Chile Forum

Rented a car from Econorent at the airport last night, only because it was the only place open when my flight arrived at 11 PM. I will never, ever rent from them again!

1. I picked up the car at 11PM and returned it at 9 AM the follow morning... charge US$110
2. It was dark when I picked up the car, the guy who handed it to me never checked it for damage, didnt write anything on the sheet
3. When I dropped off the car, they claimed there were scratches on the mirror and a couple of dents on both sides and the back
4. I knew for a fact I hadn't done anything to the car, I drove it to Vina, parked it in the garage and drove it straight back to the rental place in Las Condes
5. I had to fight with them to check the previous contract and to show it to me, the airport faxed it and the previous contract showed all the damage that they were trying to stick me with
6. The whole thing took about 1.5 hrs.... how I miss car rental autoservice in the US.

Is there a good car rental company here? anybody know?

Check TripAdvisor for advice.

Budget Chile DEFINITELY has a bad rep. But Econorent was supposed to be one of the better ones but I guess not.

Like always, it is a DYODD situation.

Except for the two times that they lost my reservation (but were still able to rent to me on the same terms), I've always had good experience with Econorent, and their price was always the best. Last February, I chose Alamo Pto Montt because their price was markedly lower. Well, whereas all the other cars I have rented in Chile were nearly new, Alamo's was BEAT! They told me the rattling noises were normal. I returned the car halfway through the
contract and got one that was only marginally better. I'd think hard before renting from those guys again.

I use Econorent all the time for 4X4s in the south never had a problem, the damage thing was in part your fault for not insisting on a review before you took the car, also book in advance and you won’t get charged the $110 a day thats the last minute rate. I like Econorent and use them often.

We rented cars from Budget at LSC and SCL and received good service. Our reservations were made online and everything was in order when we arrived to pick up the cars. Finding the exit for the rental car return lots on the ring road at SCL was another story. Maybe the gasoline stations steal the signs at night so tourists will make enough loops that they have to stop and top off their tanks.

I'd agree with nwdiver that you really should have checked for damage before taking the car. Normally the rental company would have pre-filled the damage checklist as part of their preparation (saves everybody's time), so you were probably the victim of an attempted fraud. I've used Dollar quite a few times in the past, the vehicles haven't always been perfect, but they've been willing to change if there was a problem.

Probably it's worth while trying to establish a relationship with the rental office (and not the airport office, too much turnover there) so you get a preferential rate whenever you call.