# Hiring Car from Terminal 2 Naia



## leenarch (Feb 25, 2016)

Hello. I hope someone can help me with some tips. 
Me, my husband and two kids are going home to Philippines end of January. We are planning to hire a car for two weeks. Which car rental company do you suggest? Our arrival is in terminal 2. 
Thank you in advance.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

leenarch said:


> Hello. I hope someone can help me with some tips.
> Me, my husband and two kids are going home to Philippines end of January. We are planning to hire a car for two weeks. Which car rental company do you suggest? Our arrival is in terminal 2.
> Thank you in advance.


Hi Leenach,

The best bet would be contacting the standard car rental companies where you are now.
Most will have offices here. However, my understanding is that they come with a driver and is not self-driving and would likely be quite expensive. An alternative would be to locate someone here through your family that has a van or SUV for hire with driver. Going that route it's most important to have or locate someone that is reliable with the emphasis on reliable so you are not left waiting for nothing at the airport upon arrival.

Best of luck


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

The major world wide companies here offer self drive rentals. Expect about 2000 p a day more or less for a Toyota sedan, double that for a larger vehicle like an SUV. You can book through Expedia or other site which will give you a good idea of what is available and the rate. Your UK license is good for 90 days.

Watch out for insurance scams, get full zero deductible coverage from the rental company so your risk is capped. If you get third party through the booking site, you pay out of pocket and hope to recover later. You also pay full rental rates for the repair period. If with the rental company you just drop off the damaged vehicle.

The method of determining fault in an accident is that the person with the most money to pay damages is at fault, unless that person has political power and can simply walk away without paying damages even if they were negligent and caused the accident. As a foreigner you have no clout and are automatically assumed to have huge piles of money that you want to give to the poor local who drove into you while you were legally parked. The courts and police will assist you in making these payments, for a small fee of course to cover their costs.

Rental company road side assistance here does not apply outside Metro Manila so if you go into the provinces and have a breakdown you have to get the vehicle back to Manila at your cost.

They also restrict where you can go with the vehicle, usually the more mountainous areas are off limits.

Many rentals here have manual transmission if that matters to you or not.

Watch out because the driving rules as followed only have only an accidental relationship with the traffic laws and safe driving practice. This is especially true on EDSA and anywhere else that the roads have vehicles on them. (And since the Philippines drives on the right side of the road, usually, it will be doubly confusing for a UK driver accustomed to driving on the left side.)

Manila has one day a week that you will not be able to drive, the day depends on the last digit of your plate. You will pay rental that day plus have to pay parking and not have the use of the vehicle.

Get a local driver is a good idea, he can drop you off at mall door go park the car while you go about your business then pick you up at the door again, no hassle finding parking. He also knows the traffic rules here and his way around. 

Get a good GPS app on your phone, Google Maps works if you have a good data plan.


If you are going to be around Manila just download the Grab app and pay per ride. In rush times, which is most of the day, it is sometimes much faster but more expensive to book a premium or 6 pax ride than a standard 4 pax vehicle. Depending on how much you move around, it can be cheaper than a vehicle rental. (Grab has replaced Uber here but the same operational model.)

If you get a good driver ask about hiring him full time outside of Grab, that way you can have a vehicle at your disposal, not pay Grab fees and the driver can have a guaranteed income, he will just tell Grab he is taking a vacation. It would take a lot of grab travel to cost more than the vehicle rental rate plus parking an you save all the hassle of parking and actually driving.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Great info from all contributors with some very wise observations. Leenarch, are you just hanging around Manila? If so just use cabs, grab, jeepneys etc, much cheaper and far less stress. If you are going out of town then yes hire a car or car and driver.
When we lived in Manila 6 years ago we never needed a car as there is plenty of transport to get you in an around the city.
4 or 5 years ago we hired a car from a large hire company (no names) that we arranged and paid for many weeks before we arrived back in Manila, arrived with booking info and receipts, sorry sir we have no cars as they are all booked, yes I booked one, here is the booking confirmation,,,,,,,,,,,,, as it can be with big companies, eventually was sorted after an hour of mucking around. (they punched the wrong booking number into the system several times). Very tired when we eventually got to the hotel.
Driving in Manila is not for the feint hearted especially after a long flight and I've never done it since.

We fly in, grab a cab to our hotel and chill/shop catch up with friends for 2 or 3 days. We found a great company on FB years ago that was mentioned in another post, (can give you their details if you can't find it) they have great rates especially for longer terms, they deliver the car to our hotel the evening before we head to our province and pick it up once we are back in Manila, as we are repeat customers and never any incidents the price seems to also go down a little every year.
We are moving back permanently in April and will hire from them again until we can secure our car there, probably 2 months.

We are paying PHP 33k on a monthly rate, PHP 5k deposit (which has always been returned in cash upon pick up by the driver once he inspects the car) The hire car was a 2017 1.5 litre auto Vios.

Good luck.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

If you do hire from a mom n pop car hire and ask about insurance they will probably lie. Most consider the LTO 3rd party insurance as sufficient as most pay out of pocket or shrug and walk away from minor knocks. As a foreigner you will be at their mersey.


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

At the end of the day it comes down to how much you value the freedom of having car available 24x7 versus using taxis. I have spent many visits here dependant upon taxis and whilst they are generally available and are good value for money, I missed the freedom of having my own wheels. I haven't rented a car from NAIA, but I have in Davao. Most of the major rental companies are represented here, Avis, EuropCar etc. I suggest that you make your booking online before you arrive, to get the best rates, and as others have said, make sure that the insurance is 100% comprehensive with an agreed deductible.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Gary D said:


> If you do hire from a mom n pop car hire and ask about insurance they will probably lie. Most consider the LTO 3rd party insurance as sufficient as most pay out of pocket or shrug and walk away from minor knocks. As a foreigner you will be at their mersey.


I couldn't agree more Gary, one has to cross the "t"s and dot the "i"s. Know what you are getting into, make sure they have a damage waiver and conditions in the paperwork/contract you sign and understand your and their obligations.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

Another item I see daily in the news is that it seems anytime there is an accident and someone dies the driver of the vehicle (whether at fault or not) goes to jail.

Not sure how long they stay. Maybe until the police figure out if they are at fault or they can pay.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Zep said:


> ....
> 
> Not sure how long they stay. Maybe until the police figure out if they are at fault or they can pay.


Ability to pay defines who is at fault. A foreigner always has the ability to pay.

Only exception is if the wealthy party has political connections and clout. Then the poor party gets screwed. Foreigners will never have sufficient connections or clout to avoid being at fault in an accident.


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