General Info

[Mr Enternational]

Thanks for the Avis and Amex note. Never had that card. I hate paying for the "privilege" of having one.

I know what you mean. I have the blue AMEX. There is no fee for that one and you don't have to pay the balance off every month. I do have a Chase Marriott Visa though that I pay $75/year for, but they give me a certificate for a free room for a day each year with that so it all evens out.

[Tempoecorto]

I said the same thing to the rental guy. He said since I booked through rental company it is the procedure. Even here in USA they charge a deposit when renting the car.

They charge a deposit in the US? That is news to me! I am from Boston but never seen anything like they do in the DR. They put a stake on the $1500 at Nelly so that funds could not be used, if hypothetically my card limit runs out. Back home, I only have to give the card details. No blocking of funds, at least not in the states including the South or the Midwest or CA where I have rented -no knowledge of NY.

[Sammon]

Good list. Curious, why would you let then charge a deposit if you are also buying insurance locally? I do not buy insurance and so have no way out of a deposit.

Also, good point, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Unless you have an insurance claim to make, you would never know how good the policy / company is but I guess it is safer not having to find out.

I said the same thing to the rental guy. He said since I booked through rental company it is the procedure. Even here in USA they charge a deposit when renting the car.

One time I had some extra scratches from driving on a dirt road. The guy said since I had bought the insurance it is OK. Maybe if I did not they would have asked me to pay for fixing that.

[Dickhead]

Thanks for the Avis and Amex note. Never had that card. I hate paying for the "privilege" of having one.

AMEX has several no-fee cards now, such AMEX Blue for Business (make up your own business; they don't check). And, once you have an AMEX card you can buy their supplemental rental insurance. This is great. $19.95 per rental (not per day) for rentals up to 42 days. This is first dollar coverage (no deductible) and primary so if you have an accident your own insurance company won't find out about it, if you have an insurance company. This is good in almost every country (Italy, Israel, and Ireland are the excluded ones I remember and I don't think any were in Latin America) and covers pickups, SUVs, etc. Which most credit cards do not.

I had this insurance and I let my sister drive the rental when she was not on the agreement. She hit a pole in the underground parking garage and did about $800 worth of damage. I was like, fuck it, it won't cost me a cent. She kept insisting on "at least paying the deductible" and had a hard time with the concept that there wasn't one. I had to fill out a few forms (and of course say I did it) but it was very painless.

So there are no monthly fees or anything with this. Sign up and use your AMEX card to pay for the rental and you are good to go. I rented that SUV for the full 42 days, put 8500 miles on it, brought it back damaged, and then Hertz said, "Oh, we miscalculated your rate and so here is a $215 credit. " You can't decline it once you are signed up, but if you don't want to use it on a given rental, just use a different credit card. You can cancel any time you want.

[Tempoecorto]

Don't, 1. Let them charge too much deposit on the credit card. I get charged only $300 deposit every time.

Good list. Curious, why would you let then charge a deposit if you are also buying insurance locally? I do not buy insurance and so have no way out of a deposit.

Also, good point, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Unless you have an insurance claim to make, you would never know how good the policy / company is but I guess it is safer not having to find out.

[Tempoecorto]

If anyone wants to buy a car down here I can go through the process with you.

Thanks for the Avis and Amex note. Never had that card. I hate paying for the "privilege" of having one.

What? Pay a bribe to buy a car. Only in the DR I guess! The rest of the world uses it for selling, LOL.

[Sammon]

do,

1. always book ahead through orbitz or other websites. what i do is find the cheapest rate on orbitz and directly go to website of the cheapest rental company and book.

it is usually same price.

2. do buy total coverage insurance from the local guy. this coverage is total in case anything happens without deductible. only issue is if you are driving drunk or hit a pedestrian. in other words a police case. i have paid anywhere from $20 to $35 in addition to rental charges depending on my negotiation with rental guy.

in essence you can get out of the country without paying anything if something happens. if you get into an accident make sure you get a police report.

i have not had any accident and never tested the insurance handling of this but i buy insurance to give me peace of mind.

rental guy gives you a copy of the insurance.

3. in spite of getting the total insurance check the car thoroughly for any damages before getting out. check the fuel guage. for some reason in dr they never fill up the cars. one time it was one spot lower and the girl charged me $23 for maybe couple of litres.

4. be extra carefull with the motos. they drive wrong way and in and out of traffic.

5. when parking usually there is a guy trying to make some extra money. give him 50 pesos and he makes sure your car is safe.

6. always check the spare tire and make sure it is ok.

don't,

1. let them charge too much deposit on the credit card. i get charged only $300 deposit every time.

2. do not sign the contract without checking the rental rate etc.

3. do not speed on the roads. slow and steady is the name of the game.

4. do not run the red light even if you see locals ignore it.

happy motoring.

[Cagep1967]

yes, of course they are franchises, and you can make a reservation online for a particular car, but when you arrive they will be terribly sorry, but the only car available is some humungous gas guzzling suv with bald tires that reeks of tobacco smoke, but as luck would have it, they know someone who has a small car available for only double the price of the car you originally wanted, etc.

really the us franchises just seem to take the money for making the reservation, and then the real negotiation starts when you arrive in the dr. it isn't really even a reservation, more of a referral fee.

the key to understanding business in the dr is to remember that these guys probably can't read all the contractual fine print stuff or don't understand it, but they don't give a toss whether they get your return business and have no qualms about putting the grossly padded repair bill that is greater than the actual value of the car on your charge card that has a $10,000 limit. very likely the repairs to the car were done by his brother-in-law at a special discount for about $500.00. this is an island where everyone is related and everyone grew up together from childhood with the same people.

when i have rented cars in the dr, i have always rented from local guys and have had no complaints, but it is best to pay cash and not get into credit cards, let alone american express charge cards.

i've rented mainly from avis, never with an issue. i've had several fender benders and they have handled it with amex with little issue. they do charge the card for the repairs ahead of time, but once i put the claim in with amex they handled it from there and in less than 45 days resolved every time. i once backed into a pole (slightly drunk) and destroyed the hatchback, window and bumper. total repairs were reasonable at $500 and change. in the states it would have been about 2 k worth of damage.

using non avis rentals:

thrifty, i had a small accident and they way over charged me. amex took care of it, but thrifty attempted to charge me again and again, i had to block them. amex is very good for their customers.

meta car (no name car rental) great car, good price however they charged me $100 more for a non visible scrape on the bumper. i got amex to block that charge with no issue.

budget charged me double for a 1 day rental once, again amex blocked that.

with avis never had any issues like i described.

buying a car down here is a trip, every office has there people with bribes and the process is a crazy long one. i took me 1 very long day, if i did not pay the bribes it would have taken more than a week.

if anyone wants to buy a car down here i can go through the process with you.

[Lakeside32]

So its obvious Mr E must have opted out of the loss damage part of the contract, which would / should have covered the car. My question is, are you allowed to purchase insurance thru the rental company that will cover every possible loss or liability while in the RD. I am going to St. Maarten for the first time and I'm being told a rental car is a must, I know these rental chains arent really under the jurisdiction of the US, so I'm going to take a chance in St. Maarten, because I will not drive with Dominicans under any circumstance.

[Tempoecorto]

I rented a car from an independent guy called Wilson Polanco who has a rental office called Welcome Rent a Car--el Mejor Servicio--just across the highway from the airport at Santo Domingo. It was a very clean Toyota Corolla with 80 K miles, excellent tires, in good shape, and economical on gas. I didn't pay any deposit, just cash in advance for the days of the rental, but he did ask to keep my passport until I brought back the car.

Thanks for this one. What was the rate you paid per day? One permanent beef I have with the regular rental is their 18% ITBIS. The smaller companies do not charge it or they weave around. Also did you book beforehand or just showed up?

[Tempoecorto]

I used to swear by Nelly, but they started charging some extra fees for something. Also, they are only open until a certain time, so when I have come in later than that time I have had to use another agency. I was using Budget before Nelly so I just reverted to them.

You are right. Nelly has those schedule problems but if I get late, I plan to pick up the car, the morning after, also always in city as airport rates are higher. Nelly in Santiago has been good so far. They know me and I can get out fairly fast. They also come to pick me up the day of rental and drop me off after rental. I also hate to pay the hefty insurance rates those idiots want to charge and so 1500 dollar hold works for me. Having said that, this time this gook in their Santo Domingo office was such a pain. You would imagine that Nelly Santiago and SD would be similar but as Frannie says, you just book the car from the US, the real negotiation begins at the rental office.

[Frannie]

Maybe I will never understand business in the DR. After my accident, I returned the wrecked car for another one. They could not use the same card for the new car so I had to use a different card. In this process, unbeknownst to me, they made up a new contract. (I rarely read, I just sign.) Under the original, the car would cost me $217.60 for 8 days ($19.14/day plus tax). I turned the new car in 1 day early and did not notice until later (because I was in a hurry to catch my flight) that they had charged me $289.06 for 7 days ($30/day plus tax). I called Budget's US number to file a case on June 19. They said that it would take up to 30 days to investigate.

If you did not know, the car rental places in the DR are franchises and really operate independently of the actual foreign corporations.

Yes, of course they are franchises, and you can make a reservation online for a particular car, but when you arrive they will be terribly sorry, but the only car available is some humungous gas guzzling SUV with bald tires that reeks of tobacco smoke, but as luck would have it, they know someone who has a small car available for only double the price of the car you originally wanted, etc.

Really the US franchises just seem to take the money for making the reservation, and then the real negotiation starts when you arrive in the DR. It isn't really even a reservation, more of a referral fee.

The key to understanding business in the DR is to remember that these guys probably can't read all the contractual fine print stuff or don't understand it, but they don't give a toss whether they get your return business and have no qualms about putting the grossly padded repair bill that is greater than the actual value of the car on your charge card that has a $10,000 limit. Very likely the repairs to the car were done by his brother-in-law at a special discount for about $500.00. This is an ISLAND where everyone is related and everyone grew up together from childhood with the same people.

When I have rented cars in the DR, I have always rented from local guys and have had no complaints, but it is best to pay cash and not get into credit cards, let alone American Express charge cards.

[Wrx2005]

No. When you use the credit card, the card company has their own insurance that covers it. When you have an accident the rental agency is supposed to deal with the credit card people to get their money. In my case, instead of sending AMEX the proper documents to process the claim, they just went and charged the damage to my card, which they were not supposed to do. If you want insurance from the rental car place then it will probably run you about $20/ day.I used to swear by Nelly, but they started charging some extra fees for something. Also, they are only open until a certain time, so when I have come in later than that time I have had to use another agency. I was using Budget before Nelly so I just reverted to them. The only other company I used was Avis, because it was the only one open when I came into Santiago about 4am. Budget also does the $1500 hold. They charge once for $1000 and another for $500. Then they make you sign a blank old school credit card slip that they imprint your card on.

You are in the DR a lot. Drive all over the place. Ever thought of buying your own car? For what you have paid for your rentals, and will probably continue to pay you will have paid for a car.

I am actually looking into that myself. But I do know this endeavor is wrought with issues to be cautious of. Currently I rented a car for a month. What I paid for a month could have easily went towards a purchase instead.

[Wrx2005]

It seems to depend somewhat on the airline. Spirit won't let you board without a return ticket. On the other hand I went down a couple of weeks ago on a one way Delta ticket and came back on AA. One way around if you are concerned is to buy a throwaway ticket for the cheapest flight out of the DR for several months in the future, probably Spirit from Santiago to Fort Lauderdale for about $100 that you may or may not actually use.

United did not request proof of a return fare. Got to POP, no problems with immigration. Put staying 15 days on my immigration form. No questions or conversation from the agent. In fact he looked sort of bored or indifferent. Had one checked in bag to claim. Was sent over to the bag screeners on the way out. The guy in front of me was stopped for inspection. I kept it moving.

I was a little concerned because I had packed some questionable items in my luggage, apparently didn't raise any flags or suspicions. One way fare from Newark was $223. In late fall hopefully a return flight price will be cheaper than what it is now?

I intend to get with the guy that lives in Sosua and find out why he was told he needed to buy a ticket back to the states.

BTW, I will keep that suggestion in mind just in case. Thanks!

[Frannie]

No. When you use the credit card, the card company has their own insurance that covers it. When you have an accident the rental agency is supposed to deal with the credit card people to get their money. In my case, instead of sending AMEX the proper documents to process the claim, they just went and charged the damage to my card, which they were not supposed to do. If you want insurance from the rental car place then it will probably run you about $20/ day.I used to swear by Nelly, but they started charging some extra fees for something. Also, they are only open until a certain time, so when I have come in later than that time I have had to use another agency. I was using Budget before Nelly so I just reverted to them. The only other company I used was Avis, because it was the only one open when I came into Santiago about 4am. Budget also does the $1500 hold. They charge once for $1000 and another for $500. Then they make you sign a blank old school credit card slip that they imprint your card on.

I rented a car from an independent guy called Wilson Polanco who has a rental office called Welcome Rent a Car--el Mejor Servicio--just across the highway from the airport at Santo Domingo. It was a very clean Toyota Corolla with 80 K miles, excellent tires, in good shape, and economical on gas. I didn't pay any deposit, just cash in advance for the days of the rental, but he did ask to keep my passport until I brought back the car. I gave him a spare passport that I happen to carry for such occasions as I am a dual national. His assistant also showed me how to find the exit for the Samana Highway to the north when we went to buy gas.

Unfortunately the car got badly scratched on the rear corner and doors of the passenger side while parked in the street in Sosua, though I was not driving it at the time, so I had a guy respray the rear bumper and Polish the side of the car with compound and shine it up. This left a couple of small thumb-size dents on the door near the handle, but although they examined the car very closely when I returned it, they did not spot anything and gave me back my passport. The repairs cost me an extra $US 150, the main expense being sending someone to Puerto Plata to the Toyota dealership with the filler cap to get a computerized match for the metallic paint, and buying that paint. Still, I had the car back in about 3 hours, so no complaints.