I am in the process of renting one or more cars in Cozumel and the details of the collision damage waiver appear to be a major rip-off, even by the rental insurance standards. The insurance effectively doubles the cost of the car and still requires a charge against your credit card of 10% of the value of the vehicle. Does anybody have any experience with Mexican car rentals or suggestions to reduce or avoid these charges?

Why do you need a rental car in Cozumel? Take a taxi.

This is a dilemna everyone faces when renting in Mexico.

Check the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree or the Locogringo forum for discussions about the subject. Do a search for car insurance.

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/ca...s.cfm?catid=17

http://www.locogringo.com/forums/default.asp

CDW is only a rip off if you don't use it but a life saver if you do.

You park up to do some shopping, come out and someone has hit your car. A miracle has occured and the driver has not driven off but is still there and admits doing so. He gives you his details.

You take your car back and hand over the details. The man at the counter is not interested and demands $1,000 for the repairs, telling you to claim the money back off of his insurance. If you don't pay the $1,000, he calls the cops.

Some years ago in Portugal I had someone scrape my car while I was out of it on the last day of my holiday. I was very glad I had insurance. $1,000 is not a lot of damage and bills can be bumped up with garage and man behind the counter sharing the extra money.

I would certainly have CDW in Mexico having seen them drive. If you ever get to Mexico City, stand at the Belle Artes intersection and watch the show. It is a large intersection and most times when the lights change, there are a few cars stuck in the middle of it with cars whizzing both sides of them.

Incidentally, Mexico does have a great coach service which gets you all around the country for very little money.

I'm happy to take public transportation. Is there a bus service on the Island? We've got a dozen folks staying at a villa by Playa San Francisco and cab fare to town for the crew could be steep even thoug its only 7 miles. Do cabs in Coz charge per person or per trip?

What kind of car are you renting that would handle a dozen people? You are going to have to rent several cars and for that price, you should be able to get a van taxi to take you anywhere. There are lots of taxis, but the max in each is only 4 people unless you get the van. In a rental car, you will only be able to get 5 max, so again you'll need 3 cars or will have to make multiple trips. You might be able to negotiate a flat rate deal with some of the van drivers to carry your group for the whole of your visit.

If you do decide to rent a car, negotiate to have the insurance included in the price. If you take three cars for a week, you should have pretty good negotiating power. Send an email to William Pat at SMART Car Rental. We rent from him every year and he's a good guy.

http://www.islacozumel.net/services/smartcar/

Do you have a platinum credit card? Some offer this coverage for international car rentals.

allison,

As someone who has rented cars in Mexico many times, the platinum card will only reimburse you when you return home and submit police report, garage bill, etc. and then I have heard it can take months. And they only provide CDW, no liability. What happens if you hit someone driving after dark.

I would rather pony up the extra money than visit a Mexican jail until someone can wire money to me.

Yes, it is a rip off, but if you rent a car in Mexico, take all the insurance.

If you are in an accident, even though it was the other party's fault, you will be held in jail until you can pony up enough cash to satisfy the police. Minimum about $1,000US, Could be much more.

Keith

point taken, Jamie! I would certainly want to avoid jail, too!