Renting a car ?

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Originally Posted by jamman

Considering renting a car, has anyone done that?
Can you give me pro's and con's, is it safe?

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I agree with Captain. It depends on what you plan on doing. If we hadn’t had a driver on all of our trips I don’t think we would have seen or learned the things we have. We arrived on New Years Eve around noon. The roads were packed. We kept getting behind visitors that had rented cars. They were driving so slow it was dangerous. Traffic was backed up. It was hard to pass people were trying to. Our trip turned into 3 hours.

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Originally Posted by Bnewb

RyanP...you'll have to build in at least an extra hour before departure to drop off the car in addition to the 2 hour check-in at the airport.

I can give you an approx price for car rentals...
small vehicle (Toyota Yaris) is going to be in the price range of a bare minimum $265us for a week...at this price you are required to have a fully covered credit card & able to prove it (ie.letter from the company)....
with damage waivers & personal accident coverage, windshield/tire coverage etc...it can get into the $400us per week price range.

The road from Montego Bay to Negril hasn't changed all that much in the last 10 years...you just have to know where the new pot holes are located. :p

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I just did an online quote and it wasn’t that high ($265/wk). Are there fees that are not shown? Maybe it is more to rent in High season. We go during Low season.

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Originally Posted by RyanP

I just did an online quote and it wasn’t that high ($265/wk). Are there fees that are not shown? Maybe it is more to rent in High season. We go during Low season.

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What company did you get the quote from?

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Originally Posted by Bnewb

What company did you get the quote from?

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Island

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Originally Posted by RyanP

Island

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My quotes are from Island also...not sure how you're finding it cheaper than a minimum of $265us...other than choosing a Suzuki Swift which is only a few $$ cheaper. And again, you have to make sure you have the right credit card...otherwise I'd certainly be purchasing the damage waivers & personal accident coverage etc.
The quote was the same whether it was low or high season.

Also...you didn't say what time your flight was...I'm assuming quite early & the offices at the car rental might not be open...could you possibly check in at the airport earlier & then take the car back?
Otherwise, I would just ask the rental company their procedures...they must have to deal with this issue on a fairly regular basis.

That’s not a bad idea. Not sure how easy it is to park, run in and check bags and then come back out. Is parking outside the terminal easy?

I’ll double-check the reservation. Maybe I need to carry it all the way through to the end to get the real total.

Also, our flight really isn’t that early, but if I need to allow for an hour for rental return then two hours for check-in/security, then we wouldn’t make our flight.

I spoke with my CC company. They cover damage and theft for the rental car, but not damage to other vehicles or persons. Kind of bizarre, considering you have to carry Liability coverage in the US. I guess it is considered secondary coverage, so they assume you already have liability?

Ryan,

The liability insurance is provided by the rental company, covering any damages you may cause to other property or people. But you should get their Personal Accident Insurance which covers the passengers in your vehicle, which is not covered by your CC. Please double check your CC covers your vehicle in Jamaica.

And don't forget that gas will probably be about us$6 a gallon...

Reading through the coverage, it does appear it would be covered. Some have mentioned a letter, and I will see if they can provide that. We always get travel insurance, and it is just me and my wife. It’s definitely not going to be cheaper than route taxis and hired drivers, for what we do. We’ll just have to think it over.