About Hertz Mexico

Hertz Mexico is the Hertz licensee operating inside Mexico, with branches at the airports and in the larger cities, and a discount code applies to a booking where the headline rate is only ever part of the story.

Who you are actually booking with

This is a licensee rather than the same corporate entity you deal with in Britain, which matters in two practical ways. Loyalty status and corporate rates from home may not carry across, so check rather than assume; and the contract, deposit rules and complaints route are Mexican. The network covers most airports and the main cities. Bookings are made in advance on the site, with a discount code field at the point of search, and the confirmation you print is what you present at the counter.

The insurance question, before anything else

Mexican law requires third-party liability cover issued by a Mexican insurer, and no foreign policy or credit-card benefit satisfies it. A rate booked abroad that looks remarkably cheap is usually one with that mandatory cover still to be added at the desk, and it will be added, because the branch cannot legally hand over the keys without it. Treat any quote that excludes it as incomplete rather than as a bargain, and compare the total including it. Credit-card cover, where it exists, typically applies to damage to the rental car itself — a separate thing from liability to other people.

At the counter and on the road

Photograph the car from every side, plus the roof, the windscreen and the fuel gauge, before you drive away and again when you return; that habit settles almost every dispute. Note the fuel policy — full-to-full is the honest one — and the deposit that will be held on your credit card, which must usually be in the main driver's name. On the road, the cuota toll motorways are considerably safer and better maintained than the free libre roads and are worth the money; keep cash in pesos for tolls. Driving between cities after dark is widely advised against. Check what the agreement says about one-way drop-offs and about crossing state lines.

Documents, and using your code

Bring your own national driving licence and your passport; an international driving permit is a cheap addition and avoids arguments even where it is not strictly required. Enter your discount code in the field on the booking form before searching, since applying one afterwards is usually impossible, and check that the confirmed total shows the cover you are legally required to hold rather than a bare rate. Read the cancellation terms before paying anything up front.