www.CostaRicaTicas.com

My last experience with a car rental was with Budget Rent a Car. That turned out to be a complete nightmare and I did battle with those MF's for 6 months to get a $1000+ charge to my credit card removed for a crack on the windshield so small it couldn't be seen with the naked eye. I recall on one of my earliest visits I believe I used Alamo and am thinking of going with them again. Any thoughts or comments?

Read: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=46083&p=527787&hilit=alamo#p527787

I got a flat tire at 1am in Barrio Amon. I wasn't going to stop and change the tire at that hour. So I carefully drove the 3 blocks to Mona Lisa garage and changed the tire there. I should have just kept my mouth shut, but I told them about the flaat tire and after they "inspected" the flat tire, they determined that it was damaged from driving on the flat and charged me ¢57,000 for a new tire. I disputed it and my bank gave me a credit. Visa did their investigation and determined that it was a "billing error" (whatever that means) and they could not help me. But my bank never withdrew the credit... we'll see.

But Phuck Alamo Rent-a-car. It seems like they are all trying to get over on tourists.

I've never used Alamo in San Jose. I mostly rent from Thrifty at the office on Calle 3 near the Mona Lisa hotel. My experience has been good with this office... even when there has been damage to the car. I would also recommend getting the AMEX Premium care rental insurance. It costs $24.95 per rental, and covers any damage to the car with no out-the-pocket expenses. However, this coverage does not cover the mandatory Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI) which an run as much as $20/day extra.

Never rented from Alamo but had bad experience with SOLID. They showed up 4 hours too late and didn't respond the telephone before. Got a good deal from here: www.yourtravelmap.com/costarica/cars/