another car rental CDW question

[chug4fun1]

Hey listen I know this topic has been covered before, and I already know too much about it already however I'd like pose this question to someone that has experience renting cars out of Cancun Airport.

Is the CDW/LDW coverage mandatory at all the rental agencies?

Like others, I have Primary Collison Damage Waiver/Loss Damage Waiver in Mexico through my Visa Platinum card, and the coverage is free, very comprehensive and pays total commercial value of the vehicle, in the event of any damage, theft, vandalism, total loss, and everything in-between with a $0.00 deductable. However Visa's coverage is null and void if I accept the rental ageny's expensive inadequate coverage that has a $1,500 deductable. I got a quote back from Louis Burgos down at Executive, and he's talking about all this mandatory CDW yadda yadda mumbo jumbo... and thats the last thing I want... is to have to pay $180 extra for inadequate coverage that inhibits me from exercising a much more robust coverage thats free through my credit card. The only fall-back I see, is that I still will have to put a 10% hold on my card of the cars total value, which I would have to do anyways...

So again, has anyone been able to rent a car in cancun AND deny all the Collion Damage Waiver Coverage? which rental companies were they?

[kathy.web]

We declined the insurance. The rental company was Avis. Cheaptickets dot com has some good rates, we had a car for less than $25 per day including all the taxes. Liability insurance is included when you rent a car, according to the cheaptickets web site. Hope this helps!

[Michael]

We were able to decline the coverage at Executive and rely on the Platinum Visa coverage. I had told Louis in advance that is what I wanted to do. He did not object on that occasion and (this is what matters most) neither did the Executive staff at the airport.

Another note regarding the coverage. One of our forum members did test this by "totaling" a car. The visa insurance worked as advertised. The police were also friendly and helpful even though a police vehicle was also “totaled”.

[chug4fun1]

Hey Mike & Kathy,

Thanks for the quick detailed response.. That gives me hope that its not a Airport-wide policy/Scam.. and also Mike's 3rd hand experience with an actual claim.. Right On! I've rented before in Cozumel from some real shady rental place that gave me a beater beatle that didn't have reverse or hardly any brakes... it was scary as hell.. However this will be my first trip to Playa Del Carmen and I can't wait.. I'll be there from this Wed. 11th - Tuesday 17th, staying at Riviera Del Sol... Can't wait.. I got sick of the Cancun thing, so I'm ready to do it Playa style.. hopefully we'll see some of you beach bums down there and do as romans do!

Woo hoo!

Patrick

[Michael]

Pat,

I will be in town this coming weekend (Feb 13/14/15). If you want to meet up I’ll be at La Ranita on Friday after 9pm. My Mexico cell phone number is available through PM for anyone that would like to get together at other times during the weekend. We are still in the planning stages for dinner. Friday is tbd. Saturday we are choosing between Babe’s and Alux (a chance to meet some cool people from Vermont). It would be nice to have Chinese take out food at our house on Sunday.

Mike.

[Critter]

I haven't rented in a year or so, but I have rented every years since 98 without ever taking there insurance. It is always best to check with your card provider and make sure they cover Mexico.

[denisea]

We always decline the insurance and never have had a problem.

[SAHMmy]

I hope Luis doesn't mind being called Louise.
:wink:

[Michael]

I hope so too, as I am sure I will rent from Executive again some time. But I thought I would go back and fix that typo just in case. – thanks.

[badk9]

We just go back from Playa and had one of those unfortunate car rental problems. We rented a car through Avis which I have used extensively over the last 5-6 years in the states. After reading about all of the problems with rental agencies I still decided to decline the CDW insurance. I made sure we went over the car with a fine tooth comb to check all of the dents and dings. When we returned the car Avis tried to charge me $110USD for a "missing" license plate! I pointed out that half of the cars in the lot were missing a license plate but they still claimed that I lost the plate. What a scam. My mastercard will probably cover the loss but I'm still pissed off about the whole event.

[denisea]

Sorry to hear about your lost license plate incident. Just curious, which Avis did you rent from --- the one in Playa or the one at the Airport in Cancun?

We had reserved a car for 2 weeks through the Avis in Playa over the holidays and when we went to pick up the car, the people running the place didn't seem on the up and up, so we decided to forego the car altogether. Unfortunately, this was after they had already swiped our credit card for a deposit, so we then went immediately to call our credit card company to alert them of the incident. Everything worked out fine in the end --- except no rental car --- but we had a lot more play money. :P

[Michael]

Good point.
Don’t rent a car without a license plate.
That is not a good thing to do in a Country where license plates are removed by the police for parking offences etc.
If the rental car company can’t get the plate back, you don’t want the car even if they mark the absence of the plate off on a form.
The cops are likely to stop you.
I have only had this problem with one rental car company. AVIS. They told me there was not a problem and the cops did not know what they where talking about. I took another car with a license plate. They rented the car without the plate to the next person in line.

[badk9]

I rented the car in Cancun. Michael has a good point. I would not knowingly rent a car in the US without a license plate so why did it not occur to me to check in Mexico? duh! My only defense is that I assumed AVIS would only rent cars with all of the right pieces in place. In retrospect that is obviously a bad assumption. As Michael said, the lesson here is to only rent cars with both license plates.

[positivethinktank]

Michael,
I thought your picture looked familiar! I was the next guy in line,and was stopped for having only one liscense plate :evil:


hehehe J/K
:lol:
Thanks for all the tips on the board about car rentals though, this will be my first trip in Mexico with a car so it's been very helpful.

[SeattleSun]

I see that folks that opt for insurance choose the CDW over the LDW. I am going for the LDW (just $5 more per day). It seems to cover everything, loss, theft, collision, etc. without any deductible.