Best place to rent a car

Jun 5, 2004
844
0
0
I believe that the best place to rent a car in the Dominican Republic is in the STI airport at the dollar rental car office. The people are very friendly and they always have very cheap rates.
 

Golfer

New member
Apr 7, 2002
255
8
0
May be the friendliest....

But not the cheapest by far. I would name what I consider better agencies but it would violate the rules of the thread.
 

rellosk

Silver
Mar 18, 2002
4,169
58
48
apdomini100max said:
I believe that the best place to rent a car in the Dominican Republic is in the STI airport at the dollar rental car office. The people are very friendly and they always have very cheap rates.
How long does it take them to process the paper work. I have never been able to rent a car anywhere in the DR in under 1/2 hour (not including time waiting in line) and that's with an advance reservation.
 

L-dzzy

New member
Nov 7, 2004
23
0
0
I agree

apdomini100max said:
I believe that the best place to rent a car in the Dominican Republic is in the STI airport at the dollar rental car office. The people are very friendly and they always have very cheap rates.


Your 100% right. They allowed me to return a car w/ no additional fees - 8 hours later than the time i rented it. Also, they gave me a free upgrade when they didn't have the car that I reserved available - (that's the one negative). Has anyone tried Alamo or National? I'm thinking of giving one of them a try - just to see if they're good or better.
 

rellosk

Silver
Mar 18, 2002
4,169
58
48
L-dzzy said:
Your 100% right. They allowed me to return a car w/ no additional fees - 8 hours later than the time i rented it. Also, they gave me a free upgrade when they didn't have the car that I reserved available - (that's the one negative). Has anyone tried Alamo or National? I'm thinking of giving one of them a try - just to see if they're good or better.
I normally rent from National, and except for the amount of time they take to process the paperwork, the experience has been positive. They have always been friendly and the cars have been in good shape (relative to the local standards). Only once in over 30 rentals did I have a problem with the car, and they were able to get someone out to where I was and look at the car in a surprisingly short period of time. If you are going to rent from National, it may pay to join their Emerald Club which gets you a 20% discount for rentals in the DR.

I have also rented from Avis and Hertz. One time Hertz didn't have any cars available, even though I had a reservation. They didn't seem to care and made no effort to try to get me a car. Beacuse of this I advise people not to rent from Hertz.
 

duhtree

New member
Jun 2, 2003
414
0
0
Adventure rent a car owned and operated by Gypsy. Great gal. always has good prices. No problem with renting in one area and dropping off at another ( SD-POP, for instance )Has brought the car directly to my hotel at no extra charge. never took more than 1/2 hour for paper work. Cars always in fine shape.
 

El Tigre

El Tigre de DR1 - Moderator
Jan 23, 2003
2,306
57
0
La Frontera Motors

I have been using La Frontera Motors since last year. They are right outside of the STI airport on the autopista Duarte. I found their prices to be very descent last Christmas. Everyone was charging 90 a day for a montero sport. They charged me 60.
 

Bob K

Silver
Aug 16, 2004
2,520
121
63
rental

What about rental agency in POP. Last time we used hertz and got a car with no headlights. actually had head lights just they pointed straight down. Any other suggestoins for POP

Bob K
 

Golfer

New member
Apr 7, 2002
255
8
0
Mas info

El Tigre said:
I have been using La Frontera Motors since last year. They are right outside of the STI airport on the autopista Duarte. I found their prices to be very descent last Christmas. Everyone was charging 90 a day for a montero sport. They charged me 60.

Always searchig for a good Dominican rental agency. A Google search on La Frontera Motors produced nothing. Do you have website, email, or phone info available? Is it a car dealer or a car rental center? Thanks.
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
20,574
341
83
dr1.com
PLEASE stick to the format established in all the other posts in this forum.

Name:
Location:
Reason why?
 

theCeo

New member
Apr 18, 2005
31
0
0
Passport to rent Cars?

I was amazed how much they wanted for a rental car in DR. I usually taxi everywhere, but after many trips I figured I would drive myself.

All of the car rental places just outside of Santo Domingo Airport were about 60 ? 90 US a day; 40 US for 5 or 7 days.

I was able to talk the guy down to 100US for 2 days, but then he said he?d need to keep my passport. NO WAY.

Not only did I feel that 100US for 2 days was still way too high. But I refused to leave my passport as collateral.

Does anyone else that regularly rents cars leave their passport with the rental agency?
 

Pib

Goddess
Jan 1, 2002
3,668
20
38
www.dominicancooking.com
theCeo said:
Does anyone else that regularly rents cars leave their passport with the rental agency?
No, they don't. And for the people aiming cheap (not necessarily anyone here), please read the tale of that guy who wrecked a car in La Romana and now has to pay it. Only rent from a reputable agency and make sure that you are totally covered.

We had rented from Metro (do they still exist) and they had some crappy little cars and other rental agencies (Pay Less and other which names escape me now) and by far the best was National. More expensive though, but we got a new vehicle in excellent conditions and we were completely covered by insurance.

JMHO though.
 

mozart

New member
Jun 26, 2005
12
0
0
Rental Cars

These messages about rental cars are a year old.
What is the current information - are there any reputable Dominican agencies or just folks like Dollar and National. Do you need to do it in advance?
MOzart
 

mozart

New member
Jun 26, 2005
12
0
0
Rental Car

We rented through our hotel in Sosua and had a good experience with good rates. I'm trying to find the same situation in SAnto Domingo - that's why I'm sending these e-mails. Thanks.
Kathleen
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
20,574
341
83
dr1.com
mozart said:
These messages about rental cars are a year old.
What is the current information - are there any reputable Dominican agencies or just folks like Dollar and National. Do you need to do it in advance?
MOzart

Actually they are 3 months old. This thread was started end of March 2005.

Go with National, Budget, Avis etc.
 

dropitlikeithot

New member
Jun 22, 2005
49
0
0
mozart said:
We rented through our hotel in Sosua and had a good experience with good rates. I'm trying to find the same situation in SAnto Domingo - that's why I'm sending these e-mails. Thanks.
Kathleen

i've rented from alamo in STI airport and from alamo in santiago city (inside
the almirante casino hotel). Never had a problem and have found their rates
to be very accomodating. The lowest i've paid $25/day,, the most $37/day,
not including 16% taxes.
 

la_barbie

Bronze
May 6, 2004
1,292
39
0
41
I've always booked with Universal Car Rental in Cabarete.... Always email the girl that works there a couple of weeks before I get there and drop off the car at POP airport and the paperwork takes less than 5 mins and i'm off... everytime i rent from them it gets cheaper and cheaper... cause I refer a lot of people to them and she always knocks the price down... This time i'm going for close to a week and a half and paying $310 USD with insurance and everything for a Honda CRV... there are places that i bet are much cheaper but I feel really comfortable booking with them.
 

smoky

New member
Jul 6, 2005
29
0
0
concerning adventure rent a car: nomen est omen. We tried it two times:
after one week we bring the car back and have to pay for a damage on the windshield. OK, that damage was there before, our mistake: we don?t mark it on the form.... second time: a ford jeep: yes, shock absorbers are not so important. It?s fun to drive a car and you think you make a rodeo ride. The third chance was not given: we ask many times (4 calls) for a special rate for a 1 week rent....and allways get told: call Gypsy on her cel-phone. Thats it. No recall, the celphone: answeringmachine. And for shure - no recall. For what you make a message?
Now we use NELLY. Not the cheapest, but never a problem with their cars
 

mozart

New member
Jun 26, 2005
12
0
0
Rent A Car

smoky said:
concerning adventure rent a car: nomen est omen. We tried it two times:
after one week we bring the car back and have to pay for a damage on the windshield. OK, that damage was there before, our mistake: we don?t mark it on the form.... second time: a ford jeep: yes, shock absorbers are not so important. It?s fun to drive a car and you think you make a rodeo ride. The third chance was not given: we ask many times (4 calls) for a special rate for a 1 week rent....and allways get told: call Gypsy on her cel-phone. Thats it. No recall, the celphone: answeringmachine. And for shure - no recall. For what you make a message?
Now we use NELLY. Not the cheapest, but never a problem with their cars
We're headed to the DR on July 22nd and will be renting a car. We are thinking of taking a bus to Barahona but I'm reconsidering. Is Nelly better than National and some of the other chains - Dollar, etc.?
Appreciate the information! We may need to rent in Santo Domingo.
Kathleen