GOOD RENTAL CAR, AFFORDABLE RATES…read more
But first and foremost, nobody speaks English. This would have been good to know in advance.
My previous visits to Mexico never required a rental car. This trip was an experiment. When people say "it's easier to just walk across the border and rent a car". I'm not sure what level of "easy" are they talking about?! Everything is easy until the lines of communication is broke.
1) Chose this place because it had more affordable pricing than many of the other rental cars at the border. Everything was prequoted and arranged online. Car, gps, insurance, etc etc. total came out to $43.97... make sure to bring a credit card or check your credit card to see what insurances are covered before paying extra insurances you don't need. Uhm, oh yah, this place has a high deposit of 10,000 pesos ($509 dollars).
2) Uber'ed to the address on the email notification sent. WRONG ADDRESS. Uber destination was a small lot infront of residential homes and businesses. The Uber even looked confused because he knew the destination was suppose to be a rental car shop. Had to search yelp and google maps to gauge true distance. About 0.5 miles notth was the correct location.
3) NOBODY SPEAKS ENGLISH. Although conversation was challenging, everything went pretty smooth. This may not be a good place for someone who doesn't speak an inklet of Spanish (hence, ME). We couldn't understand each other, however I've rented cars in many occasions and know the process, and with the help of google translate we were able to get by with head nods, thumbs up, and many laughs. Through the language barrier, the guy at the front desk in the morning had exceptional customer service. Received the documents and EVERYTHING was in Spanish - not a word in English.
4) Pick-up. My reservation time pick up is for 08:30, got there 20 minutes early, no other customers, and didn't leave the lot until 09:15/9:20. The order included an extra accessory, GPS. I asked the guy at the counter if the GPS can be in English and he said yes. LIES. Little too late, after leaving TJ and turning on the GPS it was in Spanish. GPS was useless!!! Anyways, the car they gave me was a good reliable car.
5) Drop-off. Different guys at the counter in the late afternoon. Again, they don't understand English. Friendly but not as friendly as the morning guy. We figured we barely understand each other so we barely talked. Prior to drop off, topping off gas is required. That was another challenge. Nobody at the gas stations spoke English. Drop-off was easy. Checked the car and then took the key. The counter guy asked me (using google translate) if the deposit and fee was on the same card and then showed me on a calculate the dollar (not pesos) amount that was going to be charged to my account. I have a receipt so I wasn't ripped off. and that's it.
Likely, won't be back. Service was good - it's just we can't understand each other.