|
Ok. I want to post my positive experience with Thrifty in San Jose. I used the place 2 blocks from Mona Lisa (Taormina) hotel.
I rented for 4 days. I reserved online, which only quoted me the base car rental (like $21 a day). I was planning to do the fight to not take the mandatory insurance, but my flight was late, traffic was heavy for a Sunday, and by the time I got to the counter, I had lost 4 hours on my schedule. I said fuk-it to the hour-long battle that I expected over refusing the insurance and decided to see just how bad they gouged me.
The bill rang up as $172, which was just under double the base rate quoted on the site. The actual base rate I was charged was $18 a day (and not $21), and the rest was the insurance. I asked for specifics about what was covered. The guy said any damage, dents, scratches, etc.
They then put a $500 'hold' on my CC (in addition to the $172 bill). I asked why they needed the 'deposit' if I now had insurance that covered everything. The guy was completely cool and serious when he looked at me.
"If you do something stupid with the car, the insurance does not cover that. If you drive into a river, or over a cliff, or crash into a building or damage the car where there is no road, the insurance will not cover that!".
He then went on to explain that at least once a month someone does something stupid like drive through a river, and sinks the car. So, as I was pressed for time, I accepted.
The car was waiting for me, and the guy did the complete walkabout, writing up every dent, ding, scratch and other. He found way more stuff than I did, including stuff that I would never have seen and could easily get blamed for later. Since I had the insurance, I'm not too sure how important that was, but he was thorough.
So out I drove. I managed to make it to Avenida 2 before I got stopped by the fukin cops. I didn't even do anything, but got waved over with the little stick. As soon as he walked up to the window, I bitched, told him I just rented the car, and had not even driven 1 kilometer yet. I told him (a little sarcastically which wasn't nice) that if he wanted to ticket me, he would have to wait until I drove the car for more than 5 minutes. He was cool, surprisingly, and just let me go.
So, I drove from the Gulch to San Pedro, out to Cartago, and then from Cartago all the way to Papagayo. Then left Papagayo, went down to Puntarenas (what a shithole town!!) to see the ocean on the peninsula.
This is where I finally bought gas.
Then a drive down through Puerto Caldera, and finally all the way back through San Jose to Cartago. I dropped off my charge, then drove back to San Jose, stopping off to top off the tank, (total gas purchases were I believe 22k), and returned the car first thing the next morning.
It took me less than 10 minutes to drop off, do the walkabout for damage (which included checking the trunk even), get the receipts and be on my way. No BS charges or complaints.
It was overall a great experience (well, renting was, driving was another story ... I love driving stick, but gawd-damn, Zapote, rush hour, all up-n-down, in the rain, with trucks everywhere ... not fukin cool!).
_________________
bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
Calendar
