Renting a Car in the DR

[d life]

Thanks guys for all the wonderful advice on driving directions. It has been very helpful.
My second issue is renting a car. I have found different prices on the internet but teh best prices I have found have been from places like adventurerentacar dominicanrentacar etc. I am very careful about insurance. Had a friend that drove through a neighborhood and the kids thew stones at the rental car and he was liable. But the guys say that they have insurance and then they tell you about being liable for not more than $2000US.
Just want to know if anyone has used these guys. Your experience with them and what you will advice me to do. I am a little uncomfortable with the uncertinity involved in having a responsibility to the tone of $2000US. Having been to africa a lot I now how the mind of individuals in a third world counrty works. Thanks for any suggestions or advice.

[Robert]

Go with a large company, National, Avis etc. Lots of posts and National and lots of DR1 posters have rented from them.

National Car

If you need any help, let me know.

[jruane44]

I agree stay with the big names. I've been ripped off by MOTO RENT A CAR Boca Chica. They billed me for over two grand after I got back to the states

[chuckuindy]

I used Thrifty in SDQ and was very happy with the service and the car. I got a brand new Suzuki Forenza for $670USD for 2 weeks, and promptly put over 3000km on it. My only mistake was that I told them that a small body part fell off and I am still not sure how this is going to be handled. One other piece of advice is, never let AZB take you on a sight seeing trip. We got stuck and had it not been for my skills we would still be in a ditch down a mountain side somewhere between Santiago and POP.

Charlie

[ride2hard]

http://www.hotdealsrentacar.com

felix is the man, he takes care of his customer. know him for yrs when he used to live in NY.

honest company he's established.

[sunnyvillas]

Originally Posted by d life

Thanks guys for all the wonderful advice on driving directions. It has been very helpful.
My second issue is renting a car. I have found different prices on the internet but teh best prices I have found have been from places like adventurerentacar dominicanrentacar etc. I am very careful about insurance. Had a friend that drove through a neighborhood and the kids thew stones at the rental car and he was liable. But the guys say that they have insurance and then they tell you about being liable for not more than $2000US.
Just want to know if anyone has used these guys. Your experience with them and what you will advice me to do. I am a little uncomfortable with the uncertinity involved in having a responsibility to the tone of $2000US. Having been to africa a lot I now how the mind of individuals in a third world counrty works. Thanks for any suggestions or advice.

YOu can also contact Don Miller , he is very good to work with and has really good deals. I already had few of my clients renting cars from him and they all were really happy.
His website is : Puerto Plata tours and his phone number : 809-962-4167

[jcarn]

I'm no expert but I wound up renting a car while staying @ boca chica. I dont think the place was called moto rent a car. Anyways the only advice I can give in regards to renting a car is a as follows.

1) dont rent something that looks new or attracts attention.

I wound up renting an older model (probably like a 98 low end toyota?) car that blended in and didnt make me stand out as much. In fact most people were surprised when they saw me getting out of the car that I wasnt a dominican.

2) watch out for the car rental place tricks.

They tried to get me with a few tricks when I rented the car. For example they gave me the car with absolutely no gas (which I noticed right away) and then they told me that it comes that way. I guess the scam was to let the dumb tourist run out of gas and then have them call on the cellphone I rented from them and charge a fee for gas.

The second scam they tried to pull on me was they just gave me a map without telling me that I had to return it. Most rental agencies in the us will give you a free map to keep. When I went to return the car I had the map in hand and I remember the manager asking the guy in spanish 'did he return the map? yes? damn!'.

3) only rent a car if you really REALLY know how to drive.

What awaits you in the DR is pure unadulterated CHAOS on the road. While driving on the highway expect to be dodging motorcycle oncoming traffic, families literally running across the highway, and other drivers. Try not to drive at night because other drivers will absolutely blind you with thier highbeams and if it rains and you're driving on the highway then you're truly screwed as there is absolutely zero visibility and tons of potholes.

I havent even gotten into what it's like driving in the city. The bus drivers will try to run you off the road or play chicken with you at intersections. The traffic lights work about 20% of the time if you're lucky but most people ignore those anyways.

I swear, driving in DR is like playing some sorta video game.

hrmmm..... that's all I can think about right now.

[Gregg]

we rented from EuropeCar out of STI airport. no problems.

we did better with the rates locally than over the Internet. all the major rental agencies were represented at the airport. however, it was not high season.

many of the major agencies will not quote the entire price online. they will not give you specifics on extra charges that will surface when you get to the counter. this is very misleading.

the Loss Damage Waiver is where they really screw you. around 11-15 USD per DAY! that really adds up but you need it as it puts your deductible to zero (supposedly). get a Gold Visa. this covers your LDW for free as long as you decline the rental agency's coverage and book/pay with the Gold Visa. we recouped the annual ($60 USD) Visa fee very quickly.

(as well, our Gold card offered free extended travel insurance for the entire family for up to 31 days and trip cancellation insurance. the card paid for itself again and again.)

go over the car very thoroughly as they document every smudge and scratch. not like in the US where they only nail you with bigger things. i think this is another revenue source. what do they really charge everyone who gets a scratch or little ding??

make sure car is running for a bit before you agree on level of gas. ours showed 1/4 tank when off. turned out to be just the "idle" position of the guage...lost a few nuisance dollars there.

go buy windshield fluid right away. it is always close to empty (same problem in the US).

oh and BIG item here: you MUST file a police report for any type of damage done to the car for the Visa coverage or the agency's coverage to be effective. this applies even for vandalism etc.. not sure what the coverage is if you damage the car yourself (scrape a door or something).