Costa Rica Car Rental Scams You Must Avoid

I’ve been renting cars for 25 years, all over the world, and I have to be honest, Costa Rica is in a league of its own when it comes to rental traps. It’s not really about scams in the classic sense; it’s a genuinely confusing legal system that a few bad operators know how to exploit.

Here are the five worst car rental traps you’re likely to face in Costa Rica, and exactly how to fight back. One of them in particular can genuinely derail your whole trip.

Scam 1: The Mandatory Insurance Lie

You book a car online for $10 a day, then the agent at the counter tells you it’s another $25 a day for SLI. Costa Rican law requires Third Party Liability insurance, and you genuinely can’t waive it with credit card coverage; that part isn’t the scam.

The scam is that some sites quote TPL at a barely-there $5,000 or $10,000 limit just to keep the headline price low, then use your legal underinsurance as leverage at the desk.

And honestly, it’s hard to understand the limits and what is included directly on the provider’s websites. They tend to keep that information quite hidden, and for a good reason, of course.

That’s why, for the last 7 years, I have been renting my cars on DiscoverCars, a comparison site that forces providers to display these details upfront. The cool thing is it works essentially like Airbnb, with all the car providers rated between 5 and 10 stars based on genuine customer reviews, customers who actually rented a car.

I always filter above 8 or even 9 stars to find the most trusted operators who quote TPL at $100,000 or more, or already include SLI. I finally add full insurance on top for $8 to $10 a day to cover smaller damages too.

I’ve broken this whole system down in far more detail, TPL, SLI, CDW, and full coverage, in a dedicated insurance guide, well worth reading before you book if any of this is new to you.

Scam 2: The Marchamo and Airport Tax Surprise

You think you’ve paid everything, then two or three extra fees show up at the counter. The first is an Airport Concession Fee, typically around 12 to 13% if you pick up at San José or Liberia, charged to operators for the right to run a desk inside the terminal.

The second is called the Marchamo, Costa Rica’s annual road tax on vehicles, which some rental companies pass through to renters as a separate line item, often listed as a License Plate Fee, around 6%. On top of that, a small daily “eco fee” of $1 to $2 sometimes appears too.

Confirm the airport fee is already built into your quote before you book, or at least once you have booked if cancellation is free, like on DiscoverCars (till 48 hours before pickup time).

If you’d rather avoid it altogether, look for an off-site office with a free shuttle; many don’t charge it at all. Beyond that, it’s reasonable to expect up to 10% in smaller charges at the desk, and if none show up, you’ve genuinely found an honest operator.

Scam 3: The Undercarriage and Roof Trap

Costa Rica is famous for its speed bumps, locally called reductores, or more bluntly, muertos.

Between those and the rough roads generally, damage to the oil pan, suspension, or exhaust is common, and a few agents will happily blame you for damage that was already there. The roof isn’t safe either; falling mangoes and coconuts cause real dents, and a single small one can be billed at up to $500.

Get down and actually photograph the underside properly; this is non-negotiable if you’re driving a 4×4. I felt a little silly doing this when I rented a car in Costa Rica the first time, but those timestamped photos have saved me twice since, proving damage was already there before I’d even left the parking lot.

Tip: take photos both at pickup and drop-off, so that you have full before/after documentation. I also take photos of the dashboard with petrol level and km driven, just in case of an email after a few days claiming I didn’t return the car with the same level of fuel.

Scam 4: The Credit Card Hold Trap

This one hits from two directions. Decline the rental company’s CDW to rely on your own card’s coverage, and some operators respond with a security hold of $3,000 to $5,000, locking up that much of your available credit for weeks.

Even if CDW is included, the deductible can run as high as $5,000, and you’ll still be offered expensive full insurance to cover it, or simply hit with the high hold anyway.

Call your card issuer before you travel and ask for a Letter of Coverage naming your rental dates and location, then contact the rental company ahead of time to confirm they’ll actually accept it; it reduces the odds of a large hold.

As a backup, if using DiscoverCars, check the rental conditions before booking; you can filter by deposit hold amount directly, and I’ve found operators there with holds as low as $500. This ties into the same insurance maze covered in my dedicated guide if you want the full picture.

Scam 5: The Volcanic Sand Cleaning Fee

When you take a Costa Rica road trip, you will notice that the beaches often have black volcanic sand, and it gets into everything. Return the car with sandy mats, and some operators charge a “special cleaning fee” of around $100, a pure profit grab dressed up as a service charge.

The fix costs about $15. Before you drop the car off, stop at a local lavacar, a car wash, for roughly 7,000 to 8,000 colones, and they’ll wash and vacuum it properly. Handing back a clean car removes their leverage entirely, genuinely the cheapest insurance policy on this whole list.

Final Thoughts

To sum them up: