car hire windhoek

Thorn Tree forumCountry forumsAfricaNamibia
Enter custom title (optional)
This topic is locked
Last reply was
1.9k
…
Send as an e-mail
Send as an e-mail
j0e
j0e

Hi,

We just arrived back home from a 5 weeks trip through namibia and botswana.

We rented our car at Value Car in Windhoek. This is definetly not recommendable. It broke down on the second day after hire. The company was not reachable via phone. Only 2 days later. we lost in total 5 days of our trip because of the broken car, which seemed to be not serviced at all.

There were also a lot of minor things like a tow rope which was to weak for our car, broken roof tent, leaking tires, leaking water tank, broken cool box etc etc. We checked of course the car when we rented it, but as i am no mechanic you somehow have to rely on the company

When we arrived back in Windhoek the woman there (Juanita) did not let us talk to the manager instead she threatened us with the security. When I just said i want the money back for those 5 days - we of course lost also the entrance fees for the national parks and the camping fees.

They were also extremely unfriendly.

A second couple which we didnt know, also returned the car at the same day and the company charged them a lot of money for scratches and depressions in the body of the car which were already there when they rented the car.

this company might be cheaper then others but the value you get for their still high prices is very bad. i think asco will be the same, because it is the same company.

regards joe

View last reply
Report
1
bwana_jim
bwana_jim

I have rented from Camping Car Hire in Windhoek probably 10 times since 1996 and have never had a problem. From rooftop tent 4x4 campers to small SUVs, all vehicles have been in excellent mechanical condition. They were also willing to provide me with extras, like fuel filters, belts, extra cooler box, etc. and the staff has always been very friendly. They have a good network of repair shops around the region - I had to use one once when the bull bar came loose between Sossusvlei and Swakop. The shop in Swakop took us in right away and we were on our way in a few hours. They cost a little more than the cheapies, but less than the big boys. Sometimes the peace of mind is worth a few extra dollars, especially when your valuable vacation/holiday time is involved.

Sorry for your bad experience.
Regards,

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
2
threedogs
threedogs

We have used Value Car Hire twice. The first time a couple of minor problems but nothing which impacted negatively on our holiday. However, the second time this last August we had a very bad experience with them and will not use them again. They didn't pick us up from the airport as organised and we had to ring and wait an hour. Then on arrival at the depot everyone was apparently 'at lunch' and they left us to wait about....After waiting for a while I had some very stern words in a raised voice with the staff sitting about smoking and drinking coffe and I got someone to help us check out the car. We soon nicknamed the car 'Poc' - piece of crap! The suspension was non-existent, the steering dodgy, the inside was very worn and stained, the outside was sandblasted, the cigarette lighter didn't work which meant we couldn't charge our mobile phone among other deficiencies. On return we again were left to our own devices and were left wandering around waiting for someone to check the car. Never again. Pay more and get good cars and service. I have also used Savanna Car Hire twice and they were very good.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
3
gred78
gred78

Thanks for the heads up, was looking at using Value Car Hire (Carhire Namibia) for our trip..... I will avoid them.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
4
myfavoritebug
myfavoritebug

I was just planning on buying a 2WD abd bringing a tent for camping in Etosha, etc. BUT when I started looking into car rentals, I noticed that all the cars with tents, have tents on top of the vehicle. Is this important for safety? If I plan on camping do I need to get one of these cars with the tent on top? or will I be OK in my little tent on the ground by my 2WD??

Thanks!

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report

This topic has been locked by a moderator.

Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner