EUROPCAR COSTA RICA Car Rental Reviews

SAN JOSE, CR - Reviewed by JOHN - 31 March 2025

" We use Europcar a lot, it is my prepared car hire company but this was not an acceptable vehicle for the price paid. The service at the centre was very good. "

" The quality of the vehicle was not up to standard / acceptable. If we hadn't completed all the paperwork and very tired after a long flight I would have argued about changing it. "

Value for Money: 8
Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10
Expediency of Drop-off: 10
Condition of the Vehicle: 4

SAN JOSE, CR - Reviewed by GILLIAN - 03 December 2022

" The check in experience was appalling . Other uk travellers had the same experience whilst we were there . They were trying to upgrade and sell further insurance for their own financial benefit "

" The experience on arrival was appalling. The girl tried to sell me more insurance and called me negligent . She insisted we should upgrade to a 4x4 which doubled the price . My husband is 78 years old and this made him very anxious. I am the driver and have driven worldwide . I had already checked out the route and we had organised to use the coast road both there and back . In reality the journey was fine and there was no need for a 4 x 4 . I was very cross that my husband was put through this anxiety caused by the check in lady . I will never use europecar again although I am very happy with auto Europe . "

Value for Money: 10
Efficiency of Counter Staff: 1
Expediency of Drop-off: 10
Condition of the Vehicle: 4

SAN JOSE, CR - Reviewed by NICHOLAS - 25 February 2020

" I have used Auto Europe for many years and have been very pleased with the service. "

" The provider was Costa Rent a Car, changed from Europcar. The vehicle was booked for collection at 5pm, but was not ready until 7pm. Even though I booked an automatic the car originally given to us was manual and we had to request the change. The condition of the vehicle was acceptable but not cleaned to the usual standard I would expect. "

Value for Money: 9
Efficiency of Counter Staff: 7
Expediency of Drop-off: 8
Condition of the Vehicle: 7

SAN JOSE, CR - Reviewed by DEREK - 03 February 2020

" I have used Auto Europe for many years, in particular when travelling to the US where I am a regular visitor. In fact I am travelling there again this coming November and had intended to use Auto Europe as I always do. Whilst I realise the failings of Costa Car are beyond your control, perhaps Auto Europe should have been more diligent in checking that Costa Car were competent and reliable. "

" Firstly, my rental was originally with Europcar but about a month prior to my holiday I received an email from yourselves telling me my rental company was now Costa Car. When I phoned your company to query what this meant, no-one I spoke to seemed quite sure but I was told that Costa Car had taken over Europcar in Costa Rica. On arrival I stayed overnight in a hotel near the airport and telephoned Costa Car the next morning to ascertain where their office was in order to pick up the car. I was told that they had no record of my booking!!! Which was very worrying as I had paid £1200 for this rental. Fortunately the office was only 5 minutes walk from the hotel and on attending there my booking was eventually found. When renting the vehicle I was informed that it was going to be a Toyota Rav 4 or similar. What I actually got was a Ssangyong Korando which was a rather poor performing vehicle. I also paid $58 for a full tank of petrol. However, when I later filled it up myself I found that my initial 'full tank' was not full at all and there was another section on the fuel gauge which would have indicated a full tank. After driving the car for a week, it would not start. Fortunately I had arrived at my accommodation so I was not stuck in the middle of nowhere. I phoned the rental company and was told they would phone back in 10 minutes - they didn't. However, the car had now decided to start. I told the person at the reception at our accommodation that when the rental company phoned to let them know that the car was now working. However, he later told me that the company never phoned at all. Next day, just by sheer chance, I was at our accommodation at lunchtime when I was told by reception that the mechanic was here to look at my car. I had received no communication from the company either by phone or email to let me know that he would be attending. This was now 24 hours after I first reported the problem. After checking the vehicle the mechanic could initially find nothing wrong. However, on one final check, the car again wouldn't start. He then traced the problem to a switch beneath the clutch pedal which needs to be depressed before the car would start. It would seem that the clutch was not always making contact with this switch. After he made some adjustment I had no more problems. In all, my dealings with Costa Car were very unsatisfactory. "

Value for Money: 3
Efficiency of Counter Staff: 3
Expediency of Drop-off: 3
Condition of the Vehicle: 2

SAN JOSE, CR - Reviewed by JOHANNA - 30 July 2019

" On this occasion, not a positive one "

" We had requested and paid for a 4x4 vehicle in advance. We were given a 2-wheel drive car. When we queried this, the agent first tried to pretend that the car was 4x4 (which was dishonest) then when we pushed, told us that we couldnt have a 4x4 as he didnt have one. Very unsatisfactory as this meant we couldn't do the trip that we had planned to do. "

Value for Money: 2
Efficiency of Counter Staff: 5
Expediency of Drop-off: 7
Condition of the Vehicle: 1

SAN JOSE, CR - Reviewed by JOSEPH - 09 July 2019

" Staff member was very rude behind the desk, and told us that he only had a manual car available. We ordered an automatic, but when we told him this he said "why don't you just make your lives easier and take the manual". He said if we wanted an automatic then we would probably have to wait an hour or two. This isn't acceptable as we booked an automatic for an agreed time. I took the manual car as we couldn't wait for hours. The car was not in a good condition, with holes on the front and rear bumper. The 4x4 also had issues, and would not switch off without turning the engine off. "

" Staff member was very rude behind the desk, and told us that he only had a manual car available. We ordered an automatic, but when we told him this he said "why don't you just make your lives easier and take the manual". He said if we wanted an automatic then we would probably have to wait an hour or two. This isn't acceptable as we booked an automatic for an agreed time. I took the manual car as we couldn't wait for hours. The car was not in a good condition, with holes on the front and rear bumper. The 4x4 also had issues, and would not switch off without turning the engine off. "

Value for Money: 4
Efficiency of Counter Staff: 1
Expediency of Drop-off: 3
Condition of the Vehicle: 3

SAN JOSE, CR - Reviewed by JEREMY - 31 March 2019

" Happy but I could not get my phone to work to call from the airport to get the transfer to the Europcar office. In fact Europcar had a rep at the airport so this was not necessary - that would have been good to know in advance as we wasted time and were a bit stressed at the airport unnecessarily. "

" The car provided had a slipping clutch which failed on a steep hill, fortunately very close to where we were staying. Europcar replaced it on the same day they were informed, within about 5 hours, which I think excellent. The best measure is the service provided when something goes wrong. "

Value for Money: 9
Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10
Expediency of Drop-off: 10
Condition of the Vehicle: 4

SAN JOSE, CR - Reviewed by NOGA - 13 March 2019

" I love using autoeurope for their great prices and service. I've had to activate my full insurance bought through them before and got prompt service and my money back as promised. "

" The car wasn't in the best condition, pretty old and rattled a lot. The roads in Costa Rica are pretty rough and unpaved, so that's understandable to some extent, but it was definitely and older car. I would not expect this level and upkeep of a car from a company such as Europcar - it's the level I would expect from a cheaper local company! Moreover, the tire changing equipment was COMPLETELY USELESS both the Jack and the wrench were fit for a small sedan and not for the 4X4 that we had. This is completely unacceptable! We had to stop some locals who graciously let us use their equipment. "

Value for Money: 7
Efficiency of Counter Staff: 8
Expediency of Drop-off: 10
Condition of the Vehicle: 5

SAN JOSE, CR - Reviewed by GONCALO - 06 March 2019

" It was good "

" Staff very friendly. It was very quick "

Value for Money: 9
Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10
Expediency of Drop-off: 10
Condition of the Vehicle: 9

SAN JOSE, CR - Reviewed by FREDERICK - 20 January 2019

" See above "

" We were very disappointed with the wifi system as it stopped working within half an hour of collection and needed to be fully charged overnight to be used again but still didn't hold its charge.on return we were still charged a daily charge even though we had hardly used it. "

Value for Money: 8
Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10
Expediency of Drop-off: 10
Condition of the Vehicle: 9

SAN JOSE, CR - Reviewed by LYNZI - 26 May 2013

" Very easy to book and got a very good deal "

" They were friendly great car didn't try and sell me any more insurance "