Car Rental Questions

[pablo312]

I will be on the Conquest next week which stops in Cozumel. I was interested in renting a car from Executive at Puerta Maya. Anyone have experience with this company at this location.

 

In past posts, Sally (CozSally) recommended NOT to make reservations, but make arrangements when I arrive at Cozumel. Is this recommendation still valid?

 

Also, there were recent threads about shakedowns by the local cops. Anyone rented a car recently. What was your experience.

 

Thank you in advance to your responses.

 

Paul

[CozInsiderJacq]

I would rec. renting in advance to save time, and to guarantee the price. I know some companies actually raise their prices when the cruise ships come in since they know there is a limited supply of vehicles, however since it's still low season you shouldn't have trouble getting something. I have only had dealings with AVIS and they have been positive. Perhaps someone else can give you feedback on Executive.

[solita]

Executive and the owner, Julio, are great. Their vehicles are very well maintained. I would reserve in advance to secure the type of vehicle you want. Low season is pretty much over as far as cruise ships are concerned...the piers have been packed this past 2 weeks with new cruise line arrivals to Cozumel.

[pablo312]

Thank you for your responses. I feel more comfortable about renting from Executive.

[solita]

I am going snorkeling with the Executive guys and should see Julio. I will mention that you are arriving next Friday on Conquest. I like Executive's maintainance standards for their vehicles so much that I am going to Cancun on Sunday to look at the used vehicles that they have for sale.

[Volman]

Don’t forget to check your personal auto insurance policy most US policies exclude Mexico so you may need to get their insurance when you rent. Just check your declarations page on your policy.

[betsyrossapk]

Hello Jacq,

Just letting you know our experience w/renting w/Avis went very well last Saturday. The only thing was when we got there all they had was Jeeps. The gentlemen called somewhere else & sent someone out to bring us the Ford Focus that we had reserved. It only took about an add'l 10 minutes, so that was fine. They were very nice & the car was in very good condition.

Re: police. We only saw the one police station that is located at the mid-point of the east-west road on the north side. There was no policeman seen there & we did not observe any the entire drive around the island. We only saw 2 military looking men when we got off our ship initially, carrying very large rifles at their side. Doubt that they would be the ones to stop you for a traffic ticket tho' :)

[betsyrossapk]

Also,

we purchased full insurance for $22. Even if you have good auto insurance at home, it will only cover you after the fact. My understanding is that any damages must be paid in full for an accident before you are allowed to leave the island. Also, we left our credit card as a deposit, then we paid in cash. They returned all the credit card copies to us upon our return.

[lschultz]

We used our credit card last year to rent a car from Executive and ended up with over $3000 on our card when we got home. That was the only place we used our card on the whole trip. So what does that say about Executive.

[karenandbrian]

We rented a jeep wrangler from Executive on Wednesday straight from the store. They were very clear about what the charges were and and wrote on our receipt what the pesos would be and what the charge in US dollars would be. They charged us $77 for the use of the jeep all day and full coverage insurance. They also said there would be a $10 charge for gas on our card bringing it to $87. We put in the gas ourselves and were not charged the extra $10. We checked our statement when we got home and that was the only charge on there. We had an absolute blast renting the jeep and would highly recommend it to anyone willing to drive around. If there is a specific type of car that you want to rent, then I would highly suggest you reserve it ahead of time, otherwise you can rent a jeep or a vw at the time of arrival.

 

Karen:D

[solita]

Alot of people freak out when they see $800 on their cc statement for an $80 purchase...not realizing that the $800 is pesos not dollars for example. I would stand behind Executive any day for for their reputation, great maintance and quality vehicles.

[transit5495]

We rented a VW convertible from Executive the morning we arrived at the port. For $40.00 for the day, it was reasonably clean, but no way could they get away with renting something like this in the states. When the lot man examined the car before you get in, checking off all the damaged spots and marking them on the little drawing, I thought his pen would run out of ink. It was missing a window knob, no inside rear view mirror-no radio-no floor carpeting- no seatbelts-a padlock for the trunk- BUT we had a blast with it. Also we purchased a trip insurance policy before we left-(do a Web-Search) about 1/4th the cost the cruise ship offered and it had car rental insurance as part of it.