One-Way Car Rental from Chiang Mai

[CangguSurfer]

Can anyone recommend a reliable, honest and most importantly, ECONOMICAL car rental company here in Chiang Mai that will do ONE-WAY rentals (to Pattaya)?  I checked the usual suspects (Avis et al) and their one-prices are very high.  

 

So far, the best I can come up with from a recognized big name company is Budget at around 2700 baht per day.  Avis wants 12,000 baht per day LOL!  I found one from a thread on ThaiVIsa that was pretty reasonable (Chic Car Rentals which is part of the Thai Honda National dealership network at 1200 baht per day ) but the drop off was at UTP airport which is a 1 hr drive from Pattaya, and then another hour plus 2000 baht for a taxi back to Pattaya.

 

I'd appreciate any anecdotal feedback. 

[AlexRich]

A couple of years ago I rented a small car with Budget in Chiang Rai and delivered it to their office in Chiang Mai ... I never experienced any issues with them. I used the car for ten days around Chiang Rai province before moving on. Use a credit card and check your bill as soon as it’s available ... to make sure there’s is no double charging, which can happen sometimes when you are overseas. A credit card company will sort that if it happens.

[sfokevin]

Here is what Kayak.com quotes...

[CangguSurfer]

2 hours ago, sfokevin said:

Here is what Kayak.com quotes...

Can you show me the weblink you used to get this quote?  I just searched Kayak using the dates you used and got this instead (see attachment)

 

[cmtg1]

reliable, honest and most importantly, ECONOMICAL  If economy is your paramount concern, would you consider using a company that is in fact CHEAP however I can't vouch for their reliability

[jackdd]

3 hours ago, CangguSurfer said:

Can you show me the weblink you used to get this quote?  I just searched Kayak using the dates you used and got this instead (see attachment)

What he posted are rates per day (and he selected 24th in the morning, 26th in the evening, so effectively 3 days), yours are the rates for 2 days together

But it still looks like 3 days are cheaper than 2 days, which is a bit strange

[CangguSurfer]

11 hours ago, cmtg1 said:

reliable, honest and most importantly, ECONOMICAL  If economy is your paramount concern, would you consider using a company that is in fact CHEAP however I can't vouch for their reliability

You can't vouch for who's reliability??  Cheap and economical are two different things.  I simply do not want to be ripped off.

[CangguSurfer]

10 hours ago, jackdd said:

What he posted are rates per day (and he selected 24th in the morning, 26th in the evening, so effectively 3 days), yours are the rates for 2 days together

But it still looks like 3 days are cheaper than 2 days, which is a bit strange

It looks like they have to cover costs of the car being relocated from CNX to UTP which is understandable, so if you keep the car additional days they are only billing local rates.  I only need the car to move my possessions to Pattaya so two days is all I really need.   I'd just like to find one that has drop off in Pattaya, not UTP since that would involve two more hours of travel time and an expensive taxi ride back into Pattaya.  Bottom line for me is to find a "reasonable" rate with a vendor that I can trust.  So any anecdotal feedback is still appreciated.

[CangguSurfer]

For anyone interested, I just spoke with reps at Chic Car Rental (http://www.chiccarrent.com).  They are part of Rama 3 Group Honda which is the largest Honda dealership in Thailand and the rental business was established in 2004.  I see no negative reports about them in a Google search, and a positive thread about them here on ThaiVisa, so I feel pretty comfortable about them. 

 

Their daily rates are the best I could find (very low).  They have a one-way drop off fee of 4,800 baht but if you keep car for 5 days they waive that fee.  For March they have a special promotion that includes full insurance coverage free (normally 1,980 baht per day). 

 

The only negative is that they seem to only operate from airports which means I have to drop off at U-Tapao airport (UTP) which is an expensive taxi ride back into Pattaya and two hours of wasted time.

 

So....still hoping somebody can offer a better suggestion but I guess I can live with this if it's the only option.

[bubba]

I have used Budget several times for one-way hires. Cost was competitive with no drop charge and the cars have always been newish and in good condition.

[CangguSurfer]

10 minutes ago, bubba said:

I have used Budget several times for one-way hires. Cost was competitive with no drop charge and the cars have always been newish and in good condition.

On second thought, I think Budget might be the best bet.  Their rates are higher than Chic but if they really do not charge a drop fee that a whole different story.  Plus, I always rent from them in the States and think pretty highly of their customer service.  I'll look into it again.  Thanks!

[CangguSurfer]

17 minutes ago, bubba said:

I have used Budget several times for one-way hires. Cost was competitive with no drop charge and the cars have always been newish and in good condition.

Actually they do have a drop fee policy:  - One way rental is available between all Budget Thailand locations, with no drop fee for 7 days hire, 1,500 Baht drop fee for 4-6 days hires, and 3,000 Baht fee for 1-3 days hires (Excluded VAT) for standard conditions and may not apply for some promotion or offer.

[CangguSurfer]

Final Analysis: Chic is significantly the best deal.  Honda Civic for five days = 6000 baht.  One-way fee (4815 baht) is waived for a 5 day rental, and insurance is included free for their March special promotion.  Budget comes in at 6650 for similar car, and for only 2 days, plus drop fee of 3000 baht, plus insurance at 1900 per day, so total is 13,450. If I keep it for five days to waive the one-way fee, it's 12,000 for car plus insurance so the total would be 21,500 baht!  Ouch!

 

Just posting all of this to save someone else the time of researching one-way rentals in Thailand because some of the websites and operators are very misleading as to actual costs and terms.  Chic seems pretty honest and straight-forward to me and has good phone customer support, and in English.  

 

Has anyone else used them?????  Would like any available feedback.

[Bill97]

Sure hope you don't get ripped off. Bubba is the man, listen to him.


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[wgdanson]

2 hours ago, CangguSurfer said:

Actually they do have a drop fee policy:  - One way rental is available between all Budget Thailand locations, with no drop fee for 7 days hire, 1,500 Baht drop fee for 4-6 days hires, and 3,000 Baht fee for 1-3 days hires (Excluded VAT) for standard conditions and may not apply for some promotion or offer.

And isn't it annoying when you know that the next person who wants a one-way rental will have to pay that fee again.

I was always told (in UK) that the fee was for 'someone' to drive the car back to 'it's own depot', which is a load of cobblers with the big companies.

Now let me think, me drive up to Ch Mai, down to Pattaya then back to P'lok.................nah, sorry   LOL

[CangguSurfer]

4 hours ago, Bill97 said:

Sure hope you don't get ripped off. Bubba is the man, listen to him.


Sent from my iPod touch using Thaivisa Connect

I'd be concerned but Chic seems to have a good rep; there was a thread about them on ThaiVisa.  I spoke with them on the phone today and they seem legit.  I've always used Budget in the States and was always happy with them but 14,000 baht for a two day rental is outrageous when Chic will do it for less than half that amount.