Renting a car in Mali is not a simple task, especially for someone who is not from the country or familiar with the process. It is not as easy and as transparent as other countries. As with many other things, there is no fixed price and there is a lot of bargaining involved. Prices may vary based on a number of factors, such as:
- Type of vehicle you want
- How long you want to rent it for
- Availability of certain cars
- Whether you are taking the car with a driver or not
- Who you are renting from
The last point is a bit confusing, especially for foreigners. You can have the exact same car in two different places in Bamako, and they are being leased at a different price, depending on the owner of the vehicle. I guess it could be the same in other countries too, where Budget and Avis will have different prices.
So here are the prices:
Regular Sedan Car : (Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Yaris, Hyundai Sonata). These cars usually go for 25.000 XOF per day. This can vary slightly depending on the car, the year and shape of the car, and whether you are taking a driver or not. But prices should not vary too much from that. These cars are cheaper than renting SUVs (4x4) but they are also riskier and less convenient, because roads in Bamako (Mali in general) are not good and smaller cars get damaged more easily than bigger cars. Most roads in the neighborhoods of Bamako are not paved, and sometimes have large rocks, the bottom of cars get damaged easily when the car is low. This is why people prefer to drive or rent SUVs.
Toyota Camry
SUVs (4x4) : (Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, Toyota Rav 4, Toyota Fortuner). These cars usually go for 50.000 XOF to 70.000 XOF per day. Again the prices vary a lot depending on which car you take, and most importantly how new the car is. You can get an older Land Cruiser Prado, we call them intermediaries (Years 2006 - 2010), for about 50.000 XOF a day. These are nice cars but somewhat older than the new Prados, which start after 2010.
Photo Prado 2006 - 2010
Newer Land Cruiser Prados are obviously nicer and range from 60.000 XOF to about 70.000 XOF, depending on the year and the shape of the car.
Photo Prado 2020
For more high end cars, there is the world famous and signature Toyota Land Cruiser V8. This is the highest standard for SUV vehicles, and one of the most popular cars in Mali due to its off-road abilities and comfort in any situation. It is also a very classy car and suitable for executives and politicians. These cars are obviously more expensive, with a price tag of around US$80,000 - US$100,000 (without the shipping and duty fees to Mali), so the price to rent one of these vehicles is also expensive. These cars range from about 90.000 XOF to 110.000 XOF per day, depending on the year of the vehicle. These cars also are almost always rented with a driver.
Armored Vehicles. Due to the security situation in Mali, mostly in the north of the country and certain specific regions, it has been increasingly popular to rent to armored cars. Almost all of these cars are Toyota Land Cruisers V8, which are armored by internationally certified providers in the US or Europe. These cars are armored with B6 level and fit all the requirements for the UN peacekeeping mission of MINUMA in Mali. These cars range about US $200,000 to buy (again without customs duties to enter Mali), so you can imagine that the rental price is also hefty. These armoured vehicles rent for about 350.000 XOF to 450.000 XOF per day, mostly depending on the duration of the rental.
So there you go. This was our presentation on the rental prices of cars in Mali, to be able to give you some clarity rental market in Mali, and more specifically Bamako. If you appreciate this information, please get in touch with us at contact@fasologistics.com to get more information and hopefully rent or buy a vehicle from us !
Best