Rental cars in Chile

My experience over all was good; thecarwas in good condition,clean and everything worked. However, at pickup we had arrived late due to the flight on which we arived. We had the Eurocar agent at the airport call the Airport call the agent in in Puerto Montt to see if we could pick our car there, and we were informed that there was not one available at the airport. So we went to the Eurocar agent in town per our original request. The agent was very polite and fulfilled our request after he informed us that our reservation had expired and we would to make a new rental abreementaccording to company policy. I believe that since we had communicated with him by phone through the agent at the airport advising that we would be late that the original reservation should been extended.

Experience, was just fine.

My only complaint is that they charged me cleaning fees of 10000 pesos for just normal use on the car.

I want to begin with the disclaimer that as an American I understand that we probably deserve some level of unfriendliness from people in other countries. I don't know if this was the issue behind an unsatisfactory experience or not, but since Avis/Budget is US based, they probably should know about this. After landing at Calama, Chile airport, I approached a young woman at the Budget/Avis rental counter. I stated I knew very little Spanish, and pointed to my phone's translation app. She rolled her eyes and put up her hand... either unable or unwilling to read the translated text. After giving her my name she holds up her phone with a translation app that says I have reserved a car without insurance so she will be taking a 3 million Chilean peso deposit against my credit card. I tried to explain that since finding pre-purchasing coverage when renting outside the US has never been accepted, I asked if she could simply quote me on coverage. That she seemed to understand, and quoted me a daily amount that seemed fair. However, she did not explain anything about the coverage. But I took it nonetheless. After standing at the counter for twenty minutes watching her fuss and paw through paperwork, she finally presented me with an invoice but was unwilling to go through it. The total amount in USD was four times what was quoted, but I signed it anyway to get on my way. Then she hands the key fob to another woman who walks me across the street to the car, which she walked around and photographed for another twenty minutes. When I translated a phrase of is there a problem, she said no, took a few more photos, then handed me the key fob with no comment, instructions, or have a nice day. From the time I reached the line at the counter to driving out of the lot... one full hour. Why this is important is - as I stood in line and at the counter watching my agent, lines for the five other rental car companies were moving quickly, and everyone seemed to be pretty happy as they walked out. Not in our line. Avis/Budget, whoever your franchisee or representative in Chile is should be aware they have a problem in Calama.

My experience with the Mitta rental Company was disappointing. The place was late to open and the service was not friendly. The insurance I had purchased was not accepted and I had to buy Mitta’s insurance. The place was also still closed when I wanted to return the car even though it clearly stated opening hours - I had to wait 30 minutes both times for the guy to show up.