Cheap Car Rental

davewright321 · #1 01-25-2009, 11:36 PM

I will be traveling to Santo Domingo in May. I am traveling from Santo Domingo to San Cristobal, Azua, and Barahona, then to Juan Dolio. I am trying to find out if there are any local places to rent cars that are cheaper than the airport international chains. I would really love to get a truck or SUV because of some of the rough roads out in Barahona, but on all the websites they are extremely expensive. Please let me know if there is anywhere that is affordable! Thanks

dymmach · #2 01-26-2009, 05:02 AM

Yes, they are exspensive but more than worth it if there's an incident.
God forbid!
Go with the major companies save yourself stress and money.
Somethings are'nt worth getting a bargain for.
Spend the extra money trust me, because if there's even a scratch on the car when you return it to a smaller establishment your looking at $$$$?

DAKRA · #3 01-26-2009, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dymmach

Yes, they are exspensive but more than worth it if there's an incident.
God forbid!
Go with the major companies save yourself stress and money.
Somethings are'nt worth getting a bargain for.
Spend the extra money trust me, because if there's even a scratch on the car when you return it to a smaller establishment your looking at $$$$?

There are so many car rentals places in the DR who try to undercut the other guy on price. While you may find them fairly cheap in price, you WILL pay in the long run. Have you seen the Offensive driving in the DR? I have been to many countries and the DR would be #1 for Wild driving (especially Santo Domingo). Your chances of someone coming in contact with your rental car is like 1 in 3. With this in mind, you would be better with one of the Large Brand Name companies who can take care of this for you. Good Luck.

ggparts · #4 01-26-2009, 10:05 AM

If I rent in Canada/US and I have no need for a specialty vehicle, I always reserve the cheapest available and live with it if it is available but the majority of times I get upgraded because the type I have reserved is not available. The question I have is "does this seem like a reasonable strategy in DR?
The other question that comes to mind is if the car is not suitable for the road conditions and suffers some type of suspension damage or other breakdown due to being inadequate for the task (I don't mean overloaded just if I encounter poor road conditions) will the rental company try to make it my fault and have it become a financial problem to me?

PS I supposedly have a small car reserved for 9 days at POP Airport for $208 (Insurance being covered by CC) any comments?

davewright321 · #5 01-26-2009, 12:30 PM

Thanks! It is good to know that some of the smaller companies will try to jack up the price for scratches and stuff. I will likely go with Budget. I can get an economy car there for $368 for the 2 and 1/2 weeks that I will be there. And yes, I have seen the crazy Dominican Driving. I actually lived there for a couple years, and this is my first time back, so I am way excited! If I need to, I might just rent a truck for a couple days when I get to Barahona to get to some of the places I want to see.

Ricardo900 · #6 01-26-2009, 12:35 PM

Since we are on the topic, many of those small cheap rental companies will have anywhere from a 60,000RD to 90,000RD deductible, while the large companies if you pay the extra 15US a day will be covered fully.

BPL888 · #7 01-28-2009, 04:01 PM

Will there be a difference of price if I get the car in the city vs getting it at the airport? I was thinking of using Dollar Rent a Car because they have a branch on Av Independencia in Gazcue. Thier website mentions an "Airport Concession Recovery Fee" (whatever that is) of 10% at the airport and 7% at the Gazcue location. Do I pay the fee regardless of where I rent? Are any of the majors(Budget,Hertz,Avis,National,Enterprise,Dolla r) better than other majors in the DR? If I take all the insurance offered it comes to $29 US more per day.That's more than the car itself ($24). Collision Damage Waiver=$20,Supplimental Liability=$6, Personal Accident=$3. I'll probably pay it, but I'm just saying!

davewright321 · #8 01-29-2009, 12:36 PM

You might want to see if your credit card will cover the insurance. If I book a car rental with my American Express card they automatically give me insurance so I don't need to purchase it from the car rental company.