travellerhughes

We have just returned from a 3 week vacation in St. Martin.
Having read the horror stories regarding rental cars, we decided to wait and see until we arrived there.
We did not rent a car but used a taxi and probably saved about 400 to 500 Euros, and had no worries.
I found an excellent taxi driver on my second day on the island and we used his services. He was honest and reliable and I would recommend him without a doubt. He took us to the supermarket and waited for us and arranged a taxi driver on Anguilla for us, who was also great.
His name is Thierry and his email address is [email protected]
I would forget about the car rentals.

BCCANADA

Researched car rental reviews and rented from Alizes Car Rental in St. Maarten for 3 weeks Jan.31 thru Feb. 20,2014. Rent often while travelling in US and Caribbean and this is a recommend - professional, no hidden "extra" charges, good clean little car, delivered to me at ferry and met at airport departing - both on time, courteous, no surprises. They have a web site that also includes reviews -- I just did a review there also, they earned it.

marka

I have read almost all of the replies on this thread. As a professional arbitrator, I have tried to come to conclusions about the Thrifty operation in SXM. DavidSXM does seem committed to some sort of punitive action being taken against the franchise. Let me point out that I have been travelling to the friendly island for more than twenty years. My most recent rental from Thrifty was in 2012. I was actually quite impressed with their service and the quality of their vehicles. That said, I can not ignore the more than forty posts regarding being scammed, the most damning being Cotton1 and JaneNevis. It also seems that the one employee called out most often in the complaints is the employee known as Jag.

It is hard to imagine DavidSXM's devotion to this cause. Despite his protestations, it clearly seems motivated by some sort of animus. The ultimate question is, "does it really matter what his animus is?" If the truth is being told, I don't care.

On balance, it seems that SXM Thrifty has a serious problem with its operations and some of its personnel. I am very concerned that neither the island government, nor Thrifty corporate, care to do anything at all about this situation.

Legal recourse in the states against Thrifty in SXM is not a realistic solution. Nor is it reasonable for a US or Canadian citizen to prosecute a claim in St. Marteen. Contrary to DavidSXM's opinion, I do believe that a government's failure to provide mechanisms for the enforcement of a visitor's rights does impact a person's thinking process on where to visit. The issue is not that there are other reputable car rental agencies, but rather that the host country does not have a viable procedure for recourse against the unscrupulous agency.

I am also so very disappointed in Thrifty, that I believe the only way they will take notice is if people stop renting from them here in the US. I plan on discontinuing my relationship with Thrifty until they demonstrate that customers drawn to its brand in SXM are important to them.

TonyBMW

Thank you Davidsxm! And thank you marka, and everyone else for sharing your experiences.

Davidsxm, I do not believe for a second that you have any other motive than to raise awareness.

I appreciate that you did not give up the thread, and stood your ground to create an opportunity for others to share. I'm sure there are many other blogs about the same issue, but I am glad there were so many contained here. Living there gives us all a keen insight, and I for one appreciate your strong position, but can also see how some optimists will perceive it as vendetta. You were careful not to recommend anyone, but to warn us about one.

The fact that they can use the Thrifty Franchise name, but not be held accountable by Thrifty Corporate speaks volumes, and has definitely shaped my travel plans.

Thank you all again

Accidents will happen, damage will happen, but it's how the issue is handled that determines the fairness, and the customer retention.

Becky_Schwartz

Dont go with Alamo, National or Payless either. Here is my review.
http://www.fodors.com/community/cari...at-payless.cfm

BellaClaire

I rented from Thrifty in April 2015 for the 5th time.... Without incident. They were efficient in transporting from the terminal to rental center. We got the car type and price quoted/confirmed in my reservation. Returning the car was a breeze.

BeeStee

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!DON'T USE PARADISE CAR RENTAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beware of your paperwork!!!!! We recently visited St Martin and we needed to rent a car for the week. We were quoted a quoted a rate by Antonio/Anthony of "$130 for everything plus $56 for insurance". When returned the car, we were charged $236. The increase was explained to us as taxes and fees. However, when you give a rate and say "it includes everything", that means taxes and fees. If not, then what the heck is everything?

We really had no recourse, because what he told us and what he wrote down were two different things. Therefore, only believe what you see and none of what they say.

SB2

We have rented with Leisure Car Rentals for the past few years and never had a problem. They have new cars, good prices, and excellent customer service! We always book directly on their website www.leisurecarrentalsxm.com