Should I Rent Or Buy A Car?

[kdeer]

Quote for Rental

Hey Steve,

Looking forward to meeting you as well. We are in residence from the 19th on and I think you know where we are so drop by....

We have a quote for a rental from Budget at the airport. A Nissan Sentra or something like that (seats 5) and it is about $800 Canadian from Dec 19-January 11th.

We prefer to have a car available as well rather than rely on taxi's. However both my husband and I have driven quite frequently in the DR as well as in Italy and Quebec. We are also very careful about where and when we drive and usually just use it to go back and forth between Cabarete and Puerto Plata areas. If we are venturing further we do tend to use a taxi or our dominican friends drive us.

My 18 yr old son thought he wanted to drive until we were there last month and he experienced it first hand. Now he just calls a cab and doesn't even ask to use the car....not that I would let him.

 

[Steve Costa Azul]

Car Rental Price Update

Hey Steve,

Looking forward to meeting you as well. We are in residence from the 19th on and I think you know where we are so drop by....

We have a quote for a rental from Budget at the airport. A Nissan Sentra or something like that (seats 5) and it is about $800 Canadian from Dec 19-January 11th.

We prefer to have a car available as well rather than rely on taxi's. However both my husband and I have driven quite frequently in the DR as well as in Italy and Quebec. We are also very careful about where and when we drive and usually just use it to go back and forth between Cabarete and Puerto Plata areas. If we are venturing further we do tend to use a taxi or our dominican friends drive us.

My 18 yr old son thought he wanted to drive until we were there last month and he experienced it first hand. Now he just calls a cab and doesn't even ask to use the car....not that I would let him.

Kdeer

You found the same as me. Budget were the best price. I just booked it and for 29 days, for a 4 door, A/C, 5 passenger Chevy Aveo, the price with taxes totalled $US 747.00 which is $829.00 Canadian. So, just under 30 bucks a day Canadian seems like a decent deal. Too bad we can't get FLA rental prices though.
After all the experienced & appreciated feedback from the many DR1 members here, I decided that buying wasn't the better option, at least for now.
Just in case any need a clarification as far as insurance goes, my credit card does provide CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) but you are on your own when it comes to LDW (Liability Damage Waiver). They wany $7.40 Us a day for that.
Thanks for all your help, see you soon!
Steve

 

[Juniper]

We purchased a car and leave it in our garage in Las Terrenas. We spend the months of Jan, Feb & Mar there and it has worked out very well for us for the last 3 years. We paid $16,000 US for our car. I can't imagine what you will get for under $4,000 US. I would not ever let someone drive my car in the Dominican Republic.