We need to rent a car for our GOR trip. Is there a local car hire comapny, or an Australian car rental website, similar to car rental websites in the USA, where one can get better deals than the usual avis, etc.? Since we need to return the car on the 1st of Jan, the airport is probably our best bet. Thanks for your suggestions.

We rented from one of the majors, can't remember which one. There appear to be six rental companies at the Melbourne airport - Avis, Budget, Hertz, Thrifty, Europecar and Redspot.

You might want to take a look at these Aussie sites:

http://www.airportrentacar.com.au/

http://www.accessrentacar.com.au/

http://www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au/

Have a look at www.drivenow.com.au as it does a comparative search of all Australian car hire companies . I have used it several times and found it good .

That said I have found Thrifty the best in terms of price but the trick with all of them is insurance and excess in case of accident . Quite often they make you liable regardless of fault and the payment as a result can be really high .So look at that detail before deciding which suits you best.

Thank you... I was able to book Europcar on their own website and save AUD 100 compared to others. Helped to go on the comparative search websites.

minsin -

Be sure to check with your credit card company regarding the insurance they cover on Aussie car rentals. Many US Visa cards will extend insurance coverage if you use your card to book the car and they even cover the excess. Mastercard doesn't.

When you pick up your car and before you set off ask someone to explain the tram rules to you. They are different to many other places, not hard to follow but it helps if you find out about them first.

I know the US credit cards cover the LDW, but the Europcar rental seems to include this too. I will be getting the extra insurance too! Can I better AUD 350 for a 3 day rental from airport, with unlimited mileage? A lot of the others are closed on Jan 1, making it essential for me to rent from airport...

Thanks for the tip on tram rules. Had a tough time with them in another city...

The following site has all you will ned to know about road rules in Melbourne .It has useful diagrams to cover hook turns and the like .It and also has a link on it with tips for driving the GOR .

www.vicroads.vic.gov.au and then fllow the links from the home page to licencing and then the section on tips and information for tourists . At the bottom of that page is the link about the GOR .

$350 for three days sounds like a lot to me, but maybe that's because it's a short rental and over the holidays (?)

Not all US credit cards cover LDW in Australia...many cards specifically exclude coverage in OZ, NZ and Ireland, so be sure to check. The problem is that some countries include LDW in their rental rate, and many US credit cards require that ALL coverage be declined before they will offer coverage. It's been my experience that it's impossible to decline LDW in Australia and NZ.

The nice thing about Visa is that it covers your excess (deductible) which can be quite pricy in OZ, often as high as $3,000.

I'm not a fan of Europecar (in OZ anyway) as they often charge an additional fee for using a credit card AND they have a higher excess.

Read the fine print very carefully.

I usually find a better deal here in Australia with Hertz, Avis or Budget than Europcar.

If your credit card doesn't cover CDW, your travel insurance may, or you may be able to have it covered for a minimal fee. I added $2500 cover to my Covermore policy for $50, on an annual policy. As Melnq8 says, the insurance cover can be $25 - $35/day if you include it in the rental. Be aware that the advertised daily rates do NOT usually include it.

One more question on car hire - what kind of licence do the car companines in Australia accept? Is getting an international driving license a must? I have a US driving license but moved recently to Hong Kong and now have one from there too!

Glad you mentioned the rules about CDW/LDW - credit card companies do not cover Australia...At least I am now more prepared to deal with it! Thanks again...

As far as I know you will need an international licence

Your US driver's license is fine. We used our US licenses to rent cars in OZ and NZ many times.

Your Hong Kong license would probably work too - as long as it's current and in English, you're good to go.

JohnFitz -- thanks for the tip on www.drivenow.com.au

Just what I was looking for!