ukguy

Can anyone tell me their experiences of hiring a car in Johannesburg or Pretoria please?

I assume it would be more expensive to hire direct from the airport just like changing currency is.

I will be hiring for 6 to 12 weeks and prefer an automatic, maybe a Ford Focus.

Any particular company I should use or avoid?

MartynK

I think most of the major car rental firms are represented in SA (I've only used Avis and Europa) and I don't think there's much to choose between them. You can check their rates etc online, and enquire if they'll give a discount for a long rental, but I doubt if they'll do it. I could be wrong about this though, so ask anyway? They generally have a good choice of vehicles and the Ford Focus is popular, so that shouldn't be any problem. Book ahead and stipulate automatic transmission if that's what you want, because they may not have one if you just turn up.

There is a surcharge for airport pick up and return, but it's not much and it's easier to rent from the airport unless someone is picking you up.

ukguy

Many thanks for information Martyn.

ukguy

Hi again Martyn,

I am flying out soon and checked a few car hire websites, this will be the first time I have ever hired a car (hired a van a few times in the UK).

There seem to be a couple of extras like that I did not get in the UK,

1) Collision damage waiver or super collision damage waiver.
2)Theft loss waiver or super theft loss waiver.
3)Personal accident insurance.
4)Windscreen and tyre damage waiver

I suppose none of the above have to be taken out but it would probably be sensible because the excess on 1,2 and 4 are high.

ededed

Well, the roads here are poor (potholes and loose stones everywhere) so tyre and windscreen waiver is probably a good idea. Personal insurance is optional - assuming you don't drive like a moron you should be ok. 1 & 2 are also useful as everyone else drives badly here and many don't have insurance - so you can't claim on theirs in a no-fault accident...

Good luck....

MartynK

Agreed, Ed. Might be worth having a look here too: http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/indust...-car-1.1567873 This is current, quite detailed, and emphasises that you must check the terms and conditions very carefully. They're not standard across all rental companies.