SUVs w/ automatic @ JNB?
 

Anyone had much luck renting large vehicles with automatic transmissions from JNB? I've not found much and the results for the same rental company seem to vary by site which makes me nervous.

I can handle driving on the left, but not driving a stick on the left!

Here;s a list of companies you can try on this page:

http://tinyurl.com/3xopno

Good luck.

Have you tried Avis? They have a huge operation there renting out something like 1,000 cars a day.

We rented from Avis JNB a med size SUV Subaru Forester, auto trans. Used it for several days driving from JNB thru Kruger. Nice size, sets up high. FWIW, one thing to watch out for is that the rear passenger windows don't roll down all of the way, typical now days, if you have rear passengers.

regards - tom

Avis is my preference due to some nice discount codes, but the US and SA sites both only give me an option for a manual SUV.

National is the only major brand that has offered an automatic SUV.

FWIW-I had almost no problems with a stick and driving on the left and I hadn't driven a stick in about 10 years. A few stalls and some wrong gears here and there but after awhile it was fine.

I found renting a automatic SUV type vehicle in JNB/Kruger area not so easy. AVIS and many others only had manual transmissions (what you call stick shifts in America) and only found a automatic Nissan X Trail with Hertz and booked with them.

Driving a stick on the left is not as bad as you'd think. We originally insisted on an automatic for our trip to Namibia but had to switch to a manual halfway through our trip due to a problem with our original car (they couldn't get us an automatic replacement). In the end, we found that it wasn't that difficult to get used to.

I wouldn't be scared of driving a manual in the middle of the desert in Namibia, but parallel parking in a city with a stickshift scares the bjesus out of me.

This company www.bushlore.com rents an automatic landrover 4x4.

You're right, cruisinred, driving in Namibia would be quite different than around JNB. And although we did make a few mistakes in Windhoek, it's still very forgiving due to the amount of traffic (or lack thereof).

Hi, try First car rentalv http://www.firstcarrental.co.za They have a Nissan X Trail with auto transmission and good rates. It is not that big but our roads are not well suited to big vehicles anyway.

An automatic 4x4 is considered a luxury vehicle by avis go and have a look at http://www.avis.co.za/main.asp?ID=1283 they have them all there

Thanks to everyone for the recommendations. It turns out First Car (which is National / Alamo) is the only one offering a large vehicle with an automatic transmission - thought others might find that info useful since I conversed with every major rental agency and quite a few local ones.

Regarding insurance, I was leaning towards Super with its R4500 excess. Make sense?

Statefan, with regard to purchasing excess auto insurance, did you also buy trip insurance that has rental car coverage?

I am in your same situation right now and found my trip insurance has rental car collision/loss coverage for $50,000 & accidental death $50,000. I also think if you pay for your rental with a credit card you have coverage as well. Don't want to have to pay extra for something that is already covered. What have you discovered?

Also, I think it was less expensive to go with their set km/per day than unlimited miles. I had to ballpark the km's we would be driving to see if it averaged out ok and it does.

Do the rear windows roll all the way down on the Nissan X trail, anyone know? I have driven the manual transmission in SA before and it wasn't difficult. I just need to stay focused on what side of the road to stay on. <):)

Carla - Good point about the rear windows rolling down. They don't on a LOT of cars and you'll have rear seat passengers who will want that. Ran into this some with my sister last Sep in a Subaru Forester SUV. The back windows did not come down all the way which aggravated her some. (But the car did have large windows and sat high up). We let her try the front passenger seat but she preferred the back where she could move to either side. In this regard, two back seats could be nice, one for each of your back passengers.

regards - tom
ps - you know, even if you reserve a car (class), the dealer will give you some model that is comparable. You need to check that car then and there at the rental office.

Carla - if I recall correctly, my credit cards won't cover rental cars outside the US.

I've found that unlimited miles is definitely a lot more at most agencies in SA. I will go over the allowance if I book at First Car, but still save a ton of money vs. unlimited.

The windows is a great point. I know First Car uses X-Trails and Honda CRVs in that class - I will contact them about that! Unfortunately, I am somewhat stuck regardless b/c they are the only company that rents a car that big w/ an automatic.

Thanks Tom. That is where I read about the windows.

Statefan, re: Super pkg vs Std pkg...is the only difference the excess/liability? It looks like the Std is R21,000 and the Super is R4,500. Other than that, they are the same, is that what you found? You are paying extra of course for the Super package.

Mohammed, are you back from your trip yet? Would be great to hear about your experiences also.

Just compared Avis, Budget, Hertz and First Car.

Budget requires an International Driver's License.

First Car doesn't as long as your driver's license is in English.

http://www.firstcarrental.co.za/Trav...h%20Africa.asp

Carla~I ended up going through autoeurope.com (recommended from the sanparks posters) and the car I will be renting is from First Rental with 0 excess liability and unlimited mileage. (it is standard shift though.) It is slightly higher than Avis but with the 0 excess it was worth it.

BTW you can get an international drivers license through any AAA office, I did mine through the mail. Good for a year and I think $12.00

Statefan-depends on what credit card you use. My Capital One would cover the damage, my First Hawaiian card wouldn't. Call your credit card company and find out. Last year I got the extra car rental coverage through my travel insurance but my credit card co. said I didn't need to, they would cover it.

Thanks Dennis. I guess I don't understand the "excess" part. If I have rental car insurance coverage ($50k)inc with trip insurance, does this make a difference? It is $1000 USD more between the Std and Executive pkg(unltd miles-0 excess).

IDL-cheap! No biggy then.

Will call CC companies tomorrow to ask about coverage also.

Carla-the excess is what it may cost if you total the car. Say you have $50000 coverage through your travel insurance but the car is worth $60000. You'd be stuck for the $10000 excess. As long as you're not renting a car worth more than $50000, you'd be fine. I had the same travel insurance last year and the car I rented wasn't near as expensive to replace as the policy limit so I felt comfortable. Since you already have the $50000 coverage on your travel insurance, I would go for the lowest cost insurance with the rental, or decline coverage. That is what I did last year. Why pay $1000 more if you are already covered by your travel insurance or credit card?