Complaint Review: Thrifty Rental Car - Cancun Select State/Province

Renting from Thrifty in Cancun is a major scam. I received a quote and reservation through American Airlines for $65.40 for the week which included the estimated tax and fees. Since I carry the optional Amex collision insurance I knew I should be in good shape refusing this coverage and was prepared for a reasonable Liability coverage charge of maybe $7-$15 per day bringing my total to about $175 for the week at most.

When I got to the counter I was told that they would honor my Collision through Amex, but I would have to sign a damage waver and some $1,000's would be put on hold. I had no problem with that. They then said I would require a mandatory Mexican Liability coverage which brought my Total from $65.40 for the week to $330.00 for the week. I debated with them over the inflated charge, but they said they would not rent us the car without this fee. I turned and walked away and while waiting for a ride back a very nice lady who has a desk at the door asked if we rented our car. I told her that they quadrupled my rate which was a scam. Conveniently, she provided me with a sales pitch that said if I take a time share tour that at the end they would provide me 2,500 pesos in coupons (about $200US towards the rental). I checked with the rental agent and he said yes they would honor this and showed me other rentals that had the coupons attached. Having an 84 year old handicap mother and my wife and I both being seniors, we had no choice

but to try and cut our loses and argue later. Taking a bus was definitely out of the question. The car was far from anything nice. It had lots of dents and scratches, the engine ran rough and it had no automatic anything (manual doors, trunk, windows, etc.), but it got us around. We took the time share tour which was not bad since it was a rainy day anyway and we got our 2,500 pesos. When we returned the car we were first presented with a 45 minute wait on line (very poor service by only 2 reps so give yourself plenty of time). Our coupon were reduced in value by about 250 pesos (about $20) because of a tax they subtract before it is applied. Our cost in dollars was then converted to pesos using a loan shark conversion of 13.8% in their favor which is not used anywhere during our stay (most conversions are 12%) even in little restaurants. Our final total with coupons was about $173.00 in pesos. This is before Amex does their fees, conversions back to U.S. $ and we pay for our $20 optional collision coverage by Amex. If I did not have my handicap mother I would have told them where to put their car and would have taken public transportation. When I got home, I called to make another reservation, but this time through Thrifty direct. I explained that I wanted full Mexican Liability Coverage on the quote and wanted a confirmed copy Emailed and to be a grand total. The quote is in my hands as I type and it is $123.97 complete. With my Timeshare coupons this would have provided me with a $76.03 credit, but knowing the scam taking place they would have found away to avoid honoring this as well. There were at least a half dozen people while I waited for our reservation that argued and walked out, so the scam is real. Do not rent from Thrifty if you are not prepared to pay 5 times the cost for a junky car. I will take this up with Amex when I get my bill.