Horrible Golf Cart Rental Experience!

[englishteacher702]

We rented from Karib's auto rental last year and it was great, so of course I wanted to go with them again. What a mistake. Boogie, who used to run this place, was no longer there, and now a VERY rude woman runs it. We rented on July 19th. When we checked in with her, she informed us we had to pay an additional $10 for gas, which went up from $6 last year. I understand things go up, but this is NOT listed on their website or the confirmation I received. I let it go, took our cart, and my husband and I went on our way. We stopped a few miles from the cruise port at Governor's Beach like we did last year. We spent about an hour at the beach and decided to go exploring more. Once a few miles down the road, my husband who was in the passenger's seat, said it was getting really hot, even with a wet towel down. We decided to turn around to go back to the rental shop just in case something was wrong. I turned down a road and put the cart into reverse, but it would not shift back to drive. We tried pushing it into gear, but nothing worked, so I had to call her to come pick us up. Boogie, the man we dealt with last year, pulls up to fix it. He looked at the cart, and said "she rented this one to you, this one should not be rented out". He could not get it to work, so he called the lady and she said there were no more carts. I told him I wanted my money back then and he told her that on the phone. He then hung up on her and took a socket wrench (which was in the cart the whole time) and hit something in the engine and finally got it to go back into drive. He told us not to put it in reverse again. This whole ordeal took an hour. Well we were scared to go anywhere then especially far form port, so we went back to the beach and spent the rest of the day there. Luckily we packed water and snacks because this beach has no amenities. We knew that going in, but we thought we would have the cart to go get stuff to bring back to the beach. We decided to take the cart back early because we were afraid it would not start. When we got there, we asked for some of our money back and gas because we hardly used any, definitely not $10 worth. She did not want to give it to us, but we started to get angry especially when she slipped and told my husband she had ordered a part for this cart. We stressed that it should not have been rented out doing what it was doing (the heating up on the passenger side got MUCH worse). She then told my husband that she saw us all over the island on this cart, so we did not deserve the gas money back, which is completely untrue. We showed her the full tank. She still refused to give us money back, so I left figuring I can dispute the deposit with my credit card company. Rent from inside the cruise port even if it is more expensive, or take a cab. The are all over the island and very friendly. When we were waiting while we were stranded, 4 or 5 taxis stopped and asked us if we needed help. This is your vacation, and you do not want to lose time getting stranded or spend time arguing with someone. I have pictures of the cart, but I can't get them to upload. But you would see bald tires, missing windshield and headlight, and a detached part on the tire.

[EatonDoolittle]

English teacher?

Do they not each the proper use of paragraphs any more?

 

Impossible to read this long rant as written.

[crewsweeper]

I would NOT have gotten into the cart if it was in the physical condition you described.

 

The woman who took your $ and gave you the cart, sounds suspiciously like Nathan's wife. Nathan being the owner , or previous owner, of another golf cart rental firm. the two times we rented from Nathan, she was a very rude, unpleasant woman, who seemed to hate being there.

 

Glad that you did make it back to the cruise port and thank you for sharing your story. Perhaps others will not experience a similar ordeal.

[englishteacher702]

English teacher?

Do they not each the proper use of paragraphs any more?

 

Impossible to read this long rant as written.

 

EatonDoolittle

 

 

Yes, we still "each" the proper use of paragraphs and irony:p. I probably should have thought about its format since I am an English teacher, but I am also a human who was angry. Sorry for hurting your eyes.

[englishteacher702]

I would NOT have gotten into the cart if it was in the physical condition you described.

 

The woman who took your $ and gave you the cart, sounds suspiciously like Nathan's wife. Nathan being the owner , or previous owner, of another golf cart rental firm. the two times we rented from Nathan, she was a very rude, unpleasant woman, who seemed to hate being there.

 

Glad that you did make it back to the cruise port and thank you for sharing your story. Perhaps others will not experience a similar ordeal.

 

 

Thanks for sharing about Nathan's. I love cruising around in those golf carts, but it seems hard to find a reputable company out there. I should have inspected it before we left, but I let my guard down because of our great experience with them before. Looks like we will be getting a cab next time because I cannot go to Grand Turk without a visit to Governor's Beach. It is such a beautiful beach, and it definitely outweighed the negative.

[crewsweeper]

Thanks for sharing about Nathan's. I love cruising around in those golf carts, but it seems hard to find a reputable company out there. I should have inspected it before we left, but I let my guard down because of our great experience with them before. Looks like we will be getting a cab next time because I cannot go to Grand Turk without a visit to Governor's Beach. It is such a beautiful beach, and it definitely outweighed the negative.

Yep. Understand. Similar reason why we did Nathan's the second time. But haven't since.

Depending on the temps and weather, you may wish to consider just walking to Governors.

If you do take a taxi, be sure to set up some kind of arrangement for pick up since nothing is there. At least grab a phone number to call a taxi and be prepared to wait for one.

[mlipreston]

Was this rental through Karib or Nathan? We have put down a deposit to rent a cart and I'm so nervous based on some of the stories I have read.

[englishteacher702]

My rental was through Karib, but it looks like Crewsweeper had a problem with Nathan's. I have heard good thing about Grand Turk Adventures, but it's hard to say.

[OCruisers]

Sorry it was a very bad experience for you!

Thanks for the warning.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Did you dispute the charge with your credit card company? If so, how did it go?

[Loonbeam]

When doing my reservations, heard some of the same things, which is why I went with GTA. Our Golf cart had its issues, but nothing like that. Bear in mind that these are NOT the latest models, are driven by people who have no idea what they are doing (or even if they do) flat out for extended periods in effectively desert conditions, are constantly exposed to salt air and replacement parts need to be shipped in by boat or plane. A certain level of mechanical issues is acceptable over time.

 

 

This scenario was not acceptable, for the reasons noted. A vendor needs to be judged by how they deal with problems. I would not use this vendor for that reason.

 

 

 

The cart we got from GTA was not the nicest looking but it ran ok with some minor issues with the turn signal switch. If I had noticed the issue prior easily dealt with, I just left a note when we dropped it off.

[Setlok]

You mentioned renting from inside the cruise port...is that an option? I had only read about golf carts being available outside. I don't mind if they cost more as long as they are in good condition.

 

TIA

[Loonbeam]

Wet Money was offering golf carts inside the port when we were there, but the price was literally changing based on who asked as we watched. A couple of young girls in a bikini - $120. An older couple - $150. And the carts looked the same as any other AND I think (but not sure) you had to still walk to the gate to get them (they also had some other vehicle types but not sure if they were excursion only)

You mentioned renting from inside the cruise port...is that an option? I had only read about golf carts being available outside. I don't mind if they cost more as long as they are in good condition.

 

TIA