One of the most roaming expeditions in Uganda are self-drive safaris. These involve a traveler hiring a car from a rental company to drive around Uganda on his/her own.
It all started out like a trial venture but travelers got much interested in the adventure experience and we have seen lots of rental companies coming up to convoy such experiences to travelers.
In this venture one of the most frequently asked question is “how the 4×4 self drive rental car is delivered to the traveler/client?”
For starters, there are some common spots travelers normally want the rental company to arrange the pick-up of the rental car from.
These places include the Entebbe airport because it is the main gateway for travelers who come to Uganda, the hotels/lodges where the traveler spends his/her first day after an airport pick up and also in notable cities like Kampala, Jinja, Mbarara, Mbale and towns near the main national parks in Uganda.
When the date or period of deliver of the 4×4 self drive rental car Uganda is about to reach or near, the car provide takes the vehicle for inspection at the mechanic workshop for checkup and repair all the damages and faulty parts in the car.
This is done to make sure that the client finds the car in a very proper physical and mechanical condition possible.
The rental car is taken for a test drive to check whether all the faults and damages are repaired by the mechanics. If all is in perfect condition the vehicle is taken to the washing bay for a thorough cleaning.
On the day of delivery, the assigned driver is given the place and the time to deliver the car as agreed between the rental company and the client.
He is also given the car rental agreement and receipt book for the payment and endorsement. The assigned driver/company personnel ensures that he reaches the delivery point before the client.
When the client gets to the delivery point which could be the airport, hotel or a common landmark/structure in the any given city. The meet and greeting is done with the assigned driver.
The client is required to inspect the rental car by looking at its physical condition, checking its operation system and also getting accustomed to the driving system of the car.
After the inspection, the client usually reads through the car rental agreement if not read before to get to know under what terms and conditions is he/she hiring and driving the rental car.
If he/she agrees by the terms and conditions, he/she endorses on the car rental agreement by filling in names, days to use the rental, destinations to visit, nationality, place of residence and start and return date. While going through the car rental agreement, the traveler is also briefed about the dos and don’ts of driving in Uganda.
The traveler is then required to issue an original copy of the driver’s license and the passport for verification to know whether is the actual person to have inquired to rent the car and also if eligible to drive a car. The assigned driver/company personnel takes a photocopy of the driver’s license and the passport.
Finally the traveler makes the payment to the company personnel if he/she didn’t make an electronic transfer before getting to actual time of the car deliverance.
It should be noted that electronic transfers or credit card usage is allowed by the rental company 21 days before the rental period below.
The cash is normally given to the company personnel at the delivery of the car. After cash payment, the traveler is given a received and the send offs are made. The traveler is good to go for his/her self drive experience in Uganda.