USVI-On-Line

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Bert,

I think the prices of the various agencies are pretty similar. We like renting from Suttons for three, main reasons. First, we always have gotten great service. Second, the cars are in good shape. Third, they let you park in their lot at night and the lot is located in the heart of town.

Hope that helps.

Pete

The prices seem generally pretty close. St. John Car Rental has a Jeep Liberty for $510 per week in season with collision insurance $12 per day. Conrad Sutton has the same for $480 with insurance with a $1500 deductible included.

Insurance seems to be the big $ difference. If you have coverage with your own car insurance policy and credit card provided covereage then the prices are pretty much the same.

A bigger decision point is parking. Penns seems to be a favorite for their large parking area. Conrad's has good parking at night, but daytime is tough.

Cheers, RickG

Greetings! We have rented from STJ Car rental for nearly 10 years and love them. They are always super nice and we've always gotten great cars from them.

We usually book and pay with our Amex which offers plenty of insurance coverage.

Always been able to find a space on their lot as well. And it's very convenient to town.

One of the things that I don't do is rent on STT and take the car ferry over. I know some folks swear by this approach, but if I rent on STJ and I have a problem I can get it taken care of pretty easily. However, if you rent on STT and are on STJ with your vehicle you're going to waste a whole day and extra ferry fees to get that situation resolved. Besides I prefer to hunt down a cabbie, pile into a van with strangers, drag my luggage across the busy street in CA a la Frogger, and get a start on my tan by waiting for the ferry in the hot sun, thankyouverymuch! It's all part of the initiation to my vacation

My other big issue is that I want to support the LOCAL companies on STJ, not some national chain. Some of these folks came to STJ and started these companies decades ago to build what they have today--I love STJ Car rentals story on their web site.

Lonnie and her staff are absolutely delightful and I wouldn't consider renting from anyone else.

That being said, I find that all of the prices are similar and I NEVER rent thru the rental co which only accepts MC/Visa and from past experience seem to charge a bit extra to do so (aforementioned rental co shall remain nameless). I just prefer to make those requests myself and use Amex.

I have a jeep liberty lined up for an off-season trip through Conrad and the ladies Sutton & its $450 for the week (+$75 for my extra day). The only extra fee is the $2/day tax which they all include.

I have a feeling they are all pretty comparable. I actually have only gotten a crappy (not just scratched up but dangerous tires) when allowing the villa rental agency (one I will no longer use) to arrange the rental.

<<Besides>>

When I wrote once that you have to want to go to St John because there's some effort involved, that's EXACTLY what I meant. I could not have said it better if I tried.

Slipping the topic a bit, but AmEx CC was mentioned for covering car insurance. Anyone else see the Conde Nast Traveler article where somebody totalled their rental car in NM and AmEx wouldn't pay for it? According to the police it wasn't the driver's fault, and they were on a county road, but since the road was unpaved(and many roads are in NM)it was a breach of the rental contract and so the claim was denied. So I guess it pays to read all the contract fine print.

Just adding my 2 cents. Last year I booked C&C because they advertised on their website that they have a hurricane season special/discount. I think aside from this most rental places charge very similar prices. C&C offers 4 and 6 cylinder Jeeps. I don't know that the rest do. I just saw too that they will be renting cigarette boats

Anyway-last year we were delayed for 8 hours in Miami airport and we arrived on St John around 11:45pm at the small ferry dock. There was a guy waiting for us either from C&C or a friend of them. We did not realize this at the time. C&C personnel was waiting in Coral Bay with our keys at that hour. I thought that was extra nice. Too bad we were too tired to understand that this guy was trying to help us. Our Jeep was newer too. The only complaint I could have is that C&C is located at the top of the hill, near the Texaco so if you wanted to use their lot( I am assuming they would let you) it would be a hike back up after drinks (not good). Also- this was off-season so... take this as you will. We thought they were nice to deal with.

Since I am arriving at STT I decided to rent my jeep there and take the car barge over. Figured it would be best so I wouldnt have to be at the mercy of the taxis..

For what its worth, check your regular insurance policy as well. Ours covers rentals and between that and Platinum Amex we are covered.

But it does pay to know for sure and everyone has a different circumstance.

Note also that lotsa trip insurance policies also provide some sort of rental car coverage, so between that, extra coverage from your credit card, and your personal MV policy, there may be no need at all to buy the coverage from the rental company.

The prices are similar. We are getting a Jeep Liberty through L&L this year because they give a 5% discount if you're renting through Viva. So that's $22.50 from the $450.00 weekly rate. I just don't know where I'm going to spend it all. The only truly bad experience we've had (and it was bad) was Hertz on St. John. Would never ever rent from them again.

I used L&L rental this past March and had a less than desirable experience. I will not use them again for future trips - I will use one of the other companies recommended on the Board.

jdubb wrote:I used L&L rental this past March and had a less than desirable experience. I will not use them again for future trips - I will use one of the other companies recommended on the Board.

What happened?