Car Hire at Cancun Airport

Horrible experience

Cons: Our flight was delayed and they cancelled our reservation. Agent at the counter offered an alternative with another company (something nded like something under the table) for five times the cost of my original reservation. In the end we were left without a car.

Get ready for hidden fees

Pros: Easy shuttle to the car rental. Good car

Cons: You are forced into hidden fees. The rental price does not include mandatory insurance. Expect to pay 4x what you book. Checking the car back in was also a little bit of a mess.

Ran out of car seats

Pros: Price looked good online

Cons: We arrived early in the morning only to find they were new car seats. What do you do in a foreign country with a two and four-year-old without a car seat? This place sucks.

Dishonest Staff National

Pros: nothing positive

Cons: 1.I reserved, via Kayak.com, an “intermediate SUV or similar” for six (6) days in Cancun, Mexico for $110.08. the reservation said that it included “all taxes and fee”. 2.When I arrive I was told I had to purchase 3rd party insurance for 50 dollar a day. When I questioned the teller I determined that the legal minimum was really $26.00 per day (6*26+ 18% tax=$184.08. This more than doubled by initial reservation price. My new expected total is $294.08, wait it gets better. 3.The first SUV they checked out did not have a working seat beat. The second car they tried to put us in would not start at all. Finally the 3rd vehicle, a minivan, had working seatbelts and would start. The AC was struggling but we had to get going so we accepted it. I took pictures of the first two vehicles but by the 3rd van I was tired and forgot to take picture with my phone for later reference/proof; this will be important later. This process took 2 hours to pickup our “SUV”. This wasted daylight as I had to drive 5 hours to Merida that afternoon. 4.For Six (6) days the van was mediocre adequate for our needs. 5.I return the vehicle with a full tank of gas; I take a video of the exterior and Interior. The attendant filled out the damage assessment as “all good” but missing the front license plate. He stated that it was a $50 US dollar charge. I didn’t have picture showing the plate there or not; so I signed the report stating such. I was willing to eat a 50 dollar charge. 6.I was not given a copy of the report showing “no damage” 7.I was not given a final bill. 8.They said that everything was fine and I would receive an email with the bill later. I never did. 9.My credit card was billed $606.08 vs Kayak reservation price of $110.08. 10.I am currently working with my credit card, Discover, who are doing an awesome job disputing this fraudulent bill. I also called National US customer service and was able to determine the extra charge was from a $300 (5000 Pesos) charge due to "damage". Remember I was told everything was good, no damage. Right dishonest staff. My advice is to search online to read the reviews prior to renting in Cancun. National is one of the worst. Taxis and Uber appear to be the way to go to avoid the bait and switch.

BRING PROOF OF THIRD PARTY LIABILITY COVERAGE

Pros: Staff was friendly.

Cons: You must bring proof of third party liability coverage if you do not wish to purchase any insurance. Our 9 day rental was to cost US$46.18 through priceline. Since we did not bring proof of third party liability, we paid over US$280. This should be listed under 'important information' in the booking itinerary. Not cool.

Cancelled my reservation

Cons: I arrived later than the time that I had booked the car for and they had given it away and had no alternatives. I had to go elsewhere and pay a lot more. My fault maybe, but they should be clearer about the policy.