Pace Car Rental Reviews 

We had an excellent experience with Pace Car Rental (Carwiz) during our 20-day trip through South Africa.
We picked up the car in Cape Town and returned it in Durban. The Meet & Greet service worked perfectly – we were welcomed in the arrivals hall, escorted to the vehicle, and the return process was just as easy.
We requested a Ford Territory, and although it could not be guaranteed, the team did their best and we actually received one. The vehicle was modern, comfortable, clean, and perfect for our family of four. It easily accommodated two large suitcases and two cabin bags.
Communication before arrival was quick and friendly, especially with Nosizo, who answered all our questions professionally.
The refundable security deposit was returned promptly after the rental without any issues.
Overall, excellent customer service, fair pricing, and a hassle-free experience. We would definitely rent from Pace Car Rental again and highly recommend them to anyone visiting South Africa.

★☆☆☆☆ Extremely Disappointing Experience with Unexpected Charges

I had a very frustrating experience with Pace Car Rentals and would strongly urge others to carefully review all charges before booking.

When I booked my rental (Booking Ref: 995216234), I was clearly informed that I would pay £69.85 upfront and a remaining balance of €356.52 (£305.71) at collection. The booking confirmation specifically stated that the €75 one-way rental fee was already included in that amount. Based on the information provided, my expected total rental cost was £375.56.

However, upon collecting the vehicle, I was charged ZAR 54,520 (£2,511.91), including a deposit. While most of the deposit was later refunded, I still ended up paying a total of £418.52, which is £42.96 more than the amount confirmed when I made the booking.

The most concerning issues were:

• One-way rental charge discrepancy: My booking showed a one-way fee of €75, yet I was charged ZAR 3,000 for this item. No clear explanation has been provided.

• Fuel charge despite returning the car full: I was charged ZAR 103.25 for fuel even though I returned the vehicle with a full tank.

• Lack of pricing transparency: The final charges did not match the pricing outlined in my booking confirmation, making it difficult to understand what I was actually paying for.

I have formally disputed these charges and requested a full itemised breakdown, but as things stand, I am left with more questions than answers.

Warning to Future Customers

Be extremely careful when renting from Pace Car Rentals. Keep copies of all booking confirmations, take photographs of the vehicle and fuel gauge when collecting and returning the car, and monitor your credit card statements closely. The final amount charged may not match the amount originally quoted, and you may need to spend significant time disputing unexpected fees. Based on my experience, I would not trust the advertised pricing without obtaining written confirmation of every charge in advance.

Having just returned from my visit to Johannesburg, I wanted to share my experience with Pace. We used them for the first time and had two bookings over a three-week period. The experience was fantastic from start to finish.

The quality of the vehicles was first class, and for our second booking, we were delighted to receive a brand-new car. The ease of collection upon arrival, along with the excellent communication from the meet-and-greet team through to drop-off, made the entire experience seamless and personal.

The team made us feel like valued customers throughout. I would highly recommend Pace to anyone visiting Johannesburg.

I am extremely disappointed with the way this company handled a situation involving my son's AirPods that were left in a rental kombi.
I contacted the company just two days after returning the vehicle and was assured that they would investigate and get back to me. They never did. I had to follow up myself, only to be told that nothing had been found.
What is most concerning is the complete lack of accountability and transparency. The vehicle was cleaned after being returned, yet no one seems able to explain what happened to the AirPods. Instead of taking ownership of the issue and conducting a proper investigation, the matter was simply dismissed.
I am not prepared to make accusations about any individual, but the way this was handled leaves me with serious concerns about the company's ethics, internal controls, and commitment to customer service. If valuable items can disappear and management shows little interest in properly investigating the matter or keeping customers informed, that is a major problem.
The lack of communication was appalling. The promises to call back were not honoured, and I was left feeling that my concerns were simply ignored.
My advice to anyone renting from this company is simple: triple-check the vehicle before returning it and do not leave anything behind. Based on my experience, if an item goes missing, do not expect proactive assistance or meaningful follow-up.

Friendly initial service, but ended up charging me R850 “claim admin fee” for damages that weren’t mine. None of these damages were pointed out to me when I collected the car or returned.

I hired a car off pace through Car Flexi rental, who referred it to Pace (didn't realise I wasn't dealing with the company I took the agreement out with) anyway first of all they didn't have the car I ordered so they gave me a "free upgrade", all went ok, although when I received the car and did the walk around it was in a dingy very well unlit multi storey car park, straight away I felt something wasn't right so I took a ton of pictures. 2 weeks went by, dropped the car off in the alotted parking space and I was told I had to pay extra because my flight was out of hours fine, it's not the end of the world, I returned the car fully fueled and undamaged, I then received an email upon my return home saying the car had been damaged and I need to wait for a review which would be 2 days for minor damages and up to 2 weeks for major damages, I replied back saying I hope they have evidence as I have proof of the state of the car in receipt and return. I just received the same blanket emails in return. 1 week later I asked for an update on my £2k deposit and they said they got the vehicle wrong and will refund my deposit. A few days later the deposit was refunded but that wasn't the end of it. Apparently 2 weeks later I learned of a traffic infringement which may be true but there are no details of this traffic infringement or any way of finding out what it was, irrelevant of this the fine was 200zar which I have to pay directly to the government and the Pace admin fee for this apparent infringement was 700zar which they took off my credit card minutes after the email. Their emails and what they say give them a carte Blanche and I bet they get away with it all the time. Do not use these con artists they have no idea how to communicate with their customers and I'll be leaving a review on car Flexi too

Communicated with Cal several months before the trip, he gave me an excellent rate, to include cover-all insurance, and helped in the selection of an appropriate vehicle. Checked again with him before we flew, all was ready and waiting. We arrived at the airport, we were met by Umr who had a signed with our names on. He then escorted us through CPT airport to the car, we inspected and videoed, agreed the little snags, and off we went.
2 weeks later, after non issues whatever, we received a WhatsApp detailing exactly where to drop the vehicle off, which was a google maps pin, accompanied by a video of the drive in ! Excellent.
Professional, extremely courteous, friendly, helpful, and gave a much better rate than I was expecting.
We will be returning to ZA, and will be using Pace again.

I rented a Toyota Corolla. The car was automatic with an air conditioner. It did nor have any extras, such as reverse beeper, when one gets close to something while reversing. It also did not have a radio with a screen to watch while reversing. However, the car was clean, comfortable, reliable, and a relatively cheap rental.
When I had a problem with the car remote control, Pace responded very quickly.
My deposit was refunded one week after getting back home.

Appalling Experience – Avoid at All Costs

This was by far the worst car rental experience I have ever had. When I arrived at the airport with my 14-year-old son, there was nobody there to meet us despite my confirmed booking. We were left waiting outside in the freezing cold at 10pm for 45 minutes until someone eventually turned up. During this time, I had to rely on the kindness of staff from other car rental companies just to make phone calls and try to reach someone from this company — an embarrassment in itself.

When help finally arrived, things only got worse. Their payment system completely failed — my card, which worked everywhere else on my holiday without issue, was suddenly “not accepted.” Instead of resolving it on the spot, I was forced to drive to another destination to process the payment, adding even more hassle and stress to an already dreadful situation.

To make matters worse, I paid £860 as a deposit for the car and only received £805 back when refunded — with no explanation for why I was short-changed. Even a full month after my trip, I am still receiving generic emails from Pace Car Rental saying that “someone is looking into my complaint” — yet absolutely nothing has been resolved.

This company showed zero professionalism, zero reliability, and zero concern for their customers. They left me and my child stranded, cold, and inconvenienced at every turn, and now continue to waste my time with empty promises and unexplained missing money.

If you value your time, money, and sanity, do not rent from this company.

I have not received a refund for my car rental.
Car rental cost Eur 401.00
Paid Eur 104.87 in advance and payment upon collection Eur 629.69.Total paid Eur 734.56.
Despite several inquiries to Pace Car Rental, they have not responded to my emails.