this is to either have your car delivered to your hotel or take a shuttle or taxi to the car rental agency's off-site office.
May 10th, 2004, 07:59 AM
#10
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 226
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
mian,
I don't know that you are wrong. I just don't know what your $306 includes.
For Costa Rican rental quotes it is not a given that insurance is, or is not included. Because the SLI is required by law many quotes include it. Others do not making their prices appear as much as 30% lower. There are a few companies that have policies requiring the purchase of their CDW (eliminating the chance that your credit card benefits might be used to cover this cost) and it is therefore included in their price quotes making them appear much higher than all others. That is why the whole process is so confusing.
I just ran a quick expedia search for a SUV in July and got $315 a week from Thrifty and on reading the fine print this price includes the mandatory liability insurance. If your credit card covers the CDW then $315 a week would be the actual price you pay to rent this vehicle.
There was also a price of $220 a week from Payless but this _does not_ include the mandatory liability insurance.
The final price from Payless will be at least $300 a week and maybe worse than the Thrifty price. The problem is with this quote from Expedia for Payless you don't know.
It gets even worse when you try to figure out Nationals price. They quote $246 a week. It is clearly stated that this does not include insurance so you might think you can just add the SLI and compare it to the Thrifty or Payless prices, but if you read the fine print carefully you'll find that National has a company policy that requires CDW for all 4WD vehicles. Now if you have a credit card that provides CDW coverage as a free benefit, National may be a very poor choice because they will require you to purchase their CDW policy.
I'm just suggesting that if you know what you want for insurance before you start looking it will make the whole process easier because you can compare apples to apples.
I don't know that you are wrong. I just don't know what your $306 includes.
For Costa Rican rental quotes it is not a given that insurance is, or is not included. Because the SLI is required by law many quotes include it. Others do not making their prices appear as much as 30% lower. There are a few companies that have policies requiring the purchase of their CDW (eliminating the chance that your credit card benefits might be used to cover this cost) and it is therefore included in their price quotes making them appear much higher than all others. That is why the whole process is so confusing.
I just ran a quick expedia search for a SUV in July and got $315 a week from Thrifty and on reading the fine print this price includes the mandatory liability insurance. If your credit card covers the CDW then $315 a week would be the actual price you pay to rent this vehicle.
There was also a price of $220 a week from Payless but this _does not_ include the mandatory liability insurance.
The final price from Payless will be at least $300 a week and maybe worse than the Thrifty price. The problem is with this quote from Expedia for Payless you don't know.
It gets even worse when you try to figure out Nationals price. They quote $246 a week. It is clearly stated that this does not include insurance so you might think you can just add the SLI and compare it to the Thrifty or Payless prices, but if you read the fine print carefully you'll find that National has a company policy that requires CDW for all 4WD vehicles. Now if you have a credit card that provides CDW coverage as a free benefit, National may be a very poor choice because they will require you to purchase their CDW policy.
I'm just suggesting that if you know what you want for insurance before you start looking it will make the whole process easier because you can compare apples to apples.
