- Thread starter repoman1
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Rental car in Puerto Plata
I would suggest you use public transportation or hire a taxi. Too many possibilities to get screwed for expat / tourist to be renting or driving on the NC, and especially in POP. There is a great guy on this board named Derfish which is who I use for taxi service. Send him a message.
If you PM me I can refer to someone, but I?d recommend renting only if you have prior driving experience on the NC.
I have known this person for years, you should get better conditions by referring to me. I cannot say anything about insurance there, that would be between you and them, but I have never had any issues.
Accident or fender bender is the least of my worries. The motoconcho scam, the car rental scam, the police checkpoints, and all the crazies other than fish that don't know how to drive are what I'm worried about Too much exposure to possible scams for newbes here that will wreck someone's vacation is not worth it IMO. Isn't there a thread on DR1 about a couple that just went through getting screwed driving here?? There's another guy from Cabarete that just went through the motoconcho scam too. Attorneys, Police, and prosecutors office were all involved in billing the guy out of his cash. Yall go ahead. I'll let fish worry about everything. BTW, I drive both left and right hand drive vehicles, left or right side of the road, understand "Roundabouts" and drive on every Caribbean island except Trinidad and DR. It's just not worth it.
i am with you on this 100%. if you can find someone to drive you, let them. there is no reason to expose yourself to the myriad scams going on out there. too many crooks walking about in the DR.
notice , i did not say everyone in the DR is a crook. and, i am willing to state that there are at least 10 people in the country who can drive a car.
I always use kayak and check the rates there. Would call your credit card company and your car insurance company to see if they offer any insurance coverage. Sometimes the Avis not at the airport and near El Doral is a little cheaper. If you are going on any road trips I would rent from a company that has offices in different areas.
I rented from Avis in Puerto Plata and got a flat in Santo Domingo. They came to the hotel and changed the flat tire. Small cars are pretty cheap. Seems like SUVs are sometimes double the price of a small car.
I rented from Avis in Puerto Plata and got a flat in Santo Domingo. They came to the hotel and changed the flat tire. Small cars are pretty cheap. Seems like SUVs are sometimes double the price of a small car.
Stupid advice, read above. Much better to use taxi/publicos, etc than to drive. Too much can go wrong. If a newbee, don't drive, if not I use Alamo.
I am not sure I would say it is stupid advice. Someone has to make a decision if they want to drive a car in the Dominican or not. I think a lot depends on how long you want to stay and where all you want to go while there.
I have rented from Avis a lot and several of the other agencies. I always show them the price on kayak to make sure I get that price. If you walk in and ask the price always seems to be higher. I think more adventurous people like to drive and explore. Others prefer not to take the risk.
I enjoy road trips so I like to rent a car when I travel. I enjoyed going from Puerto Plata to Punta Cana and back. I like being able to stop when ever I want and see things off the beaten path.
Driving here is dangerous for first timers. I've been doing it for six winters. I rent from Budget in Playa Dorada. They will pick you up in Puerta Plata if you wish. Third party liability insurance is $13 per day and absolutely necessary. CDW is $20 a day unless your credit card covers it. Make sure it does before you rent. Total rental for me per day is $30, subcompact and my card covers the CDW.
as always thanks for all the great advise. I havnt decided yet if I will rent or not. possible I will use derfish as a taxi. I am adventurous and I driving around off the beatin path. I have been driving all over the world and across Brazil, so I do have some experience , and im clearly out fo my mind. lol Thanks again
In the USA there are a lot of cheapie car lots that sell cars for maybe $500 down and then weekly payments.
Miss 2 payments and wake up and see no car out front! That isn't the only ones who have repo men working for them, but I knew several people who were on that end of the spectrum and lost their cars in that manner. One kid even asked the dealer if he could miss his payment that week and use the money to put on $300.00 rims, and the deaer said yes, because the rims would increase the value of the car the next time he sold it.
Good luck tough guy.. Hope you don't get a wake up call.. Cause you ain't in Kansas anymore Dorothy. .
Interesting, I didn't expect a response like that. I was trying to be funny with my last comment. I guess your proud that no one should drive in your country. Btw, im far from kansas, I come from a place where people legally carry firearms,know how to use them and know how to drive. This is my only point, I'm not worried about driving. That's all. If you ever travel to the Bronx, give me a call so I can give you some advise. Don't worry, I won't criticize you.
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While I agree that a person who is not well familiar with the traffic in the DR (I would never let my own dad drive in the DR; only ever driven in EU, only stick-shift and 65 years old) should think twice if driving is a good idea, I also agree with dv8 above.
As it?s pointed out, plenty of people (expats) from DR1 and outside of it, drive and have driven in the DR, and apart from single incidents, I don?t recall any "epidemic" claiming of scamming or accidents or legal issues that would have happened to them.
I?d like to know, out of curiosity, what is the approx rate of incidents vs. expats living/visiting the DR... I would not even know what to guess, but I doubt it?s incredibly high...