Fair Car hire prices

[Deleted member 6404]

Hi All I'll be heading to Adelaide town in Jan and want to hire a car from the airport, I got a real shock a few years back when I got the final bill with all these extra charges thrown in on top when I returned it.
So is there a company out there that don't try to stitch you up and can give a true daily cost on line, Is it better to hire a car once arrived at the airport instead of booking on line?.
Thanks

 

[andye]

Definitely buy online and shop around. eg don't assume that the Virgin portals site is as good as the standard one.
If you hire very few cars a year, almost certainly best just to go with price whether it is hire company's own site or an aggregator. In ADL it is unlikely to be a hire company offsite from the airport but this can be an issue overseas.

Decide if you want to stump up the insurance excess. It usually is not worth it-check to see if your credit card or other travel insurance covers domestic car hire excess

Choose the return full tank option. Check in advance where the nearest petrol station to the airport is. Leave time to fill up before your return flight

Make sure you check the car thoroughly for damage before you leave and report anything not on the damage sheet.

If you have VA status, you can get complimentary Hertz or Europcar status (eventually) which may give you extras such as free extra driver

Entertainment Book, Ambassador Card and other reward schemes often offer car hire discounts

 

[JohnK]

In my experience both Avis and Hertz provide an accurate quote online.

 

[Collie]

I use Hertz a fair bit and find them pretty good, sometimes book direct , more often via a 3rd party site (airport rentals, velocity or arguscarhire - whichever is cheapest) Follow advice above - book online in advance. return car full. I have separate excess insurance with a credit card so decline that.

 

[tosh04]

If you book direct or via an aggregator - i use webcarhire.com - all fees and taxes should be included in your confirmed rate. Up to you if you want to reduce your excess at the counter when picking up. Definitely pre book as will almost certainly be cheaper than a walk up rate. Most websites you don't have to prepay anything so can always cancel if you find a better rate after you have booked.

 

[Deleted member 6404]

I see you have mentioned separate excess insurance with your credit card, I have the citibank signature card would that card include free excess insurance if I book and pay with that card?

 

[andye]

Best check T&Cs but think Citi covers for international and interstate. When I last looked ANZ cards covered any rental

 

[Cynicor]

Isn't citi the odd one that only covers sedans and not hatches? One of them is odd so make sure you read your PDS.

 

[VPS]

I use vroom vroom for a lot of bookings - think about a cheap annual domestic travel insurance if you're not comfortable with you card insurance - sometimes a $100 policy can save that $40 a day excess

 

[Awesom Andy]

In Australia, I find that it's usually best to go directly through the provider's website. Check their websites for deals though, the specials aren't automatically applied even if you qualify for them so you have to use the links or put in the correct codes for the quote. Also, on arrival, check the paperwork to ensure the rate is correct. In some cases, the discounts don't stick properly and they need to be adjusted, and that's best done before you drive off. I had the wrong rate given to me once with Hertz, and they fixed it up straight away in what looked like a well practiced routine so this seems to happen at least every now and then. And make sure nothing has been added to the bill before you drive off - common additions include excess reduction insurance (which you may or may not want), toll road usage, and fuel purchase options. If you're booking through the providers, the quote given online should pretty much match what's on the invoice unless you've intentionally taken up optional extras.

 

[Deleted member 6404]

Thanks all for your feed back, I decided to purchase a $50 travel insurance that will cover the rental excess cover a big saving to what the hire company's are offering.