car rentals in australia
May 11th, 2003, 04:45 PM
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car rentals in australia
Looking for recommendations on car rentals in Australia. I know the US companies (Hertz, etc.) are there. But I was in NZ and found that there were some good local firms that rented cars that were in great shape but were a few years old - for about half the cost. Any suggestions?
May 11th, 2003, 10:15 PM
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G'day Pamo,
you don't say where you want to rent a car.
The large operators (Hertz, Avis, Budget etc.) are most likely your only choice if you need one-way rental and depending on how long you hire the car for, a one-way fee maybe waived.
Often the daily rate also reduces for longer hire periods.
You are right, there are many smaller operators with better rates but they rarely offer one-way rentals.
Do a search in Google on car rental and the location you want to hire from.
Most, even small operators have a web site where you can find their rates and conditions.
Take note of the free KM's per day and the insurance options.
Have a good trip,
Mike.
you don't say where you want to rent a car.
The large operators (Hertz, Avis, Budget etc.) are most likely your only choice if you need one-way rental and depending on how long you hire the car for, a one-way fee maybe waived.
Often the daily rate also reduces for longer hire periods.
You are right, there are many smaller operators with better rates but they rarely offer one-way rentals.
Do a search in Google on car rental and the location you want to hire from.
Most, even small operators have a web site where you can find their rates and conditions.
Take note of the free KM's per day and the insurance options.
Have a good trip,
Mike.
May 12th, 2003, 05:53 AM
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Hi, Pamo!
If you are price-conscious, I wouldn't go near Hertz, Avis, Budget, or any of the "majors". I don't often hire a car, either here in Sydney or anywhere else, but every time I have, I have first obtained a quote from a couple of the "majors" and then grabbed the Yellow Pages of wherever I happened to be, and rung around. I like the satisfaction of dealing with a person and not an institution, I have found that the one-man show is much more likely to do little extras for you (in New Zealand he came and picked us up, put a baby seat in the car for us, and took us to the airport when we returned the car), and -- you are exactly right here -- for the small concession of taking a car that's a few years old, you can save around 50% of the rental costs. So, let your phone fingers do the walking for you when you arrive.
Have a great time!
If you are price-conscious, I wouldn't go near Hertz, Avis, Budget, or any of the "majors". I don't often hire a car, either here in Sydney or anywhere else, but every time I have, I have first obtained a quote from a couple of the "majors" and then grabbed the Yellow Pages of wherever I happened to be, and rung around. I like the satisfaction of dealing with a person and not an institution, I have found that the one-man show is much more likely to do little extras for you (in New Zealand he came and picked us up, put a baby seat in the car for us, and took us to the airport when we returned the car), and -- you are exactly right here -- for the small concession of taking a car that's a few years old, you can save around 50% of the rental costs. So, let your phone fingers do the walking for you when you arrive.
Have a great time!
May 12th, 2003, 03:23 PM
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Hello-
Thought I'd warn you about Europcar. Don't rent with them. We got a stone chip which we took for an estimate and was given a quote of about $200 to do the entire hood. In the end the company charged us almost $250 to redo just the chip. We were never able to speak with anyone about the dmage. Apparently, the Europcar office in Cairns is a franchise and so do not deal with the central reservations department for the rest of Australia. We sent email after email and phone call after phone call and never got a reply. It seemed the work was arbitrarily done and we were never even given a copy of the damage report and the repair report. We are still dealing with them 6 months later. So, a word of advise- anyone but Europcar!
Thought I'd warn you about Europcar. Don't rent with them. We got a stone chip which we took for an estimate and was given a quote of about $200 to do the entire hood. In the end the company charged us almost $250 to redo just the chip. We were never able to speak with anyone about the dmage. Apparently, the Europcar office in Cairns is a franchise and so do not deal with the central reservations department for the rest of Australia. We sent email after email and phone call after phone call and never got a reply. It seemed the work was arbitrarily done and we were never even given a copy of the damage report and the repair report. We are still dealing with them 6 months later. So, a word of advise- anyone but Europcar!
May 13th, 2003, 05:03 PM
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Kelly, I am absolutely astounded that a stone chip in the Cairns area wouldn't be considered no more than fair wear and tear; it is only recently that I have seen Europcar in Sydney -- I think they're new to this part of the world -- but I shall certainly remember your experience when recommending rental companies in future. Once again, the "one-man-show" would (I believe) seldom stoop to this kind of practice, so I stand by my recommendation (above).
May 18th, 2003, 09:38 AM
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No. Of Days 7 days (base on 24 hour cycle)
* Toyota RAV4 @ AUD$115.00 a day (unlimited kms with insurance excess @$2750) or
* Toyota RAV4 @ AUD$93.00 a day (200 kms a day with insurance excess @$2750)
Manual, 2 litre, 4 cylinder, 5 doors, air conditioning, power steering/brakes, central locking
Do think it's a good rate ? To me , it's a bit expensive. Do you know some local in Darwin which has a website ?
Tnaks,
Olivier
* Toyota RAV4 @ AUD$115.00 a day (unlimited kms with insurance excess @$2750) or
* Toyota RAV4 @ AUD$93.00 a day (200 kms a day with insurance excess @$2750)
Manual, 2 litre, 4 cylinder, 5 doors, air conditioning, power steering/brakes, central locking
Do think it's a good rate ? To me , it's a bit expensive. Do you know some local in Darwin which has a website ?
Tnaks,
Olivier
May 18th, 2003, 01:22 PM
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Olivier - the rate for a Rav is not expensive especially when most of the taxes etc are included in that rate i.e. $93Au per day which is about $50US. However what is expensive in Darwin is the wretched excess at whatever ridiculous price they have on it now. When I was there I had booked a car but when told of the excess decided that they could "stuff" the car at that price. I am Australian and was told it was because of the Asian tourists hitting things all the time - what a load of rubbish!!!!!!! They can get away with it up in Darwin because there is NO competition and they do.
Think seriously about whether you really need a car. Darwin is a small place and there are taxis everywhere and anywhere around the town. Its better to take a safari anyway to Kakadu as the locals will take you to places you wouldn't know about and a lot of which are off on dirt roads which void your insurance anyway on a rental car.
If everyone boycotted the rental car industry in the Northern Territory things would have to change. There is absolutely no excuse for the excess charges on rental vehicles even if there is a risk of running into wild animals on the road the risk of running into some other vehicle is less because of 1/ the better roads in the NT and 2/ there is hardly anyone on the roads.... BUT always be aware of the road trains (trucks) which are the size/length of 3 double story semi-trailers if you are driving.
Think seriously about whether you really need a car. Darwin is a small place and there are taxis everywhere and anywhere around the town. Its better to take a safari anyway to Kakadu as the locals will take you to places you wouldn't know about and a lot of which are off on dirt roads which void your insurance anyway on a rental car.
If everyone boycotted the rental car industry in the Northern Territory things would have to change. There is absolutely no excuse for the excess charges on rental vehicles even if there is a risk of running into wild animals on the road the risk of running into some other vehicle is less because of 1/ the better roads in the NT and 2/ there is hardly anyone on the roads.... BUT always be aware of the road trains (trucks) which are the size/length of 3 double story semi-trailers if you are driving.
Feb 23rd, 2004, 08:12 PM
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FYI -- I ran into some bait and switch on car rentals from the national US companies -- quoted one rate in US -- and the Aussies didn't seem to have any idea about it. I did rent part of the time with US companies -- then switched to an Aussie co that rented cars that had about 50k miles -- it was about 1/2 the price of the US companies -- and the care was fine.
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