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Terms of service

Last updated: 16 October 2026

In short

  • Asking for a price costs nothing. Nothing is confirmed or charged until you accept our quote and we confirm your booking in writing.
  • The minimum hire is five days, and airport pickup is included in every hire.
  • Drivers must be at least 21 years old and hold a valid driving licence. Additional drivers are free, but each must show their licence and we keep a copy.
  • The deposit, the insurance excess and any mileage limit are set out in your quote and in the rental agreement you sign when you collect the car.

These terms have two parts. Part A covers using this website. Part B covers hiring a car from us.

Part A: Using this website

1. Who we are

This website is run by Kinway, which offers self-drive car hire in Sri Lanka. In these terms, "we" and "us" mean Kinway. You can contact us at hello@kinway.co or on +44 7768 787 119 (United Kingdom) or +94 11 000 0000 (Sri Lanka).

2. Using the site

You may use the site to learn about our service and to ask for a price. Please give accurate information. Do not misuse the site: do not try to break or overload it, send false or automated requests, or use it for anything unlawful.

3. Information on the site

We take care to keep the site accurate, but it is a guide. Prices shown on the site are indicative until we send you a quote, and the estimator on the prices page gives an estimate only. Photographs and descriptions are for illustration. We will confirm the vehicle for your hire in your quote, and if we need to offer a similar vehicle we will tell you before you confirm.

4. Our content

The text, design, images and logo on this site belong to us or our licensors. You may view and print pages for your own use. Please do not copy or reuse them for another business without our written permission.

5. Links to other sites

The site links to other websites. We do not control them and are not responsible for what they say or do.

6. Availability of the site

We try to keep the site running, but we cannot promise it will always be available or free of errors. We are not responsible for loss caused by the site being unavailable, except where the law does not allow us to limit our responsibility.

Part B: Hiring a car from Kinway

7. How booking works

  1. You ask for a price. You send us your dates, flight details and the currency you want. This is a provisional booking request. It costs nothing, and it does not commit you or us.
  2. We send you a quote. A person replies within 24 hours with a price in your chosen currency, what it covers, the deposit and excess that apply, and how long the quote is valid.
  3. You confirm. If you are happy, you accept the quote and pay the 15% deposit.
  4. We confirm in writing. Your booking is confirmed only when we confirm it in writing. From then on, the price in your confirmed quote does not change unless you ask us to change your booking.

8. Prices and currency

  • We quote in pounds sterling (GBP), Canadian dollars (CAD), Australian dollars (AUD) or euros (EUR), as you choose. The currency on your quote is the currency you pay in. Your bank may add its own conversion fees.
  • Prices are per day and depend on the length of your hire: 5 to 9 days, 10 to 20 days, or 21 days and more. The prices on the site are shown in pounds as a reference.
  • The minimum hire is five days. This applies to every booking, and to any change you make later.
  • Airport pickup is included in the price of every hire.
  • Your quote lists what is included. Fuel, tolls, parking, fines, and optional extras are not included unless your quote says so.

9. Payment

  • Deposit. A deposit of 15% of the hire price confirms your booking. It secures your car for the whole of your hire.
  • Balance. The full amount must be paid before you collect the car.
  • Security deposit. When you collect the car, we hold a refundable security deposit. The amount is in your quote and rental agreement. We release it within 14 days of the car coming back in the condition you received it, less any amounts you owe us under these terms.
  • Methods. The payment methods we accept are listed in your quote.
  • Refunds. Any refund goes back by the method you paid with, in the currency you paid in.

10. Who can hire a car

To hire a car you must:

  • be at least 21 years old and hold a valid driving licence;
  • show your valid driving licence and passport when you collect the car, together with the temporary Sri Lankan driving licence (see below);
  • give us accurate information.

Anyone with a valid driving licence can get a temporary Sri Lankan driving licence when they arrive, from the Department of Motor Traffic. You do not need to arrange anything in the country that issued your licence. The Department sets the fee and the rules, and they can change, so it is your responsibility to hold what the law requires. Tell us where your licence was issued when you ask for a price and we will explain what to do on arrival. We cannot hand over a car if your documents do not meet the requirements. In that case, we will refund what you have paid, less any cost we have already incurred on your behalf.

Additional drivers are free of charge. Each one must be named on the rental agreement, meet the same age and licence rules, and show us their driving licence and passport before they drive. We keep a copy of each driver's licence, and we cannot allow anyone to drive whose licence we have not seen.

11. What happens at collection and return?

  • Collection. All international flights arrive at Bandaranaike International Airport (Katunayake), and our agent meets you there. They check your documents and either hand you the keys, or take you to your destination and leave the car with you there. We track your flight. If it is delayed, our agent manages the handover for you, including an early-morning arrival.
  • If your flight is delayed or lands late. We follow the flight number you gave us, and our agent manages the handover whatever time you land, so your pickup is guaranteed even in the early hours. If you will not arrive on the day you planned, tell us as soon as you can.
  • Check together. We inspect the car with you and note its condition on the handover form. Please check it carefully before you leave.
  • Return. You return the car at the place and time agreed in your rental agreement. We have drop-off locations in most major cities, and we can arrange collection from your final destination, or a meeting at the airport when you fly home, by agreement. If you return late, we may charge an hourly rate, up to one extra day's hire. Please call us if you think you will be late.
  • Fuel. Return the car with the same amount of fuel as when you collected it. If it is lower, we charge the shortfall at the local pump price.
  • Mileage. Any mileage limit and the charge for going over it are stated in your quote. If your quote states no limit, mileage is unlimited.

12. Using the car

You agree to:

  • drive carefully, follow Sri Lankan traffic law (traffic drives on the left) and wear seat belts;
  • not drive after drinking alcohol or taking drugs;
  • let only the people named on your rental agreement drive the car;
  • not use the car for racing, towing, carrying illegal goods, hiring it out to others, or any commercial use;
  • not drive on unpaved tracks or in national parks or safari areas, unless your rental agreement allows it;
  • not smoke in the car, and keep it reasonably clean. We may charge a cleaning fee if it comes back in an unusually dirty state;
  • keep the car locked and the keys safe.

13. A driver on request

If you ask for a driver, we will confirm the price and terms for that service in your quote before you confirm your booking. A driver is an add-on. Self-drive is the default.

14. Insurance and who pays for damage

The cover included in your hire, and the excess that applies, are set out in your quote and rental agreement. We will give you a written summary of the cover before you confirm.

If the car is damaged, you are responsible for the cost up to the excess. Damage to tyres, glass, lights, the roof and the underbody may be excluded from cover, unless your quote says otherwise. Cover does not apply, and you are responsible for the full cost, if you:

  • drive while affected by alcohol or drugs;
  • let a driver who is not named on the rental agreement drive;
  • use the car in a way these terms do not allow, including off-road use;
  • do not report an accident or theft to us and to the police straight away;
  • give us false information.

15. What if there is an accident or a breakdown?

  • Accident. Make sure everyone is safe. Call us. If anyone is hurt, or another person or vehicle is involved, call the police on 119 (and an ambulance on 1990 if needed). Ask for a police report. Take photographs. Do not admit fault or agree to pay anyone, and do not leave the car unattended.
  • Breakdown. Call us. We will arrange help or a replacement, depending on the situation. If the breakdown is not caused by anything you did, you are not charged for the help, and we adjust your hire charge for the days you lost.
  • Fines, tolls and expressway charges. These are your responsibility. If we pay one for you, we may recover it from you, and we may give the authorities your details so that they can contact you directly.

16. Can I change or cancel my booking?

  • Changing your dates. Ask us as early as you can. We will confirm what we can do, depending on availability. The price may change, and the five-day minimum still applies.
  • Cancelling more than 48 hours before collection. Free. We refund everything you have paid.
  • Cancelling less than 48 hours before collection, or not turning up. We charge one day's hire and refund the rest.

17. If we have to change or cancel

If we cannot supply the car you booked, we will offer you a similar car or a full refund of what you have paid. We may refuse or end a hire if you break these terms, drive unsafely, or give false information. In that case, we do not refund the hire charge for the days you did not use, and we keep the security deposit to the extent of any loss to us.

We are not responsible for failing to meet our obligations because of events outside our control, such as severe weather, strikes, civil unrest, road closures or government action.

18. Our responsibility to you

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law. That includes death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, and your rights under consumer law in the country where you live, such as the Australian Consumer Law and consumer protection law in the UK, the EU and Canada.

Subject to that, we are responsible for loss that is a reasonably foreseeable result of our breaking these terms. We are not responsible for loss that was not reasonably foreseeable, or for business losses.

19. Complaints

If something goes wrong, please tell us straight away so that we can put it right. Contact hello@kinway.co or +44 7768 787 119 (United Kingdom) or +94 11 000 0000 (Sri Lanka). We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and reply in full within 14 days.

20. Your information

We handle your personal information as described in our Privacy Policy.

21. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. A change applies to bookings made after it takes effect. Once we have confirmed your booking, the terms at that time apply to it.

22. The rental agreement, the law and disputes

  • The rental agreement. You will be asked to sign it when you collect the car. It sets out the details of your hire, including the amounts that your quote states. If there is a conflict between the rental agreement and these terms, the rental agreement applies to that hire.
  • Law and courts. These terms are governed by the law of Sri Lanka, and the courts of Sri Lanka can settle disputes. If you live in the UK, the EU, Canada or Australia, you keep any consumer rights that the law of your home country gives you, including any right to bring a claim in your local courts.
  • Language. These terms are written in English.

23. Contact

Write to hello@kinway.co or call +44 7768 787 119 (United Kingdom) or +94 11 000 0000 (Sri Lanka).