Sewa Mobil di Bandara Santo Domingo Las Americas

Sub-par car and extortionate insurance policies

Pro: Functional SUV in a country where even the main roads can be sketchy, friendly and reasonably professional service.

Kontra: SUV felt poorly maintained, with sloppy steering, a glitchy transmission and numerous dings and small broken parts that we didn’t discover until on the road (a broken windshield wiper for example). The worst part was that my online quoted $360 weekly rate ballooned to over $1300 when all the local BS nickel & dime fees were factored in (including mandatory insurance when I was told on arrival that my third party Allianz policy which I’d already paid for was not valid in the Dominican Republic, even though I’ve used that company everywhere from Tanzania to Thailand). It’s very hard to maintain a rental fleet on a Caribbean island with limited resources - I get that. However, I felt like I was hustled/extorted, and should’ve been informed in advance that I had to buy ‘local’ insurance in order to drive my car away. Shame on Avis.

The car wasn’t on its best conditions

Kontra: It had a strange smell inside, it had a plastic piece that flew off while we where driving, the suspension had some issues

Pro: Nothing!

Kontra: I ended up with no vehicle and had to cancel the reservation. This is very typical (and chronic) of the Dominican Republic; I show up late a night with my family to find that they want to squeeze us into a car that barely fits 5 people (we are 6). This is not the car I had selected and was willing to pay for (my reservation indicated that it was for a vehicle that can sit 7 people + 3 pieces of luggage). Understanding that this happens all the time, I proactively started calling AVIS in DR a week in advance to avoid surprises. I was suggested to call the date of (again) in order to confirm that we were indeed traveling that date, and to guarantee that the correct vehicle would be there for us. I called the date of the flight, assured the care was already there, and still got a compact car with the excuse that there was no availability. I ended up taking a taxi at 2 AM out of the airport with my whole family (we just don't fit in a compact car!). I was not offer a discounted rate for the crappy/inferior piece of junk they were offering us. In addition, the staff is never helpful, and become rude and belligerent when one tries to indicate that they dropped the ball and all they offer you is to cancel the reservation (obviously for one to deal with the mess of being stuck at the airport). They are so incompetent! By the way, please note 1- I am Dominican, and 2- It happens with all major multinational car rental companies (not just AVIS) in DR, 3- They do try to coerce you into accepting bogus additional services and fee, threatening you that it is mandatory in DR, and holding you and your family hostage. So goddamn frustrating to start one's vacation (repeatedly) on a bad note because, notwithstanding one's best efforts and willingness to pay, one cannot get the vehicle that one needs and reserves, and have to waste one's vacation dates dealing with these type of issues. Such an unpleasant experience (again and again!). Thank you for your time and help.

Pro: Good service as usual.

Kontra: Tank was half full when I started, but Avis employee noted that the tank was 2/3 full and I did not pay attention to what he wrote down. When I returned the car half full I had to pay $20 extra for fuel. Given the already very high car rental price in Dominican Republic compared to Europe due to high insurance charges, this was quite annoying.