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We are arriving San Jose in mid November. We have been advised by the owner of the home we are renting to get a 4-wheeler. Is this necessary? Where is the best place to rent a car or 4-wheeler?
[quote=”davidmarsden”]We are arriving San Jose in mid November. We have been advised by the owner of the home we are renting to get a 4-wheeler. Is this necessary? Where is the best place to rent a car or 4-wheeler?[/quote]
You don’t say if you’re looking for long or short-term or where in the country you’re headed. If you are looking for long-term, I rented a 4X4 for 2 months (just returned it yesterday) and had good luck with VAMOS in terms of price/value/service. Believe me, I compared them ALL before I signed the contract! They rented me a Daihatsu Terios that was a few years old and it worked out fine. I got a few flat tires due to slow leaks (not uncommon in Guanacaste) and after the repairs didn’t ‘stick’ they came out and replaced both. They picked up and delivered the car at my house (1 hour drive from their depot in Liberia) and their service was friendly and personable. If you rent long-term you have to renew the lease each month for ‘legal’ reasons. Their salesperson came to my house to do the paperwork.
They did charge a ‘lease initiation’ fee though – which you can possibly negotiate depending on the length of time if you’re going long-term.
I didn’t ccompare VAMOS’s short-term rates but they’re worth looking into.
[quote=”davidmarsden”] We have been advised by the owner of the home we are renting to get a 4-wheeler. Is this necessary? Where is the best place to rent a car or 4-wheeler?[/quote]
Do consider carefully if you really need 4wd. An awful lot of folks get along just fine without it, and the rental cost can be significantly less.
We’ve had guests who have rented from a number of the first-line agencies (Avis, Tri-Color, Economy, Budget, Vamos and others) and who have had perfectly acceptable experiences. Some who’ve rented from the second-tier (gray marketers??) have done all right also, but others have not.
In general, you gets what you pays for . . .
[quote=”davidmarsden”]We are arriving San Jose in mid November. We have been advised by the owner of the home we are renting to get a 4-wheeler. Is this necessary? Where isplace best place to rent a car or 4-wheeler?[/quote]
If you are arriving in San Jose and STAYING in San Jose you shouldn’t need more than a sedan and full coverage insurance. If you are traveling outside of San Jose (and I hope you are, otherwise you really won’t enjoy what Costa Rica has to offer) then it depends on where you are going. In any event, you probably don’t want to have the “4-wheeler” (ATV) experience until you get to where you are going. I imagine your owner was in all probability talking about a small 4 wheel drive SUV. Let us know where you are going and there will be someone here to give you the best advice on your destination.
We have been here since June 15. We initially rented a large van to get the dog, his carrier and all the luggage where we were going. After that, we just got a Toyota Yaris, a small sedan that has been perfectly acceptable. We are driving all over CR but not into the forest so we haven’t needed a 4wd. Also, insurance will kill you-rental cheap, insurance-awful.
For comfort and space, a 4 X 4 is excellent, however, be prepared to pay big bucks. We live in Guancaste part-time, we usually rent a Toyota Yaris, from Adobe; for three weeks. I rent from the same rental agency, and always asked for a frequent client discount, from their Corporate HQ, in San Jose. Adobe usually gives me a $150.00 discount, for the three weeks. Practice your defensive driving, the roads leave much to be desired!
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