I'm needing a rental car in Argentina but keep finding info that the companies want to authorize $1600 to my card which is a very large amount. Are there other companies that do not try to hold this much? If so can you tell or recommend to me.

The city I need this in is either Tucuman or Jujuy if that helps.

I'll ask Angie (Flintstones), our unofficial NW expert, to reply.

Have a great time in our NW.

I have worked in car rentals and they all need a garantee to rent a car. Usually a credit card or cash. By experience I learnt that at the end it could be more risky to rent a car.
You can, anyway, try in SAlta, ALAMO or NOROESTE but they all have the same requirement.
I am sorry, this is all I can say.
Flintstone

is there a reason why its so expensive. 1,600 US dollars is an extremely large sum of money for most. Its actually twice as much as my flight to come there. is it possible to rent with like 500 or 600 deposit, its expensive but substancially more affordable.

I used Hertz in Salta and I cant remember the exact amount they pre authorised on my card but it was nowhere near $1600. Some car rental places will always pre authorise (rather than actually debit your card) for teh amount of deposit plus teh rental charge. Maybe if you opt for the excess waiver then the charge will be reduced.

I used Europcar in Salta -- there was a preauthorization on my credit card, but I don't recall it being that high. They usually just hold the amount and not actually charge it. The credit card slip is ripped up when u return the car and it has no damage. We have never had a problem in Argentina or anywhere else in the world where we rent cars and I blieve this to be fairly common practice. In Italy this past Spring there was a $1500 hold. I guess it can be a problem if your credit card limit is not high enough to accommodate that charge and then your travel expenses.