aruba car rental

[silverfox82]

Just booked a spur of the moment late march trip to Aruba and will want a car. I've been there many times but want to draw on tuggers knowledge to find the best (cheapest) car rental. Sometimes I book in advance and pick it up at the airport, other times I taxi to the hotel and look in the paper for a great deal, or sometimes I don't rent at all. This trip I'm renting for 11 days so I need your help and experience to get a great deal. BTW, the air on AA, jfk/aua was dirt cheap for some reason (Hollaway?), we paid the same price for 2 tickets as our friends paid for 1 to sxm at around the same time, bumped up to 1st with miles,have an almost free room for a week at our home resort and saved almost enough $ on air to pay for the additional nights by flying weekdays. Thanks in advance, Alan

 

[siki]

We always like to rent from Amigo Car Rental. We have been renting from them for 4 years. They have great rates and customer service. They have 2 offices: 1 at the airport and 1 on the road behind where the grocery stores are.

Hope this helps.

Michelle

 

[2hokies]

In December, we rented from Econo...they had the cheapest rate for our 10 days. People over on the Aruba boards also like Tropic and Jansen. You could email each one (and Amigo from the previous post) and see who gives you the best rate.

Congrats on getting the terrific air fare and enjoy your trip!

 

[silverfox82]

thank you both, that will be my project today

 

[Spence]

thank you both, that will be my project today

Let us know what you find out, if you please.

 

[Lloydwa1]

We are also going to Aruba in mid May so will be watching this site for suggestions.
Thanks Lloyd

 

[lvhmbh]

We go for 3 weeks in late Feb. and we rent from Jansen. We rented a Kia Rio 5 door (we take golf clubs). They give a special price for timeshare owners (discount) on their website. We used them last year and the car was waiting gassed up and a/c running at the airport and we were checked out swiftly. Same thing to return the car - quickest we've ever had. Linda

 

[Spence]

I have a Toyota Yarbis on hold at BUDGET for next Thanksgivng for $191 total. Anyone have any experience with BUDGET in Aruba?

 

[lvhmbh]

Do make sure that you reconfirm your flight. I just went to book a car to the airport and wanted to check my flight to make sure the time was the same as on my e-ticket. Not only was the time wrong but they changed the flight number on me wow!! First time in 9 years that's happened. Time changes marginally but not the flight number. Linda

 

[Spence]

Mine is 10 months off so I'm sure the flights will change some, but I got frequent flyer tickets over a holiday, been trying to match these miles with timeshare travel for six years now, so I'm happy!

In fact I hope they change significantly so they'll rebook me on a more convenient return flight... AUA-IAH-DCA is not very direct.

 

[silverfox82]

I found Jansen for $360 for 11 days, a sub compact (kia rio) includes all taxes, cdw at $10 a day, additional driver. sounds ok but I'm still looking. as for the flight changes, did jfk/sxm in nov. Our nonstop down became a one stop thru sju and left an hour earlier than the original, good thing I always check lately. the sxm/mia thru sju leg was changed slightly but was very late and we almost missed our connection. mia/jfk was the only segment that remained the same. When I made the aua reservations the agent asked if I had a phone # there in case the return flight was changed, a phone call from them would be a 1st.

 

[TomR]

Silverfox: You mentioned $10 a day for CDW. Doesn’t your credit card provide CDW coverage? We have never gotten CDW in either Aruba or SXM because of our credit card coverage. About 2 years ago, someone hit our rental car when it was parked. Our credit card covered all damages I assume since we have never heard anything back after we submitted the claim when we arrived home.

 

[Lloydwa1]

TomR ---I have also started rellying on my visa card for the CDW. I have heard that the rental companys have required persons to pay for the damage then do the insurance negotiations themselves. It sounds as if that was not how it worked for you. Did your accident happen in SXM or AUA? Do you get the LDW from the rental company? I have been carrying the LDW and have found some rentals that include it in the quotes.
Thank you, Lloyd

 

[silverfox82]

When I rent I always put it on my amex which covers any costs not covered by my auto insurance (deductables, etc). That being said, there are numerous horror stories about different policies for foreign country and stateside reimbursement. I never take the cdw in the states and only recently started taking it when outside the country. Some rental companies charge you for the days they don't rent the car while it is being repaired, how would you like to be the go between with your ins company, credit card co and the rental car company in a foreign country. If the cdw is cheap enough I think it's a good idea, at least for me.

 

[chrisnwillie]

I always rent from Hans at Tropic and I got a Yaris for $170 for the first week of March. I love his service and wouldn't rent from anyone else.

 

[TomR]

Lloyd: Our car was damaged in a parking lot on St. Maarten. The next day I drove over to the car rental lot and showed him the damage (the rear fender was badly dented). Michael from Unity rental told me to enjoy my vacation and not to worry about it. He told me to report it to my credit card company when I got home. That is exactly what I did. My involvement ended at that point. Since then I have continued to rent from Unity. I do buy the liability insurance from him for $5 a day.