matnikstym

Meant to add-with the standard you'd be on the hook for up to R21000, with the executive you'd be on the hook for R4500, but with your $50000 travel insurance and the car is worth $20000, you'd pay nothing.

CarlaM

Got it Dennis. That is what I was thinking, so we are on the same wavelength. Thank you.

CarlaM

Received an email that the Nissan X Trail's windows roll all the way down and my CitiBank Mastercard does cover the rental as long as it is paid in full on my card and the CDW is declined from the rental car company. Now I just need to make sure the car has a CD player so I can listen to the Lion King and Out of Africa CD's &lt

matnikstym

Good news Carla...and don't forget your Ghost And The Darkness CD.

matnikstym

Carla~When and where are you going?
Can't remember your details

Statefan

Thought I would post an update in case the information helps others down the line.

I do have coverage through Visa, BUT they require you to decline ALL CDW/LDW coverage from the rental company. No biggie, right? Wrong.

When I contacted First Car, the quote for No Cover (i.e. no CDW/LDW) increased from 322R/day to 736R/day! I have asked for an explanation as to why it would increase, but have not and do not expect to receive a reply.

I spoke to Visa again and they are only willing to commit to cover anything if the CDW/LDW is declined. Period, end of story.

Anywho, thought someone might benefit from the info regarding Visa and LDW/CDW. Also, note that rental coverage is a Visa benefit and has nothing to do with the company who handles the card.

cary999

I'm confused.
What does someone like Avis say? (Just out of curiosity, no immediate plans for car rental).

regards - tom

Statefan

I don't know what Avis says. They don't rent large vehicles w/ automatics so they are not an option for me. Same for every other major rental agency.

CarlaM

That is very good info to know Statefan about the CC coverage. Thanks for taking it to the next step which I hadn't done yet (asking the rental car company).

Will have to go back to the drawing board and see what my trip insurance coverage says about declining the rental company coverage.

Otherwise, you just have to purchase the rental car companies insurance.

I checked with my car insurance company at home and they don't do anything.

When is your trip? Where are you going?

Mohammed

For my recent trip to SA I very much wanted to rent a good automatic SUV and also wanted full insurance cover especially for driving on non tarred roads. Doing some research I quickly saw that most companies did not offer automatics in the SUV class and also many had "small type" excluding driving on gravel roads. Finally I found a Company called Africarhire who did offer me both. They are an agent who make booking through Hertz. I did have some satisfactory references on Africarhire through Fodors and also Sanparks forums. Alo I did note that hertz did have Nissan X Trails in automatic under a specialy SUV class in their main web site although booking directly with Hertz did not offer total insurance cover especially driving on non tarred roads. FYI, I even phoned Avis and National in Nelspruit airport to check if they had automatic Nissan X Trails but they cleary said they did not.

So finlly I went ahead and made a booking through Africarhire for a Nissan X trail Automatic, with total insurance cover and at quite a premium price. For me the peace of mind and getting the car I wanted was of primary importance. Prior to my trip, I even borrowed a Nissan X trail from a friend who has one and we packed are luggages/suitcases etc to see the fit and basically we even planned our packing accordingly.

Sadly, when I reached Nelspruit, all of us very tired etc after a very long haul flight, to my shock Hertz gave me a manual car and it was not even a Nissan X Trail.

I did complain, even called the booking agent Africarhire in Cape Town who I must say tried to help out but the best I was offered and that too only the next day was a much smaller sized car a Hyundai Tuscon in which my luggage could not fit. Luckily for me, I am very comfortable driving a manual and the Honda CRV was not a bad car so we made do and were quite happy eventually. However the Honda CRV was not a proper SUV, did not have 4WD and also it was a very compplicated 6 speed gearbox with a Diesel engine. My wife and I discussed this quite a bit especially what the scenario would have been if it was someone who was not happy driving a manual.

Mohammed

Sorry, posted again after correction of typos….

For my recent trip to SA I very much wanted to rent a good automatic SUV and also wanted full insurance cover especially for driving on non tarred roads. Doing some research I quickly saw that most companies did not offer automatics in the SUV class and also many had "small type" excluding driving on gravel roads. Finally I found a Company called Africarhire who did offer me both. They are an agent who make bookings through Hertz. I did have some satisfactory references on Africarhire through Fodors and also Sanparks forums. Also I did note that Hertz did have Nissan X Trails in automatic under a special SUV class in their main web site although booking directly with Hertz did not offer total insurance cover especially driving on non tarred roads. FYI, I even phoned Avis and National in Nelspruit airport to check if they had automatic Nissan X Trails but they clearly said they did not.

So, finally I went ahead and made a booking through Africarhire for a Nissan X trail Automatic, with total insurance cover and at quite a premium price. The booking was not only guranteed with a credit card but also paid for in full long in advance. For me the peace of mind and getting the car I wanted was of primary importance. Prior to my trip, I even borrowed a Nissan X trail from a friend who has one and we packed are luggage’s/suitcases etc to see the fit and basically we even planned our packing accordingly.

Sadly, when I reached Nelspruit, all of us very tired etc after a very long haul flight, to my shock Hertz gave me a manual car and it was not even a Nissan X Trail. This was really bad. How could they do this to me?

I did complain, even called the booking agent Africarhire in Cape Town who I must say tried to help out but the best I was offered and that too only the next day was a much smaller sized car, a Hyundai Tuscon in which my luggage could not fit. Luckily for me, I am very comfortable driving a manual and the Honda CRV was not a bad car so we made do and were quite happy eventually. However the Honda CRV was not a proper SUV, did not have 4WD and also it was a very complicated 6 speed gearbox with a diesel engine. (the Nissan X Trail automatic was supposed to have a 2.5L petrol engine) My wife and I discussed this whole situation quite a bit, especially we hate to think what the scenario would have been if it was someone who was not happy driving a manual.

So please, if you are booking an automatic SUV in South Africa, do double check very carefully.

Statefan

Mohammed - excellent feedback. The interesting thing is Hertz told me when I called their SA reservations number that they did not have automatic SUVs.

I am a little paranoid so once First Car confirmed they did have what I was looking for, I called a few days later and spoke to someone else - got the same story. Then I emailed and now have it in writing. I'm still leery over the whole thing as a manual would not be a good thing.

CarlaM

Great info Mohammed, thank you. I have my confirmation and "double checking" as well as getting it in writing per your suggestion. Did you happened to look into using your trip insurance rental car coverage instead of buying the rental company insurance? Will you be posting photos or a report of your trip?

CarlaM

Also, another thought crossed my mind today. Before signing the rental car agreement, do you inspect the undercarriage, tires etc for previous damage? Suppose you just took the rental car companies word that there is no undercarriage damage and when you return it they say there is damage that you didn't do, they would hold you responsible. Do they put the car on a hoist to inspect with you before and after the trip? Any experiences. Just trying to CMA.

cary999

Carla -Interesting question I've never considered. When getting the car I don't inspect the under side but I do give the bodywork a very good look over. Also, when I return it I take photos all around it to show that it has no damage.

regards - tom

matnikstym

Carla~No, they don't put the car on a hoist in the rental lot. I do spend a bit of time inspecting the car from top to bottom, inside and out. We did put a few scratches on the side when speeding away from a herd of elephants but the rental co. didn't notice.

One thing to check for is the spare tire. Make sure you have one and it's inflated and you have a jack and that piece of metal thing that makes the jack go up.

CarlaM

Interesting... so if you didn't check the undercarriage before signing, return the car and they say you have undercarriage damage (and you didn't do it)then you are liable. This is not giving me warm fuzzy feelings. Suggestions? Ideas? I will email the rental car company again.

Statefan

Am I naive by not worrying about the undercarriage? Is it common to have issues from driving in Kruger and/or the neighboring private reserves?

More curious than anything. The rental company already thinks I am a bit psycho anyway so I am sure they won't be the least bit surprised when I ask them to hoist the car up so I can take a peak.

cary999

I'm curious if any rental car company would hoist a car for you to inspect. I rather doubt it. Some insurance requirements will not allow a customer in the repair/maintenance shop. If they did, would you know what to look for? When you bring the car back to turn it in are you again going to ask that it be hoisted and that they sign off that it is ok?

When you first pick it up you could ask that it be hoisted for inspection assuming they will refuse. When they refuse then note on the rental agreement that the condition of the undercarriage is not known. Thus relieving you of any prior damage. Maybe.

regards - tom

Statefan

I travel every week so the thought of asking a rental car company to inspect underneath is hilarious to me, but, of course, I'm not driving on gravel roads over here either.

So I was being somewhat sarcastic in my previous post, but admit to being curious about the real risk for damage.