rent or buy a car

[MIKE KAPLAN]

We are looking at spending around 2 months in CR early next year – we want to get a real feel of all the areas of the country.
In your opinion, would it make more sense to rent a car (4×4) for the period, or buy and re-sell when we leave.
Any caveats to either scenario?
Many thanks,
Mike

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Mike,

I would definitely rent – you can find some good long term deals by going through a private owner or one of the smaller local or expat owned rental companies – about $500 – $700 a month. The big names (Hertz, Economy, etc.) generally don’t offer great rates even for a two-month rental. In my opinion it’s better not to have to worry about down time because of breakdowns, etc. and the hassles of trying to sell at the end of your trip.

To buy something like a reliable 4×4 would be at least $5,000, to give you an idea.

[NELSON DE JESUS]

Hi Jason,

Could you reference some of these reliable car rental sources for both short & long term rentals? Craig’s list is too risky. How would one go about locating & contacting some of these less expensive car rental resources from outside of Costa Rica?

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Nelson,

You might try Wild Rider for both long and short term rentals: http://www.wild-rider.com/

For long term rentals U-Save offers good rates: usavecostarica.com

I’ve had good experience with short term rentals with Economy: ww.economyrentacar.com

All these sites have either online reservation systems or you can call or email for more info on rates and such.

For the really good deals you have to go through an individual. You’ll find those folks through Craigslist – buyer beware like you said. You might also try some online forums like WeLoveCostaRica.com and ARCR.net.

[WILLIAM MILLS]

I notice that Hotwire has a Manual Shift Ford from Alamo in San Jose for 10.00 per day, and they ask about the same for the insurance. Normally I have international auto coverage on my AMEX card, with my current insurance. If I only pay for the car, will I be surprised by additional mandatory insurance added by Alamo when I arrive?

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi William,

Insurance can be tricky. I’m not familiar with Alamo in particular. But there is usually additional insurance required and/or optional insurance with various deductibles offered when you pick up the car. The best thing to do is get on the phone with Alamo and figure out what insurance you need and what you don’t before you get to the location.

If you plan to use your AMEX insurance bring a print out of your policy with regards to car rentals. Most car rentals won’t let you use it without it. And be sure to check the fine print of your policy. Some of them disqualify you if you drive on unpaved roads – and there will be quite some – or a lot of those – depending on where you go. A lot of access roads and roads in rural areas are unpaved and sometimes can be quite rough.

[NELSON DE JESUS]

AMEX insurance in CR will only cover the damage to the car. They are not able to cover liability insurance in the event you cause property damage or hurt somebody. For that you will have to buy their insurance. You will save some money charging it on AMEX, but the lion’s share of the insurance is the liability. When we rented a year ago, we got a great deal on the car, used AMEX, but the mandatory liability insurance actually cost us more than the car rental. It is expensive, since there is no competition. Call AMEX and they will explain it all to you.

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