About Hertz Car Hire
Hertz car hire is one of the oldest and largest car rental companies in the world. The company was founded in the US in 1918, with the founder, Walter L. Jacobs, renting a dozen Model T Fords to the general public. Hertz car hire now does business in 145 countries around the world, and is the only car rental company to do business on six continents. Hertz South Africa has been in business since 1950. The current CEO of Hertz car hire South Africa is Wils Raubenheimer, and the company has 42 branches across South Africa and Namibia.
Where is Hertz Car Hire Located?
Although the Hertz car hire website does not give an address for the physical location of their head offices, the company is registered to an address in Kempton Park, Johannesburg. There is a mailing address for the company, however, at: P.O. Box 444, Parow, Cape Town, 7499.
Which Services Do Hertz South Africa Provide?
Hertz car hire provides a variety of vehicle rental options including not only passenger cars, but also people carriers and vans. They also have a chauffeur driving service.
Hertz Car Rental Options
Hertz car hire has a range of rental options and benefits for customers. They offer the following services:
- Hertz car hire provides seventeen different classes of vehicle to choose from, including small town cars, luxury vehicles and vans and people carriers;
- They also offer the possibility to pick up and drop off your vehicle in different locations, so there’s no need to return to where you rented the vehicle to return it;
- The Hertz car hire website does list “optional extras” in their booking form, however there is no listing of what these are. In general, optional extras with most car hire companies include things such as child seats and GPS systems, but we can’t say for certain that Hertz offer these;
- Hertz 30 Plus, offers discounts to customers who rent a car for thirty days on a rolling rental (that can be extended until you’re ready to return the car);
- There is an optional discount if you choose to rent a car for one day, in which you will have 100 kilometres included for free;
- There is the possibility of adding extra insurance with the Hertz Super Collision Damage waiver, which will lower the amount you need to pay should you be in an accident;
- You can either refuel the vehicle yourself before returning it, or Hertz car hire will do it for you, charging the same fuel prices as with a petrol station;
- Hertz car hire offers discounts to customers aged 55 or older;
- The Hertz Gold Plus Rewards programme rewards you with points for renting vehicles which can then be traded for certain benefits, such as free upgrades;
- Hertz car hire will deliver a vehicle to your private address if necessary, though there will be a charge for this service;
- Hand controls are available on some vehicles for physically challenged customers.
How Are Hertz’s Customer Reviews?
Hellopeter, the website that lets customers write and post reviews of companies, lists 69 reviews of Hertz car hire from the last twelve months. Of these, 51 are negative, mostly centering around billing issues and unexpected charges, though some mention poor response times from Hertz, and 18 are positive, mostly speaking about great customer service. However, it’s difficult to judge Hertz based on these reviews, since it is such a small number of reviews. Plus, of course, customers are far more likely to complain then they are to post compliments. It’s important to note that all reviews, positive and negative, have a response from a Hertz customer service agent, so online customer service does seem to be a priority for Hertz.
How User Friendly is the Hertz Car Hire Website?
Initially, the Hertz car hire website was pretty easy to use. Navigation is simple, and finding the essentials such as reservation forms and descriptions of vehicles was easy. We liked that the vehicle descriptions all included plenty of information like how much luggage a car could carry, which does make deciding which car you want easier. However, we didn’t find a lot of information about extras with Hertz, like the possibility to add child seats and the like. It’s possible that you will get all this info once you’ve filled in a booking form, but it would be nice to be able to see your choices before having to enter credit card information. Most people these days like to comparison shop, and it would be easier to do this if the Hertz car hire website listed a little more info.
Hertz Car Hire in Summary
As one of the largest car rental companies in the world, Hertz car hire offers plenty of choices both for different kinds of vehicles and when it comes to locations. Customer reviews of Hertz are middling, but we did only find a small sample of reviews so it may not be fair to judge the company based on these. Renting a car is an important decision, and one that can have a big impact on your vacation or business trip. This is a competitive market, so we do advise that you check out all your options. Reading our reviews of other rental companies, such as Avis Car Hire or Europcar South Africa might help make your decision a little easier!
Main subject: Hertz Car Hire
