Rental Car for trip to Costa Rica

[Ronny]

I think that car rental agencies should be encouraged to provide a letter of notice similar to this http://www.cupotico.com/info/Travel/Traffic_Cops_&_Speed_Traps_in_Costa_Rica.html
when leasing vehicles.
If tourists knew beforehand how to handle such situations, it would help curb roadside corruption.
The link above is an excellent summary. See point #4- you can pay the ticket at ANY branch of national banks (although nobody bothers because you can just pay them at the end of the year with your vehicle tax- tickets are recorded against plate numbers not names), but if its a hire car just hand the ticket in with the keys. How simple is that

[soldier]

I had a similar speeding ticket situation two years ago. I was pulled over by a police officer holding a hand held radar gun on the side of the road. In his broken english, he merely said “Me No Problem, You No Problem.” Which I understood as, give me a donation to the policemans fund. I made the small donation, because I was in a rush to get to San Jose for a meeting. After my meeting, I met with a friend, a long time resident of CR. He advised me that I should have paid the ticket. He mentioned that some police officers merely take the donation, then, still process and file a ticket. This can cause problems for the individual, down the road.

[DavidCMurray]

Driving around Grecia a couple of years ago, I inadvertently went down a one-way street the wrong way and got pinched. The officer was very congenial and explained that I could pay the c10,000 fine on the spot. I explained that I didn’t have that much so he wrote the ticket . . . for c5,000!

When I went to Banco Nacional to pay the fine, I learned that by not protesting the ticket I had automatically agreed to a thirty percent surcharge to support the local schools. So my c10,000 (well c5,000) offense ended up costing me c6,500.

[vriggle]

[quote=”arce”]hola todos

anyone had experience with

http://www.renta4x4incostarica.com ?

they look more affordable

thanks[/quote]
Yes, we rented from them on our first trip to CR and had both good and bad. Our car broke down (after some long, bumpy driving) and the manager was hard to reach. When we did reach him, we had a replacement car promptly. We even got reimbursed for filling up two cars. Plus they offered GPS and a cell phone and insurance. All in all, we’d say it was a good experience.

[Ronny]

I used them in february and my car broke down as well. I left several messages with the contact person’s wife and on his answering machine.He did not respond and finally answered his phone after two days.
From my experience they have crap service and their cars are poorly maintained.

[grb1063]

We rented from them 1 time only. A/C was broken, suspension was shot, rear window did not seal the road dust out and we had the wonderful experience of being stuck in the jungle with a dead battery. Stick with the major rental car companies.

[clayton]

I’ve been to CR 6 times in the last two years and have used Economy each time with great results out of both San Jose and Liberia. They have a satellite office in Nosara as well. I’ve used the little Dihatsu’s (real work horse for it’s size), Rav 4’s Motero’s and recently the 15 passenger van. no problems and quick turn around.

[Cancertomnpdx]

[quote=”arce”]hola todos

anyone had experience with

http://www.renta4x4incostarica.com ?

they look more affordable

thanks[/quote]

I have used renta4x4incostrarica twice on my most recent trip. I have never had a problem with either vehicle. They are a good company. I generally have them deliver the car to a little b&b I stay in Alaujela.
Tom
Portland, Oregon

[xspire1]

[quote=”davek”]Can anyone give me some advice on where to rent a reliable rental car near SJO airport. We are traveling all over the country during the two weeks we will be there and do not want to deal with break-downs. I understand that there are insurances that we need to have but the last time I rented, I had no idea if what I paid was fair or not. Insurance was more than the rental. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Dave[/quote]

We have rented from Toyota Rent A Car a number of times, which I believe is a division of Purdy Motors, the local Toyota Dealer. Their vehicles have been first class, new models in great condition, which is a key when travelling the back roads. We even had an accident with the vehicle and did not have the extra CDW insurance. I was impressed by how they settled the claim and truly amazed at how inexpensive the repair charges were – likely due to the lower cost of labor in CR. They may not be the cheapest, but you can travel safely knowing you have a reliable vehicle.

[sbw1977]

[quote=”clayton”]I’ve been to CR 6 times in the last two years and have used Economy each time with great results out of both San Jose and Liberia. They have a satellite office in Nosara as well. I’ve used the little Dihatsu’s (real work horse for it’s size), Rav 4’s Motero’s and recently the 15 passenger van. no problems and quick turn around.[/quote]

We rented from Economy our last time in CR(15 pass van in Liberia and returned it in San Jose). Everything went well, even chatted with the owners while our paper work was filled out, nice people. The problem was after returning home we received a bill for mysterious damages that appeared after we returned the vehicle. There was a quarter sized stone chip in the head light cover and an interesting looking puncture in the middle of the driver’s door.(I did all the driving and it was not there the last time I got out of the van) We got pinched for an extra $250 and attempts to contact the company went unanswered.

[VBloomberg]

My husband and I just returned from Costa Rica and we used a rental car from Avis while we were down there. We were shuttled to the rental office from the airport by Avis. I’m not sure of the cost but we got full insurance and the insurance was far more then the rental itself.

[Faith50]

I have rented through Tricolor two times and have had excellent results. Prices were good and they picked us up and delivered us back at the airport, which is included in their price.

[DavidCMurray]

All the car rental agencies will shuttle you back and forth to the airport as will most hotels.

The mandatory insurance cannot be avoided. Since only INS is permitted to provide insurance in Costa Rica, even if your home car insurance company provides full coverage worldwide it won’t suffice in Costa Rica. You’re stuck. It’s the law.

The one thing you can do is pay for your rental car with a Platinum VISA card. Those accounts usually provide coverage that’s otherwise optional but highly recommended. That will save a few dollars.

[waggoner41]

[quote=”arce”]hola todos

anyone had experience with

http://www.renta4x4incostarica.com ?

they look more affordable

thanks[/quote]

Reliable and will deliver your vehicle to the airport for you and provide a cell pone for $10 additional. We rented a Kia when we first arrived.

[Author]

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