TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Car Rental advice

I will be staying between Marigot and the Anguilla ferry on Rue de Sandy Ground from April 5-12. I am looking for a reputable inexpensive car rental that will fit 3 tall women for traveling around the island. I assume that rental companies at the airport will be more expensive because of the convenience.
Any advice will be appreciated. I have been to the island before on cruises but this will be my first time actually staying there.
V

In my experience I have not found rentals to be more expensive at the airport. Weekly rentals average less than renting per day.

We use one of the sponsor's on this board; check out the list, get rates, compare. Once when staying at Grand Case Beach Club we rented from a car rental place nearby, next to a dive shop and the now defunct Hibiscus restaurant. I think it was $30 per day for 3 days.

Renting on line is the way to go here, allow yourself time to select the vehicle you want at the price you want. Rentals at the airport are not generally more expensive and may at time be less however there are so many agencies at the airport, when they see you are looking they will be after you in mass, it just creates delays and confusion.
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Hertz Sint marten offer the most locations and largest fleet -you can book direct or from any discounter on line, you get the liability coverage included in the rate no matter how you book.

You will get lots of suggestions re car rentals - everyone has their favourite - ours is AAA, but we have used Hertz in the past without an issue
Some thoughts
Make sure you get a final price, all charges and taxes included - I found that sometimes taxes are left out of quotes and somehow the tax rate seems to be differ!
Your cc probably covers your collision, but not liabilty, if you want that [a good idea], make sure it is included in your quote
Landing day - rather than pick up the car when we land and drive, our preference to be picked by Wilfred Brooks - TTOL sponsor - and be driven, a nice finish to a long day.

We arrange for the rental car to be dropped off where we stay next day.

Remember leave nothing in the car.

Have to ask - 3 tall ladies [a good name for a beach bar drink], how tall is tall? - a Jeep convetible might be a solution [just kidding]
J&B

You have gotten the best advice already.
1. Use a sponsor, they will offer the best service and value.
2. Total price means total. Liability can range from $5 to $10 or more per day. Tax rate also seems to be variable.
3. Everyone wants a "good" deal but value is price + confidence that you won't be disappointed.

Kenny's - best price, best service and the most convenient.

Another vote for Kennys...have rented from Leslie (the owner at Kennys) several times with no problems whatsoever. Rented from Hertz but went back to Kennys. Super convenient and hassle free...meets you at the airport, takes you across the street to the parking lot, you sign the contract, he swipes your CC, gives you the keys and you're off...5-10 mins max. He's a sponsor too with a huge base of very satisfied customers...many contribute to this forum.

I like Automax, they meet you at the airport, the car is in the parking lot, French plates and they offer an all inclusive rate with no deductible insurance. We were out of the lot within 5 minutes of exiting the airport. Have used Unity in the past and were very satisfied as well...

Give Empress a call, a sponsor here. They will do what it takes to make you happy.

curious to know if a rental on the French side ads 18% tax to a car rental, as is done on the Dutch side.
Or does the V.A.T. cover this tax?

We have never paid 18% tax on the Dutch side. If a car rental agency is charging you that, move on and choose a more reputable business.

Other than the normal taxes, what extra insurance am I required to purchase with the rental. I have my regular car insurance that covers me if I rent a car in the states but no other insurance. After looking at many websites, I am totally confused. Any help would be appreciated, I found reasonable rates with Europcar(about $190-200) for a week in April with a 4-door (toyota corolla) but the extra insurance costs anywhere from an extra $135-175.
Thanks so much for everyone's advice.

You are NOT required to purchase any extra insurance, it is optional and your choice. Some choose to purchase it and others don't. Your credit card should provide some coverage (if needed). This may also depend on the type of vehicle you rent as to if your credit card provides any coverage. If you are from the states there is very little chance your auto insurance or umbrella policy provides coverage. I think some Canadian members have mentioned having coverage but it would be very rare for a US policy to cover you.

Tax should be in the 9% range or so I believe.

As stated earlier, get a TOTAL price quote.
Tax should be 10%
Check with your cc to assure they cover collision.
Only decision is your option whether you want liability insurance which will range from $5 to $15 per day (this seems to vary by rental company and appears to be a hidden profit maker to some).

I have one specific credit card that I keep just for my car rental. I keep a low limit on the card so that we can not ever get charged for things I don't agree on. The limit I keep on this card is around $800. This card also covers my collision insurance on St Martin. That way I only need to purchase the liability insurance from the rental agency which we have paid anywhere from $5 to $10 a day. This year we a renting a 2015 Toyota Corolla for 12 days in February and the total cost for our trip is $674 ($471 in rental and $203 in liability insurance and taxes). Hope this helps.

Sorry but they do charge the 18% tax on the dutch side...I've been asking prices from a couple of companies and they all add 15 $ for airport fees and 18 % taxes. Maybe some companies include these fees in their prices,that's why you don't see them!

Can only quote personal experience.
Just returned from 2 weeks and Unity charged (as in the past few years) 10% tax.

The tax number seems to be a moving target. We have paid 12% for several years now.

I think the actual legal tax rate is 10%, but I'm not exactly sure. Regardless, get a quote that INCLUDES taxes and any insurance that you want to purchase and compare them straight up at the final, total price, and go from there. It appears to me that SOME car rental companies play with the numbers, perhaps adding TOT, which they are not supposed to do, and/or some other items, to boost their bottom line. Car rentals are a very tough business to be in, in SXM. So, again, get your total price and see if you can live with the total price, regardless of how they say they arrive at it, compare total price versus total price and make your choice. If they quote you 18% tax, you might try and say that tax should only be 10% and see what they say. To me, I just ask them to give me a price, including tax, and go from there.

Sorry, but we have never paid 18%.No hidden charges either!Different rental companies are charging different taxes and if you get a few quotes including taxes and liability insurance, you will easily see that. Not all the sponsors here charge the same taxes ether, so check around and you could save some money.

Thanks ! I'll compare with the final prices each company gives me! But I still don't get how come the tax could be so different from one company to another... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

.Last year - quoted price was 560 plus tax - credit card billed for 640.00 I did not take insurance

extreme
The tax isn't different from one place to another, just what each one says it is and then charges you.

Some of us have the advantage of dealing with the same rental company for many years. One of the reasons we stay with them is that they don't play games to appear to be the cheapest.
I've paid the same rate for the past 5 years. When a car rental agent for a new company at our hotel asked what I paid for my rental, I told him and he responded by stating that I could only get that price if I had rented from same company for many years, which I have for about 15 years.
Flat rate for High Season per week/10% tax/ liability and additional drivers included.

I have booked with Europcar on the advice of the condo owner who I'll be renting from. I was able to get a Toyota Corolla for $204 for a week. Have rental coverage through the credit card company I am using (Capital One MasterCard benefits). My question is what's with the extra $800 hold that they plan on putting on my credit card and do not release till 10 days after I return the vehicle. Seems pretty high considering I will have collision and theft insurance already. I need that $800 to spend in all the expensive restaurants I plan on eating at (haha). Is this hold standard practice?
Need advise from all you expert SXM travelers. This is my first time actually staying there. Was always a cruise passenger in the past.
Thanks so much,
V

While that "hold" does seem high, it happens with many companies. I bought less than $20 worth of gas here at home yesterday and the place I bought it put a "hold" or pre-authorization of $100 on my card. Another gas purchase at a different station resulted in only a $1 "hold".

This has been discussed before and I forget if it is actually the merchant placing the "hold" or if it is the bank the merchant or card uses. I know one station around here has sign posted on their pumps that address this but I don't recall exactly what they say.

You might try calling your credit card and running this by them and/or asking for a credit increase to offset this.

JD, what you're referring to is a pre-authorization, which is automatically done by some establishments when the card is swiped. In the case of a gas station, since the amount of the purchase isn't known until you finish pumping, some will pre-authorize the maximum amount of gas that they allow to be pumped, which in many cases is $100. Once the final charge amount is determined and charged to your account, the pre-authorization falls off.

What this car rental company is doing is different, and if it isn't removed until ten days after he returns the vehicle, then his card will in fact be limited by that amount, in addition to the amount of the actual charge, until they release the hold

Personally, I wouldn't patronize a company that does that. There are plenty of rental companies on the island that don't put holds for possible damage on credit cards.

Thank you for the clarification. I was pretty sure you would know the facts in this case. I was just going by what I see when I check my account online. Sorry for the confusion.

No worries! A lot of people see the pre-authorizations when they look online, and overreact because they believe they have been overcharged, in particular by a restaurant, as many add a projected tip to the amount of the pre-authorization. This does happen on the island, as I've seen it there, but when the actual charge hits my account it is always for the correct amount.

Correct. The exact thing you are describing was posted and discussed here a year or so ago. Initially the thought was the person believed they had been overcharged.

i personally would never rent from a company that does that. We use alain at aaa and he doesnt place a hold. that does seem like an exorbitant amount also