Is Budget on St Thomas really this much cheaper than St John

Need2GetAway · Post by **Need2GetAway** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 7:53 pm

We paid $758 to rent a Dodge Nitro from St John Rental in April '11. We didn't need a car that big, but didn't realize that until it was too late and they didn't have any smaller cars.

Now I see that Budget on St Thomas can rent us a 2 door Wrangler for $390/week for our next trip. I know about the risk of no service on St John...

This seems like a big difference in price. I suppose I have to add on the ferry and no free parking...

Do others find it cheaper to rent on St Thomas?

Thanks!

vi lover · Post by **vi lover** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:00 pm

Always. We also spend a couple nights on STT before heading to STJ so it makes sense. But yes the pricing is lower on STT.

Steve S · Post by **Steve S** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:43 pm

get the full price of any at-airport car rentals. I bet the taxes and fees will drive that cost up another 20-30%.

Eric on St John · Post by **Eric on St John** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:42 pm

the Nitro & a 2-door Wrangler are not equivalent vehicles.

the going rate for a 2-door Wrangler on STJ in April 2011 was $390-$420/week. In 2012 probably all of them will be $420/week.

A 4-door Wrangler from budget stt for April 20-28 lists as:
Rate: $94.99 per day, $574.99 per week
Free Miles: Unlimited
Excess Miles: $0.00

On St John a 4-door Wrangler is $510-$540/week.

When you click to reserve at budget stt it lists:
APO SURCHARGE 11.2%
LRF/RRF $3.75 per day
VI TAX $2.00 per day

On St John you are only paying the $2/day VI Govt Tax.

EDIT: Its not clear to me if budget stt is detailing fees & surcharges included in the quoted rate or if these are in addition.

For comparable vehicles, the STT rate is usually about the same or often higher for peak holiday dates. What STT does offer is a plethora of cheap 2wd sedans for those who want to take their chances and go that route.

And you may find different rates w/ Discount & Dependable but don't think they list their rates on-line to compare.

fwiw, with the new gravel parking lot open, for those that are willing to walk an extra 100 yards, parking is a lot less of an issue. we'll see how it goes this season.

disclosure:
Yes, I work for a company that rents cars on St John. in most cases, where someone rents the car is more a travel style choice than economics, as in the end, it works out close enough to be about the same.

bdkane · Post by **bdkane** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:56 pm

Be cautious with budget, I have used them several time - and have always been happy, BUT somehow the bill always end up about $100-$150 more than the original quote, I used Discount in STT 3 weeks ago and the total for a4 door wrangler for 12 days was only $775

I have never rented on STJ- I always seem to wait and no Jeep Unlimteds available- sorry , I'm a JEEP guy

toes in the sand · Post by **toes in the sand** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:14 am

Thanks for the great cost breakdown Eric. The thing I have always wondered about is the ferry vs. car barge thing. When I read about a car barge being taken out of service leaving only one running it makes me wonder if I will be left at the barge lot waiting for a barge for lengthy periods. Also I know that I can catch a ferry every hour until almost midnight if my flight is delayed.

I have been tempted when we traveled with a group of 4 to rent on STT because the barge charges per vehicle and not per person plus luggage. That would have also given us the option to stop on STT for provisions.

I think that I will always rent on StJ when possible for a few reasons;
-I like the passenger ferry.
-I like the jeep rental company (and the people) I use on StJ.
-While I don't see it as a big drawback, I like not driving on STT.

vi lover · Post by **vi lover** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:23 am

Great advice to be sure you are comparing similar vehicles...

The primary national budget rental site has the 2 door Jeep for $390 per week including the taxes and fees. I've rented from them often, and have never paid more than the confirmation number rate. They even ran out of the large SUV once and gave us a 2-door and 4-door Jeep for the same price as my confirmation price for a single "large suv". That's just my personal experience, and I'm sure others have their own contrary experience they can share....

The only real question to me is if the STJ pricing on a 2 door SUV is comparable. I don't have that answer, but have always found STT rental rates to be below those on STJ (and I have compared every year to be fair to the STJ vendors!).

Good Luck! Have Fun!!

rpplano · Post by **rpplano** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 12:19 pm

I always rent on STJ for many good reasons. Primarily, I get to see Rachel Brown on STT! Great start to a vacation.

Teresa_Rae · Post by **Teresa_Rae** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 1:03 pm

Need2GetAway wrote:
This seems like a big difference in price. I suppose I have to add on the ferry and no free parking...

The car barge can be considerably less expensive than the people ferry, depending on how many people you have. With the people ferry you have to pay for the taxi to the ferry, the ferry itself, and the luggage fees. On the car barge one way is around $25-30, no matter how many people you have. Can you even get one person over on the people ferry for that?

Lex · Post by **Lex** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:40 pm

We've always rented vehicles on STJ for a number of reasons. The only advantage for us of renting on STT would be that it's cheaper. But as I balance the other pros and cons, it's really not a place where I'd want to cut costs.

When we wanted to cut costs, we always looked to the accommodations. There's such a range of options that the cuts can be in thousands rather than hundreds (or tens) of dollars.

Steve S · Post by **Steve S** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 3:20 pm

Just pulled this off of Budget

APO SURCHARGE 11.2%
LRF/RRF $3.75 per day
VI TAX $2.00 per day

For 7 days that 40.25+ 43.68 +390.00 =473.93

Capn Dan and Ruby · Post by **Capn Dan and Ruby** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 1:20 am

We always just rent from Sutton's. They have good cars and I just feel more secure. Free parking most days is nice as well. We have thought of renting in St. Thomas to save on the taxi, the fairy, and possibly shopping at Cost-u-less before coming over to STJ, but the idea of breaking down scares us! There was a recent thread on that topic by jenxogirl

http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... dependable

Later she posted this:

http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... dependable

I know things worked out, but it still scares me a little. Still we will drop some serious bank on ferries, and cab rides this year so we may risk it.

snorkles · Post by **snorkles** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:22 am

Driving in STT would scare the jebbies out of me.

BRY1105 · Post by **BRY1105** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:49 am

snorkles wrote:Driving in STT would scare the jebbies out of me.

First time ever in the USVI I drove our rental from the airport to Red Hook. Everything went swimmingly. But it was a little scary.

paulandtracie · Post by **paulandtracie** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 12:33 pm

We have always rented on STT but to be quite honest, these threads have really given me something to think about--even with good customer service from a car rental agency on STT you could be looking at some major hassle to get a car fixed/switched. I guess we have just always been lucky. When you add in the benefit of actually doing business on STJ if you rent there, it seems like a really good idea. I know some folks really care about the vehicle they get, we just want something that gets us around, so we should have plenty of options. Will definitely have to go with STJ rental this next trip!

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