myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 12 December 2002

We rented a car at the beginning of November for a week from singh's Car rentals based at the Grafton hotel. All was fine until about the third day when we got to Charlotteville (about as far as you can get from anyway!) and found that the brakes started to bind and make awful grinding noises. It made for a very memorable and scarey hour long journey home over very hilly roads! Singh's in true Tobago fashion did change the car for us, but it took over a days wait for this to occur. Another day we took a taxi with six others to the rain forest, on the return journey the taxi engine gave up the ghost going up a steep hill. My memory is of clouds of steam and black smoke for a hundred yards and not being able to see anything. Then we had to sit in the heat in the middle of nowhere for a long while whilst another taxi could be found All part of life's rich tapestry and a great holiday!

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 12 December 2002

Thanks Simon. Having just spent the morning studying web server log files and trying to cover myself legally, the words “Car Rental” are not exactly my favourite topic at the moment. As I’ve said before, car rental is a major problem on Tobago. You wouldn’t believe the nightmare stories I’ve heard. So many of the cars (rental and taxis) are old and badly maintained. They simply don’t appear to have top class maintenance facilities and the poor roads take a natural toll on the vehicle. Having said all that, there are some very good sources of car rental and readers should be warned not to try and save a few dollars by cutting corners. As you say, it might be all of life’s rich tapestry, but it’s also a subject that has the potential to totally ruin an otherwise wonderful holiday.

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 12 December 2002

Hi Steve, can you recommend any companies on the island and is it worth booking from the UK in advance?

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 12 December 2002

Hi Tim

I would prefer to answer at the end of February – but that will obviously be too late, assuming you’re the Tim whose going to buy me a beer at the Arnos Vale.

We shall require transport throughout the month we’re in Tobago. I’ve decided to sample cars from several different rental companies and will produce a full Car Rental article, with full listings of the agencies. Our recommendations and warnings will be based on personal experience, the views expressed in the numerous private emails we receive and, of course, this forum.

I’m in a bit of a sensitive position here. I try to keep a totally balanced view and am very conscious that as editor of the site, I’m in danger of being accused of recommending firms for commercial reasons. However, I promise that this is not the case. I value my integrity too highly and I’m not going to risk recommending any establishment only to find that readers start posting messages saying that I’m talking rubbish. myTobago will only be of use whilst its integrity is intact.

OK, having said all that, I’m going to repeat the recommendation I made in a post earlier this week and suggest that you contact Yes Tourism (http://www.yes-tourism.com). They are a DMS and Sightseeing service with a Reservations Department that books accommodation and act as car rental brokers. I am assured that it costs no more than booking direct and you have the security of knowing that your reservation will only be placed with the most reliable outlets on the island. On top of that, when things go wrong (and they do on occasion, of course) you have the total support of the entire corporate clout of Yes Tourism. Joe Bloggs Car Rentals may not care whether you rent from them again, knowing that you’re unlikely to return for a year or two, but when your biggest client starts thumping the table, you better find a replacement vehicle quick!

In answer to your other question, yes – I think it is worth booking your vehicle in advance. Obviously it depends on when you’re going to some extent, but even the big firms have small fleets by European/North American standards. On both my last trips I didn’t book cars until I got there and ended up with real dogs. Again, you’re not going to get fobbed off with the ‘spare’ car if you book with Yes Tourism.

Finally, in answering Simon’s post which started this thread, I forgot to say that this is not the first report of this kind that I have heard about Singh’s Auto Rental.

Now, all this typing is making me thirsty. At this rate I'll be totally dehydrated by the time I get to Arnos Vale.

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 12 December 2002

Is this a classic "you get what you pay for" scenario? We were in Tobago in October (which I appreciate is low season). Tried a "local" firm who were cheap but their "excess" if we damaged the vehicle was astronomical. We then tried Thrifty who are an international company, yes the basic price was higher but for a fairly small supplement we could delete the "excess". We hired from them and had a reliable vehicle that coped with the roads (and the rain!) and took us where we wanted to go. This was still much cheaper than booking anything from the UK.

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 16 December 2002

Hello Tim, You are absolutely right. Most of the smaller rental companies do not have enough vehicles to get reasonable group coverage from their insurance . This is why the customer might end up with an extremely high " excess" to be paid in case of an accident. I have had guests who ended up paying the "excess" even though they did not cause the accident. On top of that some of the many small companies don't maintain their vehicles on a regular basis and keep the cars for more than 5 years. Often the whole fleet consists of foreign used imported vehicles. Choosing a well established car rental company is definitely advisable. Booking a car from abroad at no extra cost is not a problem though. We offer that service for quite a while now and never had a problem with the rental companies that we chose for this service. There is no down payment or credit card necessary, all we need is a filled out online requiry form. There are no cancellation fees either and we will make sure that you get a quality vehicle. Thrifty is one of the companies we are dealing with.