Rental Cars in Mexico

Are there a lot of extra fees when renting a car in Mexico? My daughter received a ridiculous low quote for a car for the week and was wondering if there are endless fees and insurance required.

Thanks

Yes. You are absolutely required to purchase all of the extras offered, or you can't have the car. No discussion.

We have been through it.

With public transportation, or without it, if you have a good number of people, like 4, taxi's are a real deal, and you don't have to think about driving in a foreign country, or parking.

With public transportation, or without it, if you have a good number of people, like 4, taxi's are a real deal, and you don't have to think about driving in a foreign country, or parking.

Agreed -with buses, combis, and taxis all plentiful, it's very easy to get around the area and beyond.
And hey, that pickup truck ride from Los Achotes out to Barra de Potosi is not to be missed.

We've never even thought seriously about renting a car in Zihua.

We have guests join us each year for 2 weeks. The first year, we rented a car. Since then we use public transportation and taxi's and are much happier than when we rented the car.

Again, by the time you add on all of the "required" fees, rental cars are very expensive.

A couple of years a go we rented a car from Hertz at the airport. They would not us have the car without their insurance. There were 3 of us and we were driving to Patzquaro to tour the area. When we returned the car, the Rep stuck his hand under the engine and had oil on his fingers. We were told we had damaged under the engine and had to pay now. We were using our AMEX card and turned the problem over to them. Hertz did not respond to AMEX and a period of time later our credit card was reimbursed for the repair bill.

I have been coming down at least once a year for 15 years and have rented a car everytime but once.

As others have mentioned, I always purchase the recommended coverage (usually the daily rate is about as much as the rental itself). I have never had issues with getting charges above what I was quoted at the counter. I have used all the big name companies and usually go with the best rate.

It can be frustrating when the car rental question is raised on this board as you will usually get the "use taxis/public transportation..." crowd. This is fine for if you plan on hanging at the resort all day or a few minor excursions. But for more active travelers, a car is pretty necessary.

We had a car in Zihua for a while, but it was a pain in the butt for a number of reasons. We use our manager for transportation. Roberto Sanchez can be reached via cell 044-755-115-5076 or zihuacab@yahoo.com He speaks perfect English.

You will definitely need to buy the liability insurance they offer. It is mandatory. Your credit card company may cover the collision. Check with your cc company, and get a letter in Spanish from them if they do offer the collision coverage. It cost me about $300US more for a two week rental to get the required liability.

More active travellers also use the bus
Rented a car once and will never again
Phantom damage is almost a given especially with the juicy USD

It's not worth it Bill, Taxis are abundant, overkill really and very cheap.

Family of four and two surfboards. Bus or taxi is not an option.