Hi, friends!
Jim and May here from Spanish and Go.
Your resource for learning real world travel Spanish.
And in this episode we’re gonna teach you how to rent a car in Spanish.
And be sure to stick around until the end because we’re gonna show you how we’ve
gotten some crazy good deals, renting cars for as little as $4 dollars a day.
Let’s get started!
In this episode you’re gonna learn how to: Request a quote and make a reservation by phone.
Make an online reservation.
Call to confirm a reservation.
And get the best deal.
Keep in mind that the conversations you'll hear are all in Spanish.
But don't worry if there's something you don't understand. There's a breakdown section in English
after each of the conversations, where we go over the most important words and phrases.
So, first we’re gonna teach you how to request a quote on the phone and make a reservation.
Here we go!
Hi, good afternoon. Karen at your service, how can I help you?
Hi, Karen, good afternoon. Excuse me, can you help me with a quote, please?
Of course. For what day?
It’d be three days, from April the 11th to the 14th.
In what city?
In Guadalajara. Can we pick it up at the airport?
Ok... What kind of vehicle will it be?
Well, we need an economic one, something small.
Ok, for the three days it’d be $709.44 pesos.
With taxes, unlimited kilometers, and third-party liability insurance.
That’s $709, right?
Yes. Picking up, for example, the 11th at 8am, for example, and returning the 14th at 8am too.
Perfect.
Do you know what type of car it will be?
It’ll be like a "Chevrolet Beat" or similar.
The "Beat" is kind of like the "Spark."
Oh, ok. Like a "Spark."
Well, I’m going to check with my husband and I’ll get back to you to confirm. Alright?
Yeah, of course!
Well, are you able to help me with the reservation now?
Yes, of course. Under what name?
It’d be “Mayra Larios.”
Telephone number?
It’s 507…
Email address?
It’s may...@gmail.com.
Your reservation number. Do you have something to write on?
Oh, yeah. Give me a second.
Ready, what is it?
Zero, two... "j"... "n" as in nectar... "d" as in delta, seven.
Let’s see. I’ll say it back to you.
It’s zero, two, j, n, d, seven.
Exactly. We’ve already sent it to the email address anyway.
And they’ll be waiting for you with your documents: Valid driver's license,
official identification and credit card.
Good. Thank you so much.
I’m at your service. Have a nice evening.
Have a nice evening. Until later.
“Le atiende Karen.”
literally means “Karen is attending you,” but it translates to “Karen at your service.”
“¿Me puedes ayudar con un presupuesto?”
“Can you help me with a quote?”
On the phone, you can’t tell much about a person’s age, so you’re just going to have to guess
if the other person is your age, older or younger.
Karen sounds like she could be younger than me, so I went with the informal you “tú.”
If I thought she sounded older than me, I would have used the "usted" form and said
“¿Me puede ayudar con un presupuesto?”
“¿Qué tipo de vehículo sería?”
“What kind of vehicle will it be?”
“Necesitamos uno económico.”
means “We need an economic one.”
Other types of cars would be “compacto” “compact,” “intermedio” “medium,”
“grande” “large,” or “de lujo” “luxury.”
“Impuestos, kilometraje libre y daños a terceros.”
means “Taxes, unlimited miles or kilometers, and third-party liability insurance.”
“$709 me comentas, ¿verdad?”
Use this phrase when you want to confirm that you heard the right price.
It means “That’s $709, right?”
Say “$709 me comenta, ¿verdad?” for the “usted” form.
“¿Sabes qué tipo de coche sería?”
“Do you know what type of car it will be?”
Say "¿Sabe qué tipo de coche sería?" for the “usted” form.
“Lo voy a checar con mi esposo y te regreso la llamada para confirmar.”
“I’m going to check with my husband and I’ll get back to you to confirm.”
Use “le” instead of “te” for “usted.”
If you want to make the reservation now, skip the previous sentence and continue like this...
“¿Tú me puedes ayudar con la reservación ahorita?”
“Are you able to help me with the reservation now?”
Say “¿Usted me puede ayudar con la reservación ahorita?” for the “usted” form.
“Ahorita” is a curious and commonly used word in Mexico that has multiple meanings.
It literally means “right now,” but in practice it can mean
“at one’s earliest convenience,” or “soon.”
For example, “¿A qué hora sale el camión?”
“Ahorita.”
“What time does the bus leave?”
“In a few minutes.”
“¿Gusta probar nuestro helado?”
“Ahorita no, gracias.”
“Would you like to try our ice cream?”
“Not right now, thanks.”
Basically, a more polite way to say “no.”
“Disculpa, ¿puedes mover tu coche?”
“Sí, ahorita.”
“Excuse me, can you move your car?”
“I will at my earliest convenience.”
We know, this sounds ridiculous, but that’s "ahorita" in Mexico.
“¿A nombre de quién quedaría?”
translates to “Under what name?”
“¿Número telefónico?”
means “Phone number?”
“¿Tiene dónde anotar?”
“Do you have something to write on?”
“Permíteme.”
“Give me a second.”
Say “Permítame” for the “usted” form.
“Te lo repito.”
means “I’ll say it back to you.”
Use “Se lo repito.” for the “usted” form.
“Licencia de conducir vigente, identificación oficial y tarjeta de crédito.”
means “Valid driver's license, official identification, and credit card.”
So now we’re gonna teach you how to rent a car online.
We’re going to start at Hertzmexico.com.
First thing you see here is “Ciudad de alquiler” which is the "Pickup location."
We’re going to choose Guadalajara Airport.
Next we have “Fecha de recogida y hora,” that’s the "Pick up date and time."
Here we have “Lugar de devolución” which means "Return location.”
We’re gonna choose “Misma ubicación” “Same location.”
We have here “Fecha de devolución y hora” and that’s the “Return date and time.”
And for the vehicle type we’re going to choose the economic one.
And click reserve.
Here you’ll see your options, we’ll just go with this one.
On this page you can pick any extras you may want.
GPS, car seats for babies… we don’t need any of that right now.
And enter your information.
Then you have to click that you accept the terms and conditions.
And here on the right you can see a summary of the charges, how many days you’ll be renting it,
and the final price.
And click reserve.
So finally, all you need to do is call and confirm your reservation.
Now, this step is technically optional, but do it anyway!
That’s right. We’ve heard of so many people who make the reservation, get a confirmation number,
and show up at the agency only to find out that the reservation isn’t on file,
or the car they reserved isn’t available.
So, do yourself a favor and call ahead.
This is how you do it.
Reservations, good afternoon.
Good afternoon. I’m calling to confirm a reservation I made online.
What’s the reservation number?
It’s zero, two, j, n, x, n.
Under the name James?
Yes.
From April the 11th to the 14th, in Guadalajara?
Yes, that’s right.
Your reservation is confirmed.
It’s for a "Nissan March" or similar. With a manual transmission.
Yes, great. I just wanted to make sure that there wasn’t a problem.
Yeah, there isn’t any problem.
You only have to go to the pick up location with that reservation number,
along with your valid documents.
Ok, great. Thank you so much.
We are at your service.
Bye.
“Estoy llamando para confirmar una reservación.”
means “I’m calling to confirm a reservation.”
“¿Cuál es la clave?”
translates to “What’s the reservation number?”
“¿A nombre de James?”
“Under the name James?”
“Se encuentra confirmada su reservación.”
means “Your reservation is confirmed.”
“Sólo quería asegurarme de que no había ningún problema.”
“I just wanted to make sure that there wasn’t a problem.”
“No tiene ningún inconveniente.”
“There isn’t any problem.”
“Acudir a la locación.”
“Go to the pick up location.”
“Con sus documentos vigentes.”
“With your valid documents.”
So in this next section we’re gonna share with you our best money-saving tips.
This is exactly what we do to get crazy good deals every time we rent a car.
So we’re gonna start again here at Hertzmexico.com.
And right away on the first page you can see that there are a bunch of promos scrolling by.
And if you see one that you like, you can just click on it. But make sure that your read the fineprint.
But if you wanna see where we find crazy good deals, you wanna scroll up to “special offers.”
Here you can find really special offers, such as this one for 60% off.
And we’ve seen this multiple times before.
So once you find a promo code you’re happy with, go ahead and click “use coupon.”
I’m gonna put in the same pick up and return information as before, “same location,”
same dates, and click “send.”
And boom!
Just like that!
Look, was $700. Now, $300. 60% off.
From here, just go about filling out the rest of your information as you would before.
We know there’s a ton of information in this episode.
That’s why we created a resource section over at our website spanishandgo.com
that accompanies this episode, so be sure to check that out.
And if you wanna take your Spanish to the next level, make sure you sign up for our
newsletter while you’re there.
And also, don’t forget to hit "subscribe" so you don’t miss any travel and Spanish tip from us.
Thanks for watching and see you soon!
Bye!