Book from the UK · Drive in Zimbabwe
Hire a car back home, without the hassle.
Handover connects the Zimbabwean diaspora in the UK with trusted vehicles across Zimbabwe. Reserve online for yourself or a loved one — keys handed over on arrival.
Book from the UK · Drive in Zimbabwe
Handover connects the Zimbabwean diaspora in the UK with trusted vehicles across Zimbabwe. Reserve online for yourself or a loved one — keys handed over on arrival.
The fleet
A handpicked selection from across Zimbabwe.
Describe the trip and we'll suggest the best-fitting cars from what's listed.
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For renters
Most people arrange a car through a cousin, a friend of a friend, or a number passed around on WhatsApp. It usually works. When it does not, you are standing at arrivals with no car and nobody to call.
Pick your dates and city. Every vehicle listed belongs to an operator we have checked, with the price fixed for the full hire.
Upload your passport or ID and your driving licence, take a selfie, and we verify you. Usually done within a day.
Take the damage waiver and leave no deposit, or pay the operator's cash deposit as usual. Your choice.
The operator meets you at arrivals or in town. Photos of the car go on record at handover, so there is no argument later.
What is included
What you are quoted is what you pay. No surprise charges on collection, no rate that changes because the season got busy.
Every vehicle carries 24 hour recovery through Onward. If it will not start in Kwekwe at nine at night, someone comes.
Timestamped photos taken at collection and at return, by both sides. Existing marks are logged before you drive away.
Every car in the network is tracked. It protects the operator's asset, which is why they can offer better terms to checked renters.
A support line that sits between you and the operator if something goes wrong. Disputes go to us, not to an argument in a car park.
Meet at arrivals at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International, or Victoria Falls.
Vehicles
Rates vary by operator and season. These are the ranges you should expect, so you know whether a quote is reasonable before you accept it.
| Class | Typical vehicles | Daily rate |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | Nissan March, Honda Fit, Toyota Aqua | $35 to $45 |
| Saloon | Toyota Corolla, Fit Shuttle, small crossover | $45 to $60 |
| Mid SUV and twin cab | Toyota Fortuner, Isuzu MU-X and D-Max, older Prado | $65 to $85 |
| Premium 4x4 | New Prado, Land Cruiser | $120 to $150 |
Hires of a week or more are priced lower per day. Tell us your dates and the rate reflects them, rather than you finding out afterwards that a weekly rate existed.
Unlimited mileage
Many hires in Zimbabwe cap you at 200km a day and charge around $0.50 for every kilometre over. Drive to Nyanga and back, or do a few trips out to the farm, and you can add a hundred and eighty dollars to a three day rental without ever being told it was coming.
Every listing on Handover states its mileage policy before you book. Where a cap applies, you can lift it for a fixed daily amount and stop thinking about it.
$9.00 a day. At 3,200km you would go 400km over a 200km daily cap, which would cost you $200 in excess charges. Buying unlimited saves you $74.
You stop planning your trip around a meter. Most people underestimate how far they drive once they are home and visiting family across provinces.
If you are staying in Harare and doing short runs, the standard allowance is plenty. We will tell you when the sums do not favour buying it.
Some operators offer unlimited mileage as standard. Those listings are marked, and you do not need to buy anything.
The damage waiver
A cash deposit is the worst part of renting a car in Zimbabwe. You carry USD notes through an airport, hand them to someone you have just met, and then hope you get them back after an inspection you cannot really argue with.
The waiver replaces that. You pay a fixed daily amount, leave no deposit, and your liability is capped if the car is damaged. The repair is handled by a licensed insurer, not settled between you and the operator on the day you fly home.
$13.16 a day, reduced for a longer hire. Instead of leaving $300 to $800 in cash, the most you can lose on damage is $400.
| Cash deposit | Damage waiver | |
|---|---|---|
| On collection | $300 to $800 in USD notes | Nothing to hand over |
| If nothing happens | Returned after inspection | Not returned, it is a fee |
| Small damage, say $600 | Operator keeps the deposit and asks you for the rest | You pay up to your capped liability, the insurer covers the repair |
| Serious damage or a write-off | You are liable for the full value of the vehicle | Covered above your capped liability |
| Who decides the cost | The operator, on the spot | The insurer's assessor |
| Getting your money back | Depends on the inspection going smoothly | Nothing to get back |
Being straight about the trade: if nothing goes wrong, the waiver costs you money and a deposit does not. What you are buying is a known number instead of an unknown one, and no cash changing hands at either end of the trip. Plenty of people would rather take the deposit, and that option stays.
Renter checks
Operators are careful for good reason. A vehicle is often their whole business, replacement costs are in US dollars, and until now they have had no way of knowing anything about the person in front of them.
Your passport or national ID and your driving licence, read and checked for authenticity. A selfie matched against the document photo. Your address. For renters abroad, a payment card in your own name. Where you hold a British licence, we can also check your entitlement and endorsements using a DVLA code you generate yourself.
Once you are checked, you stay checked. The next booking takes minutes.
Whether you are verified, and what happened on your previous hires across the network. Returned on time, returned late, damage logged and settled, damage logged and unpaid. Facts, not a score.
You are told whenever a check is run on you, and whenever anything is recorded against your name. If you disagree with something an operator has logged, you can contest it and your response sits on the record.
We hold identity documents and rental history because operators need them to make a decision. We do not sell your data on. You can ask to see everything held about you, and ask for corrections. Handover registers as a data controller in Zimbabwe and handles personal data in line with the Data Protection Act.
For operators
Handover does not own vehicles and does not rent them. You keep ownership, your insurance, your pricing and your customer relationships. We bring you renters you cannot reach and information you cannot get on your own.
Renters booking weeks ahead from Britain, South Africa and beyond, confirmed and paid before they land. This is demand a WhatsApp number cannot reach.
Including walk-ins you found yourself. Enter an ID number and see whether they have rented in the network before and what happened.
Renters on the waiver leave no cash. Damage is assessed by an insurer and you are paid direct, so you are not chasing anybody.
Trackers fitted at cost, with Onward recovery behind them. You know where your vehicle is, and so does someone else if it goes missing.
The rental is paid to you, not to us. We never hold your money. We invoice you monthly for what you have used.
Every booking comes to you to accept. You set your rates, your terms and your collection points. Decline anything you do not like.
To look renters up, you have to log outcomes on your own hires. Three taps at return: clean, late, damaged, or damaged and unpaid. The register only protects you because other operators do the same, and it stops working the moment people take without giving.
Questions
No. The rental agreement is between you and the operator who owns the vehicle. Handover handles the booking, the checks and the support, and arranges the waiver if you take it.
Yes. Every operator sets a deposit amount, usually between $300 and $800 depending on the vehicle. If you would rather do it that way, choose the deposit at booking. The waiver is an option, not a requirement.
The cover behind it is underwritten by a licensed insurer. Handover arranges it and is paid a commission by the insurer for doing so. We do not carry the risk ourselves and we do not decide claims.
Damage is logged at return against the photos taken at collection. If you took the waiver, the insurer assesses it and pays the repair, and you pay up to your capped liability. If you left a deposit, the operator assesses it and deducts from the deposit, and you are liable for anything beyond it.
Either way you are told what was recorded and can contest it.
Not on a standard booking. Cross border travel needs the operator's written permission, separate paperwork and separate cover, and it is not included in the waiver. Some operators will arrange it. Ask before you book.
A foreign licence is generally accepted for visiting drivers, and we recommend carrying an International Driving Permit alongside it. Check the current position before you travel, as requirements change.
Usually under a day once you have uploaded your documents. Leave more time if you are booking at short notice, and do it as soon as you book rather than the night before you fly.
Only if they are named on the booking and have been checked too. Adding a second driver is free. An unnamed driver invalidates the waiver entirely, which is the fastest way to turn a small problem into a very large one.
Call the support line. We will find you another vehicle in the network or refund the booking fee in full. Operators who fail to turn up are removed.
No. The rental goes to the operator directly. Handover takes only the booking fee, and the waiver premium goes to the insurer. We are not a payment service and we do not hold funds on anybody's behalf.
December books out early and the good vehicles go first. Verification takes a day, so there is no reason to leave it.