In my life I have, on rare occasions, been cheated, gipped, ripped-off, shortchanged.  Minor events to be sure (11 donuts in the one dozen bag), but renting a car in Costa Rica takes the feeling of being ripped-off to an entirely different level.  Because we are living on top of Billy Goat Hill (see earlier posts), renting a car was a necessity for us to even get to the beach…actually TO the beach wasn’t the issue as gravity is a powerful force–getting back to the condo was–gravity again.  It is a vertical climb up the hill requiring rappelling gear and helmets to get up safely !  I suspect a portable defibrillator would not be out of the question.

There are a few things to know about car rentals in Costa Rica.

• Bargain rates are almost impossible to find, particularly at this time of the year (high tourist season).  Understandable.

• My home auto insurance only covers me in the contiguous 48 states, not in any foreign country.

• In order to use the insurance with my credit card, I needed to provide written evidence from the credit car company of the coverage provided.

• You must carry the liability insurance mandated by law.  The Damage Insurance (collision) and Rental Car Theft coverage are optional BUT if you damage the car or it is stolen, they will simply charge your credit card for the damages/loss.  Given that automobiles in Costa Rica are on the expensive side compared to USA prices, your potential liability is significant.

The rental price per day was on the high side of reasonable and probably a just a tad higher than what you would pay in the USA per day.  At this time of the year in Costa Rica, it is even difficult to find a rental for the period of time we plan to be here (2 months).  I rented a 4WD Hyundai SUV.  For the 54 days we will be renting, the cost was $1,903 including “all taxes and fees” or $35 per day (+/-).  The phrase “all taxes and fees included” falsely leads one to believe the price quoted is the bottom line.  Not so.  Because I had done some reading about car rentals here, I knew insurance was going to be an issue.

I called the rental agency to find out the cost of the insurance and was told the required liability insurance was $12 per day and it covered up to $20,000 of damages.  For $15 per day, the rental car company would cover 100% of the liability damages.  I thought for $3 extra per day, why have the worry and it sounded like a pretty good deal to me.  Much to my surprise at the time of signing the paperwork, what the agent on the phone meant was the unlimited liability coverage was an additional $15 dollars per day (yep, $12 + $15 = $27/day for liability insurance).

The rental company was quite clear that if I was using credit card company insurance, I needed to provide written evidence of coverage.  I contacted my credit card company and they emailed me a letter to that effect within the hour.  My credit card company covers Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance but not liability.  Even so, however, the language in the letter says, “All benefits are subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the Policy.”  This set off alarm bells in my head since I had no idea what the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy were.  And I had no time to find out since the rental agent delivering the car was sitting in my rented living room.  Chalk up another $9 per day for the Damage Insurance and the Rental Car Insurance (that’s $12 + $15 + $9 = $36 per day for insurance).

The agent who came to our condo to deliver the car, Luis, was one of the most pleasant people I have met so far in Costa Rica.  He spoke very good English, was very tolerant and helpful in my attempts at mangling Spanish, and took his time explaining everything.  Interestingly, Luis knew it was a rip-off, admitted it was, but his hands were tied because Costa Rican law requires the car insurance and the insurance is a monoply.  There really was nothing he could do about it but explain the options and leave the decisions up to me.

In the end, I chose to carry the full coverage this time.  Had I declined the Damage and Rental Car Theft insurance, in the event of an accident, the rental company would have simply charged my credit card for the amount of the damages and handed me the paperwork to deal with my credit card company regarding the insurance.  I didn’t want the hassle or the potential liability this time around.

Next time, I would probably take the limited liability for $12 per day ($20,000 maximum) and further investigate exactly what the credit card company policy is regarding “the terms, conditions and exclusions of the Policy.”  Although taxis and shuttles are widely available as are local buses, having our own transportation to explore the area and for side trips to the mountains (e.g., Arenal Volcano) has expanded our experiences here in Costa Rica.

I’m thinking of starting a car rental insurance company in Costa Rica….