Car Rental Companies in
Costa Rica
Hide Information From
Clients,
Government Study Reveals
A study by the
Ministerio de Economía,
Industria y Comercio (MEIC),
reveals that car rental
companies hide important
information from their
clients.
The study was made to
compare prices offered
by 14 car rental
companies in San José.
However, the study
turned to verifying if
the prices offered to
consumers was final
price, like including
insurance, deposits and
additional charges like
for extra time, exchange
rates, etc.
The investigation took
place during the past
week and revealed that
in many of the cases,
the extra charges were
not clearly spelled out
to customers, especially
in the area of the
exchange rate being
used.
In only 36% of the
cases, the renter
explained the additional
charges like if the
vehicle was returned to
a location other than
where it was rented. In
many of the cases, the
guarantee deposit was
not clearly spelled out
and some companies did
not indicate the cost of
the driver if the
vehicle was rented with
a driver or the extra
charge if the vehicle
was not returned on
time.
According to the MEIC,
only four of the
fourteen companies
complied with all the
regulations.
The MEIC says that the
rental companies are
involved in "price war"
and a difference of up
to 57% in the price was
found in the rental of a
similar vehicle. The
MEiC found that a small
passenger vehicle
renting for us$40 at one
rental company could
cost as much as us$57 at
another. The same SUV
costing us$98 at one car
rental could cost
us$146.35 at another.
The MEIC found that the
rates published by the
car rental companies are
net, meaning they do not
include the cost of
insurance and other
extras, like if renting
a vehicle from the
airport there is an
additional 12% added to
cost of the service.
The following is an MEIC
publishing of the daily
"net" prices offered by
the various car rental
companies:
Economy Sedan
Mapache |
us$40.00 |
|
Avis |
us$42.24 |
|
Toyota |
us$45.99 |
|
Hertz |
us$46.49 |
|
Tricolor |
us$49.00 |
|
Alamo |
us$50.95 |
|
Europcar |
us$50.98 |
|
Sixt |
us$51.75 |
|
Economy |
us$53.00 |
|
Budget |
us$55.90 |
|
National |
us$56.35 |
|
Payless |
us$59.11 |
|
Hola |
us$62.00 |
|
Dollar |
us$62.95 |
| |
|
SUV
Economy |
us$98.00 |
|
Tricolor |
us$99.00 |
|
Mapache |
us$100.00 |
|
Sixt |
us$103.75 |
|
Budget |
us$103.90 |
|
Avis |
us$105.24 |
|
Hertz |
us$106.49 |
|
Toyota |
us$107.99 |
|
Payless |
us$109.09 |
|
Europcar |
us$121.98 |
|
Dollar |
us$125.95 |
|
Alamo |
us$125.95 |
|
Hola |
us$138.00 |
|
National |
us$146.34 |
The study found that
many customers prefer to
rent vehicles at the
airport paying the 12%
additional airport fee
only to find that the
vehicles are not at the
airport but at the lot
close to the airport,
where they could have
rented the vehicle for
less. In case of Alamo
and National, ANC is the
franchise holder and
though they share the
same operations, their
rental prices are
different.
The MEIC advises
consumers to review the
rental contract
carefully and ensure
that all the costs are
spelled out up front and
the terms and conditions
of the guarantee deposit
as well as traffic
tickets and in the event
of an accident or theft
involving the vehicle. |
