Car rental in Mexico

[XemaSab]

What do I need to know?

How do I not get ripped off?

What's the story with the insurance?

What is a reasonable price for renting a car for a week?

[susanr516]

1. Don't know about rental cars

but purchasing a liability policy from a Mexican insurance company is a must. One of the fastest ways to get thrown in jail in Mexico is to have an accident without a Mexican policy. The police WILL detain you until you pay for the damages. I would call the tourist bureau in Mexico. Or, if you have your auto policy with a nation-wide carrier, you might have your agent check with one of the offices in a US border city--it seems like every auto insurance outlet in McAllen and Brownsville has signs advertising that they sell Mexico auto insurance.

Good luck, and be very careful driving.

[pscot]

2. Car rentals are usually cheaper

if arranged in advance through a travel agent or your airline. Triple-A can tell you anything you need to know.

[KurtNYC]

3. I would try the major rental agencies. If you are flying in then you

will rent at the airport. They will set you up with insurance. I have driven in Mexico but only in a US car and got insurance on the US side of the border.

Here is Avis:
http://www.avis.com.mx/ $180 / week

I hope you have good expectations in general. The people I meet in Mexico are honest and hard working and very sunny. Renting a car should not be a concern. I think the no-no's are the same as any other foreign country:
- don't change money in the street / go to a bank
- don't use an ATM except inside of a bank lobby. If you HAVE TO use one in a vestibule or the worst, on the sidewalk, watch your back, especially once your pin is entered
- don't use the phone in the hotel room for ANY calls
- crowded areas, train stations, over crowded busses are classic places to get robbed
- people including children who touch you and/or hold things up toward you face (blocking your vision) when they approach you in the guise of selling something
- and of course, tap water

[XemaSab]

5. Does the 180 a week include insurance?

:P

[Gormy Cuss]

13. and all-you-can-

add-to-your-life list.
:P

[UTUSN]

4. Public transportation. n/t

[XemaSab]

6. Why do you say that?

You do realize that I will be a woman traveling alone to remote areas, right?

[UTUSN]

8. Sorry I seem to have stepped on your toes. I was not being sarcastic or

any other negative thing and, no, sorry, I don't know anything about you or your circumstances. Now that you say you would be driving alone, I would be even more hesitant FOR MYSELF since I'm not that great a driver and, while I have seen some magnificent highways over there, I have also seen some sheer cliffs without guardrails and with barely 2 lanes (going & coming; not 2 lanes each way) and have heard many news items of professional bus drivers plunging over the sides -- the emphasis being on their being PROFESSIONAL drivers; not on the public transportation side of it, since that diminishes any points I might have.

And with all that said, I don't see that being alone in a vehicle would be a big safety factor. I surmise that these days in Mexico, with news items that cartels have their own "inspection" stops, any person alone is in a perilous condition.

Minimally, besides that some people who can afford it live behind walls, some of them also pick junky-looking cars that are not magnets for thieves or ransom-nappers.

So, I just would have thought that being in a crowd of people on a public transit would be within yelling range. Feel free to fling my 2 cents back at me!1

[XemaSab]

10. It's quite alright

Thanks for your response. :pals:

[UTUSN]

11. HooKAY *cute* - LOVE-ya!1 n/t

[HopeHoops]

7. "Ra-UUUL!"

- the rental car guy in "The Mexican".

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. From what I understand, the major car rental companies like Hertz and Avis

operate in Mexico.

I also know that U.S. auto insurance is not valid in Mexico and that very bad things can happen to you if you get into an accident and don't have valid insurance. So the usual practice of waiving the rental company's insurance because you have a policy at home does not hold true in Mexico.

Guidebooks should fill you in on the details.

[populi]

12. car rental

Have a look at http://www.myhammer.com/. There is a directory for car rental I think. Hope you get some help.