Guideline to Car Hire Companies.
Car rental in Costa Rica is an opportunity to explore the remote beaches and quiet corners of this breathtakingly beautiful country. Travel minus the restrictions set by public transport timetables and with freedom over group tours. For the unprepared traveler; however, car rental costs and services can be quite a rude shock and a blow to that particular vacation budget.
Renting an automobile for your vacation will likely be the absolute most expensive section of your financial allowance, so understanding the terms and managing expectations is extremely important. The data below is not supposed to be an exhaustive manual, but it will set you on the path towards the best decision for your car or truck rental needs in Costa Rica.
Why is car rental so expensive?
Visitors from beyond Costa Rica are often surprised by the expense of car rental. While resort rooms, restaurant bills and tours are less than the values paid at home, it might appear strange that car rental should become more costly.
You can find two simple reasons because of this high cost:
- All vehicles in Costa Rica are imported and a tax is imposed. Due to this heavy taxation, the expense of purchasing an automobile is greater than it could be in other industrialized countries. There are a few car rental operators who rent older vehicles to be able to reduce their costs.
- The expense of mandatory insurance (see below).
• Mandatory Insurance
Third-party insurance, which may be known as TPI, PDW (Partial Damage Waiver), SLI (Supplementary Liability Insurance) and other acronyms, is just a legal requirement. Car rental operators must charge the consumer because of this coverage which may or may not be clear in the quotation received by the customer.
The insurance itself is not the issue. After all, a great many other countries require car renters to cover a necessary insurance; including: New Zealand, Italy and Mexico, as well as a number of the U.S. states, like California. The problem that produces contention in Costa Rica is that cost is not necessarily displayed clearly on the car rental operator's website or in a quote. Customers then discover the extra cost of the rental upon arrival.
The expense of mandatory insurance varies from company to company and will depend on the car category that's being rented as well. The price for a tiny sedan may be less than $12 each day, whereas a premium 4x4 vehicle might be around $25 for insurance per day. That is along with the rental cost.
Charge cards in North America usually offer car insurance being an additional perk to the charge card holder and so North Americans specifically, are unused to having to pay for insurance on top of rental costs. However, no charge card will cover this insurance requirement.