Christine
Delsol, Special to SFGate
Updated
9:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Renting a
car in Mexico is much the same as renting in the United States, and you'll find
most of the major players Hertz, Avis, Alamo, Budget, Thrifty, et al. as well
as local companies, but navigating the country's notorious mandatory insurance
can take some careful research.
For the most part, bus travel is an
ideal way to get around in Mexico, but there are times when driving makes the
most sense. If you're on a tight schedule, you can cover more ground in less
time. If you're not on any schedule, you might want to explore and make up your
itinerary as you go. And even the second-class buses don't always cover every
place you want to visit. The Yucatan, for example, is especially suited to
driving: Many beaches, barely developed ruins and intriguing villages lie a
good distance from the main road. Highways are well-maintained, constantly
being improved, and so straight that the slightest curve bristles with warning
signs and reflectors.
Car rental: Easy, but with one big
"gotcha"
Arm yourself with some knowledge
about prevailing driving habits and road signs, and driving in Mexico is nowhere near as treacherous as
its reputation would have you believe. Renting a car is much the same as
renting in the United States, and you'll find most of the major players —
Hertz, Avis, Alamo, Budget, Thrifty, et al. — as well as local companies.
Similar rules and advice apply: You need a major credit card (or a boatload of
cash for deposit), driver's license and passport; book online at least a week
in advance for the best price; drivers under 25 pay more; airport pickups and
drop-offs cost about 10 percent more; always inspect the car with the agent to
mark every existing ding or scratch so you won't be charged for it, and check
to make sure the headlights and windshield wipers work as well.
Renting a car in Mexico has one big
"gotcha," though, and that is the minefield of the country's famously
mandatory insurance. Mexican car rental rates look wonderfully cheap on
comparison websites, but they don't include insurance, which can easily double,
and in some cases triple, the cost. Declining to buy the insurance (some of
which is mandatory, anyway) is foolhardy to the extreme, but buying the full
package without knowing what you're buying is only slightly less so.
Penetrating the insurance thicket
Mexican car rental companies offer
various levels of insurance, and only one is mandatory. Here are the basics
(costs listed are typical but variable):
Basic personal liability: Sometimes called third-party liability insurance, this is
the one, incontrovertibly mandatory insurance. It covers claims for injury or
damage you cause to another driver, car or other property damaged in an
accident, but it does not cover injury to you or damage to the rented vehicle.
Mexico does not accept liability coverage from U.S. auto policies or credit
card insurance. You simply cannot rent a car without buying Mexican liability
insurance. But here's what most renters don't know: By law, the mandatory
liability insurance is already included in the rental price. Cost: Included
in rental rate.
Supplemental liability insurance
(SAI): Sometimes called additional
liability insurance, this is not mandatory, though many rental companies will
tell you (or let you assume) it is. Still, it's worth considering. The basic
liability coverage is usually 50,000 pesos, or about $3,800, which won't go far
in anything beyond a fender-bender. Cost: $13 per day.
Loss damage waiver (LDW): Also called collision damage waiver (CDW) or LDW/CDW. This
is actually not insurance, but the rental agency's agreement to waive some of
the cost of theft or any damage you inflict on the rental vehicle. This one
requires some research and some careful thought. If your own auto policy or
credit-card insurance benefits cover collision damage, you can pass on LDW/CDW,
but keep some caveats in mind.
You are responsible to the rental
company for any loss or damage to the vehicle no matter what the cause is or
who is at fault. You will be detained until money matters are settled, and
if you lack liability coverage, your most memorable vacation sight could
include the inside of a Mexican jail until you pay off your obligation. Before
you decline LDW/CDW, verify that your auto policy or credit card insurance is
valid for rentals in Mexico, and that it includes loss of use. To collect on
your credit-card insurance, you must use that card when you rent the car and
when you pay the final bill. Carry proof of coverage with you, though rental
companies don't always require it. You must also explicitly decline the offered
insurance, which is not possible with companies such as Avis or National, which
include LDW/CDW in their rates or bundle it with the required liability.
Besides saving a bundle, your deductible
will be limited to the amount stated in your personal policy — credit card
insurance often has no deductible — while the rental agency's LDW/CDW insurance
usually carries a deductible equal to 10 to 20 percent of the vehicle's value.
(Many offer a deductible reduction or complete coverage option, which will add
$15 to $35 a day to the cost.) On the down side, some rental companies put a
hold on your card for the amount of the deductible. And in case of an accident,
you will have to carry the full cost of damages on your credit card until your
bank reimburses you, so you will need a hefty credit limit. And your insurance
won't cover every situation; clauses excluding damage to cars driven off-road
have been used to deny a claim for a car damaged in a dirt parking lot. Read
the exclusions carefully. Read them twice.
It can also take longer to sort
things out if you don't have insurance purchased by the rental car agency. A
few years ago, I bought full coverage because I had just changed credit cards
and insurance carriers and hadn't had time to research my coverage in Mexico.
My rental car was later smashed to bits by a drunken driver on the street in
front of my hotel. I filled out a police report in the morning, called the
rental agency, and was on my way in a new car 90 minutes later. It might have
been worth a delay and some additional paperwork to save the money if I'd known
I was covered, but it's one factor you have to weigh. Cost: $15 a day.
Personal accident insurance (PAI): Neither the included nor the supplemental liability
insurance covers injury to you or your passengers. This optional insurance
does, including ambulance, doctors and hospital. This might be covered by your
health insurance — again, verify — and it is not required. Cost: $4-$7 a
day.
Good to know
—Mexico's Secretary of Communication
and Transportation offers an excellent online "Point-to-Point Routes" tool that can make the difference
between an itinerary that works and one that messes up your entire vacation.
Select your starting and ending points, add some intermediate stops if you
like, and click "Find Route" at the bottom of the page. The map where
your best route appears is a bit clunky; the real payoff is the detailed
itinerary showing distances, driving times (evidently Mexican driver times; I
always add 10 to 15 percent), toll fees and estimated fuel costs.
—You'll rarely, if ever, find an
owner's manual in the glove box, so ask the stupid questions before getting
behind wheel: What makes the car alarm go off, and how do you stop it? Any tricks
to removing the key from the ignition? How do you put the car into reverse if
it's a manual? Add anything else that isn't obvious from a quick glance at
the dashboard.
—Make sure a copy of the insurance
policy is in the glove box and is up to date.
—If you book online, print out the
confirmation and show it when you pick up your car to be sure they don't try to
charge you a higher rate.
—Try to get your rate quoted in
pesos. Prices quoted in dollars will be converted to pesos for payment, usually
at more than the going exchange rate.
—The rental agency will give you a
24-hour, toll-free number to call if you need help. U.S. cell phones often
can't dial Mexican toll-free numbers, so if you're traveling with your own
phone be sure you have a local number as well.
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