Bonaire Truck Rental & Insurance

[dvrliz1]

This is an ongoing conversation with our guests. Hopefully I can give some pointers.

If you drive standard transmission, I suggest ALWAYS going with the economy version of the pick up here. The are all 4 door smaller pickups like the toyotas (remember the littler ones back in the late 70's early 80's???) but with 4 doors. If you are diving, you probably won't need air conditioning (I know some can't live without it - but these are suggestions only).

The roads here on Bonaire are paved, but not very well. Also, there is a lot of construction going on on the island so some roads are REALLY in not so good shape. Also, driving through the park and up to some dive sites can be rough.

Also, you would be surprised about how many little scratches and dings you can get just buy going to the grocery store or leaving your car in the parking lot. This is not done maliciously, etc., but for some reason they just show up on some of the rental cars. A lot of time, it's rocks thrown up in the parking lots, or maybe someone who parked a little to close.

Anyway, my final suggestions. Get an "economy" version of a vehicle (believe me if there is a miniscual dent, scratch or mark that is on a new or newer one, you will get charged), Do as the others say above, check with your credit card. Normally anything then a generic basic MC/Visa will give you a rider for around $59.00 and this is cheaper than the daily insurance if you are stay 7 days.

The AMEX program is that you pay an initial sign up fee of $59.99 or there abouts, then every time you use it, it costs $25.00 so that is even cheaper!

Do not assume that your credit card company will automatically cover your vehicle here on Bonaire. The will cover "cars" (subcompacts is what we have here), but WILL NOT COVER ANY PICK UP TRUCK, JEEP ETC here on Bonaire, so be sure to get the rider.

 

[Web Monkey]

You should check the policy. Most exclude rentals outside the US.

You can pay, but it doesn't mean you'll be covered.

Terry

I'm going to respectfully disagree with the others.

Have the cardholder call Amex and enroll in the rental car protection program (it's Free). There are two levels of protection you can choose from. You must use the Amex to pay for the rental. After you do, Amex will automatically put a flat fee on the card for either $19.95 or $29.95 (if memory serves) depending on which level of service you chose while enrolling. That charge covers the rental against damage the same as CDW would for the length of the rental up to something like 30 days. Piece of cake...you save yourself around $60 per week by not taking the CDW.

Check with the rental company to see if they accept Amex - some don't. Also check if they allow you the option of not accepting the CDW - some make you pay for it, no exceptions.

I'm going in June and renting from AB. No problem, they don't require you to take it and they accept Amex.

Go on the Amex website for more details about the program or just call customer service.

I would not take the CDW. I do not believe it is worth the money.

 

[Blackrock]

The AMEX program is that you pay an initial sign up fee of $59.99 or there abouts, then every time you use it, it costs $25.00 so that is even cheaper!

I don't know if it depends on what type of Amex you have, but I was not charged an initial enrollment fee. That may be an old policy.

And my foreign country rentals (trucks too) are all covered.

 

[scubaaaronh]

AMEX is all fine and good but if you have an accident they will want you to pay up front and then you go home to collect from AMEX. Is this not true?

If you are OK with floating the risk and haggling about any discrepancies then that's fine.

Pete

This is what i was told by AmEx. when i inquired about the insurance. So we just opted for the insurance on the island so we wouldn't have any issues with being stuck once we got home.

 

[Blackrock]

This is what i was told by AmEx. when i inquired about the insurance. So we just opted for the insurance on the island so we wouldn't have any issues with being stuck once we got home.

Amex told me if there was damage to the vehicle, tell the rental company I am not paying out of pocket and to contact Amex so they could handle it.

I'm pretty sure they can't hold you in the country against your will over a dispute with a company. I could be wrong...but I don't know for sure.

Liz - Do you know what would happen? Would the police become involved? Would you be allowed to leave the country if you opted not to pay out of pocket for damages at the time of returning the rental?

 

[scubaaaronh]

Amex told me if there was damage to the vehicle, tell the rental company I am not paying out of pocket and to contact Amex so they could handle it.

I'm pretty sure they can't hold you in the country against your will over a dispute with a company. I could be wrong...but I don't know for sure.

Liz - Do you know what would happen? Would the police become involved? Would you be allowed to leave the country if you opted not to pay out of pocket for damages at the time of returning the rental?

That is a good question about if they could hold you.

I got a couple different answers when i was looking at their insurance, and nobody really seemed to know. So i figured i would rather not deal with a hassle and opted for the insurance on island instead. Maybe they actually have people that know what they are doing now.

 

[dvrliz1]

Not sure as to legalities, but can find out. But I will tell you what happens. No matter what they take an "authorization" and swipe your card. The deductible is actually higher if you don't take the CDW (It may have changed, but with the local insurance I think it is $300 and declining CDW, $500. They put a hold on that amount until you leave. You also REALLY need to read the fine print. You may be authorizing damage charges when you sign for the vehicle initially.

If you ever refuse to pay for damages not documented, I would doubt that they would cause a huge hassle. Now don't get me wrong, and you all know that I LOVE this island, but what will most likely happen is that they will say "ok, ok, let you go, then charge your card for the damage. You will find out when you get your next statement, then will have to dispute it. But then again if it is EXTREMELY minor, they may let it go.

Make sure you keep ALL your records, etc, especially the inspection report (I would also ask for one on the way out), along with the rental agreement so you can dispute any charges.

In all honesty I think this is EXTREMELY rare, as most tourists and companies have been pretty good (at least with us) admitting when they cause damage and take responsibility for it. Like I said, make sure you go over the vehicle with a fine tooth comb, in and out to make sure everything is the way it is on the inspection report. This way you cannot be held liable.

In all honesty we have thousands of reservations a year, and I think we have had 2 incidents where there was a question as to damage on a vehicle. In one, where they couldn't come to terms, they negotiated to half/half pay.

Hope this helps.

Liz

 

[salth2owannabe]

We got into the island late and it was dark, and the vehicle rental area is not lighted well at all. The gal at the rental company was pretty picky about little dings and small paint marks as she was trying to point them out with a flashlight. We finally told her that it is so dark there is no way we could even see the minor damage that she was trying to point out to us. Made me glad we had paid for the full insurance. No problems at all when we returned the vehicle, however.

 

[dvrliz1]

Salt,

It is actually going to be worsenow. Half of the car rental companies (AB, Total and 3-4 more) have moved across the street from the airport. The best way to describe it is when you are leaving the airport, you get to the main road. Instead of going left or right you go directly across to a small office complex. I did see a small shuttle van that would bring you over to get the truck from the airport. Don't know how long this will take, especially when a continental or delta comes in, but it is a change. I would DEFINITELY take the time to go over the vehicles, even with the flash light. it is better than nothing. Hopefully, they will get some decent lighting over at the new place.

 

[tedtim]

We got into the island late and it was dark, and the vehicle rental area is not lighted well at all. The gal at the rental company was pretty picky about little dings and small paint marks as she was trying to point them out with a flashlight. We finally told her that it is so dark there is no way we could even see the minor damage that she was trying to point out to us. Made me glad we had paid for the full insurance. No problems at all when we returned the vehicle, however.

Take photos with your cell phone camera if you have one. You then have a set of images to use as reference. I have used this approach (not in Bonaire though) before and it saved me some hassle when the vehicle was inspected upon return.