Car rental at Kilimanjaro Airport

This is a long, long story. I booked the car in order to go do the game parks. I read carefully all the conditions on the renting agreement online and the car I booked was fine to go on the game parks. A few days before, Smiles Cars contacted me by WhatsApp and pulled out other conditions to tell me that the car I chose was not allowed in the game parks. I was quite frustrated and we had long exchanges through WhatsApp. I told them I wasn t happy with these hidden conditions and shared my frustration. The person communicating with me kept the dialog and proposed me another car, a Suzuki Jimny, of course much more expensive. As I was frustrated with the overall process, I still need to admit that the car I first rented would have never made it in Ngorongoro and Serengetti. Except for the initial lack of transparency in the contrat terms, the guys in this company were very professional. We found solutions together, I rented the Jimny just for the parks and then exchanged it in a location for a less expensive car. They gave me advices, they provided my with a second spare wheel and an extra tank. They were extremely professionals and accommodating. In the end, I have to admit they were right on the whole thing, they provided me with a car that made it through these tough roads in the game parks and I can tell you that the Jimny, yet small, was awesome and I was able to go through all the roads in the parks, without even blowing a tire. But these roads are tough on you and the car. So, to summarise my experience with Smiles Cars, beside the initial lack of transparency on the contract terms, I discovered a fantastic team of professionals, willing to find solutions together, providing you with a custom service, excellent advices and caring for their customers. I am recommending this team to rent your car in Tanzania, yet it is a bit expensive (but don t be fool, Tanzania is expensive everywhere), however you deal with a very serious company and excellent people. Thank you so much!

Eric Stauffer

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