Australian Car Rental

[bobe]

A few friends will be in Australia most of March from the UK they want to hire a care for say 3 weeks or so, can anyone recommend a good reputable company to get a price from but dont want to break the bank they may want to hire from Sydney or Brisbane , look forward to your input.

 

[joyvee]

I usually use Red Spot which is the only Australian company to operate out of major airports.
Last time I checked they were cheaper than the alternative operators.
They do now have award points unless you are a business. will give 10% off for auto club membership.
Sometimes they have promos on their web site but I haven't found any when I needed them. I fly about 8 times a year from MEL -BNE where I collect hire car from.
Cheaper hire companies operate off airport grounds. Long term is always cheaper.

 

[MrHanky]

The 4 majors are Europcar, Thrifty, Avis and Budget... People on here will be fairly divided about which company to use.

Personally, I use Europcar 90% of the time (but it comes down to the rates I get quoted from each rental company...). Things to note:

CDW is mandatory in Australia, and included in the price for all rentals (this can make them appear inflated, when say, comparing against North America). It will have a ridiculous insurance excess of like $3000 or some such, but most good travel insurance policies have a reduction inclusion where you might only have to pay say, the first $300. Read the fine print!

Picking up from the Airport will have an associated premium, but most of the time the hassle it saves is worth it. Finally, google is your friend - often people post up coupon/promo codes for each of these rental companies... I have a particular code that I have used a number of times (spanning 2+ years now!) with great success (i.e. >=25% reduction in the total cost of rental). Good luck!

 

[VPS]

I use VroomVroomVroom Car Rental. We Compare Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Redspot, to compare and you can usually cancel without penalty

+1 for the travel insurance reducing the excess - it can save hundreds of dollars

 

[tuapekastar]

I also utilise vroomvroomvroom. I have used Bayswater car rentals in Perth more than once without issue. Exclusively Corollas I think, and they operate out of Sydney as well (though have not used them there).

 

[VRC]

+1 for vroomvroomvroom. To avoid the airport premium do a search using the city location as a pick-up to compare to the airport pick-up. I have found on a number of occassions a much cheaper alternative is get myself into town via cab or bus, hire car and then have the drop off set for back at the airport. As your friends are flying long haul into OZ I would also recommend not picking up the car straight away.

 

[drewbles]

Also try Airport Car Rental - Compare Over 2000 Airport Rental Deals and www.netflights.com

Found some very good rates on netflights for all inc (including CDP/CDW).

(have used both extensively without any issues)

 

[markis10]

+1 for vroomvroomvroom. To avoid the airport premium do a search using the city location as a pick-up to compare to the airport pick-up. I have found on a number of occassions a much cheaper alternative is get myself into town via cab or bus, hire car and then have the drop off set for back at the airport. As your friends are flying long haul into OZ I would also recommend not picking up the car straight away.

Sometimes downtown has a similar fee, ie this is an old hertz listing:

Location Fee






Adelaide Airport 14.00 %
Alice Springs Airport 17.00 %
Armidale Airport 6.00%
Avalon Airport 10.00 %
Ayers Rock Airport 19.00 %
Ayers Rock Downtown 19.00%
Ballina Airport 5.00 %
Brisbane Airport 14.00 %
Broome Airport 10.00 %
Cairns Airport 14.00 %
Coffs Harbour Airport 4.00 %
Canberra Airport 22.00 %
Coolangatta Airport 14.00 %
Darwin Airport 14.00 %
Emerald Downtown 15.00%
Emerald Airport 15.00%
Geraldton Airport 5.25 %
Grafton Airport 6.00%
Gunnedah Airport 6.00%
Hervey Bay Airport 10.00 %
Hobart Airport 12.00%
Kalgoorlie Airport 10.00 %
Karratha Airport 9.22 %
Launceston Airport 7.50 %
Lismore Airport 2.00 %
Mackay Airport 11.00 %
Maroochydore Airport 14.00 %
Merimbula Airport 5.00 %
Melbourne Airport 17.00 %
Mildura Airport 5.00 %
Moree Airport 6.00 %
Moruya Airport 5.00 %
Mt.Isa Airport 11.6%
Narrabri Airport 6.00 %
Newcastle Airport 16.00 %
Perth Airport 15.00 %
Port Hedland Airport 9.22 %
Port Macquarie Airport 3.30 %
Proserpine Airport 5.00%
Rockhampton Airport 13.50 %
Rockhampton Trucks 13.50%
Sydney Airport 22.00 %
Sydney City 5.00%
Tamworth Airport 6.00%
Taree Airport 6.00%
Townsville Airport 16.00 %