Most Likely Use Vamos on My Next Trip

My rental with Vamos went well. The car met my needs.

The person at the rental office was polite and very helpful. I forget his name, it starts with an A. I was nervous about renting a car in Costa Rica and he put me at ease. I read about people being overcharged and charged for damages that were already there. I did not have this problem with Vamos. I liked the free phone to use for assistance, though I did not have to use it.

My only complaint was there was nobody to pick me up at the airport. The plane was early or something. All of the competing car rental companies were offering to match the Vamos rate, or give me a free GPS to rent with them while I was waiting. Vamos did show after about 10 minutes.

I will most likely use Vamos on my next trip to Costa Rica. I visit once a year.

Thank you

Professional, Fast and Friendly Service from Vamos

We rented from Vamos Liberia location last year and again this month. We really appreciated Anibals professionalism and the fast and friendly service we received.

The customer service is outstanding, something we seem to see less and less of in the U.S. This is one customer that is very appreciative of quality customer service.

We are returning in November and will be reserving our car through Vamos. Thank you!!

Response: Thank you so very much for your comments. I will let Anibal know. :)

You too could leave a review for Anibal on our Facebook page (copy & paste) --> https://www.facebook.com/VamosRentACar/app_126231547426086

Our Experience with Vamos was Fantastic

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:12:42 -0500 (CDT)

Our experience with Vamos was fantastic! Anibal was so helpful from setting up the reservation, to explaining everything we needed and even gave us his cell phone number to call any time if we needed help.

The car worked well, although at one point we felt there was a problem with the brakes. We brought it back and Anibal offered to exchange the car but after the mechanic looked at it we felt it was safe to use.

We would definitely rent from Vamos again! Please relay our thanks to Anibal for everything.

Response: We will certainly tell Anibal about your comments and if you are so kind, you could do a quick, 6-click review on our Facebook page (copy & paste) --> https://www.facebook.com/VamosRentACar/app_126231547426086

Very Pleased with Liberian Service

We were very pleased with the service we received from the Vamos staff at Liberia.  

We would not hesitate to use Vamos again and would gladly recommend your name to our friends.

Many Thanks

Should Have Been Told Up Front

Slow processing rental, battery ran down (new battery in less than hour) to get and return.  Was not informed of $2,000. deposit. Not that important but should have been told up front.

Response: Dear William,
 
Thank you very much for taking the time to express your overall impression of our vehicle and services. My name is George Schwarzenbach and I am the managing director of Vamos Rent-A-Car. One of my responsibilities is to oversee the quality of our cars and level of client service. Your review is taken very seriously and serves as a reminder to continue improving our level of customer satisfaction. 
 
It is our goal to exceed our clients expectations in every detail of their rental experience with our company – this time, it appears that we have fallen short.  Every part of your rental experience is important and everything should have been perfect for you.
 
I apologize for the slower than normal check-in procedure. We are in the midst of upgrading our reservations system to provide faster service. We expect this will make the rental check-in and check-out more efficient for everyone. 
 
I hope that the malfunctioning battery was not an excessive inconvenience for you.  I am glad, though, that our co-workers were able to resolve the issue within the hour.    
 
Depending on the type of insurance, the rental deposit is $2000 USD if you use your credit card insurance and $750 USD if you use the insurance from our local (Costa Rican) provider. The $2000 is to ensure that in case of an accident, the card has enough funds to cover minimal damage. We also list this on our website --> http://vamos4x4.com/vamos/frequently-asked-questions <--

You are correct though, we should have the $2000 deposit displayed more prominently. Since we are currently redesigning our website at the same time, I will pass your suggestion over to our web developer. 
 
We appreciate your very fair review. Constructive critic stings, but we would rather know, than be oblivious. 
 
Again, thank you.  If I can be of any further assistance, please contact me at george@vamos4x4.com or feel free to call me at 1-800-950-8426 ext. 1001
 
Best Regards,
 
George

I Was Very Disappointed

To be honest with you, I was very disappointed with the vehicle that Vamos provided me with on my recent trip to Costa Rica.

I contacted Mr. Anibal Morales 2 weeks before my arrival to remind him that I would be there soon, and to please save a nice car for me this time since the last vehicle I got was not so good. But once again, the car I received was a beaten up piece of junk that had 148,000 kilometers on the odometer and had parts falling off of it everywhere.

I asked to be contacted while I was there if a vehicle in better condition was available, but heard nothing from your office.

I was also charged an additional $25 because the gas tank was 3/8 full instead of 1/2 full. I thought this charge was excessive. Is this any way to treat returning customers?

This is the second time that I have tried Vamos, but why should I continue to be a customer of yours if your company is no better than the others?

Response: Dear Tim,

Thank you very much for expressing your overall impression of our vehicle and services. Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is George Schwarzenbach and I am the managing director of Vamos Rent-A-Car.  Let me assure you that your review is taken very serious and it reminds me that we must continuously improve our operations, not only for our first-time customers, but more importantly, for our returning clients. 
 
Immediately after posting this, I will discuss with Anibal the condition of the vehicle that was assigned to you. As a side note, none of the rental vehicles are brand new when we acquire them for our fleet. Vamos’ business model which is built upon offering economical prices by renting late model, pre-owned vehicles versus the higher rental rates associated with brand new cars that the major franchises advertise. Nevertheless, I will certainly ensure that your rental car is thoroughly inspected.
 
I apologize for the lack of response in regards to your phone call to Anibal Morales to see if another vehicle was available. I have already spoken to Anibal to ensure all clients are due a return phone call upon calling our office and leaving a message -- no exceptions.

In regards to the fuel replacement charge, we encourage all of our client to return the vehicle with the same amount of fuel as when the car was delivered. When we refuel our cars, we have to drive to the nearest fuel station and return, thus tying up a staff member for ½ hr. This adds to the cost of fuel. 

Your position on the cost of the fuel has been noted. For all the troubles that our shortcoming may have caused you, I have requested that the entire re-fuel charge be reimbursed ($25).

Despite having a hesitation about our fleet due to another previous occasion, you rented from us again this year. I know that I cannot change the past, but I am very grateful for your time to voice your opinion. 

I do want to apologize for all the inconveniences that you experienced and hope that you are willing to revisit our company for your future car rental needs. I am attaching a coupon for two complimentary days of car rental to be applied towards your next rental, if you decide to give us another try.  

Please feel free to contact me anytime for questions, or for me to personally handle your next reservation. it will be my pleasure to assist you in any possible way.
 
Kind Regards,
George

Experienced What I Expected. No Surprises

My overall experience with Vamos was good. What I experienced was what I expected. No surprises as far as that aspect.

The service I received from Anibal was professional, courteous, polite and yet personable. His responses to the two issues I encountered were quick.

My first issue was with our phone we rented; the access code did not work, second issue was that the car would not start a few times. In both instances Anibal was there right away when I called.

My suggestions would be to give/leave instructions for the phone, a manual for it perhaps, with basic instructions because:

- The access code was outdated, apparently an extra 1 has been added recently to the usual 3 digit numbers, which was not updated on on our phone.

- We had a blinking message envelope for days with no clue what that meant (Anibal later on said it was a full inbox signal) called the voice message, checked the text messages, neither said we had messages.

Our other issue was that the car did not start 3 times times due to a lose connection of the battery terminal. Most likely a trip on the dirt road to Rincon was part of that issue.

- Leave a wrench to tighten the terminal in the car and mention to people that due to rattling this might happen.

When we called Anibal he issued someone right away, and luckily we were close to the office. Glad this did not happen in the middle of nowhere...

For some reason I missed your offer for a free cooler, wished I had seen that, but most likely my fault.

- Perhaps ask renters if they need extra items/services when picking up a vehicle? A little cross selling at the time?

Will use your services again next time in CR!

Thanks

Response: Your comments are excellent suggestions on how to add an extra touch to the level of service to our clients.

May I also add that it is part of our service to explain the use of the cell phone upon issuing it to a client. Normally at this time, any issues with the phone are detected. I am not sure if the explanation was done, but your experience certainly serves as a reminder regarding the benefits of doing a check. Not to make excuses; however, it could have also been a problem with the cell phone provider. In any case, please accept my apologies for the issue with the access code. I have notified Anibal so that he will look into and correct the issue.

The loose battery terminal will also be reviewed by our staff. I am glad that you still were close enough to our office to get it corrected.  The mechanics, as part of their preventative maintenance, are instructed to clean and grease the terminals before each rental. I will double my efforts to be sure that the mechanics pay closer attention to the batteries. 

We are in the process of designing a laminated pamphlet to be placed in the glove compartment, explaining the use of certain features of the vehicle (like the 4X4). The wrench is also a great suggestion, I will certainly look into equipping our fleet with more emergency tools. 

I am happy to hear that despite some of the issues, you are considering renting from Vamos again. I know that I cannot change the past, but I am very grateful for your time to express your opinion. 
 
Stay tuned to our Facebook page, as we are in the process of implementing some of your and other client’s feedback and suggestions. We do care about your rental -- far beyond just the transaction and have come to know many families who we now call friends.
 
Please feel free to contact me anytime for questions that may come up, it will be my pleasure to assist you in any possible way.

-George (george@vamos4x4.com)

Did Experience Some Concerns

We were very pleased with the gas mileage of the vehicle and it proved to be reliable for the journey. However, we did experience some concerns. 
 
The first one is the GPS did not have the name of the Aeropuerto Hotel and we ended up getting lost since we didnt have an address. Also, the GPS on the last day seemed to shut down and say something like \"XM receiver error\". We tried calling the emergency number on the cell phone and left a message but no one called us back. Also, it seemed like someone blocked our phone number and we could no longer leave any messages. If we had another emergency on a future trip we are concerned we would not get help. 

The vehicle was underpowered for the terrain of Costa Rica, especially with the air conditioning on. During the rainy season it is helpful to have wiper blades that do not streak and the vehicle did not have wiper fluid.

Overall we were pleased and would probably rent from Vamos again. Your customer service is excellent and the pickup and dropoff service was very easy and we were pleased to see Vamos offices along our way if needed.
 
Thank you again

Response: You are correct, the GPS should have listed the Hotel Aeropuerto.

Almost all rent a car operators in Costa Rica rely on the same dedicated company to provide the GPS units and the most detailed map software available. EZ-Find: http://www.navsatcr.com/en/ezfind/ez-find-costa-rica-navsat

We are sending your comments to EZ-Find to ensure that the Hotel Aeropuerto will be included in their next update. We are also having the GPS unit replaced, since apparently your unit experienced some other glitches. 

I am more so embarrassed for the streaking wipers and lack of washer fluid. This should not have happened. At the onset of the rainy season, the mechanics are instructed to replace all wipers. I am looking into the matter to ensure that our maintenance staff pays more attention to these items. 

I do want to apologize for all the inconveniences that you experienced and appreciate that you are willing to re-visit our company for your future car rental needs. I am attaching a coupon for two complimentary days of car rental to be applied towards your next rental, if you decide to give us another try.   

We try to anticipate mechanical factors coupled with employee service and, at times, that quality does not live up to the training and philosophy that our company tries to instill.

Thank you for taking the time to leave us a fair review of your experiences. We are gratefully for knowing how your rental went.

If I can be of any further assistance, please contact me at george@vamos4x4.com  or feel free to call me at 1-800-950-8426 ext. 1001. 

Best Regards,
George Schwarzenbach

Taking Customer Service Seriously

Thank you for taking the time to follow-up on your rental customers ... good service is very important and I am happy to see that you take it very seriously. My only negative comment would be that the Bego I rented had high mileage and a strange engine noise. The vehicle performed satisfactory and gave me no problems. 

The agent I dealt with at SJO deserves the highest of praise for his courtesy and commitment to customer service. He was very personable, fast with paperwork processing, and helpful with any questions I had. Of course there were no surprises when the car was returned involving pricing.

I will definitely use Vamos on my next trip down to Costa Rica. My only other comment is that I received the vehicle with 3/4 tank of fuel but returned it full ... perhaps that 1/4 tank of fuel can also be added to my next rental?

Regards

Response: Please accept my apologies if the strange engine noise were an issue of concern. Your comments have been forwarded to our fleet manager to ensure that the issue is corrected.

I am attaching a voucher for a $15 credit for returning the car full. Please let me know if that is an acceptable amount. We want you to be treated fairly.
 
Again, thank you for your honest review.  If I can be of any further assistance, please contact me at george@vamos4x4.com or feel free to call at (800) 950-8426 ext. 1001

At the End of the Day I Am Happy I Chose Vamos

Overall I would say we had a positive experience. For constructive criticism purposes, I do have a few points to mention:
 
1. Our flight into Costa Rica was delayed by over an hour, yet when we landed no one was waiting for us. We called the office and were told the driver took someone to the Holiday Inn and will be back in a few minutes. We were already late, and now we were waiting for 10 minutes outside the airport.
 
2. Upon arrival at the Vamos offices we learned our car was not ready -- despite arriving about 2 hours after the planned arrival time to pick up the car. Even after filling out all the paperwork and getting all the explanations the car still was not ready. Eventually it arrived.
 
3. When I visited your web page prior to booking the car I liked the idea of having a cooler in the car, as it said all your cars have coolers. I never mentioned the cooler in the email correspondence I had with Vamos and to be honest after the long day we had flying in to Costa Rica I did not think about it when we got the car. About an hour away from Vamos the cooler popped into our heads but that was too late.
 
4. I did however mention that I need a roof rack when booking the car, and was told I will have a roof rack. Unfortunately that was not the case -- which I did mention when picking up the car. Our car had the bars you would put a roof-rack on, but not a roof rack. I was explained that this is indeed a roof rack and that we should just put a towel on the top of the car and use the bars to tie down our surfboards. My wife rides a 9 foot long board, and I ride an 8 foot long board. Throughout our trip we had to come up with ways to put the boards on the roof without causing any scratches to the car and the boards themselves. The fact that they were not on a rack but directly on the roof of the car, with the curved shape and length of these boards, made it very tricky to mount and unmount the boards on the car. We had to try out several methods until we found the right one, which included using some of our clothing to lift the board from the edges of the roof. Unfortunately a day before our last day one of the bags with clothes we used fell off while driving on the highway and we lost a pretty good North Face cold hiking coat, which was a bit annoying figuring that we had to come up with all these tricks because a roof rack was simply not provided, as promised.
 
5. We had to play with the connectors of the battery several times to start the car. From the first time it happened it was very obvious that the battery connectors were not treated in a while -- they had a lot of corrosion on them which is probably why during 18 days we had to pop to hood and juggle the connectors 5 times. Additionally the car had a persistent pull to the left, which is also something that we could have lived without. It is not a dangerous pull but when you take 7-8 hour trips like we did it makes the driving less comfortable.
 
At the end of the day I am happy I chose Vamos -- I prefer spending my money with a local firm, and although I might have gotten a newer or nicer-looking car from Avis/Hertz/etc there was some extra charm to driving a slightly older, more traveled vehicle in Costa Rica. I also quickly learnt that having a flashy car is just a way of grabbing attention from the wrong kind of people, so I guess that is another hidden benefit. :)

Response: Hello Alon,

Thank you very much for taking the time to express your overall impression of our vehicle and services. My name is George Schwarzenbach, I am the managing director of Vamos Rent-A-Car. One of my responsibilities is to oversee the quality of our cars and level of client service. Your review is taken very serious and serves as an impetus to continue improving our operations.

It is our goal to exceed our clients expectations in every detail of their rental experience with our company – this time, it appears that we have fallen short on this ideal. Every one of our clients is important and everything should have been perfect.

1) You are correct, we normally reschedule the expected time to meet-n-greet a client when a flight is delayed. I am not sure why it took ten minutes to meet you at the airport. I will point this out to the staff that was in charge of scheduling, to minimize the chance of delays to clients in the future. Furthermore, we have hired additional Vamos representatives to maintain a full-time presence in the airport.

2) The wait for the vehicle was absolutely beyond the normal time it takes to deliver a vehicle to a client. We have had some challenges with other vehicles being turned it late, leaving the cleaning crew scrambling to clean and prepare the vehicle. Unfortunately, this translates into a poor experience for our customers. We are working on having some spare vehicles prepared for these occasions, allowing for some flexibility and faster delivery of the rental car.

3) The cooler should have been ready for you. The staff is instructed to hand out the cooler with the vehicle documents. I am assuming that in the rush to get the vehicle to you our staff overlooked the order. The idea is to be prepared and to that means, I have ordered additional coolers so that there is sufficient stock.

4) Reading your email it looks like a domino effect of not having the car ready for you in the first place lead to a breakdown in our attention to the added services like the cooler and surf racks. We are very much focused on expanding our market to surfers, not having a rack is definitely counter-productive. We are ordering more racks. I am very sorry that the racks and the cooler was overlooked.

5) Be assured that your comments about the mechanical concerns will be passed on to our mechanics. I am very committed to offering vehicles in flawless condition. I have implemented spot test drives to sample our fleet during the busiest of times, so that we can correct these types of issues before it impacts your vacation.

We are very grateful for your fair review. Even though constructive critic stings, it certainly is a powerful incentive to keep improving our services. If we would not have had your opinion, I would have assumed that all went well - much the opposite this time.

I do want to apologize for all the inconveniences that you experienced and hope that you are willing to re-visit our company for your future car rental needs. In addition, I would like to reimburse you for ½ of the replacement cost for the lost Northface jacket, since I feel partially responsible due to the circumstances.

Again, thank you for your honest review. If I can be of any further assistance, please contact me at george@vamos4x4.com or feel free to call at (800) 950-8426 ext. 1001.

Prepared for the Worst and Received the Best!

After reading all of the comments floating around the Internet about vehicle rentals in Costa Rica, I was prepared for the worst, however the worst did not take place!

My rental experience with your company was nothing but positive. I found out about you at www.travelcostaricanow.com and selected your company based upon their recommendation. I called and talked to Max Carballo to get the rental set up several weeks before our arrival. A completely smooth and positive experience in making the reservation.

When we arrived to pick the vehicle up we were greeted by a lovely young lady, (sorry but I do not recall her name) who was a pleasure to work with. At this point, I was prepared to be greeted with all sorts of added costs because of what I had heard about car rentals in Costa Rica on the Internet, however there were no surprises of any kind. She was very thorough in getting the vehicle checked out to us and getting us on our way.

A couple of days before our return date, we decided that it would work better for us if we could have the vehicle an additional day so I sent Max an e-mail asking if that might be possible. He responded very quickly and said that would not be a problem.

Return day came and at this point, I really was expecting a surprise of some kind and some added costs, here again because of what I had heard about car rental companies in Costa Rica. Max was working that day and greeted us upon our return. He quickly checked us back in and we were on our way, catching the bus into San Jose at the nearby bus stop. No hassle. No fuss. No surprise charges.

All in all, our experience with Vamos 4 X 4 was nothing like what I expected! I was well prepared for the worst and received the best! In fact, my experience was so good that I have gone to several message boards on the Internet and posted messages recommending your company as being honest with no hidden costs or surprises.

You have great employees who obviously care about customers and who strive to make the entire rental experience a pleasure for your customers.

Thank you for the part your company paid in our wonderful experience visiting Costa Rica.

Response: Thank you so very much Harold for your review. Our staff loves to hear words like this. It helps them to see that people care about what they do, but more importantly, that they are appreciated, so thanks again! :)

Vamos is a New Player in the Rental Game that Exceeds Expectations

Hello: I am happy to provide feedback. We have been renting vehicles twice yearly in Costa Rica, for 18 years and know most of the competition. We are happy to say you surpassed our expectations. I must commend Tiziana and German for their excellent people skills, pleasant demeanor and attention to detail. We were impressed by them from the beginning as they were extremely helpful with getting us a good rate and assistance when required. They answered emails promptly and I never felt as if they were impatient, much to the contrary. Let me tell you that THEY made the difference by going the extra mile and taking their roles seriously. Their level of professionalism is to be commended. Please pass on my gratitude to them as they made our stay even more pleasant. They will know to what I am referring, in particular. 
 
We hope to be back in December and again next July 2013 and Feb-May 2014. We will pass on the word that Vamos is a new player in the rental game that exceeds expectations.
 
Many thanks!

Our Car Rental Go-To Guys

Our car rental experience with Vamos 4X4 was very good, stress free, and affordable.

Our Nissan SUV handled well on the Costa Rican roads which can go from smooth to quickly being bumpy or other.

Your staff was friendly, and pleasant to deal with. The guys at http://www.costaricanow.com/ referred us to you, and in a few minutes I will email them and post on their site how good your service was.

We will be returning to Costa one or two more times this year and will use you as our car rental go-to guys again.

Please let your San Jose staff know of the good service they provided.

Response: Thank you for your vote of confidence! We look forward to serving you again very soon. :)

Max was Very Helpful

We appreciated the use of the 4 x 4 from Vamos. 

Max was very helpful in the reduction of the fee based on the late arrival of the car from the scheduled pick-up time. We really appreciated the cooler. 
 
We hope to return to your wonderful country in a year and will consider Vamos again if we rent a vehicle.
 
Best regards