I am trying to get a straight answer on this one. Is Mexico so different that I absolutely will need to purchase the extra CDW? When we rent in Europe or the US we always decline because our Visa Gold will cover this. And, we have had a couple minor incidents where this was useful and used. Is Mexico really different, or can we just stick with our usual practices?

You must have Mexican insurance, when you drive a vehicle in Mexico. Whether it is your own personal vehicle, or a rental.

Mexico is very different. I would never rely on the credit card coverage in other countries. If you have an accident, the police may or may not accept this--and you are guilty until proven innocent.

U.S. insurance has no validity in Mexico. You are under Napoleanic law and may be held until police sort out who was at fault. Always buy the highest level of coverage availible of Mexican insurance. Visa coverage will not help.

If you are involved in an accident in MX. You Will not be able to leave the country until you prove yourself innocent. YOu are guilty until you prove you are innocent.

MX Auto Liability insurance is absolutely neccessary - the only ins coverage required in MX. I would add the Lawyer/Abogado coverage if I were there in my own car - 'cuz if you you draw blood in a crash, you'll go to jail regardless.
That said, many US high end US credit cards provide some of that coverage.
M

There are lots of misconceptions with car rental insurance and CDW in Mexico.

First, you DO NOT have to buy "mexican" insurance if you are renting a car. Virtually all premium credit cards' CDW coverage works in Mexico (you can see for yourself at visa.com).

In my experience, you will not be treated any differently whether you have purchased CDW in Mexico or have it through your credit card (I know someone who totalled their rental car and the Visa CDW picked it up -no hassles with the authorities at all).
Don't forget, you have to decline the CDW with the rental company in order to have the credit card company's coverage.

The credit cards do not, however, cover 3rd party liability insurance, and it is a good idea to get insurance to cover it. You can usually get this for a couple of bucks a day (depending on the car rental agency).

In other words, you can stick to your original plan, with the exception of making sure you've got third party coverage.

Here's another way of putting it, from another forum:

You got me curious, so I checked the rental car coverage on both our Platinum Visa & Platinum Mastercard. Also reviewed the policies on Visa.com & Mastercard.com. From what I could tell all Platinum Visa policies are the same regardless of issuer, and the same appears to hold true for Mastercard. The coverages offered, although similar, seem to be slightly better with Visa.

To activate the rental car coverage for either Visa or Mastercard you need to do the following:

-Initiate & complete the entire rental transaction with your card.
-Decline the car rental company’s collision damage waiver (CDW/LDW) option.

After some runaround, I finally got a manager who handles claims. She informed me that on my card (a platinum visa issued by a brokerage company) that I am indeed covered for the full value of the car being rented, as long as I use my card to reserve and pay for it, obviously.

Platinum Visa: Up to actual cash value of vehicle as it was originally manufactured (does not cover items installed by anyone other than original manufacturer).

Platinum Mastercard: Up to its market value not to exceed $50K as it was originally manufactured (does not cover items installed by anyone other than original manufacturer).

This person told me to go ahead and wave the full coverage and CDW.

Platinum Visa: To activate coverage you MUST decline the rental agency’s collision damage waiver (CDW/LDW) option or similar provision.

Platinum Mastercard: To activate coverage decline the collision loss damage waiver (CDW/LDW) offered by the rental agency. (Will NOT pay for or duplicate the collision loss damage waiver (CDW/LDW) coverage offered by the rental agency.)

They did recomend that i carry the personal injury protection, because of legal issues if I were to say, run down a local.

Platinum Visa: Does NOT cover injury of anyone or anything inside or outside of vehicle; personal liability; or loss or theft of personal belongings.

Platinum Mastercard: Does NOT cover personal injury, personal liability, or personal property. It does NOT cover you for damage to someone else’s car or property, your property, or personal property inside the car; or for any personal injury to any party.

Which forum was this last answer cut and pasted from? We always do what what was suggested and just use our credit card coverage. However, I have heard that things are different in Mexico and those normal rules do not apply. That's why i asked the question.

Complete rules are listed on Visa'website

http://www.usa.visa.com/personal/car...iver%20Program.

Mexico is not listed as a non valid country. You could also call 1-800-VISA-911 to verify.

I would not believe anyone who tells me to decline any coverage in Mexico. I have all the cards but prefer to err on the safe side. In case of an accident, you will be dealing with the local police and will not have anyone to help you explain that you are covered by your credit card! The laws and enforcement are very different!

SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON CAR RENTALS IN MEXICO

Following a search online with the established rental car agencies, I settled on a quote from National Car Rental, and made the appropriate reservation. My rental quote for 15 days ( two weeks and one day), for a compact 4 door car with automatic transmission and AC, came to $234.00 (base rate) plus Airport Fee of 23.40 (10%) and State Tax of 25.74 (11%) for a grand total of $283.14.

I thought this was a good price for a two-week rental. Knowing that driving a car in Mexico may involve securing Mexican car insurance, I researched online what the requirements were, and came up with a lot of confusing information. I confirmed that my U.S. car insurance is not valid in Mexico. However, I confirmed that my credit card company, with whose card I was paying the rental, WOULD cover me for Car Rental Loss and Damage in Mexico. Some sources also indicated that car rental quotes in Mexico did include medical liability coverage although many Mexican rental agents may not volunteer that information, so you have to ask for it. It was also suggested to me by a National Car rental agent in the U.S. prior to the trip that I decline all additional insurance coverage in Mexico because it is not necessary

So, upon our arrival, I was less than assured of what I would run into at the car rental desk in Mexico.

It is here that the plot thickens. At the National Car Rental counter at the San Jose del Cabo airport in Baja California, insurance options and coverage are immediately put before me. When I ask three specific times whether the original quote included any kind of insurance coverage including medical liability, I am told it does not. When I inform the agent that my credit card covers me for damage and theft coverage, he informs me that it is not valid in Mexico.

Having set the hook, he offers me two types of coverage:

PARTIAL COVERAGE ($16.00/day)
Includes coverage on third parties involved in the accident (collision and medical); medical coverage for the driver and passengers; and coverage on the rental car (driver pays all damage costs if under 10% of the value of the car; or if damage is over 10% of the car value, driver only pays the 10% deductible).
NOTE: Partial robbery or losses are not covered. In case of total theft, client pays 10% deductible.

FULL COVERAGE ($19.00/day)
Same as above except car is fully covered for any damage due to collision. No deductible.
NOTE: Deductible DOES apply in cases of partial or total theft.

In that the information that I was being given differed from the information I had received in the U.S., I questioned what I was being told. The alternative was to assume responsibility for all possible medical, personal injury, damage and collision, legal, and court costs, etc., etc. according to Mexican law, and to sign a waiver.

At this point in the dialogue, a man standing next to the agent behind the counter spoke up and inquired if we were timeshare owners. He indicated that he was willing to defray some of the insurance costs by paying us $125.00 if we were willing to attend a timeshare presentation. All of this is at the end of a very long day of traveling, in the evening, with still some distance to go to our lodgings for the night. When we said we were not interested, and turned our attention back to the agent still expressing our dissatisfaction with the situation, the rental agent offered to reduce the cost of the full coverage to $16.00/day. Under the circumstances, and because of our degree of potential liability, we begrudgingly accepted.

The total rental bill at this point came to $573.54 (234.00 base rate + 240 insurance + 99.54 airport fee and state tax) – over TWICE the original quote of $283.14 !!

Surprisingly, we were not charged any additional fees upon returning the car. I paid for it with the credit card paying 6,664.54 pesos which the agent said equaled the exchange rate of 11.62 pesos per dollar or $573.54. However the final bill on my charge card came to $603.61 ( all in all, 213% higher than the original quote).

IMPORTANT POINTS OF THIS LONG STORY:

DO NOT believe the online quotes you get for car rentals in Mexico, particularly with National Car Rental. Quite often, in my opinion, they are low-balling you to get your upfront business, and then they work you over.

No matter what you hear in the U.S. about insurance coverage for a car you rent in Mexico (and this will vary greatly based upon who you talk with), plan on purchasing insurance in Mexico.

Plan and budget for paying AT LEAST DOUBLE for car rental (including insurance coverage) in Mexico compared to the quote that you receive online in the U.S.

Take copies of your online reservation including quote with you. During the rental process, ask for copies of your rental agreement (with the agreed upon rental rate and totals noted), and your insurance coverage plan (with daily rates noted) before you sign on the dotted line, and drive away.

If possible, pay in pesos or dollars at the end of the rental period rather than using your credit card to avoid the exchange rate fiasco tango.

Enjoy Mexico. It is full of beautiful people and places!

Good point by LOT, and, for the most part, I am in total agreement. However, I often rent from National in Playa del Carmen and the rate quoted is always the rate I pay. All National locations are franchises in Mexico so what is true for one, may not be true for another.
It is true that the credit card insurance coverage is usually not acceptable in Mexico. Even if the rental company accepted it, I would not use it since law enforcement may not agree in case of an accident.
Just be careful that you know what is or is not included.