We all need to rent a car now and then. Hopefully because you are either going on your long awaited holiday or you just have to get from A to B with the convenience of a rental car. 

There are many ways how you can save some money and how you can avoid costly mistakes. Here are some real insider tips from the professionals. We have asked the owners of Around About Cars who have a combined 80 years of experience in the tourism industry. 

Around About Cars is a car hire company and broker based in Cape Town. Two of the owners, Monika Moser from Germany and born-and-bred Capetonian Geoff Higgo started renting out cars as far back as 1995. Soon Raymond Selokela joined them, coming down from Johannesburg, ready to show the world our beautiful country. It made Around About Cars the first SA car hire company and brokerage with a black majority shareholder. Around About Cars was able to successfully service the needs of their wonderful diverse clientele. The company now operates in every South African city as well as most neighbouring countries. 

The trio try the hardest to always find the most affordable and unbeatable rates to suit their client’s needs, doing all the hard and unpleasant work for them. 

With a wealth of experience and knowledge on car rental, that dynamic trio can make everything possible. From Soweto to King Shaka Airport, from one way rentals to any city, remote deliveries, even to neighbouring Namibia to buses, 4x4s or even motorhomes….they offer it all. They work closely together with the likes of Europcar, Tempest, First/Sixt, Dollar Thrifty and Hertz to name a few  – to find you the very best deals in the industry. It gives them the extra advantage over other car hire companies and makes them so much more knowledgeable.

There is no better way to explore beautiful Southern Africa than by car. To help you out on your next rental, we have asked our three experts for their valuable advice:

Raymond’s important tip for renting a car in South Africa is: 

Tip 1 

own a credit card

 “Even though Around About Cars does have the option to book with a debit card, booking with a credit card has a lot more benefits to it. For one, the deposit will be substantially less. You can expect a deposit from R2 500 when paying with a credit card rather than R9 500 with a debit card. 

Another advantage of booking with a credit card is you will have a wider variety of car rentals to pick from, whereas you are limited with choices when booking with a debit card.” Careful, it has to be your own. Parents or spouses cards are never accepted. 

He goes on by saying, “You will never know if you don’t ask! So, go ahead and…

Tip 2

ask for a special or a discount

“ There is always some promotion you can take advantage of to lower the rate even more. At the moment we give clients a free upgrade to an automatic car and guarantee the current super low rates for your forward bookings. ”

Monika’s important tips are:

Tip 3

For a stress-free holiday, rather go with the option of unlimited kilometres, especially if you do not know the area. You want to drive around and explore all the wonderful sights Southern Africa has to offer. This could lead to unplanned trips to exciting new destinations and sights or just driving along the coast, without having the stress of a hefty bill waiting for you at the end of the rental.

Tip 4 

book in advance

“Lots of people don’t know that there is free cancelling with Around About Cars. This will save you so much money. Rather than just showing up to rent a car at some airport. Walk-in charges or availability of cars can impact the cost to sometimes double or even triple. Rather contact someone like Around About Cars to negotiate the best rates for you from various companies. This way, you are sure to get the best deal in town. In some cases, if you book your car rental 6 months in advance in a low season already to rent in peak season, they will allow you to book the rental on the low season rate, which can end up saving the client up to 50%! Should you need to cancel for any reason, Around About Cars, unlike other car rental brokers, has a no cancellation fee policy, giving you the peace of mind to take the risk of booking in advance and saving big time. Of course this will also ensure that you receive the car group you wanted”

Geoffs advice is to…

Tip 5

find out about the different rate structures.

Sometimes you can save up to 50 percent if you rent a car for 4 Days instead of 3. Or for 31 days instead of 30. That doesn’t make sense at first. But the longer you rent a car the cheaper it gets. Always try to take the car for the maximum you can.  Around About Cars offers even a 45 day rent for long term clients – there are options to rent brand new cars from as little as R 150 per day.

Tip 6 

Book standard cover

This one might come as a surprise but stick to the standard cover insurance. “Most clients don’t know this, but for very little , you can outsource your excess insurance for your car rental. Some credit cards already cover this. Around About Cars offers outsourced car insurance for your excess.” says Geoff. So how does this work? Your excess is the amount you are liable for in case anything happens to the car, your fault or not.  With the Standard Cover, your excess is higher, but your daily rate much lower. In contrast, with super cover the “excess” will be lower, but your daily rate higher. The outsourced insurance will cover the excess and the very BIG bonus is that tyres, windscreen and personal baggage is also covered. All car rentals companies do NOT cover the tyres and windscreen. So for lower daily rental rates on Standard Cover you get all the extra insurance. It is a win win situation that will give you the worldwide best cover – exclusively with Around About Cars.

Tip 7

Make sure to rent the right car for your trip and needs, rather than just focusing on finding the cheapest. If you are planning a family trip, rent a car with enough space for everyone’s luggage and for the family to be as comfortable as possible throughout the trip. In this scenario, we recommend a family car; in other words, vehicles similar to a sedan (we call them group C & D), SUV (Group M, R,  or Minivan (Group I, E, V). Adventure trips might at times require off road, gravel roads, etc.; and in this case, a Sedan would not do, but more something like a 4×4 ‘bakkie.’ (group W, Group KT, Group DCT)

These are only a few tips to mention about renting a car in Southern Africa. However, know when you do book your next car rental that with Around About Cars, you will deal with experts in their line of work, who will assist you all the way from the initial inquiry to the end when returning your rental. We give you peace of mind and you are in good hands.

Remember Around About Cars operates with real people who are always on hand to answer all your questions. You will NEVER communicate with a computer.

For more information on Around About Cars, please visit their website: www.aroundaboutcars.com