Simba Car Hire Reviews 

Great pick up
Staff very friendly and accommodating
Drop off not so much
Rather gruff and non friendly
Needs some work on his poor manners and attitude

I hired a car with Simba Car Hire last year in December, I purchased the car through "Discovery Cars" who recommended Simba Car Hire. When I took out the extra Insurance it was through a third part company EU "Car Hire" (Cover Genius). In day 4 I was involved in a car accident (30th December) It was proven that the other party was at fault as per RACQ's findings. I spoke to Simba Car Hire and was told I had no insurance on the vehicle and had to pay out of pocket including Towing and extra Car hire and vehicle repairs accumulating to $8,597.62 2 months in their investigations they deducted a further $1420.00 from my credit card without my permission to pay for costs of their car being off road for repairs. To this day I have not been refunded for my costs, even though I took out extra insurance which in their policy states I am to be refunded all costs. all 3 parties have decided to blame each and pass the ball not wanting to be the one to refund me my monies owing. I have contacted the Ombudsman for the insurance company and still waiting on their investigations. Simba Car hire have sent me an email stating that they will not give me my money owing till RACQ gives them more money. If this does not happen they are happy to close the matter leaving me out of pocket. RACQ believe Simba Car Hire is double dipping with their own insurance company and are making a profit from myself and also on the insurance (I smell insurance fraud). I do not recommend Simba Car Hire if you decide to have an accident as you will be out of pockey whether you take out insurance or not. You are taking a chance and I recommend spending a bit more from my experience.

Very poor. The rental experience was frustrating and confusing. The agent we dealt with had extremely poor English and it was virtually impossible to understand what he was saying in any detail. He was clearly frustrated with us also as we could not understand him and rather than being more understanding and clear, was then rude and belligerent and we felt bullied into just going with whatever he was doing and saying To that end we just wanted to get out and start our trip. However we became concerned overnight as to what we had actually agreed to, so deferred the start of the trio, and went back to the depot and were lucky enough to have an English speaking lass there who fully explained it to so easily. Further on the drop off 24 days later we had to deal with the same person who was again rude and dismissive and made this process again, uncomfortable and stressful for no reason. we will be coming back to Cairns regularly from now on and needing a car and I won't be putting myself thru that again. It will be reflected in my trip advisor and google review. You are in the the tourist business and its not unreasonable to expect even a token amount of friendliness and courtesy from staff, even down to the shuttle drivers. You need to do better. i have given it 1 star as there's not the option for zero.

Good car provided. Cairns airport pickup however is hopeless. After waiting half an hour called 3 times to send shuttle. Eventually it turned up at the wrong terminal. Checkin officers take brakes despite queue of customers. On top of that they charge a 120$ fee for a car return outside office hours. Worst car service I ever experienced world wide.

Quick, easy to use, and fast friendly service. Car was great and all instructions were clear. Also price was excellent

The car hire was seamless and the staff were knowledgeable about local attractions. I would happily go with them again.
The Hyundai i30 Hybrid sedan was a pleasure to drive and very economical. I would have liked to turn off the over zealous beeps that inhabit modern cars though.😁

We hired a car for 3 weeks from Brisbane Airport, I went for the cheapest car on a comparison website, what could go wrong. Well nothing the pick up service was quick with a friendly driver, check in was a little slow (they had just had a new car stolen) we ended up with a basic MG3 which is a great around town car. Not sure I would want to drive for 5-6 hours in it, but it’s my fault for being cheap. Returning the car was easy and a quick transfer to the airport. Would definitely recommend this company.

I had a very disappointing experience with Simba Car Hire.

When I picked up the car, I paid a $1000 deposit, a $199 admin fee, and $389.06 for the weekly rental. I was on a subscription arrangement, so I expected clear pricing and straightforward communication.

During the paperwork, I was offered extra cover for “$39” to reduce the excess to $0. I clearly said I thought that meant $39 extra for the week, and the staff gave me every reason to believe that was correct. Later, when I checked my receipt at home, I discovered it was actually $39 per day.

I called straight away to explain there had obviously been a misunderstanding and asked for it to be removed. I was told they could not refund it because it had already been processed, but that it would stay on for that week and then be removed for the following week. I accepted that.

During that first week I noticed scratches and marks on the car that I did not believe I had caused, so I took photos. I wasn’t overly worried because I was still under the $0 excess cover.

When the next week’s payment was due, instead of taking the agreed $389.06, they tried to charge me over $600 because they had not removed the premium cover as promised. I had to call again to sort that out.

A few hours later they called and told me I needed to bring the car in for an inspection because I had changed from premium cover back to basic cover. At the inspection, they pointed out scratches that were not in their photos and tried to say that because there had been a two-day period around the cover change, I had no proof and could be liable for a $5000 excess.

Luckily, I later found photos showing the marks were already there within that timeframe. Even then, they still lodged an incident report. One staff member even questioned how I suddenly had the photos, even though they were taken earlier among the other damage photos from when I first received the car.

Because I no longer felt comfortable keeping the car, I returned it early. I had already paid for a full week’s rental but only used the car for two days, meaning I returned it five days early. I made that decision because I did not want to risk being accused of more damage and having another attempt made to charge me a further $5000.

I was extremely upset that I was being treated as though I owed $5000 for damage I did not cause. What made it worse was being left outside their shop on a freezing day with two toddlers with car seats.

To make matters worse, after returning the car I still have not received any written confirmation that the vehicle has been returned or that the rental has been closed out properly.

Overall, I felt misled about pricing, frustrated by poor communication, and very disappointed by how the situation was handled. Paying for a full week and feeling forced to return the car five days early just to avoid the risk of another $5000 claim made the whole experience extremely stressful. The fact that I still have no confirmation the car was officially returned only adds to that stress. I would not use this company again.

To make matters worse, after everything that happened, Simba Car Hire are now trying to claim additional money from me despite me having dated proof showing I had the $0 excess cover in place at the time. I have kept records and screenshots as evidence. The entire experience has caused unnecessary stress, anxiety, inconvenience, and financial pressure.

Such reasonable rates. Shuttle bus to and from airport with lovely drivers. Absolutely hassle free.

Do not use this company. We waited 30 minutes for the transport after we.had called from the airport.
On arrival we waited another 30 minutes while all staff bar one assisted one client with fitting car seats. The remaining person was visible eating lunch while 8 clients waited, and waited. When this person returned from lunch she did not serve the next in line, she started serving a client who just walked through the door.
My partner spent 35 minutes on the phone today trying to extend our rental by 6 days only to be told we had to return the car today (we had tried to extend the booking during the week without success).
Your assertion that customer service is a priority is TOTALLY false. We won't be using Simba ever again

Smooth pickup and drop off at Cairns Airport. Kiara provided seamless onboarding and picking up of car. Drop off process was done swiftly. Good car provided.

Very reasonable price, had the car for almost a week & was by far the cheapest in town. The girls at reception were very friendly, would definitely go back & highly recommend.

Easy sign in, prompt courtesy coach to and from airport

Great driving around at a low cost in a hybrid vehicle , easy process , very affordable price , top service

I pre booked a car via a third party and received the full booking voucher for Simba in Sydney.. however on arrival they had no record of the booking and 4 of us plus full luggage from London left completely stranded.. they had no other suitable SUV vehicle available for over 24 hrs !! The staff tried their best but computer said no .. luckily we went next door to no birds who had plenty available and we were saved at a much higher price .. overall the booking company said it was firmly down to Simba

Left a negative review after the car my parent in laws hired broke down. Simba Car hire were told by RACQ the alternator had failed, and instructed RACQ to jump start the cat and send my P-I-L on their way. They then told my father in law he needed to wait for the tow truck, travel the 60kms back to Brisbane and collect another car. Customer service rep hung up on us because they were not being helpful, and refused to help in any way to lessen the inconvenience we had already incurred. They did end up sending another car out, but the whole experience cost us most of the day waiting around on their QLD holiday.
I left a review on the Simba website, it had been taken down. Beware if anyrhing goes wrong.

The hire vehicle was fit for purpose.
I found it comfortable to drive .
My only querie was I was to receive a email of vehicle status after collecting vehicle ? While there were only minor defects to some panels I was unable to check them against a vehicle defect map .
I was happy with the hire and would use Simba car hire again

Affordable, easy no fuss experience
The girl that served us was very helpful

Nice clean car. Quick airport pick up and easy check in process and very competative pricing.