First a few words of caution:
- Please take Rocky's and other's words of caution about using "free lancing" rental car companies and the possible culprits (read the link they provided to a recent story... and it's not a first!) very seriously.
- If you are not a experienced driver of Latin American roads, you may want to re-consider the whole idea of driving your self... there are many threads about road un-safety, accidents, road rage and so forth. Directions are also not always clear and you may not want to end up in a neighborhood you don't know and you do not belong in, asking for directions in the middle of the night. All events which may affect your stay here quite seriously.
If you expect service and quality, as well as safety and the absence of a risk to financial adventures you may have little control over... in other words, if you expect a car rental experience somewhat similar than the one you are used to in countries like the US, you will want to go with one of the mayor rental companies, like Avid, Dollar, Budget and others mentioned here. They are more expensive and they will sell you a full coverage/no deductible for about the same daily rate like in the US. If you want to pay less, you can, providing own insurance or accepting a soon quite high co-pay/deductible (USD 1000.oo to 1500.oo). This amount will be frozen of on your credit card. If you are planning on using these mayor brand companies, you may want to consider booking and paying your vehicle in your country of origin or over the net and bring in a voucher (although there have been some reports of clients presenting these voucher of first having being hassled by personal of the local agency in the effort to try to extort additional monies and deposits).
If you have a good routine on driving around here and are used to offset financial risk for a (potential discount) you may try to haggle yourself a better deal at a local company. Again, there are, besides risks to you and your passengers, different categories.
Some "
tiguere"* rent-a-cars, rent private vehicles form their buddies and anybody else who is in debt or needs money. These cars are in questionable condition and the effective insurance coverage will remain a mystery to the lessee until he is held in jail for a tragic accident. They require a deductible of USD 1000.oo to 2000.oo (CASH) and tend to try to hold on to your passport.
(* Tiguere is a term often used locally to refer to street wise Dominican males)
I currently work with one of these local tigueres for my rental car needs and it's been flawless and friendly, but we showed our cards and teeth first and we have come to a certain mutual understanding. Yet, I have had the questionable privilege to observe him taking advantage of one of his unsuspecting tourist clients, all the whilst making them believe he was protecting them and saving them some money! So believe me... saving money here can come extremely expensive as others tried to warn already.
Others have real rent-a-car outfits with their own cars and tend to keep the up and insured quite well. Most of them may be foreigner running a small business and some may be recommended. I so far can recommend
Kobi RentACar which operates out or East Sosua, has good rates, reasonable vehicles and runs a clean business (at least to me and the few I have referred to them). Still, keep in mind, they are not set up like Avis, so if you break down somewhere in the middle of nothing, they will have to send out a third party to look after the vehicle and you.
... J-D.