Car Rentals in Mexico - What am I missing?

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

Ok, so what do I need to know? We are flying into Cancun and will be arriving at just after midnight, but cannot check in to our resort until 4 pm. I have booked a room at the Comfort Inn Cancun Aeropuerto so we have somewhere to stay until we can check in.

So I started doing research on shuttles to Mayan Riviera as we will be staying a the Grand Mayan. The one shuttle service was going to cost $150CAD round trip for two people.

I'm on Expedia and looking for rentals for two weeks from 07/02/2015 to 21/02/2015 and am coming up with prices of $15 for two weeks? Something is obviously amiss here and trying to figure out what it is.

[itchyfeet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close itchyfeet]

Ok, so what do I need to know? We are flying into Cancun and will be arriving at just after midnight, but cannot check in to our resort until 4 pm. I have booked a room at the Comfort Inn Cancun Aeropuerto so we have somewhere to stay until we can check in.

So I started doing research on shuttles to Mayan Riviera as we will be staying a the Grand Mayan. The one shuttle service was going to cost $150CAD round trip for two people.

I'm on Expedia and looking for rentals for two weeks from 07/02/2015 to 21/02/2015 and am coming up with prices of $15 for two weeks? Something is obviously amiss here and trying to figure out what it is.

Mexico has a mandatory liability insurance fee -- usually $15 per day or more. This insurance is not covered by your credit card company. Also check directly with car rental agencies for rates. We've had good luck with Alamo in Mexico.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

We've had good luck with Alamo in Mexico.

That's funny.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

The required by law 3rd party liability policy does not cover the car itself. It covers damage to others or their property. It's all the police will ask for if there is an accident; they don't care about the vehicle you are driving; they care only about the other person/property. The insurance on the car MAY be covered by your credit card--call to find out--and if so, you won't have to pay for insurance on the vehicle unless you prefer to have the insurance directly with the rental company.

[easyrider Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close easyrider]

Never rent the car for Mexico from anything other than the actual rental car website. Many of the auto rental agencies are independently owned and often charge for mandatory insurance. Under Mexican law, all vechicles that are on the road are required to have liability insurance. The rental agencies can decide if they are going to back charge this to the renters. The problem is that your credit card insurance will cover the comprehensive damage unless you accept the rental agencies insurance. The rental agencies can intertwine the comp with the liability so that it isn't decline able by credit card insurance. What this means is you decline the comp and the rental company says you damaged the car they can charge the credit card for the damage.

Avis, Hertz and Budget offer the 3rd party liability in the price. You can purchase extra liability if you like. I like American Express for credit card car insurance. It offers way more than a visa card but does cost about $25 - $30 per rental period. Alamo and Fox do not and you need to purchase the 3rd party liability from them. Occasionally the other car rental companies do change policies so it is a good idea to call the agency to make certain. Avis has the better cars and higher rate. Budget has the cheapest rate and the crappiest cars. Hurtz is in the middle of the road for price and car quality.

It depends on where you go as well. In Cabo the Avis has a smaller mini van that I like for a decent price.

[akparsa Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close akparsa]

LOL, I know exactly what you mean!

I rented in Cabo in February because the rental was so cheap compared to shuttle service for our whole group. But even though my confirmation specified that all insurances were included in my low price, there was no way the Avis dude was letting me rent that car without agreeing to a bunch of their mandatory insurance. We were seriously at the Avis place for like 1 1/2 hours.

i finally agreed. It took months of hassle but I finally got my Chase credit card to refund most of it.

DEFINITELY did not find it worthwhile. We also had an issue with horrible directions from Avis, no real map, cell phone service not working just after arrival, and just generally being travel fatigued didn't help.

I'll rent a car nearly anywhere except NYC and Bangkok, but I've added Mexico to my short list of "never again".

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Be care full in Mexico when renting cars. It used to be that the police left tourists alone. Not any more. They are now looking to catch you and fine you big time. If you do not pay right away they will jail you or take away your passport. I used to rent when ever I went to Mexico. Now If I need to go somewhere I stick with Brant Boston car Service.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Here is his website. I would not rent in Mexico as well.
If you are staying at one of the Royal Resorts they used to offer reasonable shuttle service on a large bus or van for a per person rate...it has been many years but I think it was thru Thomas More travel???? We always just took a taxi back to the airport as it was cheaper then either the shuttle or pre arranged Transpo. Seems the on airport pick up has a hefty fee.
http://www.entertainment-plus.net Brant Boston

http://www.thomasmoretravel.com/transportation.asp Thomas Moore

Be care full in Mexico when renting cars. It used to be that the police left tourists alone. Not any more. They are now looking to catch you and fine you big time. If you do not pay right away they will jail you or take away your passport. I used to rent when ever I went to Mexico. Now If I need to go somewhere I stick with Brant Boston car Service.

[itchyfeet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close itchyfeet]

We always rent a car in Mexico--been to Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, & Cancun. We like the freedom of going where we want to go when we want to go. The only place the police were out for Mordida (bribes) was PV. This was several years ago. It is my understanding this isn't happening as often since the tourist trade is so important for the city. It did cost us $50 a couple of times there. We are just back from a two week stay in Cabo--no problems whatsoever with policia.

[bellesgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bellesgirl]

Going back to the original issue, the Grand Mayan used to have a free shuttle from the airport. You would have to pay for a taxi to return but that is usually less than $30. Send an email to the concierge at the resort to book the shuttle.

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

Yes, after doing a bunch of reading I think passing on the car rental is going to be the best option. The last thing I want are hassles when I arrive at just after midnight! I contacted the concierge at the resort and yes they do have a shuttle, but I think we will just stay at the airport for the night any ways since we cannot check in until 4 pm on the Sunday any ways.

[easyrider Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close easyrider]

I rent cars in Mexico at least 4 weeks a year. I like Avis in Mexico but I always use the Avis website for our reservation. Recently I have been using other corporate rental agencies as well because of shifts in rental policies.

The Mexican police know your rental car has the required 3rd party liability insurance because it is required. The car can not be driven with out this. The rental agency can not rent cars without this insurance.

You can purchase extra liability insurance if you like at all of the major rental agencies. The only time you would have a problem in regards to renting a car is if you rent a car through a Mexican affiliate office. Many resorts have this type of affiliation with rental agencies. Corporate agencies at the airport follow corporate rules on the corporate website. You can confirm what is required to rent a car bu calling the corporate agency. I call the number on the rental website about 2 weeks before travel to review what will be required. Only once was there a change and it was with an Avis reservation. I cancelled this reservation because for some reason Avis was trying to add insurance costs to the rental cars. This didn't work out for Avis and Avis now has the required 3rd party liability included in the rate. Budget and Hurtz now include this in the rate as well but this should be verified before you head to Mexico.

American Express has a premium coverage for enrolled cards.

https://www295.americanexpress.com/p...ofCoverage.pdf

Avis terms for Mexico

http://www.avis-int.com/en/condicion...s.php?cpais=MX

Insurances and Coverages

• Motor Liability Insurance Basic coverage for Civil Liability and third-party property damage, within the limits established by insurance laws, is included in the rates. Please verify at time of booking the scope and limitations of this coverage.

[bellesgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bellesgirl]

Yes, after doing a bunch of reading I think passing on the car rental is going to be the best option. The last thing I want are hassles when I arrive at just after midnight! I contacted the concierge at the resort and yes they do have a shuttle, but I think we will just stay at the airport for the night any ways since we cannot check in until 4 pm on the Sunday any ways.

You can still use the free shuttle as long as you go back to the airport. We had spent a week in Cancun then took a taxi back to the airport. From there the shuttle took us to the Grand Mayan. You just have to give them a pickup time.

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

Yeah, that was our intention. I'll just give them some bogus flight number that get's there around the time we want to be picked up!

You can still use the free shuttle as long as you go back to the airport. We had spent a week in Cancun then took a taxi back to the airport. From there the shuttle took us to the Grand Mayan. You just have to give them a pickup time.

[pittle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pittle]

You can always take a taxi back from the Comfort Inn to the airport the next day and let Grand Mayan pick you up on their shuttle. We did that once with another resort that said they would provide free transportation, but we were not really sure that they would. We stayed at another resort the week before and were not too far from the airport, so we did it as a test. We gave them a flight number for mid-day, got dropped off, rolled our bags over to the arrivals area and saw our name on a sign and hopped into the van.

Oops! I did not read 2nd page. (Too early in the morning for me.) Your method will work.