Car rental in South Africa

When visiting South Africa and needing to rent a car - you best read the fine print before signing - just in case you get into an accident and have to pay excesses of up to R13 000!

This has been taken from a well-known car rental company's booking form: *Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) - this covers you for damage to the (company name) vehicle subject to a liability of 11,720.17 ZAR (Excl. VAT) (see country Terms & Conditions for more details)*Theft Protection (TP) - this covers you for theft of the vehicle or its parts subject to a liability of 11,720.17 ZAR (Excl. VAT) (see country Terms & Conditions for more details)

Every car rental company in South Africa has a different excess - do shop around and ask about this. It might be worth paying an extra R100 a day to make sure you have the lowest excess possible. Sometimes asking what would the lowest excess be on a standard waiver be can save you up to R100 on the vehicle rental fee on top of the peace of mind of knowing that you won't have to pay a large sum in the event of an accident.

If you fly with a low cost airline within South Africa, you might want to check their websites in case they have a deal with a car rental company. I saved R100 on car rental by booking it through an airline and also got a lower excess value.

Before driving out of the car rental company's parking lot:

• do a check of the car's body for any scratches and dents
• do a quick check of the under carriage

• open the bonnet and make sure everything is ok under the hood

• open the boot to make sure you have a spare tyre / wheel and the necessary tools to change a tyre

• check the inside of the car for any damage • test the radio and air conditioning system

• check the petrol tank's level as you will be expected to hand over a filled up car at the end of your trip or pay for a fill up

Driving in South Africa:

• Speed limits: in smaller towns the speed limit usually is 60km per hour; in cities 70 or 80km per hour.

• South Africans drive on the left side of the road. The driver will therefore be on the inside of the road.

• Keep safe following distances.