comet555

Ok... I haven't had to rent a car too many times before so I'm fairly new at the whole thing.

Do you really need excess reduction, or will your credit cards cover the same thing? Or can you take out cheaper insurance with your regular insurance providers at home? Anyone not got the excess reduction, or do people normally get that sort of thing?

Also I worry about getting all of our luggage in there. I want to bring as much as possible but I don't want to rent a gigantic vehicle to fit it all.

We have rented a mid-sized SUV, like a Nissan X-Trail or Hyundai Sante Fe I think. We are planning on bringing 2 large suitcases and 1 large duffle bag.

We have two little kids in carseats so we can't really use the seats to store much except our carry on stuff. I thought a luggage bag would be better because it could probably lay on the floor under the kids feet (since they don't even come close to the floor).

If we could there on May 5th would there be lots of rentals available in case we needed to upgrade to a bigger vehicle?

Sorry for the rambling, just a little bit of last minute panic!

Haley

lonndongeek

Check you credit card policy carefully, if need be call the company, ask them specific questions and get specific answers.

Some cards will cover all car rental insurance (I know that the UK Amex platinum charge card does), others will cover specific risks. One thing to be aware of is that most card policies will only cover you on a vehicle up to a certain value.

Sorry I can't be more specific or helpful, but every card company is different in what they do and (more importantly) don't cover.

Cheers

LG

Malcs66

just one word of warning, you may have seen my post from earlier. When you return the car get the company to check the car over for damage. I dropped the car off and as it was late at night nobody checked it over, just posted the keys and paperwork through the counter. Since returning home i have been billed for damage to the car. I know it was ok when i left it in there bay.

comet555

Yes, I will definitely do that. I'm a little paranoid so I'll probably take pictures with the digital camera as well

I will be calling the credit card companies this week to see what they will cover. If I'm not sure I'll just get the insurance anyway, although I will not be happy to pay the $20 a day (I think it was) for the insurance for the month.

datamile

Lots of specialist insurance deals required the vehicle to 150km from your place of residence to stop you using it at home. so if you're moving to oz, then you cant use them.

As for the hire companies, I think Budget has the best policy, most don't cover tyres, windows etc.

comet555

We're renting from Budget because they had the best deal by far for what we're looking for.

So I may just have to get the insurance I guess, unless the credit card companies take care of it.

Centurion

Credit card companies do not take care of it. Get the excess reduction because if something happens otherwise its going to cost you $1000's

SUV's are more expensive than cars to rent and offer no real advantage either since you cant take them on the beach etc which will be stipulated in the terms. Consider a falcon sized car which offers bags of room and is usually cheaper thanks to being a fleet vehicle. The trunk in mine is HUUUGE.

Dorothy

Check your car insurance from home. Last year when a bunch of us girls went to Florida we rented the car in my name because I had rental car insurance as an add on to my regular policy. Is Alberta now gov't ins or is it still private? If it's gov't, then you may not have rental car add on, but read your policy anyway.
You probably don't want to drive anything too large here. We found the roads to be much narrower than those back home and don't forget they drive on the left here so it's very different. It's going to take a few days to get over feeling like you are on the wrong side of the road. My husband still, nearly 9 months later, drives on the wrong side of the road sometimes. And don't forget the roundabouts. Remember the person on the right always has the right of way and you should be ok. It's very difficult to have been driving for close to 30 years and then suddenly be told it's all backwards!
Friends of ours bought a Santa Fe and there is lots of room in the back for your luggage. You can put your carry on in the back seat on the floor, but should really have enough room for it all in the cargo area.
Too bad we're going to miss each other while you are here. I'm going to be in Perth visiting the old man and then hopefully coming back to ADL to pack up the house for a move. Once you guys are over here and settled we'll book a weekend in Sydney so we can get together. Enjoy your trip, guys.

comet555

Thanks Dorothy... look forward to actually meeting you some day!

I will definitely check with the credit cards and our insurance company, but I will have no issues paying for the insurance if need be.

I'm afraid my husband is an not too fond of cars.... he pretty much hates them. So it's an SUV or truck, and an SUV is cheaper. It hadn't occured to me that the roads might be narrower so we'll have to see how we find it when we get there. I had planned to buy an SUV (probably a Sante Fe) once we settle because of the luggage and the two small kids (and also hubby's car avoidance). So we're hoping the rental will sort of be like an extended test drive to give us a feel for things.

Oh... and I think the insurance here is still private, so I'll look into that.

stevemich

We are going back to the UK for a holiday, and the travel insurance covers the first $4,000 of excess on car hire...
Maybe worth checking out?

lesleys

This is from insurance4carhire Q&A page...

• Explain the 150 kilometre Restriction
It is not valid to rent a car within 150 km of your usual place of residence. This means that if, for example, you live in London, you cannot rent a vehicle in London.

This restriction does not apply to expatriates. An example would be someone who owns a home in London but whose usual place of residence is in another country. When that person visits the UK, they can rent a car in London because their usual place of residence is not London, but another country.

The restriction also does not apply if your home is separated by the sea from the country you are visiting. For example, residents of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are covered to rent a car in the United Kingdom, even though they may be renting a car within 150 km of their usual place of residence.



.................

So it would be worth phoning them as your 'usual place of residence' will not have been established in Australia when you first arrive.

Dorothy

Comet is from Canada, so I don't know if the same thing would apply to her.

comet555

I will be making a bunch of phone calls next week. We're a little busy packing at the moment. I will update when I find out what everyone says.

datamile

insurance4carhire said that you couldn't use it if you live there, but you could use their www.dailyexcess.com product at £4 a day

Dorothy

That's actually pretty inexpensive. Works out to about $10 per day for car insurance.
Especially going to a country where they drive on the opposite side of the road, I would pay extra for insurance. It does take some time to get used to the different road rules.