car renters beware!!!!!

[LounVal]

Just got back from our cruise which stopped at St.Martin. Had a great time but, when we went to rent our car we had a problem. I went to Reynolds Rental, which was located with the other car rental companies. They said they had a Toyota Corrolla for $50. for the day. Sounded reasonable. I just paid $60 for the day in St Thomas the day before. Well, they put my wife and I along with another couple in a van and took off down the road. We pulled up in from of what can only be discribed as a salvage yard. In front was a old beat up Toyota and the jeep the other guy had rented was in just as bad a shape. Both the other renter and I said "hell no" and asked the driver to take us back to the port. He did with no argument, he had probably done it many times before.

We ended up renting from one of the major car companies for a 2007 Corolla for $45. with no problems.

The only saving grace to it all was, it did not take too much of our time and the guys did not get nasty or give us any problem with turning down thier car. So, it made for a good story.:p

[Karysa]

I feel like I am in the movie Groundhog Day!:D I just read 3 threads in a row that seemed exactly the same but have different posting times on them. Oh and I saw a slight alteration in the title. My ?????? is why?

Karysa

[tomprice]

As a note, I have not personally rented from Reynold's.

 

But before you throw too many rocks I should point out that those nice shiny rentals are a magnet to thieves and an invitation to be ripped off by the (mostly major) rental agencies for what they deem damage.

 

Our last trip staying on-island, we got what I would refer to as an "island proof" Toyota Corolla from Unity. Dented, yes. Shift lock with separate key for the console shifter. Car alarm. Spare tire chained to the body. But, a real trunk. It ran, handled the hills, and the A/C worked. Would I rather have the brand new Kia Picanto we got the year before? No way!

[eh2zed]

As a note, I have not personally rented from Reynold's.

 

But before you throw too many rocks I should point out that those nice shiny rentals are a magnet to thieves and an invitation to be ripped off by the (mostly major) rental agencies for what they deem damage.

 

Our last trip staying on-island, we got what I would refer to as an "island proof" Toyota Corolla from Unity. Dented, yes. Shift lock with separate key for the console shifter. Car alarm. Spare tire chained to the body. But, a real trunk. It ran, handled the hills, and the A/C worked. Would I rather have the brand new Kia Picanto we got the year before? No way!

Now thats a slant I would not have thought of. Interesting!!!

[Kikkycat]

While it didn't happen on St. Maarten (it did on Aruba), we did rent from a major car rental agency (Hertz) and got a pretty scary - by mainland, US standards - old car. I hadn't thought about it from a theft-prevention standpoint, I just figured the islands of the Caribbean probably don't get car shipments quite as often as car rental places do in the US. I did notice that the lots of new car sales businesses were nowhere near as full as those here.

[tomprice]

Without expanding into a lot of detail here, just let me say that theft from parked cars is a HUGE problem in St. Maarten.

 

The Dutch government doesn't help out much because the "R-" prefix on Dutch-side tags readily identifies the cars as tourist rentals. French-side tags don't have this distinction and some folks make a point of requesting cars with these.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I feel like I am in the movie Groundhog Day!:D I just read 3 threads in a row that seemed exactly the same but have different posting times on them. Oh and I saw a slight alteration in the title. My ?????? is why?

Karysa

 

It's probably because they were having a glitch with the server and sometimes you send a reply to start a thread and it times out or says the server can't respond so you think it doesn't get posted when in reality it does.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Just got back from our cruise which stopped at St.Martin. Had a great time but, when we went to rent our car we had a problem. I went to Reynolds Rental, which was located with the other car rental companies. They said they had a Toyota Corrolla for $50. for the day. Sounded reasonable. I just paid $60 for the day in St Thomas the day before. Well, they put my wife and I along with another couple in a van and took off down the road. We pulled up in from of what can only be discribed as a salvage yard. In front was a old beat up Toyota and the jeep the other guy had rented was in just as bad a shape. Both the other renter and I said "hell no" and asked the driver to take us back to the port. He did with no argument, he had probably done it many times before.

We ended up renting from one of the major car companies for a 2007 Corolla for $45. with no problems.

The only saving grace to it all was, it did not take too much of our time and the guys did not get nasty or give us any problem with turning down thier car. So, it made for a good story.:p

 

We had the same experience with them. The first jeep we drove away from had the tires almost falling off so we turned around and demanded another one. It was awful and we've had some bad jeeps in our Caribbean travels especially in Aruba. That was in November 2006 and I bet it's the same jeep still sitting there!

[jcumming]

I had an occasion in St Maarten to arrive at the small rental place just after the guy who wanted the Jeep was in a pickle because he couldn't drive standard. I told the rental place I'd switch and take the Jeep, and it was a lot of fun (a bit of a wreck though) but we had to keep everything with us as there was no place to lock up stuff.

 

I'm in full agreement with tomprice though. If I have a newer car I look for the dirtiest dustiest road I can find before I go parking at any beach.

[phoenix_dream]

We rented a car from Hertz - it was in fairly decent shape, but no way compared to the condition of Hertz in the US. Also be advised if you rent from Hertz it is quite a hike to their location.

 

We found driving around the island was horrendous (crowds, traffic jams, poorly marked roads). We vowed to NEVER do it again. It was so stressful it turned out to be a less than relaxing day. I advise taking a taxi, or a taxi tour if you want to see the island. You will be glad you did.

[Buellwinkle]

Where are the car rental places, only by the airport or some by where the ships come in? How far is the airport from the docks? Also, when they steal cars on that small island, where would they go? I was thinking of renting from National since I'm part of their little club and get perks like free insurance, upgrades and the likes. Anyone rent from National there? I certainly prefer to rent a motorbike but the only palce I could find rents Harleys and they close at 5pm and we leave at 11PM.

[Macy2]

We rented a car from Hertz - it was in fairly decent shape, but no way compared to the condition of Hertz in the US. Also be advised if you rent from Hertz it is quite a hike to their location.

 

We found driving around the island was horrendous (crowds, traffic jams, poorly marked roads). We vowed to NEVER do it again. It was so stressful it turned out to be a less than relaxing day. I advise taking a taxi, or a taxi tour if you want to see the island. You will be glad you did.

 

Phoenix Dream,

We have a reservation for Hertz and confirmed that it is at the cruise terminal, so now I am confused. Was it a long hike to their office, the cars, or both? We have small children so we might need to change our plans if there is not some sort of shuttle to the rental cars.

[gtaylor]

Phoenix Dream,

We have a reservation for Hertz and confirmed that it is at the cruise terminal, so now I am confused. Was it a long hike to their office, the cars, or both? We have small children so we might need to change our plans if there is not some sort of shuttle to the rental cars.

There are car rental offices right at the head of the pier for Hertz, Budget, and 4 local operators. Just minutes walk after you walk in from wherever along the pier your ship is docked.

(click)

 

gary

[Buellwinkle]

Do you need reservations or can you just go up to the counter and get a car?

[gtaylor]

Where are the car rental places, only by the airport or some by where the ships come in? How far is the airport from the docks? Also, when they steal cars on that small island, where would they go? I was thinking of renting from National since I'm part of their little club and get perks like free insurance, upgrades and the likes. Anyone rent from National there? I certainly prefer to rent a motorbike but the only palce I could find rents Harleys and they close at 5pm and we leave at 11PM.

 

The only National rental location that I'm aware of is out near the airport, probably 45 minutes minimum each way.

 

When cars are stolen they are typically stripped for parts.

 

gary

[Buellwinkle]

45 each way to the airport, ouch, that won't work. It looked so close on the map, 3 miles but you can't trust Microsoft, LOL.

 

So what place besides Hertz are at the Philipsburg dock to rent? I don't care about the car type and I would need a very reliable safe car with A/C, could be old, don't care. Also, I checked with Hertz and they say that office closes at 5PM. We will be on the island until 11PM, are others opened later?

[The Big Booper]

So what place besides Hertz are at the Philipsburg dock to rent? I don't care about the car type and I would need a very reliable safe car with A/C, could be old, don't care. Also, I checked with Hertz and they say that office closes at 5PM. We will be on the island until 11PM, are others opened later?

 

They all close at 5 PM.

 

Most of the stores in Philipsburg start closing at 5 PM, and by 6 PM all shut down. The public restroom at the town pier closes at 6 PM. The stores at the pier, only a few, stay open later.

[Buellwinkle]

That's why I was thinking of renting at their airport location, because they have to stay until the last flight. Is it really 45 minutes from the docks to the airport? It only seems like it's a few miles on the map, of course, being in So Cal, 3 miles is a 2 minute run on the freeway and I'm sure St. Maarten is a little slower paced.

[The Big Booper]

That's why I was thinking of renting at their airport location, because they have to stay until the last flight. Is it really 45 minutes from the docks to the airport? It only seems like it's a few miles on the map, of course, being in So Cal, 3 miles is a 2 minute run on the freeway and I'm sure St. Maarten is a little slower paced.

 

Question is, how late does the airport office stay open? We have rented from them when staying on the island for a week at a time. I don't think there is a lot of night time plane activity that would keep the car rental offices open. This is still a smallish Caribbean vacation island, not NY, LA or Chicago. The rental offices are not in the airport, but outside on the road passing by.

[Buellwinkle]

Sure, but when I go to make a reservation and put a 10PM return, it accepts it at the airport location which is not really at the airport, heck, they don't charge you a $12 airport fee if you go directly to the lot to get the car. But is it really a 45 minute drive from the ship to the airport?

[jcumming]

So what place besides Hertz are at the Philipsburg dock to rent? I don't care about the car type and I would need a very reliable safe car with A/C, could be old, don't care.

 

I rent from Arthur's Rentals which is a little place across the road from the pier. I have rented from Arthur 5 or 6 times and his cars have been fine and his prices are about the same. Last year I goofed and rented on the wrong day, and he was sold out when I got there but he called another guy and I was on my way in 15 minutes.

 

The first year I rented from Arthur I knew it wasn't Hertz when I got my confirmation number and it was 2. Now he just calls me..John from Toronto. Lucky there are no other Johns in Toronto :-)

 

He has a website.

[jcumming]

But is it really a 45 minute drive from the ship to the airport?

 

30 minutes...sometimes 2 hours....45 would be a good average.

 

Actually I have gotten up there in less than 20, but traffic is pretty unpredictable. I have never done it at night so I'm not sure. Missing the ship would be a bit of a bummer though.

 

You could get some nice shots of it sailing away though. :D