I would like to rent a car for a month or two. Does anybody have experience with car rental in Kunming who can give me information about prices and such?

I just rented a Pajero from a place down here near the airport. 350 a day 3000 deposit. Really nice folks. There are loads of places around town. this is his # 13095339550. There are also a few on Bei Chen Da Dao near the Metro. You will need a Chinese license.

I know that place (is it China Car Rental, a nationwide chain?) BTW do they really insist on a Chinese credit card? What the hell is that? I mean, visa or mastercard should be accepted globally, but that's what I was told when I went there. I don't like the idea of having to give a cash deposit. I rarely have that much money in my wallet (3000 Yuan) and I'm certainly not going to make a credit card cash advance and have to pay all the interest they charge for doing that, so credit card acceptance when renting a car is mandatory, but can someone suggest a place where international credit cards are accepted?

Somewhere in Kunming that is, since Hertz and Avis are no problem, but they only have offices in Shanghai and Beijing (and maybe Guangzhou, but I'm not sure).

Does anyone know if you need to have a Chinese license to rent a car here or if a license from somewhere else (like the US) will suffice for a short rental?

Georgia,

You either need a Chinese license or an international one. You can get one at the DMV of your country.

You might be able to rent a car with an international license (perhaps), but you can't use one to drive in China. Only a Chinese license.

Anyone had a recent experience in renting a car from a Kunming provider?
Is it cheaper to rent it using a Chinese driver or foreign driver?
What is the cheapest deposit for good service?
Anyone used zuche.com services?
I am planning to go to Fuxian lake in the coming weeks and drive by myself.

Zuche.com (Shenzhou Car Rental) is great. I've used them many times and always thought their service was above average.
Using an American credit card has always been hassle-free too. They pre-authorize the deposit, so there's no foreign transaction fee or anything for the deposit.

Rates are reasonable. I've rented cars online and picked them up at the location. I've also used them to rent cars in other cities in China with no problems.
They've even bumped me up to a nicer car when the one I had reserved was unavailable... in my experience that's a cut above most customer service policies in China.

PS Since you just got your license, you will need to go to their office and give them all your paperwork a few days before you actually plan on renting the car. They will need to send it in to their main office and set you up with an account before you can drive off in their car. It can take 2-5 days, but was really easy.

Are you sure American credit cards are OK? Last time I went to zuche near the airport they insisted on a Chinese credit card (no cash was accepted either). If they do accept foreign cards, then that would be great, but back in October of last year they didn't.