TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Discount Car Rental Experience

I just wanted to give a positive review of our recent experience with Discount Car Rental. Isabelle and Laurent met us outside at the arrivals area of the Princess Julianna Airport at the agreed upon time. They escorted us to the nearby waiting Hyundai I20 that we had previously reserved and were expecting. After an examination of the vehicle and signing the reservation form, we were on our way. The drop off was a quick flawless affair as well. Laurent met us at the airport departure drop off lane at the agreed upon time. After a cursory look over the vehicle and assurances that we filled it up with fuel, we were on our way. The final bill presented was the same as original quote without any extra surcharges or surprises. We will use Discount again on our next visit to the island.

Good deal.

Thanks for posting about a good experience. Often people seem to post only when they are displeased with something.

Thanks Carol. That was basically why I posted the review. We always search for reviews for accommodations and services prior to traveling, Hopefully this review helps future travellers make an informed decision that works best for their requirements.

There are several good rental companies on the island and we each have our favourite. I will second @Scotia's positive experience with Discount Car Rental. I had previously used Hertz, but based on the recommendation of a friend we have now used Discount for the last 5 years, most recently this past January/February. They are a pleasure to work with, make pick-up and drop-off very simple and easy, and without any hassles. I also love that their rates are fully inclusive of all insurance, including theft, accident, and third-party liability. So simple!

This is good to know. We have traditionally stayed with the US brands just because they are a known entity but these past 2 Hertz have been so disappointing (wrong size car, hatchback with no trunk despite our request, driver's seat broken both times, and both times nothing else available) we are just kind of fed up. Next year we will give Discount a try.

Yes, that is similar to my experience. I had used Hertz for 2 or 3 years without incident and then the last two years I used them they didn't have the car I had ordered and tried to give me a car in the next class down as an "equivalent". It wasn't. Both times, as a Hertz President's member, I reminded them that I was entitled to an upgrade at no charge, instead of a downgrade. They had to scramble to find me something. The first time I just chalked it up to a mistake, but after the second year in a row I decided to look elsewhere.

I haven't been happier. Discount does require a 20% upfront deposit at time of booking. In the scheme of things that isn't a large number for me and it means there is less to pay when I get to the island. It's not an issue for me, but it may be for some.

Being a "Hertz President's member" has no weight in St Maarten. The business there is in name only and is locally owned and operated. You'll get no bonus points or perks being a Hertz member for your rental on island. Just being a loyal regular renter with them does get some upgrades and benefits.

Good to know, Scuba. That just further confirms for me that there is no real advantage to using Hertz. I have used Hertz (and still do) all over Europe, the Caribbean, and North America, sometimes with individual franchises rather than corporate-owned locations. I have always had my status recognized. So I assumed it was the same on SXM.

In any case, the first time I had trouble with them was a mix-up in the paperwork. it did eventually get sorted out, but took an extra half-hour. The next year they tried to put me into something like an i10 instead of the Corolla I had reserved (none left). It was about my fifth year renting with them, so maybe it had nothing to do with the President's Circle agreement, but they did upgrade me to a Corona.

I have also had excellent service with Discount over the years.

I always book a Corolla and usually get upgraded to a requested Kicks suv style rental. Will be doing the same this May for 4 weeks with Hertz. I've also heard good things about Discount and would not hesitate to use them if something were to go wrong with Hertz but so far after 20+ years I'm happy with them.

We know exactly what we have experienced for the past 2 years regardless of what the OLD oppressive even censuring guard here on travetalk agrees with. Hertz in St Maarten has been abysmal for us. They have given us substandard defective cars we have not wanted 2 years in a row and we have dealt with the situation as best we could. We won't anymore. We don't give a rip about Hertz's reputation. I am not a stockholder. I guess some folks are. We will never use Hertz in St Maarten again.

Hertz gets their share of less than stellar reviews on here. I know SXMscubaman likes them and uses them and that is his choice. I used them once many years ago. I had a car for 3 days and then a larger vehicle for a week. They tried to play the damage scam on me upon returning the vehicle. I have not used them since and while I have gotten quotes from them, they have been off the charts expensive compared to others.

Again, you are NOT dealing with the same Hertz as in the states. They are locally owned on the island, which has nothing to do with being a Hertz stockholder.

FatCat--I don't think anyone here doubted your version of events and the comments in this thread on Hertz, as JD said, are mostly unfavorable. We used Hertz many years ago, had some issue, that I don't even remember what it was and since then, we have always just used local people, with no affiliation to any names of rentals in the US.

I'll add that we rented from Hertz a very long time, late 80s?, and they had no car for us when we arrived. We used another (very expensive) rental company to get a car. When we returned home I contacted corporate Hertz and was informed that SXM Hertz was not part of Hertz, USA. However, they reimbursed us for the $ difference that we paid as compensation. Never used SXM Hertz after that but have used US Hertz many times.

" the OLD oppressive even censuring guard here on travetalk agrees with"
If that makes you feel better throwing that out I'm sorry for you. Have a nice day.

Exactly what we have found. We have used Hertz here in the states and never had an issue. And to be honest the people behind the counter were fine too. They were as helpful as they could be but there is only so much they could do with what they had.

Oh I know Carol, it just seems a theme on forums that there is always someone or a few someones that are the self declared "experts" and feel at liberty to dismiss anyone that does things differently or has a differing opinion. It gets old and to be honest probably drives people away from sharing. I know it has me on more than one occasion.

That is good to know. I can not say I am surprised. I wonder if all the US brand name rental car agencies in SXM are like that as well. That was very good of Hertz USA to reimburse you.

one of the best, most accurate things i've read on here in a while

All right guys, let's move on.