It appears that rental cars in Central America are as dicey as lawyers. I had a similar expereience with Advantage in Nicaragua. I made my reservation on line prior to departure through Continental Airline's web site as one of their mileage partners. I was supposed to get a bunch of bonus mileage credits and theirs was the only one which did not require you to take all the extra insurance which I don't need when using my credit card. The cost for the week was something like $60 or $80 dollars total. I get to the rental counter at the airport at MGA and guess what? First of all it is not Advantage, but a "local affiliate" then the clerk pretends not to speak English so I start talking to her in Spanish. Then she tells me that they don't honor internet reservations so I give her a copy and start raising hell. Then she says they don't have any cars in economy class but I can rent a pickup for some exorbitant amount per day, which I refuse to pay and tell her that she is obligated to honor the reservation price with whatever is available because it is their screwup and if she doesn't I will make sure that they are deleted from Continental's website and any US affiliation. Then she pretends not to understand Spanish until I ask the clerk at the Hertz counter next to her if they have any cars available She finally agrees but then insists that it is Nicaraguan law that I have to take the insurance for an extra bunch of money(several hundred extra) and I have to bring the truck back in 2 days and exchange it for an economy car which MIGHT be available then but not guaranteed. I told her we were leaving Managua for a week at the beach and there was no way in hell I was going to do that. I finally agreed to pay the insurance but not return the truck early and left. Bottom line is the rental cost 5 0r 6 times what it was posted to be and I still have not gotten the mileage credits.

Second bad experience was in Panama with Avis. Once again made online thru Continental for a very good rate for a week. My taxi driver who took me to the rental place said be careful of these guys because they will try to hit you with phony damage claims for miniscule scratches so I was super careful with the inspection report. The week went by, no problems, returned the car, the charges were as expected and I thought all was well. That is until I got my next American Express bill. Remember the ONLY place I used that card on that trip was Avis. I started getting massive charges in Honduras and Nicaragua for electronics, car rentals, stereo equipment, airline tickets, etc. From the variety of locations and the high dollar amounts charged, plus the airline ticket bought and used on an international flight, someone had to have produced a counterfeit card and ID to go with it, as I have had to produce a passport that matched the name and signature virtually every time I have used a credit card in Central America. Whoever initiated this had to be connected with Avis. I don't think you can create a viable counterfeit card with just a paper slip from a dumpster. The amount was over $10000.00 before I got the first bill. It was all removed, but it took about five months to finally clear up and I had to get a new card and change all my automatic charges. A real pain in the ass.

I don't know what the solution is because it seems to be universal down there in the game of Phuck the tourist.

Goetz

BTW, driving in SJ is no biggie. You just have to adapt to their style. Reckless, pushy, and inconsiderate is normal. Common courtesy and patience is not.

Orange you are from NYC, they drive like Ticos there. So you blended right in on the roads of San Jose.

Since I posted a positive comment on Budget Cheap Rental Car on another thread, I felt compelled to update my most recent experience. A few days ago, I rented a car and it turned into a real horror story. I made the reservation online for an economy car for 6 days at the office down from the Pizza Hut for $89. Upon arrival the manager told me it would cost $200 some plus $200 for airport tax. I showed her my printout of my reservation for $89 and told her I have never payed airport tax from this location. After 15 minutes of arguing, she finally offered to give me a car for $92 dollars without airport tax. Then I told her I wanted all 3 insurances, buy she only offered two, so we argued for another 10 minutes. Finally, I got the third insurance, and thought my day would get better. WRONG !!!! Heading back downtown on Paseo Colon, I was stopped at a light when a car pulls up and yells that I have a flat tire. Now I had been moving since I left the rental office, so I know no one touched the tire. Immediately, red flags went up, I asked my colombiana how many guys there were-2- as I continued on looking for an escape route.
Stopped at the next light, anothet car pulls up yelling about my flat. So then I knew there were 2 cars with 4 guys looking to rob the gringo. I decided to go around traffic into the opposite direction traffic and luckily pulled into the ESSO Station. Jumping out, I was surprised to see both cars pull in, so I told the colombiana to run to the station. Things happened so fast that it is hard to accurately decribe what transpired, but the station manager saw it going down and came out with 4 other attendents and the ladrones took off. The manager said that I was very lucky as the ladrones almost got me. So, as I was having the flat changed, I called the Budget and accused them of being co-conspirators as it appearred that an ice pick had been used in the side wall. Of course she denied having anything to do with it and told me I would have to pay for the tire. It took me about 7 minutes to get back to the office, whereupon I MF´ed everyone in the office, accused them of being ladrones as well, and told the manager she could stick that tire up her a**. Needless to say the place was in an uproar. I threatened to call the police (as if this would do any good). I should have left, but I only travel with debit cards, and Budget is the only place I know that accepts them. The manager finally said they would change the tire and offer a police excort into town, but I demanded another car and left. It should only get better when I return the car next Thursday. TIENE CUIDADO with Budget. Somebody at that office stuck my tire and telephoned his buddy. I was lucky