Don't rent a car from Avis or Hertz on the island.....

[cduffey]

I'll second Isis. Margaretta is one of the most honest people on the island.I have rented fom her many times and never had a problem.Doing it this week.

Ditto.

 

[robint]

We used to use Hertz at the airport every trip (2001-2006) and never had a problem with them other than issues with not having the type of car we rented. After discussing with the agent for 10 minutes, they always gave us the car for same price as what we booked. I do believe they argued with us once about gas, but once again, by acting calm and discussing it they gave in.

Now that we stay at SCC, we don't need a rental car, so I can't give you any current info on rental cars.

 

[robbcayman]

I don't see the problem. Either you pay what you agreed to pay or you don't. If they charge your credit card more than what you agreed to pay, simply dispute it with your credit card company and don't pay it, especially if you have a written contract to the contrary. Car rentals anywhere outside the U.S. and Canada are a PITA and best to be avoided, but blanket statements like "Don't rent a car from so and so" are also just as avoidable.

The problem is it took 4+ weeks of fighting them sending certified letters and I work for a large Plaintiff law firm. I would rather avoid the hassle and frustration. It shouldn't be too much to ask for an honest car rental place. I have rented a ton of cars in the US and this has never happened
to me here.

I would prefer to avoid the car rentals in Mexico. However, I'm not going to jeopardize my 2 year old son's safety.. he needs a car seat. I know there has to be at least one honest car rental place on the island. This kind of shady behavior hurts the credibility of the whole island, especially to people like my in-laws who were visiting for the first time.

---------- Post added April 28th, 2012 at 08:43 AM ----------

We used to use Hertz at the airport every trip (2001-2006) and never had a problem with them other than issues with not having the type of car we rented. After discussing with the agent for 10 minutes, they always gave us the car for same price as what we booked. I do believe they argued with us once about gas, but once again, by acting calm and discussing it they gave in.

Now that we stay at SCC, we don't need a rental car, so I can't give you any current info on rental cars.

I forgot to mention that part. We rented a large 4 door car and got something as small as a 4 door fiesta. I speak pretty decent Spanish and I told the guy we had reserved a bigger car and he told me that was all they had. Just shady stuff if you ask me.

 

[DandyDon]

Well, the only way to avoid credit card problems is don't use them. I've had $1,000 fraudulent charges to mine after returning from Mexico twice. My bank called me immediately, stopped the charges, no losses - just had to replace the card. These can happen anywhere tho. Forging your signature to an inflated charge is different, but can happen anywhere. You dispute it, even if it takes some time. My credit card sig is a D followed by chicken scratch; maybe I should use a legible one? Well, I would on a car contract.

Thanks for sharing the story on a new one to watch for.

 

[PeterNBiddle]

We reserved with Hertz again just now. I booked the smallest car class with a real trunk and didn't do the at-airport upgrade (nothing available). Bought the min insurance based on fears someone would run into me. Was charged ~$500 for 9 days which includes insurance. So no rip off for us.

I do a few other things to help establish right away how things will go down if anyone tries to be a comedian. Eg I take walk around photos or video of the entire car in the presence of the Hertz person before i rent it and while I'm doing that i get the employees picture too.

 

[ccannon707]

Over time I have read car rental horror stories about almost every place on Cozumel - with the exception of Isis. I've read not one bad thing about Isis.... ever. I don't rent - I take a vacation from cars while I'm there - but several friends of mine do and all agree it is a pleasure doing business with Margarita and her crew. Honest, straightforward, no funny business, no fraud, no BS. Service with a smile.

 

[cvchief]

I have used Isis and they were terrific. I only stopped because of the limited amount of automatics with air. (That is what the missus wants!) And I got a little better deal from the friend of a friend.

You know if you wanted to screw with the rental people, file a complaint with Profecto. I am sure someone here has the contact info. They are the gov and they have the ability to REALLY mess with any business on the behalf of a consumer. Often I think a call from Profecto makes the business cave. I even read about cruisers filing for fake/bad silver jewelry or something and getting their money back without too much hassle.

 

[wmperry]

Isis is great. Had to rent from hertz recently when friends with young kids came to visit. Really pleasant experience, great new and clean minivan for 8 days and it was only $510US including the insurance. I reserved from the hertz.com website though. I've had issues with Expedia bookings even in the US. I did make sure I kept my quote the counter agent gave me when I picked up the car, just in case.

 

[cruiser]

Sorry you had such dishonest business dealings regarding a rental car. I'm with Mossman on this one, though. When you rent, you contract for a price. Anything that shows up higher than that price at the time of billing, let your bank know, provide your documents, and leave it up to them to resolve it with the vendor. No reason to get emotionally involved. At the end of the day it's just a business (although shady) transaction.

 

[DandyDon]

You know if you wanted to screw with the rental people, file a complaint with Profecto. I am sure someone here has the contact info. They are the gov and they have the ability to REALLY mess with any business on the behalf of a consumer. Often I think a call from Profecto makes the business cave. I even read about cruisers filing for fake/bad silver jewelry or something and getting their money back without too much hassle.

Great idea. The site is in English: Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor