Rip off Report, Black Shark Car Rental

[iluvcozumel]

Fellow Scuba Boarder's, beware of this operator! He has old crappy cars with backyard bondo repair jobs and tries to charge you for a scratch that he claims wasn't there when you rented the car. You know the type, tries to intimidate you into throwing money at him until you put up a stink about it. Total scam. I should have known to stay with Less Pay or Isis, but could not get taxi to take us to a friends house and went with someone who was convenient. Got him to back off, but he is shady.

 

[Ron Lee]

How hard is it to get to Isis? How do people come up with these rental car companies?

 

[Thomthumb]

How hard is it to get to Isis? How do people come up with these rental car companies?

I have used ISIS twice and they are very good. Wouldn't go to anybody else now. They are just off the North side of the square. They let me drive my car to the airport and then drove it back to the store so I wouldn't have to rent a taxi. They were referred to me on this website. These are the last numbers that I had.
Phone # 011-52-987-872-3367. rentadoriaisis@ prodigy.net.mx.

Thom

 

[mstevens]

I'm a long-time Isis fan, but there are other good rental agencies on the island. They're established and not hard to find. I no longer rent from Isis on the island, but I still do rent from Margarita's nephew Edgar at Isis Playa del Carmen when we need a car on the mainland.

 

[cvchief]

How hard is it to get to Isis? How do people come up with these rental car companies?

I actually only used Isis once, but they were great. However it was back when they had like one car with automatic and AC. The wife wanted both, so... Anyway a friend had a friend who had cars and hook me up with him for less. We rented from that company a bunch. I never actually met the owner but dealt with one employee. Had one miscount on days I had to take back to my friend to fix with the owner, but it was corrected. Other than that they treated us terrific. AND they are one of the companies harking cars down in the plaza.Rented from Less Pay back when John was still there. Car was really crappy, but the deal was incredible including paying for gas.Friends rented from Bonefish which is apparently the guy that worked for John at Less Pay before the upheaval? They liked them. Nice car.

 

[keesmon]

Forgive my ignorance, but why not just rent with Hertz or Avis from the airport?
With a bit of notice I am getting cars for around $100 for the week from them.
What am I missing here?

 

[Bonuss]

Lesson 1, Do not do business with companies named after predators....

King cobra dental, Scorpian car repair, etc..

I've used both Isis and Ace (with no problems). I think the big price difference comes when you consider fees and insurance. In addition when I was considering renting at the airport, several years ago, there were more people (on here) saying they got ripped off for additional fees at "nationally branded" chains than by independents. It would be great if that changed.

Bob in CO

 

[keesmon]

Thanks Bonuss,
I use the American Express premium car rental protection, which is $24.99 for the duration of the rental.
Since they become the primary insurance and I pay through them, I decline everything at the counter and could care less if anyone wants to challenge me for a scratch or anything else.
It is $0 deductible insurance.
Let Amex and Hertz/ Avis sort it out.
Without that you are probably correct.
There are many scare tactics that make the big companies millions in unnecessary insurance purchases.

 

[diverokc]

Challenge you for a scratch or anything else.

Well I guess your hoping they speak and read English. It has been discussed many times that the insurance you have thru your cc company or whomever will pay once u are back in the US. Until then you are liable and it is a criminal offense in Mexico if you have a accident. So you pay outta your pocket to settle before you leave the island or sit in jail. Good luck to u.
Also the rental companies you recognize from the US are name only and are privately owned. If you have a problem and call the office in the US you will find this out. Unfortunately people see the name and think oh that's a US company so it will be good.

So many people forget they are in Mexico and they don't care what coverage you might have there because YOUR IN MEXICO.

 

[keesmon]

But that's the point of using American Express for the insurance and the payment of the bill.
I have 30K worth of credit and they are welcome to use 99% of that to settle my bill, while I leave the island.
For that matter, it doesn't matter if the rental car company is American, Mexican or whatever.
As long as they take American Express to cover the bill, or any liabilities, it is not my issue to solve further.
I have a letter in Spanish stating the coverage in case there is ever any issue, but even that is redundant.
Not sure how this would be different using Isis, Ace, Hertz, or Avis, other than that airport rental cars tend to be newer and better maintained.