A sales rep covering the region, a project lasting several months, a growing team: a small business sometimes needs a car without wanting to buy one. Long-term rental meets that need with a monthly rent. Here is how it works on KiraCars, and the questions to settle before committing.
How does long-term rental work on KiraCars?
Long-term rental starts from three months, that is 91 days. Below that, up to 90 days, it is a short-term rental, at a sliding-scale rate. Long-term rental is open to individuals and businesses alike.
It is priced by the month, with a monthly rent. Prices are set by duration band: 3 to 6 months, 7 to 12 months, 13 to 24 months, 25 months and over. The offer also sets, from the outset, a monthly mileage allowance and servicing rules. Any month started is payable in full.
KiraCars owns no vehicles. The platform puts your business in touch with approved rental agencies in Tunisia. Before an agency can list its vehicles, the KiraCars team checks its business identity: legal name, tax ID, trade register. The agency remains responsible for the vehicle, its insurance and its handover.
The process starts with a request made from the page dedicated to long-term rental. Agencies reply with offers stating the model, the price, the deposit and the terms. You compare them, accept the one that suits your business, and then the agency confirms.
How do you make the request in the company's name?
No need to create an account. For the request, a name, a phone number, an email address, a date of birth and the date the licence was obtained are enough. A business can also give its legal name and tax ID.
Fill in these two fields. That way the agency knows from the start that it is dealing with a business, not an individual. Check the exact spelling of the legal name and every character of the tax ID before sending: it is easier to correct a mistake at this stage than once the contract has been drawn up.
Then ask the agency in whose name it will draw up the contract: the company's, the main driver's, or both. The answer matters later on, in particular for your accounts.
On the day the keys are handed over, bring the driver's documents: an identity document (identity card or passport) and a valid driving licence. It is the agency that checks them.
Can several employees drive the same car?
A second driver is possible, on one condition: that they are declared to the agency, with their own identity document and their own licence. An undeclared driver is not covered. For a business, the practical rule is simple: nobody gets behind the wheel without having been declared.
The age and licence-holding requirements apply to each driver. They are set by the agency, model by model, and shown on the offer or on the vehicle's page. For a quote request in Tunisia, you generally need to be at least 21 and to have held a licence for two years, more for some vehicles. An employee who has just obtained their licence may therefore not be accepted.
Before accepting an offer, ask the agency these questions:
- How many drivers can be declared on a single contract?
- Can a driver be added during the rental, for example after a new hire? What is the procedure?
- Does declaring an additional driver change the price?
The documents provided, including your employees', can only be accessed by KiraCars and the agency concerned. They are never resold and are covered by Tunisian law 2004-63. Anyone can ask to access, correct or delete their data by writing to contact@kiracars.com.
What happens if the vehicle breaks down?
For a business, a car off the road means a missed appointment or a postponed round of visits. The rule is the same as for any rental made through KiraCars.
If the breakdown or accident is not your fault, report it from the customer area or the app. The agency then has 24 hours to offer a vehicle of an equivalent category. If it does not offer one, the rental ends and only the days used are payable — this is the rule in the general terms and conditions, long-term rental included: the month-started rule applies to the planned duration, not to an interruption that is not your fault. Any day started is payable in full.
Two habits to adopt within the company. Appoint the person responsible for reporting an incident, so that reporting does not depend on who was driving that day. And keep the agency's contact details and the procedure to follow in the car, with its papers.
When is the vehicle actually reserved?
Not before an offer has been accepted. A long-term rental request does not hold any vehicle until an offer is accepted. So you can request, receive offers, compare them and discuss them internally without reserving anything.
The flip side of this flexibility: until you have accepted, the car is not held for you. Each offer is valid until the date it shows. If the decision has to go through a business partner or a manager, allow for that before that date.
Once the offer has been accepted, cancelling or changing remains free of charge up to 48 hours before pick-up. After that, the agency may refuse.
How are the rent and the deposit paid?
KiraCars collects nothing, charges nothing online and charges the renter no fees. The price is paid to the agency, in Tunisian dinars, with the payment method it accepts, cash or card.
The deposit is set by the agency and its amount is shown on the offer. Depending on the agency, it is paid in cash, handed back on return, or by pre-authorisation on a bank card, released on return if there is no claim. It is returned in full if the vehicle comes back in its original condition, with no damage, without going over the mileage allowance and at the agreed time. The excess, that is the share of the damage that you still have to pay in the event of a claim, is shown on the vehicle's page.
The mileage allowance and the servicing rules are agreed in advance: read them in the offer before accepting it. Some points also deserve a direct question to the agency:
- When is each rent payment due, and how is it paid?
- What is the monthly mileage allowance, and how is going over it calculated?
- What do the servicing rules provide for: who takes care of it, and what happens while the car is at the garage?
- If the deposit is by pre-authorisation, does it stay in place for the whole duration? Also ask the bank that manages the company card.
Finally, set the duration carefully. It determines the price band, and any month started is payable in full. If the end of the project or assignment is still uncertain, ask the agency what happens if you return the vehicle early, or if you need to extend.
What about VAT, deductibility and accounting?
These are legitimate questions for a business manager, but this article does not answer them. The tax treatment of rent is something to look at with your accountant, who knows your situation. Ask them before committing, preferably with an offer in hand.
To prepare for that conversation, ask two questions:
- the agency: what document does it issue for each rent payment, and in whose name?
- your accountant: how should this rent be treated in your accounts, and what details must that document show?
For other practical questions, about payment, the deposit or cancellation, see the frequently asked questions.
Is your business based in Sfax, Tunis or elsewhere in Tunisia? For a need of more than 90 days, describe it from the long-term rental page. For 90 days or less, it is a short-term rental: request a quote from the car rental in Sfax or car rental in Tunis page.