Anyone ever been in an accident in Bonaire w/o their insurance?

[DustyC]

I'm the kinda business man that wants customers to know I'll take care of issues. People love to suggest Telerin, but I won't do business with anyone that doesn't communicate.

 

[Lorenzoid]

After several tries they finally got back to me and it was well over $400. By that point I'd already rented through stuyvesant for much less.

Sounds like they may have increased their rates. The quote Telerin gave us in August 2015 for one week was $314.20, minus a 10% discount for being a repeat customer.

How much was Stuyvesant?

 

[DustyC]

Sounds like they may have increased their rates. The quote Telerin gave us in August 2015 for one week was $314.20, minus a 10% discount for being a repeat customer.

How much was Stuyvesant?

Right at $300 with extra insurance.

 

[wwguy]

Just something else to consider: Many of the "budget" rental companies on Bonaire, such as Stuyvesant and Easy One Rent etc., outfit their fleets with cheaper Chinese trucks. Most of the the mainstream rental companies and a few smaller companies (like Telerin) offer higher quality Japanese trucks. Even after repeated abuse by visiting divers the Japanese trucks have better fit, finish, handling, and a notably tighter turning radius. For us the incremental rental rate for the higher quality Japanese trucks is worth it.

 

[boat sju]

Just something else to consider: Many of the "budget" rental companies on Bonaire, such as Stuyvesant and Easy One Rent etc., outfit their fleets with cheaper Chinese trucks. Most of the the mainstream rental companies and a few smaller companies (like Telerin) offer higher quality Japanese trucks. Even after repeated abuse by visiting divers the Japanese trucks have better fit, finish, handling, and a notably tighter turning radius. For us the incremental rental rate for the higher quality Japanese trucks is worth it.

Not sure I agree with this. AB uses Chinese trucks and they're pretty nice. Very professional operation. I don't understand the "we had an issue but rented from them again" attitude either.

 

[TT_Vert]

After several tries they finally got back to me and it was well over $400. By that point I'd already rented through stuyvesant for much less.

Still no reply from them, not good customer service.

 

[uncfnp]

Not sure I agree with this. AB uses Chinese trucks and they're pretty nice. Very professional operation. I don't understand the "we had an issue but rented from them again" attitude either.

I have to go wwguy on the Chinese vs Japanese trucks. The last two rental companies we used offered both. We paid up for the Hilux each times.

 

[dmaziuk]

I have to go wwguy on the Chinese vs Japanese trucks. The last two rental companies we used offered both. We paid up for the Hilux each times.

Hm. It's not like there's somewhere to actually drive there, I think the drive around the entire island (in an AB .cn Great Wall truck) is shorter than the drive from home to work in much of USofA.

 

[wwguy]

Hm. It's not like there's somewhere to actually drive there, I think the drive around the entire island (in an AB .cn Great Wall truck) is shorter than the drive from home to work in much of USofA.

For us it's not where we drive as much as it is how we drive.

For example we stayed at Beachcomber Villas once with a Telerin Toyota Hilux when the couple in the adjoining apartment had a Chinese truck. Beachcomber Villas is one of the waterfront homes facing The Cliff dive site in front of Hamlet Oasis. Like most of the homes in that area, parking there involves a fairly tight right-angle turn from the narrow dirt road into a shared parking space. With our Toyota truck we could simply turn in and park in one try. The Chinese rental truck had much longer turning radius and required a 2 or 3 point turn each time to do the same. The other couple said it was the same problem parking in town and pulling in/out of dive sites with tight parking like Weber's Joy, Jeff Davies, and The Lake etc. After a few days they were frustrated enough that they returned it and rented a more expensive Hilux elsewhere.

Maybe not all of the Chinese trucks are like that, but this one was a stinker.

 

[DustyC]

Hm. It's not like there's somewhere to actually drive there, I think the drive around the entire island (in an AB .cn Great Wall truck) is shorter than the drive from home to work in much of USofA.

It's the exact same size as my city. I couldn't possibly care less about fit and finish. In fact, I want the worst possible fit and finish. I only care about function.