Renting a Car in Mexico – What to Expect

I would recommend preventing that one because when I called the 800 number to complain, they essentially informed me that has absolutely no control over Mexican franchises and there’s absolutely nothing they can do. I was stuck with an even worse car for more cash given that I had to take what I could get.

There’s not a lot of distinction between companies, though often Hertz will toss in the mandated liability insurance coverage you need to drive in Mexico. That can more than offset a higher per-day leasing price. Otherwise, go on deal cost and location. Airport rentals can cost a bit more than off-site ones, but they don’t impose the “tax the travelers” huge charges that you see in the USA and Europe.

A Hefty Deposit for the Rental Car

The Mexican vehicle rental company will typically put a hold on your charge card if you do not take the complete insurance coverage, a quantity that may be a set price or be a percentage of the automobile value. Utilize a credit card with a few thousand dollars open balance on it or your card may be decreased. You generally cant utilize a debit card or pay cash, so be prepared.

What the business will do is put a hold of this quantity on your card and have you sign it. This feels unpleasant considering that you’re signing a slip that might have $2,000 or $3,000 on it. Do not fret. Unless you wreck the vehicle or do not return it, they’ll hand that slip you signed back to you at the end and you can rip it as much as get rid of.

A Lengthy Pick-up/Inspection Process

Because you’ve reserved your vehicle in advance and offered a credit card number, don’t assume you can be on your method in 5 minutes just. The USA is the land of effectiveness, where benefit and speed are thought-about competitive benefits. Mexico is the opposite, so relax and assume this procedure is going to take a while.

The paperwork and insurance conversations (see the next section), you and the counter person– or an assistant if you have to take a shuttle bus to a separate facility– will together go over the vehicle panel by panel. You and they will be trying to find scratches, nicks, and damages. Minuscule ones that would be disregarded in the USA and worked out in the detailing later on will be kept in mind on a kind. Often that type is paper, sometimes its on an iPad. Every tiny bit of damage will go on there.

In the USA you’ll be fortunate if the individual you hand the secrets to upon return even strolls around the car to look for dents. When you return the rental car in Mexico, you’ll go through all this once again, the agent looking patiently and thoroughly for any new scrapes, scratches, or bumps.

They’ll even look under the automobile for damage from the (frequently unmarked) topes– speed bumps. Keep an eye out for those!

Leasing cars and trucks in Mexico and driving yourself is a bad concept in numerous large Mexican cities, but its a great idea if you wish to go checking out a region on your own schedule. You can see a lot more when you have your own vehicle out on the open roadway once you get away from the blockage of a place like Mexico City.

I’ve been taking a trip to and living in Mexico for about 18 years now. I had a beach house in the Yucatan Peninsula and we would lease a cars and truck as a family each time we checked out, then I’ve gotten one when I’ve gone on a journey from my present base of Guanajuato because its a primarily pedestrian city where you don’t require to own a vehicle. Beyond that, I’ve gone through the vehicle rental in Mexico procedure in a lot of states: from Baja Sur to Quintana Roo, Jalisco to Oaxaca.

Leasing a cars and truck in Mexico is rather uncomplicated in regards to online bookings and rates, with the rates often remarkably budget-friendly for smaller sized models. Autos do cost about 40% more in Mexico than they carry out in the USA though (a total mystery considering that a number of them are made here and delivered north), so you might get a difficult sell on the insurance so they can get some more cash out of you. More on that in a minute.

Youll encounter a few quirks at the same time and will require to permit a lot more time for pick-up. There are some elements to be knowledgeable about for Mexican car rentals that you don’t face so much in the USA or Canada.

Mexican Car Rental Companies

When you look for a cars and truck hire on Kayak, Hotwire, or your usual rental vehicle brand names site, the process will look familiar. You can find the majority of the international brand names you already know in Mexico, though understand that theyre all franchises– not offices that business actually owns. There are some others you most likely have not heard of, some home-grown chains like Mex Rent a Car

Ive leased multiple times from the regional offices of Hertz, Avis, and Europcar, with mixed outcomes, however have actually had mainly excellent experiences with Alamo, which belongs to the Enterprise Rent-a-Car household. Between them and National, they typically serve around 36 cities in Mexico.

Mexican Rental Car Insurance Options and Your Credit Card

Basic liability insurance is obligatory by law and is therefore included in the total with some car rental quotes. If its not included already, you will have to add another $12 to $17 a day for this on top of the rental rate unless your own automobile insurance policy clearly covers liability in foreign countries.

If you take the full insurance providing the business is selling, it will generally double the price of the leasing– or more. I when scheduled a car for $24 per day and the full insurance coverage would have been $40 per day.

Its finest to do your homework and discover out a) if your home car insurance coverage covers rental automobiles in Mexico and b) if your credit card offers insurance coverage for leasings there. In some cases, you can depend on one or both and decrease all coverage. In other cases, you can decrease everything except liability insurance.

If you just assume and your incorrect, make sure in advance though as it could be an extremely pricey error. You don’t want to be uncertain when you’re at a rental vehicle counter and they’re offering you the tough sell (and in some cases flexing the truth) where you’re not speaking each others language fluently. For each service you decline, youll need to initial the contract– which will likely be in Spanish– and assert that you take responsibility for the automobile.

Other Rules and Guidelines for Renting a Car in Mexico

If you’re under 25, you’re going to have a bumpy ride renting an automobile in Mexico unless you installed a huge deposit and pay extra or you find a local rental agency that truly wants your company. You might want to work with a vehicle and chauffeur for the day rather to go exploring if you’re younger than that.

As soon as I’ve reserved an automatic and been required to take a stick shift cars and truck, Manual automobiles are much more typical than automated ones and more than. If this is a deal-breaker, stand your ground, but be encouraged that agencies in Mexico do not have nearly as much inventory as the ones in the rest of North America and you cant assume they’ll be able to simply upgrade you.

Here what I ended up within that current encounter when Budget Car Rental didn’t honor my full-sized car booking and I had to take what I might get somewhere else:

So you most likely require to go up 2 class sizes to discover the equivalent size to what you’re used to renting for that class. Unless you upgrade to a higher-end automobile or pay really very close attention to the description, the most affordable rate will probably get an extremely basic vehicle with manual windows, a basic radio, and limited amenities. You will pay twice as much however get something plusher if you get a van or SUV.

Driving on the Roads of Mexico

I would highly advise against leasing a vehicle in Mexico City or Monterrey, though I have handled to get through Guadalajara and Merida in one piece after renting a vehicle. I did return one in Mexico City once, however I came in on a weekend afternoon when there wasnt much traffic. Driving throughout the week there feels like a death wish.

Outside of the big cities, driving in Mexico won’t feel all that uncommon. The highways are in excellent shape, the signage is great (in Spanish of course), and the cops normally aren’t going to trouble you unless you’re method over the speed limitation.

Drive safely and carefully when you’re in small towns and rural locations. You can’t just blow that off either: they’ll hold your license at the authorities station till you come get it and pay.

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That car had air conditioning and an auxiliary plug to play music from our phones, however otherwise it resembled a car from twenty years ago: manual everything– consisting of the windows and locks– and power absolutely nothing. Fortunately there were just two of us in it the entire time.

A “mid-size” or intermediate rental car up north does not equate to a mid-size in Mexico. As you can see from this screenshot listed below, a Dodge Attitude automobile is thought about mid-size/intermediate.

I think this is an overblown fear for many visitors: in my 17 years I’ve only been pulled over two times, both on the same trip. Youll generally have an excellent getaway behind the wheel without any problems.
Mexico is a big country and there are some incredible things to see that are not so easy to get to by mass transit. If you desire to see more of the nation, rent a cars and truck and go checking out.

The post Renting a Car in Mexico – – What to Expect appeared initially on Luxury Latin America Blog. Source.

I had a beach house in the Yucatan Peninsula and we would lease a vehicle as a household every time we visited, then I’ve gotten one when I’ve gone on a road journey from my present base of Guanajuato due to the fact that its a mostly pedestrian city where you don’t require to own an automobile. When you browse for a vehicle hire on Kayak, Hotwire, or your normal rental car brand names website, the procedure will look familiar. The Mexican car rental company will often put a hold on your credit card if you do not take the complete insurance coverage, a quantity that might be a set price or be a portion of the car worth. Its best to do your research and find out a) if your house car insurance coverage policy covers rental vehicles in Mexico and b) if your credit card offers insurance coverage for rentals there. I would highly recommend against leasing a cars and truck in Mexico City or Monterrey, though I have managed to get through Guadalajara and Merida in one piece after leasing an automobile.