Tempest Car Hire - South Africa

Johannesburg, or "Jo'burg", as the locals call it, is quite tourist-friendly, and it offers an ample variety of world-class hotels, shops, malls, restaurants, casinos, and it is the gateway to many attractions, including game parks, such as the famous Kruger National Park.

The quality of city roads and highways is excellent, as they are well-maintained, well-marked, but bear in mind that South Africans drive on the left side of the road, and are fast, aggressive drivers.

The road signs are very similar to those in the UK, in appearance and meaning. I recommend renting a GPS (or NavSat) for getting around South Africa; it's that easy!

As a frequent visitor to South Africa, we've had various car rental experiences, to include Avis and First Car Rental, and although previous experiences were positive, we like to try different car rental companies. We've rented from Tempest two different times, both times in 2009

Booking Online

Tempest Car Hire advertises that they provide customers "ridiculously low prices" and I decided to put them to the test. Tempest Car Hire has a "real-time" Online service, something many car rental companies in South Africa do not offer, except for the major players.

It turns out that Tempest Car Hire is not as small as I thought they were, and they have an excellent network throughout South Africa, in case you need to return the car somewhere else, exchange the car, or get help if you get in trouble.

Tempest CarHire has a ridiculously easy to use website. After selecting Car Group B (a pool of cars that suited our needs, containing similar type vehicles and brands), the online inquiry is complete, and after you hit "submit," within seconds you receive a Quote Summary, which is good for 24 hours, should you want to shop around.

If you want to accept their offer, you just hit "Submit" which takes you to the Personal Details page, but they do not ask you for a credit card number, which I think is pretty cool.

There were no surprises at the time of pick-up in O.R. Tambo International Airport. We rented a car for 10 days.

Picking up the Car

The new terminal at O.R. Tambo has a dedicated wing for car rental companies. We were lucky both times in that the Tempest Car Hire office was empty on our arrival, but as we passed the competition, the queues are usually pretty long. Many customers arrived a few minutes later, but they had three employees working the crowd. They seem to do fine.

Our reservation was in order, and a contract was already printed and ready for our review, but we decided purchase a windshield/tires coverage for the equivalent of $1.00 a day (with $0 deductible) on both occasions, causing them to print a new contact. Nevertheless, the Tempest employee worked fast, and we were out of there in about 15 minutes. We usually reserve a TomTom GPS device through Tempest, and the TomTom agent is inside the Tempest office where you go pay and pick-up your GPS.

When the reservation process was complete, you just step outside into the car rental garage, and the cars are only a few steps away. An attendant will go over the documents and check the car with you for damage, before you leave the garage.

In the rental office, there is huge rack of magazines, all from the previous month, about 20 different titles, and customers can take up to 4 magazines, free of charge, which I think is a nice little perk... so what they're last month's, they're free!

Both rentals have been positive, with our most recent rental dated May 18, 2009.

We had no problems with both car rentals.

Car Rental Details

Typically I select the all-inclusive package because it offers unlimited kilometers and insurance is included (except for glass and tires, which we purchase for R10 a day - approx. $1.25 - 100% coverage).

The all-inclusive contract includes:

~ Unlimited mileage

~ Super collision and theft waiver (with a deductible of R2, 950 or approx. $300)

~ VAT

~ PAI (personal accident insurance that covers all occupants of the vehicle)

~ Airport surcharges

~ Tourism levy (taxes)

~ A full-tank of gas (and we could return the gas tank empty at no additional charge).

Drivers must be 23 years of age, in order to rent a car in South Africa. Two forms of identification are needed, a driver's license and a passport. All popular credit cards are accepted.

A one-way rental is permitted, without a fee, but only in certain provinces.

Exclusions

~ Deposit: R2, 500, Applicable Additional Charges

~ Contract Fee: R33

~ Additional Driver: R140 per add driver (one time fee)

~ No Show Fee: R1000 (about $98), though if they don't take your credit card number, how do this bill you for this?

Final Thoughts

This is our fourth car rental in South Africa, and our second one with Tempest. We have found the car rental process straight forward, without hidden charges or surprises. Returning the car at the airport is fast and easy, and an invoice is sent to your email account a couple of days after the rental was completed. So far, there have been no surprises on the final bill.

So, do they offer "ridiculously low prices"? I found out that YES for short-term, weekends rentals, special promotions, where you can score a great deal for a short-term rental. Long-term rentals prices are competitive with the other rental companies, and the prices are only a couple of dollars cheaper a day, but I love their service. If you don't need unlimited mileage, then the daily rate is even lower.

We would definitely rent again from Tempest Car Hire. Highly recommend them.