Luckily EuroRental saved my trip. (Literally.)

I almost had to cancel my trip due to shady car rental places,  but the owner of EuroRental not only got me on the road in time to make it to Manta, he threw in extras so I could enjoy my journey without worry!

 This is how it went:

After all the horror stories I’ve heard about gringos renting cars in South America, and suddenly getting hit with tons of hidden fees, or being blamed for damage they didn’t so, I was totally expecting to run into problems renting a car in Ecuador.   I decided my best bet would be to hit up the USA companies, but they turned out to be horrible.  Most were outrageous in their fees and one finally quoted a decent price online, but when I got there they said the price was actually more than double.  There was also an American expat there, who had just discovered a $50 ‘restock’ fee along, with a few extra fees, that were being taken out, against his will, from his initial deposit.

I was shocked.  There was no way I was going to rent from such shady people, and it looked like my trip was canceled.

But then this expat told me he knew a local place down the street he recommended (and that this was his first, and last, time using a western company).  I hoped in his car and he brought me to EuroRental, where after explaining to the owner, Marlon, my situation, he helped me out.

I rented a little manual Chevy Aveo car, for 4 days, for only $200…WITH INSURANCE! (Cash price. Credit cost $224).  This price included enough kilometers to get to and from the coast too.  I rented a GPS for $5 a day, which Marlon changed to English language for me before I left.  (GPS wasn’t even available with the western company). The car ran surprisingly good and I had no issues bopping around Ecuador.

And on top of this, and what really sealed my love of EuroRental, is that Marlon threw in 150 free “Gringa Get Lost” kilometers, so I could enjoy my trip without having to worry about over-mileage charges!

I had a great time in Manta, but upon returning the car 4 days later, I started thinking about all the horror stories I’ve heard about ‘hidden fees’ and ‘gringo costs’ that mysteriously appear.  Having put a $1300 hold on my debit card (I don’t have credit cards),  I was bracing myself for these fees and potentially getting royally screwed.

I WAS SO WRONG!

When I returned the car, Marlon did a quick look over, then called my bank right in front of me to removed the entire $1300 hold.  Then he wrote “VOID”,  in English, on the hold slip, and handed me the ENTIRE SLIP (not just a copy of it), to show me that I have all my money back!   No questions, no issues, no fighting, just great service!  The whole return took a total of 10 minutes, and Marlon even let me take photos of him and the car after because I was so happy with the service.

Now Marlon didn’t speak much English, and I don’t speak much Spanish, but I had no issues at all renting.  I do wish the contract was available in English (felt kind of weird signing something I couldn’t really read), but that is my only complaint. Other than that, I love EuroRental.

The owner, Marlon Lavanda, and his employees are super friendly and genuine, and more interested in if I had a good time at the coast, and if I enjoyed their country, than how much money they made.

 I highly recommend EuroRentals for any rental need in Quito.  Also, driving through Ecuador is an amazing way to see the country!    I will definitely be renting from EuroRental whenever I go back to Quito.

And for the record, this post is NOT sponsored in anyway. I paid full price and without their knowledge of my travel blog.   They are this sincere to all their customers.

EURO RENTAL CONTACT INFO:
Av Amazonas N49-321 y Juan Holguin
Call : (593) 2-3300-991 or 093-389-908
http://www.eurorental.com.ec

*this post was originally written in Nov 2011, but all information is still current, and post has been updated to include EuroRental’s website