Renting a car in Costa Rica can be a hair-raising experience. Horror stories of unseen costs, unreturned deposits and cars with faulty brakes float around Gringo hangouts.
Combine these fears with the fact that rental contracts require lawyer-translators and you have what appears to be a recipe for problems.
Carol López-Calleja works at the travel desk at Hotel Balmoral on Avenida Central in San José . Every day she and other in the same type of job help tourists sort through rental car companies. After years of experience with the companies, she says the best strategy is to be active.
Mrs. López-Calleja says that consumers should search through the Internet and then call local car rental agencies. Consumers need to make sure they know the entire price, including any mileage fees, early return fees and insurance fees. Consumers should also inquire about pickup fees. Several agencies charge for airport pickup.
Many tourists also claim that they had problems obtaining their "reserved" cars. Tourists claim that their cars were not reserved after all. The local agencies say that customers receive confirmation numbers after ordering their cars and that their reservations services are completely reliable. Still, it would be wise to call the day before the trip to ensure that the car will be there.
Rental car companies are also known for their one-sided contracts. Company representatives maintain that their contracts are fair and meet industry standards, but consumers should take caution with their rentals. Some customers have been hit with healthy repair bills on their credit cards long after they had left the country.
In order to avoid any contract-related costs, Mrs. López-Calleja recommends taking a hands-on approach. "Go through the car before you take it," she says. "Make sure the radio, the air conditioning, the brakes and everything else works. Make sure the car doesn’t have any problems."
The same hands-on approach will avoid problems when the car is returned. "Go through the car with them when you turn it in and make sure to tear up the credit card voucher," Mrs. López-Calleja says. These steps should help to reduce any extra costs that agencies might try to recover.
The No. 1 tip advocated by travel agencies and by the rental companies is to shop around. Informed consumers should be able to find the best deals and reduce the chances of paying more than they have to.
Of course there are scammers, too, agencies without vehicles. They simply take deposits from foreign tourists. Firms that advertise in A.M. Costa Rica have generated no such complaints. Representatives at the car agencies were reluctant to speak about their company’s policies. Most of the local companies have Web sites that include prices and policies.
The collected data reported here was assembled using company Web sites. In most cases insurance fees needed to be tabulated. These prices reflect the general range available in the country and are suspect to change.
The three cars used as a sample are available at most of the rental agencies. Similar cars were used for agencies that did not carry a particular model.
Seasonal rates apply at all of the agencies. The high season normally begins in December and runs through end of April. The low season normally encompasses the rest of the year, however, some companies have middle season rates during July.
Rates also vary according to specials that run throughout the year. The collected prices reflect the cost of the car without any special promotional deals.
Four by Four Car Rental accepts VISA, MasterCard
& American Express.
