Anyone know where is the best place to hire a car in Kunming? Also rough costs would be helpful. I mean a self-drive car not a car with driver. I have a Chinese drivers licence. Any other information on issues/problems would e helpful. Thanks.

www.zuche.com is one option

The above company your best bet. They are like a Chinese version of Budget or Avis. Pretty good customer service. Just make sure you have a credit card (they require a deposit which can only be paid by credit card) as well as 3+ months left on your Chinese visa (last time tried to rent a car from them in Beijing and had only 2 months left on my visa...they wouldn't do it). Finally book everything early through their website and you can get a discount as well.

Does the remaining visa validity really matter? I thought that having a Chinese driver's license is what counts. Sounds a bit strange to me, but anyway, you have direct experience renting from them. When I went to Zuche near the airport back in late 2010, they didn't care about my visa, but the main issue was the deposit. Apparently they don't accept international credit cards. On the other hand, another poster on GoKM mentioned that they do as he had successfully used his visa card with them; in fact it was probably the particular clerk that I dealt with that didn't know the rules.

For a better deal and less paperwork, how about renting from John Xie's car rental? He has a couple of vehicles available and accepts cash. He advertises here on GoKunming. He normally charges 250 Yuan a day for his sedan. Only 140 for the minivan. There is also a refundable deposit payable at the time you pick up the car and refundable immediately upon return.

Thanks to everyone for the very helpful information !

yes, I have car to rent.the price of sedan drop to 220 now, minivan 140-150. low deposite.

It is also possible that every Autorental company has its own rules about licenses, visa, deposits, and credit cards. As well as the person on the desk on the day knowing or not knowing the rules.

What you find in Avis in Shanghai will not be the same as Lucky Drive Kunming.

@Yuanyangren

They did care about my visa when I rented in Beijing. We got in touch with them before we arrived and booked the car over the internet. They asked me to scan my Chinese driver's license, my passport and visa. After that we got a call from the head office saying we couldn't rent because my visa would expire within 2 months. They said this is company policy and they couldn't do anything about it. Then my wife just rented the car on her license instead (she is Chinese).

And, yes, they also told us that we need a Chinese credit card. We were renting at the beginning of 2012 so rules might have changed...better just call them up and ask.

BTW: if you rent early you can get amazing discounts...we paid an average of 80 RMB / day in Beijing for a Ford Focus, automatic transmission. Very good deal I think. And if you can drive stick the price can be even cheaper if you book ahead.

On a related note, we need a car WITH a driver. Anyone know where to find that? We need this for airport rides and also weekends away from the city....a sedan or minvan would be ideal, as we are a family of four. Any thoughts?

Johanna

ninaga, go with John who just posted, he has a listing on GoKM here: www.gokunming.com/en/listings/item/joh_32962/

He's very well rated!