Africa Rental Livingston - Techpro Safaris
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- A run down on our Rental Vehicle for our 32 day trip through Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe
Overland Rental Vehicles, What to look out for?
• Overland Rental Vehicl...
Namibia Botswana Zimbabwe Series
• ETOSHA Ep 1 - Explorin...
Well done!
I am kinda surprised that they don’t include maxtrax or similar sand boards. Also a flip down table on the kitchen side of the vehicle would be a good addition. I have a maxtrax table on side on my 78 and it’s constantly used for food prep and making of drinks.
We rented that exact same car. Picked it up in Maun, Botswana. It was delivered to us with a flat engine battery that had to be replaced ( we lost a day of rental which wasn’t refunded). Then two days into the trip discovered we had a malfunctioning fridge and dodgy wiring. TechPro refused to do anything or send out a new fridge, even though we were only in the moremi, less than a days drive from Maun. We were continually kicked under the bus by the Russian company owner. I would very much avoid renting from TechPro! Their website looks very professional but our car, and the lack of action when our fridge malfunctioned ruined our holiday. They charge absolute top dollar but don’t deliver. We spoke to a couple who had rented a car from Bushlore who also had a fridge issue. Bushlore’s dealt with it immediately plus compensated the couple with two days rent refund. We have booked our next rental with Bushlore.
Wow thats horrible to hear. Shoddy service absolutely destroys a trip. Thanx for the comment. Thats why we thought it important to share our experiences over the last decade renting vehicles.
We rented from TechPro precisely because their cars were built by Paul Marsh and I wanted to see what the layout and systems were like. The car was driven down from Windhoek to our pick up point in Maun by a retired banker who, when handing it over, seemed to have zero knowledge about the car or its systems. I knew more about the car than he did, just from the research I'd done in the months leading up to the trip. When all the issues came to light (he didn't have a clue, I actually found them before we'd even started the trip) he admitted he was aware about the battery and electrical issues, but that the company refused to spend any money on maintenance and that 'everything is done on a shoestring'. I was even told to 'take the car for a drive' to charge up the battery, and 'it'll be fine'. I pointed out that he'd just driven 800kms from Windhoek and that the battery should be pretty charged up by now!! I was then told the car had sat 'for a while' and that 'of course doesn't do the battery any good'. I pointed out we frequently go on extended trips and leave our car at home, and that its fine when we return, starts up first time every time. It was only after sustained pressure from me that TechPro reluctantly agreed to replace the battery (I had to drive it to a garage, where they confirmed the battery was dead), costing us a day of holiday time and a lot of frustration. Then a couple of days into the trip, the fridge malfunctioned and the electrics played up. We spent hours on our SatPhone, but again, TechPro's first reaction was to snowball me, and do nothing. I even got 'what do you want us to do...drive out to Moremi with a new fridge???" I said thats precisely what I was expecting! This all happened two years ago, and you've just used the same car, and said its still got electrical issues. Most of the bigger rental companies replace their cars after three years, but TechPro doesn't. The TechPro car and its equipment was already very tired (the roof top tent smelt pretty bad!' by the time we had it, and as evidenced by your video, it is still in their rental fleet. Bushlore charges 30% less, and you are guaranteed to receive a car that is less than 3 years old. In fact, for our next safari in October, we are guaranteed a 2023 car. Heed my advice and avoid TechPro!
@@johnbrinkers9172 Thanks for the heads up. Was looking at TechPro based on the specs but may want to reconsider..
I'm only telling the half of it! We actually booked and paid in full before the pandemic, but weren't able to go until after the pandemic because Botswana became a covid no go zone. After the pandemic TechPro actually made us pay an upcharge because they said costs had increased. They'd already sat on our payment for two years, but we had no choice to pay the extra they wanted. Having paid absolute top dollar (compared to other companies) I was expecting a flawless bespoke car and service. I have a whole list of issues if you're interested, including TechPro delivering a car with an almost bald tyre. I got a garage to change out that tyre to the spare, which was only a little bit better. Just my experience, but TechPro seems to be all about charging as much as possible but seem to run an ageing fleet on a shoestring. You are far better off dealing with the bigger outfits who are properly funded and run. By the way, the car we had, which is the exact same car as in this video, belongs to the company owner. If his own car has these issues, you have to wonder what the others are like. When talking with the staff at TechPro (via our satphone whilst out in the bush, trying to resolve the issues) they told us that any expenses had to be personally approved by the owner, who was at that time back in Russia. So I obtained his number and ended up calling him in Russia to ask what would be done, at which point I got stonewalling, delaying tactics and told he would 'investigate' before approving anything. And of course we are meanwhile stuck in the bush without a working fridge and faulty electrics. The issues were never resolved, so we made do. In the end, after repeated requests he grudgingly and reluctantly agreed to a refund of half a day, but he said he'd only do that after he could check out the car after the rental. As if we were making the issues up. Rediculous, TechPro have a lot to learn about high end customer service. @@scottssafaris2198