best car rental agency

[oldschoolto]

I use Budget , And very happy with them... The pick-up I have right now has 9000 miles and A/C blows ice cold, Four like new tires, New spare and no rust on the lugnuts and all the tools to change a tire are nice and clean and there.. Plastic bed liner and the tailgate is perfect to sit on... Don't go cheap on your rental ... I came to dive and have fun...

Jim...

 

[lunula]

We've used AB Rentals twice, no issues so far.

 

[choiahoy]

AB was great on the last trip. Will definitely use them again in Feb.

 

[jimw]

I learned at DEMA that Budget will have an office and rental vehicles at Habitat by December.

 

[LiveTheDream]

Thanks everyone! Not long to go now!

 

[jimw]

Most of the time we don't get a vehicle at all on Bonaire. That said, I would try Poppy at Telerin due to the numerous satisfied customers posting here and Bonairetalk.com. She can be difficult to get in touch with I have read.....If you have an Amex card, they offer full insurance for a smallish fee that covers the entire rental period and is a bunch cheaper than the Fulll insurance offered by the car rental places. Only a few car rental ops take Amex. Possibly only Telerin.

 

[howswedeofme]

We just got a Delta Gold AmEx card for the rental car coverage (and we get bags checked for free now, plus priority boarding) for our upcoming Grand Cayman trip but I'm not sure it would work in Bonaire depending on which AmEx card you have. But, it's cheap - our coverage is $20 per rental for $50,000 in coverage and no deductible. Make sure you read the terms and exclusions - our policy does not cover any vehicles taken "off road" (i.e. Slagbaai Park), pick-up trucks, cargo vans, full-sized SUVS, and any "exotic" cars.

 

[Lorenzoid]

We just got a Delta Gold AmEx card for the rental car coverage (and we get bags checked for free now, plus priority boarding) for our upcoming Grand Cayman trip but I'm not sure it would work in Bonaire depending on which AmEx card you have. But, it's cheap - our coverage is $20 per rental for $50,000 in coverage and no deductible. Make sure you read the terms and exclusions - our policy does not cover any vehicles taken "off road" (i.e. Slagbaai Park), pick-up trucks, cargo vans, full-sized SUVS, and any "exotic" cars.

As far as I know, the only car rental company on Bonaire that accepts AMEX is Telerin, which is why we have been using Telerin.

Where did you see that the AMEX insurance does not cover pickup trucks? This is all I can find on excluded vehicle types on the Conditions page of the AMEX insurance program information:

Excluded vehicles include: automobiles that have been customized or modified from the manufacturer's factory specifications, except for driver's assistance equipment for the physically challenged; any rented vehicle used for hire or commercial purposes; antique cars (cars over 20 years old or cars that have not been manufactured for over 10 years); limousines; off-road vehicles, motorcycles, motorbikes, mopeds, recreational vehicles, golf or motorized carts, campers, moving trucks or moving vans, and trailers. Insurance benefits will not be available if the loss is partially or wholly attributed to pushing or towing anything. Insurance benefits will also not be provided for damage to tires unless other damage to the Rental Car occurred in the same Accident.

Nothing about pickup trucks. They are certainly not "off-road vehicles."

 

[howswedeofme]

It's in some specific terms and conditions for various AmEx cards. I looked up the card terms and conditions that appear to be available here: Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance - Terms | American Express.

Ours is the Gold Delta SkyMiles card which on this website includes the following exclusions:
Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance does not cover rentals of :
1. expensive cars, which means cars with an original manufacturer's suggested retail price of $50,000 or more whennew;
2. exotic cars regardless of year or value, including but not limited to Chevrolet Corvette, Toyota Supra, Mazda RX-7,Dodge Viper and Stealth, Plymouth Prowler, Mitsubishi 3000 GT, Nissan 300 ZX, Jaguar XJS, Acura NSX,Mercedes SL, SLK, S Coupe and E320 Coupe and Convertible, BMW M3, Z3 and 8 Series, Cadillac Allante andall Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Aston Martin, Lotus, Bugatti, Vector, Shelby Cobra, Bentley, RollsRoyce;
3. trucks, pick-ups, cargo vans, custom vans;
4. full-sized vans, including but not limited to, Ford Econoline or Club Wagon, Chevy Van or Sportvan, GMCVandura and Rally, Dodge Ram Vans and Ram Wagon; . . . .

We only recently signed up so I haven't received my actual policy in the mail and it might be different. Fingers crossed I have the more limited exclusion you cited! My main caution was to make sure whatever you rent is covered by the specific policy that you are sold.

 

[Lorenzoid]

It's in some specific terms and conditions for various AmEx cards. I looked up the card terms and conditions that appear to be available here: Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance - Terms | American Express.

Ours is the Gold Delta SkyMiles card which on this website includes the following exclusions:
Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance does not cover rentals of :
1. expensive cars, which means cars with an original manufacturer's suggested retail price of $50,000 or more whennew;
2. exotic cars regardless of year or value, including but not limited to Chevrolet Corvette, Toyota Supra, Mazda RX-7,Dodge Viper and Stealth, Plymouth Prowler, Mitsubishi 3000 GT, Nissan 300 ZX, Jaguar XJS, Acura NSX,Mercedes SL, SLK, S Coupe and E320 Coupe and Convertible, BMW M3, Z3 and 8 Series, Cadillac Allante andall Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Aston Martin, Lotus, Bugatti, Vector, Shelby Cobra, Bentley, RollsRoyce;
3. trucks, pick-ups, cargo vans, custom vans;
4. full-sized vans, including but not limited to, Ford Econoline or Club Wagon, Chevy Van or Sportvan, GMCVandura and Rally, Dodge Ram Vans and Ram Wagon; . . . .

We only recently signed up so I haven't received my actual policy in the mail and it might be different. Fingers crossed I have the more limited exclusion you cited! My main caution was to make sure whatever you rent is covered by the specific policy that you are sold.

I believe those are the exclusions applicable to the loss/damage waiver (LDW) coverage that is an inherent benefit of the card. In other words, you don't have to sign up for any special program to get the LDW coverage when you use the card to rent a vehicle. In addition to the inherent LDW coverage that comes with your card, AMEX offers an optional program they call Premium Car Rental Protection that you can sign up for, which provides primary theft and damage insurance coverage each time you use the card to rent a vehicle. Signing up for the Premium Car Rental Protection program is free, and AMEX automatically charges your card an extra $19.95 or $24.95 per rental period when you charge the rental fee with the rental agency: https://www295.americanexpress.com/premium/car-rental-insurance-coverage/home.do.

It sounds like you indeed signed up for the Premium Car Rental Protection program. So you need to look at the Terms & Conditions for that program, not for the inherent LDW coverage that your card would have given you even if you hadn't signed up for Premium Car Rental Protection.