Drive-A-Matic Car Rentals

Location :

Lawjanz Cresent, Rodney Bay Commercial Boulevard, Gros Islet, St Lucia

• Anynomous

  19 March 2018

  Over the last 10 years plus we have used the services of Drive-A-Matic in St.Lucia. Every time we have been treated as long lost friends and received excellent service which has gone above and beyond what we would have expected!

  report this review
• Anynomous

  22 February 2018

  My wife and I rented a car for a week last summer. The car was just a car, but the people were very friendly and super accommodating. We're used to returning airport cars to the airport to avoid big pick-up fees but the woman at the checkout suggested that they'd come get it at no cost. From Anse Chastenet! That's FAR and back on a road built by the original French soldiers and only partly maintained.
  There was rain and we drove to waterfalls, so there was mud, but no cleaning fee.
  I recommend them highly.

  report this review
• Anynomous

  08 January 2018

  I have been dealing with Drive-A-Matic for over 18 yrs now, first as a sales rep directing all my clients to them and now as a customer myself. The staff are extremely professional and the vehicles are of the highest standard. They will go out of their way to assist you and were there with me when I had a minor accident a few years ago when I was visiting home some time ago. 11/10, 10 gold stars they are the rental company that the others must keep up with.

  report this review
• Anynomous

  06 January 2018

  I booked from UK with a stand alone insurance policy (rather than taking out their CDW excess), and also asked for a full to full tank policy rather than the empty-empty that the website advertised. In addition I got an international driving permit (cheaper than the island driving permit), and none of this was any problem with Drive a Matic. I got an upgrade as the small jeep I'd booked wasn't available. The car was quite scratched but all this was noted on the hire form. I picked up the car from the airport and everything was absolutely as planned. Ms Mark was the Drive a Matic rep and she was very courteous and helpful. The only issue I had with the car was that it seemed to lack power on the hilly roads, but fuel consumption was very reasonable. I would thoroughly recommend this company. Do your homework first and make sure you are only paying for what you want (as I did), and the company made no fuss at all and agreed to all my requests.

  report this review
• Anynomous

  06 January 2018

  I have tried a number of car hire companies on St Lucia and have settled on Drive-A-Matic as being the best that I have used and they are now my 'go to' operator each year. Their staff are professional and friendly and I have had no negative experiences. I have recommended them to friends and always get positive feed back.

  report this review
• Anynomous

  30 December 2017

  Staff were polite but car was filthy, smelly and heavily scratched.
  
  For two years in a row they have charged over $200 for an additional scratch (which we disagree with) in an already heavily scratched car, while paying over $500 for car rental.
  
  This is just squeezing out additional money from clients as they have no interest/intentions of repairing scratches. They also provided NO justification to me. The amount just showed up on my Visa card.

  report this review
• Anynomous

  10 November 2017

  WONDERFUL experience. My husband and I weren't planning on renting a vehicle initially, but decided last minute to get one. I called to check on availability and a representative was at our door in Soufriere within an hour and a half! Talk about service! We got the Jimny, perfect for navigating the rough neighborhood roads. Used it to drive up to Sandals La Toc, and they picked it up right from the resort, so easy! All together A great experience and wonderful customer service. Highly recommend!

  report this review
• Anynomous

  21 April 2017

  A warning to travelers who want to rent from this company...if you extend your contract make sure you renegotiate your deal. They ended up charging extra and not honoring a week rental ...the cost exceeded 100 USD a day...they will look to scam or take advantage of if given the opportunity..friendly staff ....BUT you have been warned

  report this review
• Anynomous

  09 February 2017

  Recently rented from Drive-a-Matic for 8 days. Pick up and drop off at the airport at Vieux Forte was easy and quick. No issues to speak of. The car was under powered on the more steeper roads of St Lucia but certainly got us to where we needed to go. The St Lucia main roads for the most part are reasonable but one must be vigilant for the potholes, which can surprise you when driving for the first time on these roads. You will definitely hit some and you hope not to hit the major craters which can potentially damage the car. Some of the secondary roads are bone jarring - ex Anse Chastanet road. Drive-a-Matic after much research provided the best car rental value, and my experience with them was positive.

  report this review
• Anynomous

  08 November 2015

  I rented from drive-a-matic the other day and I'm pretty happy i chose them. Would be recommending to my friends who are planning to go there on vacation in March.

  report this review
• Anynomous

  05 November 2015

  I personally had a great experience with them over the past 8 years or so and I will continue using their cars every time I go to Saint Lucia in the future.
  
  Staff are incredibly friendly and efficient which is what one needs after an 8 hour flight! Cars I have hired have all been new models and appear well maintained as I have never had a mechanical breakdown. I would definitely recommend drive-a-matic to my friends who plan on going there for vacation in December.

  report this review
• Anynomous

  07 October 2015

  Worst experience imaginable! absolutely ruined my trip!!!!
  
  I rented a vehicle as part of a deal through the airline. In the 2 day rental (over Christmas) I drove the car twice (both times to a local shop) When I returned the car back to the airport I was told to leave the keys inside the glove box, which I did and my partner and I walked on foot to the town.
  
  My partner and I stopped off in the local town to get some food when a member of the Drive A Matic team came inside (She must have followed us) and began yelling at my partner about the car. She said it was damaged and we had obviously driven it down a ditch as there was a rope tied to it (??). It felt like a bad nightmare was unfolding and we both couldn't believe what she was saying.
  
  We passed it off as her being a strange person and still felt really ashamed at how we were spoken to in front of everyone. When we returned back to our accommodation, the company had called my mobile phone and said that we had damaged the car and they were going to charge us, she also said in a voicemail that we would be banned from leaving St Lucia and put in prison (crazy I know). we found it almost laughable as it was just so absurd. However, the next morning on my 30th Birthday, I checked my bank account and they had deducted almost £1500 from my account (despite me paying extra for a waiver that meant the max I would pay if there were damages was $250 usd).
  
  I felt so sick and began to panic, they had taken ALL of my money and I was now stuck in a foreign country with no money of my own. I found the company head quarters in the north of the island and I confronted them over their fraudulent activity and they said they had photos of my partner driving around town (another lie) I asked her to show me, she brought out a phone that was a basic Nokia (circa 1998 model) and clearly had no pictures.
  
  When I returned back to the UK after a horrible 'holiday' as a result of this company, Barclay's Bank returned all of my money and deemed that Drive A Matic had acted fraudulently.
  
  I would urge anyone to AVOID this company as they have a money making tactic of defrauding unsuspecting tourists.
  
  

  report this review
• Anynomous

  25 April 2014

  We just returned from a week in St Lucia and rented a Suzuki Jimny 4x4 from Drive-a-matic for 4 of those days. Excellent experience. Prices were better than other companies and they were very professional despite the silly name. They responded promptly to all email questions. The car and representative were waiting at the air port on our arrival and we dropped the car off at the end of the rental period at a Sandals at the completely opposite end of the island for no extra charge. The transaction at the airport went smoothly and the charge was exactly as quoted in an email with the addition of a tank's worth of gas. At the end of the rental period, we simply left the keys with the resort front desk.
  
  In regards to the car, it was clean and fairly new (the rep actually apologized that there was some mud on the undercarriage since she didn't have time to wash it!). Make sure to point out any scratches you notice to the rep when picking the car up so that you won't be charged. The little Suzuki 4x4 is a great choice for St Lucia in my opinion. We never needed to turn on 4WD but the high ground clearance and tough suspension gave me peace of mind that we could go anywhere on the island's rough roads without worrying about getting stuck or damaging the car. It is very small and easy to maneuver and 2 people with luggage fit fine. Compared to American cars it has a very weak engine, so be patient going uphill and be ready for the locals to pass you but it didn't really bother us.

  report this review