Pace Car Rental in South Africa

Pace was founded in May 2006 by Grenville Salmon and describes itself as one of the largest privately owned, home-grown car rental brands in South Africa. It runs 13 branches across the big metros and several airport-area sites, which puts it in the same bracket as the mid-sized national operators.

Where it differs is at the edges. On payment, it accepts cash, local debit cards and EFT with no credit card. On the fleet side, it lists bakkies, panel vans, 4x4s, minibuses and trucks alongside cars. On the term side, it does monthly rental on all its vehicles and refers customers to rent to own through SA Motor Lease. It also serves insurance-replacement and film-industry rentals.

• Cash, debit-card and EFT rentals with no credit card, from R390 per day (Super Cover and 200 free km per day included), as advertised on 29 Sep 2026. (pacecarrental.co.za)
• Rent to own / rent to buy is not run by Pace itself: Pace connects customers to SA Motor Lease, with fixed monthly payments that include super cover, tracking and licensing and an option to own at the end. (pacecarrental.co.za)
• Fleet pages cover small, midsize, automatic, electric, luxury and SUV cars plus 4x4s, bakkies, panel vans, minibuses, trucks and armoured vehicles; one-way groups run from Group A (Toyota Vitz) to Group D+ (Toyota Corolla Quest, automatic). (pacecarrental.co.za)
• Thirteen branches: Cape Town Airport, Cape Town City (Salt River), Parow, Durban (Umhlanga, Oceans Mall), East London, George, Gqeberha (Newton Park, Walmer), Johannesburg (Marlboro head office), Kempton Park (OR Tambo), Mbombela/Nelspruit, Pretoria (Hatfield), Roodepoort. (pacecarrental.co.za)
• Long-term (monthly) rental is a core product; monthly rates fall the longer the term. Pace is a SAVRALA member. (pacecarrental.co.za)
• Pace also serves insurance-replacement and film-industry rentals. (pacecarrental.co.za)

Checked on 29 September 2026 against Pace Car Rental's official website. Numbers change, so confirm on the linked page before you call. A rental company will not ask you to pay a deposit into a new bank account by phone or WhatsApp; if anyone does, hang up and call the official number.

Sources: pacecarrental.co.za, pacecarrental.co.za.

What Pace Car Rental's own terms and FAQ pages said on 29 September 2026. Rules differ by vehicle group and branch, so check the terms for your booking.

Pace does not run rent to own itself. Its site says that Pace, in affiliation with SA Motor Lease, connects you to a rent to buy service. The offer described is fixed monthly payments that include super cover, tracking and licensing, with an option to own at the end. Your contract is with SA Motor Lease, so read that contract and not Pace's rental terms.

Rent to own is not a car rental, it is a financing structure wearing a rental's clothes. Before you sign one, get clear answers in writing. What the total amount payable is over the full term, not the monthly figure. Whether any part of what you pay is credited to the purchase price or whether it is all rental. What is included in the monthly payment and what you pay extra for. What happens if you end early or miss a payment. And whether the arrangement is a credit agreement covered by the National Credit Act, because that determines what protections and disclosures you are entitled to.

Compare the total against a straightforward vehicle finance quote from a bank for the same car. Sometimes rent to own is the right answer for someone who cannot get finance, and sometimes it is a more expensive route to the same car.

Pace's cash rental page says you can rent without a credit card and pay with cash, a local debit card from the major South African banks, a cheque card or EFT. It gives the example of a Capitec card. You need your ID, your driver's licence and, if you are a foreigner, your passport. A credit card is still accepted, and it is required for cross-border rentals.

Pace advertises cash rentals from R390 per day, including Super Cover and 200 free kilometres a day. Treat that as a starting rate, not a quote. Excess kilometres are billed, so check your route against the daily allowance.

The deposit depends on the vehicle and the waiver you choose, and Pace publishes no fixed rand figure. On cash and debit rentals it is paid upfront and refunded once the car comes back in good condition. Standard Cover raises the liability and deposit shown on the booking form, and Super Cover lowers them. Every rental must include one of the two.

Three things void waiver cover: driving faster than 60 km/h on a gravel road, undercarriage damage, and failing to report an accident to Pace and the police within 24 hours (within 1 hour for theft). Double liability applies to street-parked theft, single-vehicle accidents and damage in poor conditions.

On age, Pace's booking form sets the renter age at 23+. The menu lists a Young Drivers Policy, but we could not find its content, so no surcharge is published. Additional drivers cost R400 each and must have held an unendorsed licence for at least two years.

Pace's FAQ says it does not allow cross-border hire from South Africa into other African countries. Its Terms and Conditions describe a cross-border letter process. You apply, pay the prevailing fee and wait about 3 working days. The rental must be at least 7 days, you must pay by credit card, and the deposit is double the standard amount.

The two pages contradict each other and no country list is published anywhere. Do not assume you can cross a border, and do not cross without the letter. Ask Pace to confirm in writing before you book.

If you are hiring a bakkie, a panel van or a minibus, check the licence class before you book. A code B licence covers vehicles up to 3 500kg gross vehicle mass, and most bakkies and small panel vans fall inside that. Larger trucks and some minibus configurations do not, and you need a code C1 or higher plus, for professional driving in some cases, a professional driving permit.

Getting this wrong is not a technicality. Driving outside your licence class can void the rental agreement and any cover attached to it. Confirm the requirement for your exact vehicle with Pace.

Pace suits three groups: people who do not have a credit card, people needing a commercial vehicle without going to a specialist truck hire firm, and people wanting a long-term arrangement or a route to rent to own.

For a standard week-long car rental at an airport, price it against Avis, Woodford and First. Pace has no King Shaka airport branch, so if you land in Durban, its KwaZulu-Natal branch is in Umhlanga. For anything unusual, Pace is worth the call.