Renting a car in Mexico is an experience. It’s not like renting in the US or Canada, but as long as you know the “gotchas” and are laid back about the time it takes, its really easy. Preparation and realistic expectations are the key. It will cost more than you thought (not much more if you read below), and there will be a lot of waiting, but your on vacation so what’s the rush?

When you go onto a travel site like Expedia you will see car rental prices are unbelievably cheap. Depending on the day and strength of the dollar they might pay you to rent their car!  As the saying goes, if its too good to be true it proably isn’t true. That does not mean don’t rent from the rental place that offers the car for  $-1.00 a day, rather just realize that you will end up paying for the rental car more than you thought.

Rental companies here make their money on insurance. Mexican law says they must provide liability insurance included in the price but that’s only $40,000 worth. You need more and the rental car forces you to buy more unless you bring certified documentation signed by the secretary of state showing you have your own liability insurance. Even with that it will could take hours and a lot of fighting to get them not to force you into buying liability insurance. The better solution is to take that into account, and just buy their liability insurance. Thus the trick is to find the company with the lowest insurance prices. You should also make sure you have print outs from their website with the exact daily insurance rate. Companies like Payless who don’t have their rate documented will charge $25 a day and up depending on who is at the counter. In Cancun I rent from FOX rent a car. They have cheap cars and their liability rate is $15.99 a day. Their return process is also great. In Merida I rent from Alamo (Fox is not in Merida) as they have a published rate of $18.99 a day. Don’t think that because Hertz or Avism is charging $40 a day (compared to $2 a day at Fox) that they won’t tack on liability insurance. They will.

The next aspect of insurance is loss damage waiver (LDW) or insurance that protects you from damage to the rental car. Here your credit card becomes very important. Make sure you have a credit card that offers this as a benefit. Then make sure you call your credit card company and make sure they offer the benefit for Mexican cars. Many do, so call to make sure. Typically cards with no foreign transaction fees are also good about this benefit. Just because the card offers the benefit in the US, does not mean that they offer it in Mexico. CALL AND ASK!  Once you are sure of the benefit, try and get a print out that shows it. Fox and Alamo are good and will take your word, others might not and you will need to to show them some proof. It is important for you to make sure you are covered, because you might have to resort to this statement: “I am covered, and I accept full responsibility for buying the car in case of an accident”. They will make you sign a paper to that effect (even Alamo and Fox). If you can’t get a credit card that will cover LDW, then rent through Expedia and buy their LDW coverage. It’s about $18 a day. Notice how that free rental car is now costing between $15 and $36 a day? The biggest problem is other travelers who don’t expect this and then have a fit at the counter.

On a related subject, I can attest how great credit card companies are with their LDW benefit. I was rear ended once and I called my credit card company, gave them the details, then when I returned the car told them my credit card company would take care of it and gave them the number to call and authorization to charge my card for the repair. That’s it! I didn’t even have to deal with my insurance company’s deductible.

Mentioning insurance company brings up another point. American car insurance companies that provide rental car insurance benefits don’t do so for Mexico. I know this to be true of both Geico and Progressive. So get that credit card it will be much easier.

OK, when you make your reservation make print outs to bring with you. That way there won’t be any arguments about rental rates. If you followed the preparations above you are all set for an easy, but lengthy, process. After getting out of customs look for your rental car agency. They will lead you to a van that takes you to the car lot. Even though there are counters at the airport terminal, nothing is done there. They just drive you to the place. The nice part is that the rental facility is air conditioned, the bad part is that you will need to wait in line and since the process is very paper intensive and many people are shocked by the extra cost items it takes a LONG time. You however will be prepared and it will go easier once you get to the counter. Remember to tell them you WILL buy the liability coverage (SL1 at FOX), and that your credit card will pay for any damage to the car so you don’t want ANY other insurance. They will make you place a hefty deposit hold on your card, but don’t worry it never gets charged. After signing a ton of documents, they will give you a few pages to take outside to the person who will get your car. Again you will have to wait until all the people ahead of you get their car. Typically there are timeshare people there who will take your paperwork. Try and give it straight to the rental agent. If you can’t get around them, then when you hand it to them tell them you are staying in Merida (if you arrive in Cancun) or Progreso (if you arrive in Merida). That way they won’t bother you and will hand the paper work straight off to the rental agent.  Eventually you will get your car.

The agent will walk around the car with you marking off any damage to the car. Make sure you mark EVERY dent, nick, scratch, discoloration, dirt mark, ANYTHING. It’s better to over identify problems than to miss one. It just makes the return that much easier. Next you will be introduced to tipping. You should tip the guy. This is the start of tipping everyone and everywhere. A couple US dollars is enough or 20 to 50 pesos. He will help you load your luggage and be on your way. YAY

Returning your car is straight forward. Alamo in Cancun is a zoo which is why I recommend Fox there. At Fox they have a dedicated return area and the whole process is civilized. At Alamo in Cancun rental and returns are in one area, crowded and people who push go first. I actually had to block the entrance into their facility to get them to process my return. At Fox its like in the US. Merida is smaller so its not a zoo. Here is where making sure you caught every nick in the original inspection helps out. They take that paper and walk around the car and say OK. You go in, they find their original paperwork you signed when you rented the car (yes they have computers, yes your information in the computer, but the return is done on paper).  They charge you for the rental, and cancel the deposit they made you sign. Other than being paper based, its just like in the US or Canada. It’s also pretty efficient. Of course remember to refuel before returning. There are gas stations close to the return place in case you forgot. Gas prices are the same all over so it won’t cost more at the airport either.