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

I haven't been to St. martin in 4 years what is the best car rental companies?

Kenny's. Hands down. There is no one better than Lesley Bruce. Customer service at it's finest. Can't wait to see him in 9 days....but who's counting...LOL

We've been using SXM Hertz for last 20+ years. Never a problem. It's our favorite but others have their favorite one too.

Thank you.

We go for cheapest, and can accept smallest, so Safari is our place, charging $488 fully loaded for 23 days in September, no extras.

ETA: We barely average 10 klicks a day, so small is fine.

Does that include Liability Ins?

Scuba,

For starters, it’s no secret that for many years we have used and really appreciate the rental car service provided by Lesley and Shirley Bruce of Kenny’s Car Rental.

However……….The other day there was a very negative post about Hertz and the possibility they may have changed hands recently. My luck with them was NEVER in the same park as yours but if this post was accurate, they didn’t want to honor a confirmed in writing price quote. Do you know if they have changed hands or at least management? I know you are just back and would probably be the most informed re Hertz given your longevity and satisfaction with them. TIA.

Always try to use a sponsor of this site. For last several years it has been TriAAA.

Yes. I just returned about 3 weeks ago. Had a 4 week rental with them. Price was same as quoted by them 4 months prior to arrival and same people there. I have seen similar posts of which your are referencing and those all stemmed from booking through a second party and not directly through SXM Hertz which is not the same as Hertz in the states. Trust me. Hertz SXM is a reputable company which is locally owned and operated by the same people as in the past unless that has changed in the last 3 weeks. Jazzgal is there now and is currently renting from them.

We've used Kenny's for years and will continue to. Always nice to see Lesley at the airport and not have to shuttle off site to get my car.

Thanks for your comeback, Scuba.

We only used Hertz once, many years ago, and it was definitely NOT. A good experience. But again, this was many years ago and then we rediscovered Lesley. Bruce aka KennyS and the rest is history.

I agree with Dutchman about Kenny's Car Rental. We used Kenny's for the first time on our recent Mar/Apr visit and were very pleased with the service. We met Lesley and his wife Shirley at the airport and a few minutes later we were on our way. Thirty days later we met Lesley at the airport and handed him the keys to our rental. Couldn't be smoother and we will use Kenny's on our next trip. Thanks Lesley.

We used Kenny's for the first time a few years ago on the advice of people here. The best service! We have never looked back!

There is no question that Lesley Bruce provides superior customer service, likely better than Hertz does, or at least friendlier. That said, I have no problem with Hertz's service so far. For me personally, though, price is also an issue. The fact that Hertz includes liability in their weekly rate makes them less expensive than the others from whom I requested quotes. If you choose to not get liability, then there are several in a similar price range. And yes, I am currently using Hertz for the second time and will use them again in November.

Leslie (Kenny's), Hertz SXM, Triplea are all great choices. I've used them all

OK, vote #312 for Lesley Bruce of Kenny's. I've tried most all of them, but, for the past 15 years, nobody but Lesley. Honesty, reliability and convenience count a whole lot for me.

Nobody but Lesley!

Cheers

Thanks to you genuine good Folks for past , present and continued support.
Been a member and Sponsor since 2002.

We all have our favorites and good you have a nice loyal following.

Thanks Scuba

I'm going to jump in on this thread with for us. The best service and great rates in SAX rental company!! Anil and Cindy Puran, long time residences of SXM have gone beyond our expatations to accomatate our rental needs!! I give them two thumbs up!!! Four stars at two $$ price!!! https://saxcarrental.com/

We have used AAA for it seems like ever never had a problem some times it may seem to be hard to get in touch with them if so check your spam filter . Used him in May didn’t get a response called him everything was ok he called me back in 5 min and said we were on the log and we talked for another 10 minutes his service is great

agree with dick. For years and years have used AAA, and have never had a problem. Alain and Myra are always on top of things, and have been great to deal with.

Kenny's is the best. Lesley and Shirley provide the best customer service.

Mia, we are arriving in SXM on 7/7! Looks like we will be there at the same time! Have fun!

Kenny's is the best. We just returned from SXM, and our reservation went smoothly. Then some more of our family members needed a car, and we rented 2 additional cars from Lesley and Shirley, and they were most accommodating. And they responded to emails very quickly. We will use them again in the future, very dependable!

Using Kenny’s right now. Have for last 4 trips. Lesley makes it easy peezy. Great guy.

Thanks Phyllis and Ollie very much.

You can’t beat Kenny’s car rental. Lesley and Shirley are the best and cannot beat their customer service. Being able to get and leave the car in the parking lot at the airport is wonderful!! The cars are always clean and in great shape.

Arriving on July 9 and using Lesley (Kenny's) have used this for the last few trips and have always been pleased with the service, hassle free and no shuttle bus. Thanks Lesley.

As already stated most have a favorite that they trust and offer a fair price and good service. Get quotes from several companies, TTOL sponsors are a good idea, be sure to supply all flight information and times as well as a request for a complete total price (all fees, taxes, liability insurance rates, etc.) so there won't be any surprises.

I have had good service from Hertz, Safari and Kennys. I would pick Kennys personally. Never had a bad experience with Lesley.

Did we not already have a discussion about Liability and that all companies actually are required to provide that even if you don't pay the say $5/day they ask for?

We have rented from six different companies over the almost 20 years we have been going to SXM, never once had an issue with the rental car companies even when we have had incidents. Knocking on wood now, but I think most are pretty good to deal with.

Yes, we've had that discussion multiple times, and it's been confirmed by rental company owners, but some folks refuse to believe it.

For me, not having to get into a van to go to the rental place is why I really like Kenny's. And now, with Covid, not having to get into a van with other people really seals the deal.
The customer service from Lesley and his wife have always been top notch.

Now, one of the first times we were in SXM, we made the mistake of renting from Paradise Car Rental. NEVER again. WE had an incident and the bumper of the car had a scratch of about 5 inches across the top of it. (Not such) Paradise told us they would have to replace the entire bumper of the car and wanted to charge us 4k to fix the problem. WE finally had to resort to going through our credit card company. Based on other cars in the lot, there was no way they were going to replace the bumper!

So, if you find a company you can trust, go with them. We will go with Kenny's!

If your comment of "some folks refuse to believe it" was directed to me, take me off your list. I was just asking because it's a common practice of some companies on island that push it as an add on to their customers.

I've seen multiple conversations over the years regarding liability coverage for rental cars. As I understand it, rental car companies are required to carry/provide liability coverage. Seems like it is something like $50,000 coverage which would be very minimal in countries like the US. But some have said this is by law the maximum that one can sue for in St. Maarten. My questions.......how much of what I just stated is correct and is this true for both the Dutch and French sides? In other words, I rent on the Dutch side but have an accident on the French side......are the liability recovery laws the same?

Good question. Maybe Leslie can answer that for us.

odd how this question comes up often on this forum, yet local business owners and/or board sponsors never offer a straight answer...could that in itself be the answer?

This is the answer to the previously asked question. It has been asked and answered many times as GaKaye has indicated.

Interesting that Lesley is the only car rental company who, to my knowledge, has stepped up to the plate and answered it that I can recall.

i'll do a search, but if someone can link to a post by an actual car rental company with a clear answer, that would end the uncertainty...at least in this thread, lol....maybe the answer can even be stickied

but i vaguely recall answers that essentially said "running a business is tough and business owners need to do what is best for their company"...i will gladly delete this post if shown to be incorrect