Rental Car Agency Recommendation

[alw1977]

I really hate this question (as everyone has a favorite and they are usually all equally good), but as a first time visitor, I must ask. Does anyone have a rental car agency recommendation?

I don't care about the car's appearance - in fact, the more of a beater, the better. We want a small 4wd (for two people) and perhaps the ability to park in town (as I've heard you can use the spaces at some of the lots). I care more about dependability of the car and response should something go wrong than anything else.

Thanks!

[Gromit]

We've been renting from St. John Car Rental or about a decade now and we LOVE them: http://www.stjohncarrental.com/

Lonnie has a great staff and they are very convenient to the ferry dock in Cruz Bay. We always rent a Jeep Wrangler but do so well in advance because they are popular.

If you get a chance read their story about how they got started. Great peeople with great service. Prices are VERY reasonable.

Also I always rent direct thru them. I never go thru the villa Co. For some reason the Villa co. only takes Visa or MC and somehow the price was higher. Extra fees? Who knows. We always use Amex for the extra insurance coverage that comes with our card.

I just print out the forms from their web site and fax it in. They are very straightforward and they take good care of their cars. In 10 years I think we only had one problem with a car and we just brought it in and they gave us a new one.

And no, rental co's on STJ don't allow you to take the top off of the Jeep

I'm sure that other folks have their faves...

[flip-flop]

Though he sometimes gets dogged for his demeanor, I am a huge fan of conrad sutton car rental. I love his daughter, Carmen. She is ALWAYS very friendly and helpful. I am a bit of a worrier/planner which leads to me changing plans from time to time. Once extending from 7 days to 12 days and once adding and then dropping a 2nd car, and once having to cancel my entire trip. They have always made any changes without any hassle.

On our last trip we arrived on a Tuesday after the 6pm cutoff and Carmen waited for us until we arrived closer to 6:45. A HUGE help when traveling with a then 3 year old, it was a godsend to just jump in our jeep load it up and go.

I am ok w/ a jeep w/ a little wear and tear as long as its safe, but we once got a jeep through another outfit with totally worn out tires. Almost slid off the road. They prompted rectified it once we complained, but I prefer not to have to worry about that. I find that Conrad's cars are later models and in great condition. He is fastidious. I find if you treat his car as you would your own (and not lose your mind while on island like some tend to do) you'll have no problem!

Plus, when we travel with the kiddos I prefer a liberty to the wrangler. Just way more comfy for all involved and no one else would guarantee us that we would be able to get the liberty.

I also like that they take Amex and that they have online reservations - no phone calls, no faxing, everything via the web and email! Makes it easy!

http://www.conradcars.com/

That's my 2 (ok 10) cents worth.

[steveo2916]

If I had my druthers, I'd rent from Penn's. They have always been friendly and you can park at their large lot anytime you are in Cruz Bay. their prices may be higher than others, however.

[RickG]

Though he sometimes gets dogged for his demeanor, I am a huge fan of conrad sutton car rental. I love his daughter, Carmen. She is ALWAYS very friendly and helpful.

Ditto. But you MUST BE POLITE to get the level of service that we get.

Cheers, RickG

[JT]

We've had pretty good luck with several rental companies over the years, with no problems. Sutton's were in great shape, though in spite of my smiling politeness, I have seen Gladys become the West Indian "Frau Sutton", but the cars were great. STJ Car rental and Penn's have also been good, though I've gotten cars with questionable tires from both. Last November when we went, it was spur of the moment, tight budgeted, and all we wanted was the cheapest Vitara that we could get. Cool Breeze was the only place that had one on such short notice. It was whatever they had or pay $100, or more for something else. The thing had good tires but, about 39,000 miles on it, no right tail light,no radio, and the a/c & defroster screamed bloody hell if you turned it on. Like I cared! We were on STJ and had a car to get us out of Cruz Bay, and over to Coral Bay! It wasn't pretty but it never let us down, and we do tend to push them kind of hard with our explorations. By the way, there is an advantage to getting your villa agency to do the booking for your rental car. It shouldn't cost you any extra, and assuming the villa people are competent, they do all of the arrangements and there is less chance of a "we can't find your reservation" surprise. As to the parking advantages of one versus the other, I can't offer much, as other then coming back to Starfish Market, we rarely come back into town. If Cool Breeze had any, I didn't see it. Sutton does, as does STJ Rental, but we never used either. Another funny thing about Cool Breeze; they actually encouraged us to put the top all the way back on the Vitara. Conrad would probably hang you by your toes for doing that!

The Cool Breeze Vitara. The background is the road that they are building high above Vie's. It goes for miles![img][img]http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t82/ ... G_0834.jpg[/img][/img]

[flip-flop]

RickG - You are ABSOLUTELY correct. You must be nice to receive niceness. I am always as polite, maybe more polite, when on island than I am here at home. A great attitude is contagious.

[alw1977]

Thanks everyone. I've written a couple of the suggested places for a quote - Conrad Sutton's was the first to respond and seems to provide what we want - a Vitara. I understand the whole "be polite and you will receive politeness" thing. We're pretty experienced Caribbean travelers - we learned a long time ago that in the Caribbean, it is rude to just state your business upon approaching a clerk. Better to say "Good morning, how are you?" first. In fact, we should do that at home too... but somehow we've let little courtesies slip.