Rental cars and insurance-Wow!

Rental insurance is the biggest profit center I believe of rental car companies, regardless of location in the world.  It's often much more cost efficient to pay for the rental with a credit card that provides this coverage for you.  Several cards/companies offer worldwide coverage on rental cars.

Romaniac
Expat.com Experts Team

Well, just did a quick search on Expedia.ca for a 2 week (pickup january 15th back January 29th) rental in Cancun at the airport including insurance gives a total cost of 242$ canadian payable in advance except local taxes rental company Alamo, pickup at the airport.

Good luck on your search, GyC.

Link
https://www.expedia.ca/carsearch?locn=C … amp;styp=4https://www.expedia.ca/CarCheckout?trip … a711ae1400

mexicogc wrote:

Well, just did a quick search on Expedia.ca for a 2 week (pickup january 15th back January 29th) rental in Cancun at the airport including insurance gives a total cost of 242$ canadian payable in advance except local taxes rental company Alamo, pickup at the airport.

Good luck on your search, GyC.

Link
https://www.expedia.ca/carsearch?locn=C … amp;styp=4https://www.expedia.ca/CarCheckout?trip … a711ae1400

Hi,  Mexico!
Thank you for looking that up and sharing the info! We found similar prices but there is additional insurance to buy because.... fine print.... the liability is only for anyone you might hit or cause injury or property damage to in the other vehicle.  It doesn't insure repairs to your rental car or pay for your injuries. Plus the insurance also has a $4000 deductible! So,  they offer additional insurance to cover your own rental car and your injuries plus another to cover the $4k deductible and it all ads up fast . Many people advise to get the extra coverage because if you have an accident you will be retained plus be expected to pay the $4K immediately. Sounds like huge hassles and not speaking the language,  etc., a big concern. We will be driving a lot this trip so more exposure to possible accidents,  etc. We feel like this is definitely a profit center for them and definitely being taken advantage of (they charge too much for the extras), but at a loss because of anecdotal stories....We certainly would prefer not to shell out all that cash. Guess I was looking for a way to get all the coverage but cheaper.....BTW, "they" say that many us car insurers will not cover you plus the local police,  etc., will still retain you until things are settled. Ugh.

mexicogc wrote:

Well, just did a quick search on Expedia.ca for a 2 week (pickup january 15th back January 29th) rental in Cancun at the airport including insurance gives a total cost of 242$ canadian payable in advance except local taxes rental company Alamo, pickup at the airport.

Good luck on your search, GyC.

Link
https://www.expedia.ca/carsearch?locn=C … amp;styp=4https://www.expedia.ca/CarCheckout?trip … a711ae1400

Hi,  Mexico!
Thank you for looking that up and sharing the info! We found similar prices but there is additional insurance to buy because.... fine print.... the liability is only for anyone you might hit or cause injury or property damage to in the other vehicle.  It doesn't insure repairs to your rental car or pay for your injuries. Plus the insurance also has a $4000 deductible! So,  they offer additional insurance to cover your own rental car and your injuries plus another to cover the $4k deductible and it all ads up fast . Many people advise to get the extra coverage because if you have an accident you will be retained plus be expected to pay the $4K immediately. Sounds like huge hassles and not speaking the language,  etc., a big concern. We will be driving a lot this trip so more exposure to possible accidents,  etc. We feel like this is definitely a profit center for them and definitely being taken advantage of (they charge too much for the extras), but at a loss because of anecdotal stories....We certainly would prefer not to shell out all that cash. Guess I was looking for a way to get all the coverage but cheaper.....BTW, "they" say that many us car insurers will not cover you plus the local police,  etc., will still retain you until things are settled. Ugh.

Your above post is correct as far as I understand it. The $242 CND price is not included in the extra insurance you really must buy in Mexico so a 2 week rental should really cost about 3 times that 2 week online rental price or about $40 to $45 USDs per day for an automatic transmission and keep you out of jail if you are involved in an accident. I see no way to get a cheaper price than Easyway. f you think you are being taken advantage of thn cheack several car rental places when deciding to rent a car when you are there, not checking online. IMO

alleycat1 wrote:

Your above post is correct as far as I understand it. The $242 CND price is not included in the extra insurance you really must buy in Mexico so a 2 week rental should really cost about 3 times that 2 week online rental price or about $40 to $45 USDs per day for an automatic transmission and keep you out of jail if you are involved in an accident. I see no way to get a cheaper price than Easyway. f you think you are being taken advantage of thn cheack several car rental places when deciding to rent a car when you are there, not checking online. IMO

Hi,  alleycat1,
Thank you for sharing, it helps to get affirmation that I'm not missing something. We tried several different rental places and through expedia and others and it just doesn't get cheaper.  In fact expedia doesn't tell you about the extra insurance so I guess you would learn that at the rental counter and become  very upset for sure.  So I don't think we were taken advantage of,  but did feel that the prices in general for the extra insurance are exhorbitant. But we'll pay; I've never been jailed and don't want that experience,  haha. Guess we're stuck with spending the extra money but it's far better than jail

yes checking in person is definitely better than online.     i was surprised at the difference when I reserved online from the U.S,  vs just going to an office as I did here.

Travellight,  did you find it was more expensive in person than online because of extra insurance?

Jan2017 wrote:

Travellight,  did you find it was more expensive in person than online because of extra insurance?

No actually it was more complicated, and the service was less pleasant  with using online.

Here I just walk in show my Id and they tell me what the charges are etc. quick and easy. Online involved a lot of paperwork, rules and hidden expenses. Not only that, but when I got to the rental agent, I stood around for over a 11/2 hours.

I decided if I ever had to do that again , I would take a taxi to the hotel, even though their cost is ridiculous, better yet a hotel van. But I would not go to a rental agent at the airport in Cancun. I missed my check in time at the hotel and didn't get a room until after midnight. The hotel would likely even help you. The online rental agent set it up for me to get a car in the cancun airport, that was not my request. I'm sure they make a lot of money that way.

My conclusion was go to the hotel and the next day seek out a rental agency nowhere near the airport. It's not surprising rental agencies in the airports are not a good deal in the U.S. either.

Travellight,  Whoa! That is very interesting! Part of my concern is we will be there in February, very busy time,  and we have to have a car so afraid there won't be any anywhere if we wait I would think maybe even the hotels are drawing from the same pool of suppliers...? Will need car for 14 days,  sorry to say, but need flexibility to search for a place to rent. So frustrating. Thanks for your insight.

Other ideas.
If I can help prevent someone else going through what I did , I intend to do so. Nothing like exhaustion, luggage, and trying to get a room at midnight to motivate me. It wouldn't have been that bad if they were not having a major festival at that time.

http://www.i-akumal.com/car-rental
Cancun Car Rental/American Car Rental (they go by both names) They are offsite. They will pick you up at the airport. a number of people recommend them http://www.easywayrentacar.com/ Might be much better than the big names and you can contact them in advance.
As for gas which many complain about , I use la gas. they even wash your windows and show you the pump is clear, plus so far they are cheaper.

I'm so glad I own a car.

Thank you travellight,  I certainly appreciate that. We will check them out online if possible. Yes,  wish we had our own car for sure!

If you have a car in the US with full coverage, they might also cover your rental car insurance.  Our insurance carrier did when we were in Puerto Rico so I'm not sure about Mexico.  Also, someone mentioned up above that your credit card company may cover it as well.  We use a World Mastercard.

Jan2017 wrote:

We just reserved a rental car for our 2 week stay in Cancun area and it will cost as much as our r/t flights because of all the insurance. You don't have to buy all of the but various sites have warned about the quagmire that awaits if you have an accident or theft without it. Has anyone had the same experience? Quite an eye opener

I don't live there but visit often in my own car.

That said I did fly from the U.S back to Cancun, and as you have done, I did prearrange a rental. I just had their standard insurance, none of the frills. The first day I had a flat that pushed me on to the median and damaged the wheel. They came out about an hour later with a new car.
I drove that car home where a woman in an SUV driving well over the speed limit in a school zone hit me. The rental agent came out and did the paperwork and I turned the car back in when the contract expired 2 days later. The only damage was she took off the bumper when she plowed past me. Cross streets are a problem in Mexico. The only extra cost was a 100 peso bribe to get my license back from the police. The airport rentals are expensive, I try to avoid them if I need a rental. On the other hand the airport in my city is small and the agents here have been very reasonable, in Cancun they want to charge the tourist rate.  Be careful, the driving with tourists can be very fast and creative, Not just the tourist themselves, but tour buses, locals and hotel vans but if you pay close attention to signs and traffic you should be fine. I park and walk often there.

We rented a car from expat services and it was way more reasonable. We found car rental places like budget rip off tourists with the insurance costs. We booked a car online at a car rental place and signed up for insurance when we got to the car tental they said we needed additional insurance which was very expensive. So we cancelled our booking and checked with expat services in Merida and it was very reasonable.
Beware of this car rental places!