| Pick-up location | Tamarindo |
|---|---|
| Hire locations | 15 |
| Airport locations | 4 |
Cons: Having the actual size car (and in 4x4) I reserved available. Having them accept the insurance I paid for through Kayak and not having to spend more money on insurance again. They are a scam. Kayak has a lot of misinformation about the availability of cars insurance & what you actually get.
Needed: Vigilance ... you need to stay up on everything.
Pros: If I compare it to my Avis rentals in the US not much.
The rental experience is not like Avis rentals in the US -
You should hope for the best be prepared for the worst. This is regardless... any any agency: Hertz, Budget, National... in Latin America always be vigilant. I speak from experience that cost me (twice).
I was glad that I brought a camera (iphone) and took photos of both the agent and name tag and the car's condition. As he marked the damages I took photos. He make damages on a form/paper but when I looked at my copy, (latter) the yellow copy. there was nothing marked. He had used a felt on the white copy and thus the pressure did not cause marking on the users copy) beware of this.
Cons: The Car I requested via this website was not available but the size below it was, but the agent did not recommended this car "bad roads", thus, I had to pay more to get the car above what I requested (Surprise?! not really). The car was dirty but the agent whipped off the window so I could see out ... The car's gas was not on full but was marked as full on the form. The car mechanical condition was ok.
It had 36000 miles and the suspension was shot, but it drove ok. Upon, return, I was not given a receipt showing the return rather I was told it would be sent to my email. "we do not print receipts" 6 hours latter no receipt in my email. Thus, I had no evidence that I returned the car in good condition and full. I returned to the office and was told again that he could not print a receipt but would resend the email receipt ... finally 2 hours latter I got it. The issue is trust (you should no have any - always think what if) and competence.
A bit misleading
Pros: Everyone we worked with was very friendly. The return process was actually very smooth and the rep made an effort to move quickly so we didn't miss our flight home.
Cons: The pick up process was a pretty bad experience. The amount we were quoted on Kayak was less than 1/3 the amount of what we ended up paying. There is some sort of insurance that is REQUIRED that you are never aware of until you are signing the contract. We had to have the contract redone three times because the wrong thing was being added in. Also, the hours at the airport Avis are limited. They only open at 6 so if you have a 7am flight like we did, you have to check in first, then return your car, then go through security. While it ended up working out for us, it was really frustrating having to do this process in a backwards way. There is no 'after hours' drop so you HAVE to wait for a person to be there to return your car. All in all I would not rent from Avis again.
Cons: Having the actual size car (and in 4x4) I reserved available. Having them accept the insurance I paid for through Kayak and not having to spend more money on insurance again. They are a scam. Kayak has a lot of misinformation about the availability of cars insurance & what you actually get.
Needed: Vigilance ... you need to stay up on everything.
Pros: If I compare it to my Avis rentals in the US not much.
The rental experience is not like Avis rentals in the US -
You should hope for the best be prepared for the worst. This is regardless... any any agency: Hertz, Budget, National... in Latin America always be vigilant. I speak from experience that cost me (twice).
I was glad that I brought a camera (iphone) and took photos of both the agent and name tag and the car's condition. As he marked the damages I took photos. He make damages on a form/paper but when I looked at my copy, (latter) the yellow copy. there was nothing marked. He had used a felt on the white copy and thus the pressure did not cause marking on the users copy) beware of this.
Cons: The Car I requested via this website was not available but the size below it was, but the agent did not recommended this car "bad roads", thus, I had to pay more to get the car above what I requested (Surprise?! not really). The car was dirty but the agent whipped off the window so I could see out ... The car's gas was not on full but was marked as full on the form. The car mechanical condition was ok.
It had 36000 miles and the suspension was shot, but it drove ok. Upon, return, I was not given a receipt showing the return rather I was told it would be sent to my email. "we do not print receipts" 6 hours latter no receipt in my email. Thus, I had no evidence that I returned the car in good condition and full. I returned to the office and was told again that he could not print a receipt but would resend the email receipt ... finally 2 hours latter I got it. The issue is trust (you should no have any - always think what if) and competence.
A bit misleading
Pros: Everyone we worked with was very friendly. The return process was actually very smooth and the rep made an effort to move quickly so we didn't miss our flight home.
Cons: The pick up process was a pretty bad experience. The amount we were quoted on Kayak was less than 1/3 the amount of what we ended up paying. There is some sort of insurance that is REQUIRED that you are never aware of until you are signing the contract. We had to have the contract redone three times because the wrong thing was being added in. Also, the hours at the airport Avis are limited. They only open at 6 so if you have a 7am flight like we did, you have to check in first, then return your car, then go through security. While it ended up working out for us, it was really frustrating having to do this process in a backwards way. There is no 'after hours' drop so you HAVE to wait for a person to be there to return your car. All in all I would not rent from Avis again.
Cons: Car stopped running 15 minutes after i started driving it. I got the car at 9:00 so I could attend my daughters Sunday brunch BIRTHDAY celebration at 10:00 and I MISSED it because the car stopped running. I called in the problem at 9”30 and it took an hour for someone to show up and fix the car.
Great value, but be aware of high mandatory insurance thru Thrifty.
Pros: Great rate on the car itself. Easy pick up. Allowed us to extend the rental.
Cons: Kayak should stop offering rental car insurance through Allianz if the rental car company will refuse to honor it. Insurance was nearly 6x the cost of the car itself, so beware.
Pros: The car itself was perfectly fine. A good working car with no issues.
Cons: I was quoted a very low rate for rental but the insurance to cover the car was over four times the rental rate. I wasn't able to rent without the insurance even though it should be covered through the credit card used to pay for it.
When we picked up the Car
Cons: When we picked up the car, they charged us 4 times the price we were given when we booked online.
Cons: They wouldn't accept the online insurance that was purchased with the rental and you have to buy their high dollar insurance
Creedy business with no customer focus
Pros: The car was passable at best and insurance fees were changed on several occasions. Also at the drop off i almost ended up paying them for returning the car one day early, not to mention any chance of refund or use of the car for the paid day after i returned the car and missed my bus. Horrible customer service at the san jose location with no explanations or eye contact after complaining about being ripped off.
Great value, but be aware of high mandatory insurance thru Thrifty.
Pros: Great rate on the car itself. Easy pick up. Allowed us to extend the rental.
Cons: Kayak should stop offering rental car insurance through Allianz if the rental car company will refuse to honor it. Insurance was nearly 6x the cost of the car itself, so beware.
Pros: The car itself was perfectly fine. A good working car with no issues.
Cons: I was quoted a very low rate for rental but the insurance to cover the car was over four times the rental rate. I wasn't able to rent without the insurance even though it should be covered through the credit card used to pay for it.
Cons: Car stopped running 15 minutes after i started driving it. I got the car at 9:00 so I could attend my daughters Sunday brunch BIRTHDAY celebration at 10:00 and I MISSED it because the car stopped running. I called in the problem at 9”30 and it took an hour for someone to show up and fix the car.
When we picked up the Car
Cons: When we picked up the car, they charged us 4 times the price we were given when we booked online.
Cons: They wouldn't accept the online insurance that was purchased with the rental and you have to buy their high dollar insurance
Creedy business with no customer focus
Pros: The car was passable at best and insurance fees were changed on several occasions. Also at the drop off i almost ended up paying them for returning the car one day early, not to mention any chance of refund or use of the car for the paid day after i returned the car and missed my bus. Horrible customer service at the san jose location with no explanations or eye contact after complaining about being ripped off.
Brakes failed and they lied
Pros: Nothing
Cons: The brakes failed and they are charging me to get the tow truck and lying saying the brakes were in perfect condition.
Cons: when we arrived car was not available. Wanted us to wait 2 hours for delivery. Next they announced additional 28 dollars a day for "mandatory" additional insurance.
Went nearby got same car cheaper from Alamo/National
no "mandatory" insurance. Never again with Economy.
Pros: Good vehicle. Fairly new and spacious.
Cons: Had to wait for it to be cleaned prior to pick up
uncomfortable service
Pros: nothing
Cons: when u go they take 4 imprints of your credit card and swipe it a bunch of times. makes u feel really incomfortable. also when dropoff they go I've Roy with a fine tooth comb looking for any dings or scratches
WORST EXPERIENCE AT A CAR RENTAL PLACE. THESE PEO
Cons: To begin with, we had gone to your Tamarindo office and gotten a quote for these days. The office quoted us $230, not including the Liberia drop off. When we looked online, we saw that this was cheaper and reserved it there. We showed up to pick up the car and they had given away our SUV. They said we were late. Our reservation was for 9 and we came there at 11. I explained that we had reserved it for 3 days and purchased insurance already, so our card was charged with that. They kept repeating that it was our fault, not their fault. A getting berated for 10 minutes, I asked if we could come to a solution rather than place blame. There had to be another car they could give us. They said they would give us a manual compact. I told them we were going to Arenal and explained we needed an SUV and did not feel comfortable driving a manual on these steep unpaved roads. They repeated that was all they had. I asked if they had another automatic car, and they said they had a minivan and they would charge me $28 extra per day. And if I did not like that, they encouraged me to purchase it anyway and then file a complaint to get my money back. I did not want to do that. I do not enjoy filing out complaints. I also did not have the budget for $28 extra a day. I asked if we took the manual car to the Liberia location if we could switch it out for an automatic. He said there was not one available. I asked if he called them. He said he did. I did not see him do anything like that.
I asked to speak to a manager. A guy identified himself as the manager and said he would do nothing to help me. I asked to speak to the regional manager. They wrote his name down , Jerry and gave me your 800 number. I asked for his direct office number. They called a number spoke in Spanish to him, which I understood most of it - he complained about us. He said we were late and he wasn't going to give us a car. He then hung up and said the manager was not in the office today. I asked for his number again and then went across the street to my hotel. I borrowed their phone, and Jerry answered the phone on the first ring. He said the same thing that the Tamarindo office said and refused to help us. I asked again if we could take the manual over to Liberia and switch it out for an automatic. He said there wasn't one. I asked for him to call please and check. There was one - a compact, not an SUV. Both of your representatives at this point lied and were unwilling to help or check.
By this point, this has been 45 minutes in your office. I went back across the street and said that Jerry got us a car to switch out in Liberia. They glared at me and my companion. They spent another 40 minutes taking their time to finish our paperwork. They stopped several times to help other people that came in and spoke Spanish and left us there in the middle of doing our paperwork. It took close to an hour and a half, for us to get out of there. They rudely made us
Brakes failed and they lied
Pros: Nothing
Cons: The brakes failed and they are charging me to get the tow truck and lying saying the brakes were in perfect condition.
Cons: when we arrived car was not available. Wanted us to wait 2 hours for delivery. Next they announced additional 28 dollars a day for "mandatory" additional insurance.
Went nearby got same car cheaper from Alamo/National
no "mandatory" insurance. Never again with Economy.
uncomfortable service
Pros: nothing
Cons: when u go they take 4 imprints of your credit card and swipe it a bunch of times. makes u feel really incomfortable. also when dropoff they go I've Roy with a fine tooth comb looking for any dings or scratches
WORST EXPERIENCE AT A CAR RENTAL PLACE. THESE PEO
Cons: To begin with, we had gone to your Tamarindo office and gotten a quote for these days. The office quoted us $230, not including the Liberia drop off. When we looked online, we saw that this was cheaper and reserved it there. We showed up to pick up the car and they had given away our SUV. They said we were late. Our reservation was for 9 and we came there at 11. I explained that we had reserved it for 3 days and purchased insurance already, so our card was charged with that. They kept repeating that it was our fault, not their fault. A getting berated for 10 minutes, I asked if we could come to a solution rather than place blame. There had to be another car they could give us. They said they would give us a manual compact. I told them we were going to Arenal and explained we needed an SUV and did not feel comfortable driving a manual on these steep unpaved roads. They repeated that was all they had. I asked if they had another automatic car, and they said they had a minivan and they would charge me $28 extra per day. And if I did not like that, they encouraged me to purchase it anyway and then file a complaint to get my money back. I did not want to do that. I do not enjoy filing out complaints. I also did not have the budget for $28 extra a day. I asked if we took the manual car to the Liberia location if we could switch it out for an automatic. He said there was not one available. I asked if he called them. He said he did. I did not see him do anything like that.
I asked to speak to a manager. A guy identified himself as the manager and said he would do nothing to help me. I asked to speak to the regional manager. They wrote his name down , Jerry and gave me your 800 number. I asked for his direct office number. They called a number spoke in Spanish to him, which I understood most of it - he complained about us. He said we were late and he wasn't going to give us a car. He then hung up and said the manager was not in the office today. I asked for his number again and then went across the street to my hotel. I borrowed their phone, and Jerry answered the phone on the first ring. He said the same thing that the Tamarindo office said and refused to help us. I asked again if we could take the manual over to Liberia and switch it out for an automatic. He said there wasn't one. I asked for him to call please and check. There was one - a compact, not an SUV. Both of your representatives at this point lied and were unwilling to help or check.
By this point, this has been 45 minutes in your office. I went back across the street and said that Jerry got us a car to switch out in Liberia. They glared at me and my companion. They spent another 40 minutes taking their time to finish our paperwork. They stopped several times to help other people that came in and spoke Spanish and left us there in the middle of doing our paperwork. It took close to an hour and a half, for us to get out of there. They rudely made us
Based on ratings and reviews from real users on KAYAK, the best car hire companies in Tamarindo are Alamo (8,7, 6471 reviews), National (8,2, 3774 reviews), and Avis (7,6, 2244 reviews).
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