my brother and i just returned from our fist trip to Bonaire, great time!, just one problem, we rented a car from Hertz and declined the theft insurance as we were not going to leave anything of value in the car. We stayed at the Divi Flamingo and parked at the front desk parking lot at night. The morning following the second night, the spare tire had been stolen out of the car, the doors were still locked and the windows up, no signs of forced entry. We had 4 tanks in the back of the car covering the spare tire well. It appears that whomever stole it opened the car with ease, removed the tanks, took the tire and replaced the tanks. When we returned the car, Hertz charged us $130 US for the tire, they tried to give us a receipt with no mention of the extra $130, when we questioned it, they said they just include that fee in the taxes, hmmmm?, we refused to accept that receipt and forced them to give us an itemized receipt. Sounds like the perfect makings for a scam, or maybe an exteeeeeemly strange coincidence. We probably wouldn't have thought otherwise if it wasn't for the incident with the receipt and the lack of any forced entry into the car and the replacement of the tanks. Has anyone rented a car with out theft insurance and been charged for something on the car being stolen, or paid for theft insurance and not had anything stolen off the car? We are contacting Hertz international to inform them of this odd occurrence, but I'm just wondering what the percentage is of such charges against those who pay for theft insurance and those who don't, wondering if there's a pattern. Please respond with any input. thanks, Ken.

Ken
How did you realize the wheel was missing if everything was buttoned up just like it was the night before? Did you actually SEE the spare when you picked up the car? It seems very unlikely that anyone would take the time to put the tanks back in the car once they had the spare in hand.
I think you should make an issue of it with you credit card company. Mickey

There is no such thing as theft insurance, or at least that is what we have been told in the past. The insurance is for collision only as far as I have been given to understand.

You should ALWAYS check every rental vehicle you rent, for good spare tire, working signal and brake lights, headlamps. jack, and lug wrench. You should have the rentee note any scratches and dings on the rental form. And you should know exactly your credit cards foreign auto rental policy, by calling twice and taking names, times, and dates of who you talked to. this has gotten me reimbursement for a stolen tire from a minivan when I had declined the CDW. Be an educated consumer and you drive down the possiblility of being scammed. It sounds as if your credit card might cover it all, but you might have had to fill out a police report while there. Still worth a shot.
I now buy three feet of chain at Kooeymans and lock up my spare with a stout brass combination lock I protect with a baggie ( I would despair of getting the little locks open on the budget spare tires if I ever had to. Leave that to the thieves who have the better tools.)

While we're at it, you should have copies of your drivers license, passports, and plane tickets, and backup copies at home that can be sent to you or elsewhere.
And if you live around here, galoshes or high boots.

Yes, this seems to be a problem that can occur. I had my spare "swapped" with a totally torn tire. I know my spare was good, because I used it. But when I returned it to Hertz, they went straight to the trunk to inspect the spare and then charged me for a new tire. Coincidentally, I sat next to the Hertz regional manager on my flight home. He gave me contact information, I a week later I got a refund. He said that they have this problem in the islands because of the huge cost of tires. This happened to me about 4 years ago.

Well, it looks like the one thief caught a couple of months back was not the only one (duh!).

Assuming that the spare was there when you picked up the car...

If you rented a non-pickup truck with a good VISA or MC, vehicle insurance may have covered the theft loss, with no deductible, IF you called in your claim promptly. Most such coverages require that you confirm your reservation and pay for the rental entirely with the credit card, and that you affirmatively refuse extra CDW insurance. Apparently the credit card companies are wise to this easy tourist grift, and they also have the power to simply refuse to pay a merchant when any doubt exists about the legitimacy of a charge. The round-trip-spare-tire scam goes like this:

1. Staff at the local/franchise office in a small, tourist-centric place know that tourists are often unfamiliar with the local authorities and too busy to make a huge row over some "petty" crime. They also know that the parent company, whose good name they lease, provides instant credibility and that the home office won't pay much attention to a little corruption at a rental office on a little tropical island since it only accounts for a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the overall business.

2. The nature of beach-side resorts cause parking areas to be segregated from sleeping areas, so it is easy to visit rent cars at resorts at night without disturbing anyone. (notice that nobody here seems to have reported tire or gas thefts whilst staying at smaller condos or apartments where parking is often just outside a window or door...)

3. Being both unfamiliar with local resources and prevailing costs and in a terrible hurry to make it to the departing flight on time, the tourists cannot bother to argue over an excessive fee, or even argue (much) about how it is accounted for.

4. So, rental car goes out for a week. Towards the end of the rental period, a "total stranger" who may live next door to a staff member at the rental office boosts the car's tire. (No forced entry: rental office has spare key set. "Total stranger" "found" a key that just happens to fit the door of the rental office...)

5. Tourist winds up paying over $100 for wheel and tire, even though a perfectly good used one could be bought less than a mile away for considerably less. Fee is not recorded as charge for casualty loss due to step 7 below.

6. The next day, after the tourist leaves, Total Stranger Used Tires Co. sells a certain used wheel and tire to the rental agency to replace one that was recently "stolen".

7. Agency makes theft loss claim on it's parent company's umbrella insurance policy and collects full retail price of a new wheel and tire (optional step; depends on whether the local office gets dinged badly enough on renewal premiums or whether its rate is stable because it is grouped with so many other offices).

8. Even if the tourist had the CDW, the price of the wheel-theft charge is less than the deductible amount, so the tourist gets no help there.

Ever notice that spare tires don't seem to be clearly and permanently marked (like being etched with a property ID) as belonging to the rental agency?

The credit card companies have probably figured this scam out. While they provide insurance to cover real losses suffered while renting a car abroad, they can also exercise some consumer protection by refusing to honor questionable charges. It's not like a 4 or 5 person local franchise office is going to take on MC, VISA, a major credit card transaction clearing agency or even an issuing bank.

So, what can one do to avoid being the patsy?

A. Inspect prior to accepting delivery.

B. Use the protective powers of your credit card.

C. Do not let the rental agency know where you are staying, even if it means skipping the use of any "free transfers" to the rental office, and park where suspicious activity is least likely to go unnoticed - like right outside your window. Or better yet, rent a place in a nice neighborhood instead of at one of the resorts, making your particular car all that much harder to find. If you are a stickler for integrity like me, you can give an address of someplace you know you will "be at" throughout your trip, like the dive shop you will use.

D. When possible, park in a way that access by a would-be thief is hindered... with rear and sides of vehicle close to a wall or tree or nice cactus fence.

E. If possible, choose an unmarked vehicle that blends in better with non-rentals. (Notice that the convenient and very simple to implement tank racks seem to be exclusive to the one vehicle type that does not get covered by credit card insurance?)

Alternatively, skip getting a hotel room, get a larger, comfier vehicle and pack nothing but your dive gear, old grundgy shorts, T-shirts and sandals, some old blankets and a cheap pup tent, so you can experience the island a whole new way. Use the rinse showers and etc. at your dive shop and, of course, keep all your gear with you at all times - including your credit card, critical papers and any cash - in a waterproof box hooked to your BC on a sturdy lanyard. This way you will never be far from your rental car, since you will be living out of it, and you won't fear any theft of stuff from your "room" either.

I rent my suzuki samurai from the

Bonaire Motorcycle Shop and they have chains and

locks on spare tires. Great central

location. Support this shop they will take care

of you and your money.

I just consolidated this thread here, where it most likely goes (as it's related to Getting Around Bonaire (in a rental car)).

Jake

I had a similar incident last month, except instead of the spare tire, they stole the right front tire – why bother breaking into the car. The car was parked on a fairly busy street, not at a resort. Budget insisted the police had to come and do a report before they would replace the wheel (silly me I assumed that was for their insurance). Of course when I turned the car in at the end of my stay there was and extra f178. on my bill – for the wheel and no amount of discussion was going to get the charge removed. Right now it is in the hands of Visa’s merchant resolution department. It seemed a more appropriate way to handle it than haranguing the clerk at the airport.

On the late flight getting to BON, you arrive in the dark. Get out your dive light and check underneath the car/truck for damage such as a rusty muffler or the like so that you are not charged for it at the end of your vacation.

Just a follow up note on my tire theft problem. Visa was successful in getting Budget to back off the charges for the stolen tire. Sometimes the system actually works!

sharyn, that is great. guess it pays to be persistant!

Seems like I went to the wrong discussion group. I too just had same problem with my spare being stolen.In addition another couple I was diving with had the same problem. I was charged $150 and they were charged $250. I feel that that if spare tire theft is a known hazard then either we be warned about it by the rental company and given choices on dealing with it or the rental agency should place the cable lock on the spare tires themselves. Just as the stickers are placed on the dash warning divers to keep the windows down and leave the valuables locked back at the resort there should be additional warnings to this problem. If this is at least addressed then I and the others I spoke to who had the same problem would not be leaving Bonaire thinking there was something more going on than just spare tire theft.