JCL,

        WOW, it is obvious that you have spent a great deal of time and energy researching this much debated topic and i am confident that many will benefit from your exhaustive research. I will confess that this level of research and dissection is a bit lost on someone like me as i err on the side of caution and when on holiday do not want to expose myself or anyone else to any risk or potential liability so i have simply chosen to pay the few pesos to get the full pop for the Mexican insurance regardless of the potential coverage by credit card companies or the like. I have spent a great deal of time in Baja and have seen and had first hand knowledge of the woes of folks who were involved in disputes of this regard and i have elected to avoid this by the path of least resistance. It occurs to me that most people go to Cabo for a week or two and that the savings in money,time and worry may not be worth the intense focus on an expense that amounts to a few dollars a day. I rent in Los Cabos a lot and a 10 day rental with all of the Mexican insurance for a compact car cost about 300.00. No doubt i could shave a couple of pesos off of this, but for me it is not worth the effort or risk. It occurs to me that some people research their vacation into nonexistance. This is not a slam just to say that : its a rental car not a rocket ship and unless you want to obcess over a couple of dollars, is it really worth all of this microscopic examination when all you have to do is give the man a credit card and pay the 12.00 a day, go your way and enjoy? I have driven from Baja Norte to Baja Sur many, many times and owned vehicles in Baja Sur, rented cars there more times than i would care to remember and, thank God i have never had an accident but when i rent a car on a vacation in paradise a long way from home i want to enjoy all of what is there and not have a single worry about any complication so i have chosen to pay this small amount and enjoy my travels. I do thank you for what is no doubt the most comprehensive accounting of Mexican rental car insurance ever posted on this forum and apologize if you think my response is foolish or insensitive. I did not intend it that way. I wish you happy travels and Buena Suerte..... jim

YM, Would you recommend a specific rental - planning to rent at airport?

barclay,

             We have been using Advantage though most all are good. their office is a few paces from the terminal and i have never had a problem with these people. Book online and print out your confirmation to take with you. you will need to pay for whatever Mexican insurance you elect to purchase when you get there as this is not something you can do online. The originial poster had some outstanding information and in extrordinary detail. i am confident there is much to be learned from his post. Buena Suerte... jim

Thanks YM, will do - like you I plan to go the easy route with insurance - don't want to think about it on vacation.

Yachtmerchant, I have always felt like the daily car rental insurance is a scam, both in the USA and in other countries including Mexico. My main goal was simply to understand what coverage I have through my credit card and what coverage I "need" to purchase in Mexico. If it was just a few dollars a day for full coverage, without a doubt I would take full insurance. What I have found is that it costs $30 a day (or more) for full Mexico insurance coverage. It's hard to swallow that given the daily rental cost on the vehicle is often only $10.50 a day. For a one week rental, I would pay more for Mexico auto insurance than I do for my full year's worth of USA insurance through Wawanesa!

I appreciate your opinion and I understand some people are more "risk averse" than others and would rather just pay up the extra money. For people like me, I would rather get educated about what is covered through my credit card and determine what I need to buy in Mexico. I'm also on a budget and can't justify renting a car with an extra $30 a day for insurance. We are now talking $300+ for a week rental versus $100 to $150. With that cost, I would be swayed to just take the shuttle to my hotel and then occasional taxis to downtown.

Yachtmerchant, if you can find full Mexico insurance for just $12 a day, including no deductibles, please let me know where!!! For me, I plan on just paying for the personal liability insurance, which is $11 a day through National. Pease note that I AM NOT advising people to not buy any Mexico insurance. I am simply saying don't pay for anything that is covered through your credit card, so you only need to buy the personal liability (or PAI if you want). And since I have provided a link to Visa's LDW/CDW insurance coverage, I don't know how Visa's credit card coverage can be disputed?

The importnat thing is, if you buy any LDW/CDW coverage, you get no benfits from the visa card progran. So if you buy partial LDW/CDW in Mexico and your vehicle is stolen or totaled, you will still have to pay up to $4,000 with your 10% to 20% deductible (no credit card coverage on this, now). If you had only purchased personal liability and used your credit card coverage, you would have to pay nothing for the stolen or totalled car.

I was totally frustrated at not being able to find good information on the web about Mexico insurance requirements. Yes, It took me a few hours of my time to get to the bottom of this and that is why I posted such a lenghty message. I just want to be a nice guy and pass on the information I gathered to others that may be in my same situation.

One other thing I have found out. Sometimes in Mexico they may still insist you need the extra coverage even though it is stated as optional inthe agreement. Since it is so costly, the agents often have relationships with timeshare companies and will offer to provide the insurance "for free" if you attend their timeshare presentation.

I need to correct something. The $11 a day liability coverage is through Thrifty, not National and it is the only rental company that I know of that allows you to purchase the coverage "online" in advance (at www.thrifty.com). This provides some comfort for me, because I don't want someone telling me liability is $20 a day once I get to the counter.

Make sure you read the Thrifty terms and conditions and it will state the following:

* Optional Third Party Liability - cost USD 11.00/day. It is a protection that extends the coverage of legal liability up to MXN 950,000.

JCL,

       I think i made it clear that your reseach was outstanding and that many would greatly appretiate all of your efforts. I stated this again in my response to Barclay and i also explainded that i was simply stating my opinion and not denegrating your post or your intent. If you are offended by this there is nothing i can do. Buena Suerte....... jim

I, too, did this kind of research; therefore, I rent from Avis (so the liability is included in the base price--that way it does not negate the credit coverage). I use my credit card coverage because if there is a problem, I want Mastercard/Visa/American Express behind me, not some insurance company I can't deal with adequately because my Spanish is pitiful. I have more faith in the power of a major credit card company to resolve the differences (if there are any) than I do in my ability to resolve the issues.

For the Mexican police, the insurance that is important is the liability; the lack of liability insurance can get you taken directly to jail--so that I want as a part of the rental insurance from the local company, hence Avis for me. By the way, once the liability charges ($5.00-$7.00 a day) are added to the rates you are quoted from other companies, I haven't found Avis to be higher.

Pat

Yachtmerchant, I take no offense in your response and I hope I didn't come across that way. Someties it is hard to determine teh tone of a message when it is being read and not said. The main reason I responded was because I felt that even though your intent was good, I think your response was a little misleading – mostly by saying the insurance cost is just "a few pesos" or "a few dollars a day." For many people, the difference between the advertised rate and the all-in cost with full insurance and taxes is substantial enough to choose against renting a car. I would hate for people to realize this after they made plans and arrived at the counter when it may be too late to avoid any cancellation fees. At Advantage, for instance, you would have to pay $18 a day for complete LDW/CDW (except theft) plus $4 a day for PAI, then an additional $14 a day for liability (as stated over the phone). That’s $36 a day plus 10% airport access fee and 10% value added tax. Now we are looking at an extra $43.20 a day (about 460 pesos a day) for full coverage - and you still may be liable up to $4,000 if your car is stolen! So now, the advertised $10.50 a day rate jumps to $55.80 a day (including taxes), much more than a few pesos difference.

As a local expert in the Cabo San Lucas forum, I also think people will naturally respect your opinion more than others. I think I have read most posts in this forum about Mexican insurance and you regularly respond by suggesting people play it safe by paying up and taking out full insurance. Although I think it is great you take the time to post information for people, I think that over and over again, you are unintentionally placing unnecessary concern on having people use their credit card’s LDW/CDW coverage.

I personally know I will sleep better at night during my vacation knowing that I didn’t buy Mexican LDW/CDW insurance. Why? Because I did my homework and know that I have 100% credit card coverage on the vehicle – even if it is stolen. With Advantage’s full coverage, it would void my credit card protection so I would still have to pay up to $4,000 if the car was stolen. That really bothers me. And with Advantages partial coverage, in all instances, I would be responsible for the first $1,500 to $4,000 in damages. What kind of insurance is that? The only way that insurance would be beneficial is if I pretty much totaled the whole car. So for me, renting a car with the Mexican LDW/CDW insurance would still be a pretty big gamble.

Another thing that seems misleading is your statement that "a 10 day rental with all of the Mexican insurance for a compact car cost about 300.00." I would be curious to know what coverage you actually had? I think you may have had much less protection than you thought - given the full insurance coverage at Advantage currently costs $432 over a 10-day period. If you add the $13 a day compact car rental price, plus the 20% in taxes, the total 10-day rental cost should be $588, which is almost double what you stated.

Pstreet1, you also make a good point. If there were damages to your vehicle, would you like to work with an American based global corporation such as Visa International or would you want to go through a Mexican car rental franchisee and/or the Mexican insurance company they have chosen?

I also wanted to add that I have fished in Cabo a couple of times with an American guy that owns a sportfishing fleet. I gave the owner a call and asked him what he can tell me about rental cars and Mexican insurance. He said he tells all of his American clients to use their credit card’s coverage for the car, but make sure you purchase the 3rd party liability insurance, since that policy will prevent you from being retained by police if there is a dispute between you and someone else. He said police do not care about accidents that only involve your own vehicle, since it is clear that you will be responsible for paying for those costs.

JCL,

        i appretiate your clarification. This is very useful information and i certainly do not want to mislead anyone about anything so thanks for your detailed report. Buena Suerte....... jim