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Flat tire in Mexico

easyrider

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This is kind of just a heads up to the many people that rent cars while on vacation in Mexico. On our last day, right before we were heading to the airport for our return flight, the rear tire went flat on our rental car. Pressed for time, I gathered the spare and other items needed to change the tire. Nice new spare tire, check, bag with jack in it , check, open the bag, no jack. Jack handle and lug wrench are here but no jack.

Decided to look under the hood because I have had a few vehicles that had a jack mounted under the hood. No jack. A guy lets me borrow his jack and it breaks while lifting the Toyota Yaris. Another guy has a jack and we get the tire changed and head to the gas station near the airport.

I am running out of time. We get to the airport and the only gas station within 10 miles is broken. Yes, broken. So we hurry to the airport without filling up knowing we will be charged for the gas.

While the guy at the rental car return looks the car over I mention that the jack was missing. He immediately opens the front drivers door and moves the seat forward, then opens the back door and lifts up a piece of black plastic car molding to show me the jack. I asked him why the jack was under the front seat and was told " why wouldn't it be". As I told the guys in the rental car office what happened they all looked at me like I am crazy stupid for not being able to find the jack.

I was also charged $80 for about a half tank of gas. Lucky for me I did buy the rental car insurance so I didn't have any other paperwork or charges. I actually thought it was kind of funny as one thing after the other came up. Another adventure in Mexico.

We took another couple to the airport with us who had too much luggage. The shuttle had left the resort so they came with us. Their luggage wouldn't fit so I used my phone charger cord to hold the trunk shut. They said they would fill up the car but the gas station was broken. We wondered how the gas station broke. My Spanish is very limited and I managed to understand " la gasolinera is rota" and " quizzas 10 minutoes o quizzas 1 hora".

It was a comical end to a trip to celebrate 4 of my good friends 60th birthdays.

I guess the point of this post was to help you find the jack if you have a flat. Sometimes it is under the front seat, very hidden from view, under a piece of molded plastic.

Bill
 

davidvel

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Also, the manual tells you where, but many rentals don't have a manual.
 

vacationhopeful

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The moral of your story for me was .. .fill the gas tank up the day before leaving for the airport. And wear a skirt so as to not worry about the jack's location (just lure either a Tom, Dick and Harry to find the jack).

In all truth, I figure I
a) won't rent a car is Mexico (or most other places where I can read the road signs)
b) won't change a tire at any time
c) will have a triple AAA card
 

dioxide45

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We have been researching car rentals in Barbados for an upcoming trip. This is something different with them. In Barbados with most of the companies, their extended coverage (CDW) does not cover the tires or rims. So any damage to those would still be out of pocket. Though they don't have the shady practice of forcing CDW on you, so you can rely on your credit card CDW instead.
 

imoapie

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This is kind of just a heads up to the many people that rent cars while on vacation in Mexico. On our last day, right before we were heading to the airport for our return flight, the rear tire went flat on our rental car. Pressed for time, I gathered the spare and other items needed to change the tire. Nice new spare tire, check, bag with jack in it , check, open the bag, no jack. Jack handle and lug wrench are here but no jack.

Decided to look under the hood because I have had a few vehicles that had a jack mounted under the hood. No jack. A guy lets me borrow his jack and it breaks while lifting the Toyota Yaris. Another guy has a jack and we get the tire changed and head to the gas station near the airport.

I am running out of time. We get to the airport and the only gas station within 10 miles is broken. Yes, broken. So we hurry to the airport without filling up knowing we will be charged for the gas.

While the guy at the rental car return looks the car over I mention that the jack was missing. He immediately opens the front drivers door and moves the seat forward, then opens the back door and lifts up a piece of black plastic car molding to show me the jack. I asked him why the jack was under the front seat and was told " why wouldn't it be". As I told the guys in the rental car office what happened they all looked at me like I am crazy stupid for not being able to find the jack.

I was also charged $80 for about a half tank of gas. Lucky for me I did buy the rental car insurance so I didn't have any other paperwork or charges. I actually thought it was kind of funny as one thing after the other came up. Another adventure in Mexico.

We took another couple to the airport with us who had too much luggage. The shuttle had left the resort so they came with us. Their luggage wouldn't fit so I used my phone charger cord to hold the trunk shut. They said they would fill up the car but the gas station was broken. We wondered how the gas station broke. My Spanish is very limited and I managed to understand " la gasolinera is rota" and " quizzas 10 minutoes o quizzas 1 hora".

It was a comical end to a trip to celebrate 4 of my good friends 60th birthdays.

I guess the point of this post was to help you find the jack if you have a flat. Sometimes it is under the front seat, very hidden from view, under a piece of molded plastic.

Bill

What kind of car?
 

geist1223

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You were lucky there was a spare. Many cars sold in the USA have only the temporary Donut Spare. Some have a can of Air Flat Fixture, which is only good for a couple miles. There was a News Program a year or 2 ago where people buying a car were not aware until they had a flat.
 

Phydeaux

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My guess is the next time you rent a vehicle, you'll locate the jack along with checking the spare tire. A inflated spare tire is useless without a jack, but just as you did, that's where most people just stop looking & checking.

And, don't forget to check the sidewalls of the tires for pinch marks from gringos hitting the topes too fast ;)

Radiator fluid topped off? Brake lights & turn signals all working?

Since we routinely put on several thousand km's when we rent in Mexico, these are things that I check.

Thanks for the heads up.
 

easyrider

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What kind of car?

Mid Sized Toyota Yaris. Seemed about the same size as a Corolla. It was gutless but big enough for 5 adults.

Bill
 

easyrider

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My guess is the next time you rent a vehicle, you'll locate the jack along with checking the spare tire. A inflated spare tire is useless without a jack, but just as you did, that's where most people just stop looking & checking.

And, don't forget to check the sidewalls of the tires for pinch marks from gringos hitting the topes too fast ;)

Radiator fluid topped off? Brake lights & turn signals all working?

Since we routinely put on several thousand km's when we rent in Mexico, these are things that I check.

Thanks for the heads up.

I did inspect the spare but didn't open the bag that contained the lug wrench and jack handle. The cost of roadside assistance and extra liability was about the same as full coverage insurance so I went full coverage this time. The last time I had a flat in mexico it cost Amex $120 or so and I changed the tire.

I usually do not check the fluids or signals. That is a good idea, especially when vacationing in the middle of no where on the Sea of Cortez..

Bill
 

easyrider

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The moral of your story for me was .. .fill the gas tank up the day before leaving for the airport. And wear a skirt so as to not worry about the jack's location (just lure either a Tom, Dick and Harry to find the jack).

In all truth, I figure I
a) won't rent a car is Mexico (or most other places where I can read the road signs)
b) won't change a tire at any time
c) will have a triple AAA card

I think renting a car in Mexico, for the most part, must be a guy thing, or maybe we are just to cheap to add the extra driver. My wife drives in Mexico, but not too often, and usually only if I had a few drinks, which doesn't happen regularly. Your lucky to be a boomer or older because millennial guys don't help millennial girls with their car problems. I still stop to help people, but my youngest son likely wouldn't, unless he knew you.

I noticed, that I am using many coma's, so my tone may sound like, Captain Kirk, from the tv hit show, Star Trek. This is, unintentional. :D

Bill
 

PamMo

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You fared better than my daughter and son-in-law last week in Cancun. Their rental quote was $40USD for their 5-day rental. We told them to buy insurance, but they were sure AMEX would cover them. (They're millennials who've spent most of the last decade living abroad.) "Buy the insurance!" we repeated.

Good thing they spent the extra $210USD on insurance. Their spare tire was stolen on their second day. On the fourth day, someone deeply keyed the side of their rental car...
 

easyrider

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Amex covers that sort of damage like keyed car and theft of car parts. For my last rental in Loreto I bought the full insurance only because the cost was comparable to extra liability insurance and road side assistance. They gave me all the insurance for $24 a day and I would have paid about $20 for the upgraded liability and roadside assistance.

Funny thing is the car rented for $9.50 a week. :D

Bill
 
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