Rq

Looking for suggestions about Aussie Car rental companies.

I'm looking for a company that is considered "national" (or at least
somewhat national) in scope, has depots at the major airports (or a local
complimentary shuttle service to/from the airport) such as Sydney and
Melbourne, and of course one which has good service, good rates, and is
reliable and trustworthy. I know the majors (Budget, Avis, Thrifty,
National, Europcar) are all represented there, but I'm wondering about
others which may be more Aussie-specific. (I'd consider the majors, but so
far at least, they seem fairly expensive, their Australian depots don't seem
to be reachable by email, their international call center agents often don't
seem to understand the insurance system and other Australia-specific details
(and often give info that conflicts with their websites, or which differs
depending on whom you're talking with).) I'd like to be able to make sure I
understand all the terms and conditions, costs etc before I make the
booking, to avoid any "surprises" when I get there. Some car rental
companies seem more geared up to provide this kind of info than do others.

I'm also planning to rent a car in Tasmania, and would like to be able to
deal with the same company, but would be prepared to deal with a different
one there if necessary.

I've seen the Apollo and Apex websites, but, surprisingly, they don't seem
to provide or even support airport service. Red Spot seems to be a local
company which does provide airport service.

Does anyone have any experience with/comments about the above-mentioned
companies, or others? (I'll be looking for probably a compact or economy
car, not an RV or 4WD.)

Any comments/suggestions appreciated.

RQ

Stevesub

We have ALWAYS gone with the majors over the last 10 years or so. No
problems. Every we have used the smaller companies in the past, we have had
either inferior cars or problems with the company including being a victim
of fraud by a company in Los Angeles.

I am not saying that you will have any problems with smaller rental
companies in Australia, I am saying that in my experience world wide incl
Australia, the major companies,even though they may be slightly more
expensive, have served us the best. Also note that the smaller companies are
good at hiding extra costs that SUDDENLY appear on your credit card and at
the end of the day are not much cheaper than the majors once all costings
are done.

Also if you have a problem when you get home, then a multinational will help
you sort it out, but a one country only rental company may not want to know
you. We had good service from Avis once when they found a scratch on a car
and we were home when extra charges were put on the credit card - no problem
to sort out to everyones satisfaction from overseas.

For insurance, I always ask for my car to be insured, the other car and the
other person. Then I let the company sort out with their mumbo jumbo what
insurance package fits best. They do like to make things complicated.

DO not pre-buy fuel, it is another way for rental car companies to rip you
off. Your luggage should be insured by your travel insurance company so you
do not need that. Try to become a member of the various companies clubs
i.e. get a Wizard number from Avis, a Hertz Gold Club card, etc. They are
usually free to join and hold your profile on file so you do not need to
hassle with insurance, etc every time you want a car. You also get
preferential treatment.

Good Luck

Stevesub




"RQ" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected].. .
    > Looking for suggestions about Aussie Car rental companies.
    > I'm looking for a company that is considered "national" (or at least
    > somewhat national) in scope, has depots at the major airports (or a local
    > complimentary shuttle service to/from the airport) such as Sydney and
    > Melbourne, and of course one which has good service, good rates, and is
    > reliable and trustworthy. I know the majors (Budget, Avis, Thrifty,
    > National, Europcar) are all represented there, but I'm wondering about
    > others which may be more Aussie-specific. (I'd consider the majors, but so
    > far at least, they seem fairly expensive, their Australian depots don't
    > seem to be reachable by email, their international call center agents
    > often don't seem to understand the insurance system and other
    > Australia-specific details (and often give info that conflicts with their
    > websites, or which differs depending on whom you're talking with).) I'd
    > like to be able to make sure I understand all the terms and conditions,
    > costs etc before I make the booking, to avoid any "surprises" when I get
    > there. Some car rental companies seem more geared up to provide this kind
    > of info than do others.
    > I'm also planning to rent a car in Tasmania, and would like to be able to
    > deal with the same company, but would be prepared to deal with a different
    > one there if necessary.
    > I've seen the Apollo and Apex websites, but, surprisingly, they don't seem
    > to provide or even support airport service. Red Spot seems to be a local
    > company which does provide airport service.
    > Does anyone have any experience with/comments about the above-mentioned
    > companies, or others? (I'll be looking for probably a compact or economy
    > car, not an RV or 4WD.)
    > Any comments/suggestions appreciated.
    > RQ
    >

David Bennetts

"Stevesub" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:434afc92$0$501$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader-03.brisbane.pipenetworks.com.au...
    > We have ALWAYS gone with the majors over the last 10 years or so. No
    > problems. Every we have used the smaller companies in the past, we have
    > had either inferior cars or problems with the company including being a
    > victim of fraud by a company in Los Angeles.
    > I am not saying that you will have any problems with smaller rental
    > companies in Australia, I am saying that in my experience world wide incl
    > Australia, the major companies,even though they may be slightly more
    > expensive, have served us the best. Also note that the smaller companies
    > are good at hiding extra costs that SUDDENLY appear on your credit card
    > and at the end of the day are not much cheaper than the majors once all
    > costings are done.
    > Also if you have a problem when you get home, then a multinational will
    > help you sort it out, but a one country only rental company may not want
    > to know you. We had good service from Avis once when they found a scratch
    > on a car and we were home when extra charges were put on the credit card -
    > no problem to sort out to everyones satisfaction from overseas.
    > For insurance, I always ask for my car to be insured, the other car and
    > the other person. Then I let the company sort out with their mumbo jumbo
    > what insurance package fits best. They do like to make things complicated.
    > DO not pre-buy fuel, it is another way for rental car companies to rip you
    > off. Your luggage should be insured by your travel insurance company so
    > you do not need that. Try to become a member of the various companies
    > clubs i.e. get a Wizard number from Avis, a Hertz Gold Club card, etc.
    > They are usually free to join and hold your profile on file so you do not
    > need to hassle with insurance, etc every time you want a car. You also get
    > preferential treatment.
    > Good Luck
    > Stevesub

Whilst not detracting from the advice you have given, I have used the
services of a broker on many occasions when hiring cars away from home -
www.holidayautos.com and have never had any problems. At first glance you
may not appear to be getting a better rate than booking directly with the
majors, but they do include all the essentials such as CDW in the rate, so
there are no "hidden:" extras. Invariably the car has been supplied by a
major company, and the car has been almost new and you get what is expected.

I too have heard the sad stories about people having mysterious amounts show
up on their credit card statements afterward from supposed damage to the
vehicle, unfortunately this could be a problem with unscrupulous operators,
who could pocket the extra charges to make up for the lower rates they
quote.

Regards

David Bennetts
Australia

Stevesub

Looks like a good site. I have also used the major rental companies to
"re-locate" cars for them. At the end of the day, all you pay for is
insurance and is a real cheap way of renting a car Another site to look at
is

http://www.standbycars.com.au/oneways.aspx

I have never used them as I have only heard of them for a short time but
worth a call.

Stevesub
"David Bennetts" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > "Stevesub" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:434afc92$0$501$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader-03.brisbane.pipenetworks.com.au...
    >> We have ALWAYS gone with the majors over the last 10 years or so. No
    >> problems. Every we have used the smaller companies in the past, we have
    >> had either inferior cars or problems with the company including being a
    >> victim of fraud by a company in Los Angeles.
    >> I am not saying that you will have any problems with smaller rental
    >> companies in Australia, I am saying that in my experience world wide incl
    >> Australia, the major companies,even though they may be slightly more
    >> expensive, have served us the best. Also note that the smaller companies
    >> are good at hiding extra costs that SUDDENLY appear on your credit card
    >> and at the end of the day are not much cheaper than the majors once all
    >> costings are done.
    >> Also if you have a problem when you get home, then a multinational will
    >> help you sort it out, but a one country only rental company may not want
    >> to know you. We had good service from Avis once when they found a scratch
    >> on a car and we were home when extra charges were put on the credit
    >> card - no problem to sort out to everyones satisfaction from overseas.
    >> For insurance, I always ask for my car to be insured, the other car and
    >> the other person. Then I let the company sort out with their mumbo jumbo
    >> what insurance package fits best. They do like to make things
    >> complicated.
    >> DO not pre-buy fuel, it is another way for rental car companies to rip
    >> you off. Your luggage should be insured by your travel insurance company
    >> so you do not need that. Try to become a member of the various companies
    >> clubs i.e. get a Wizard number from Avis, a Hertz Gold Club card, etc.
    >> They are usually free to join and hold your profile on file so you do not
    >> need to hassle with insurance, etc every time you want a car. You also
    >> get preferential treatment.
    >> Good Luck
    >> Stevesub
    > Whilst not detracting from the advice you have given, I have used the
    > services of a broker on many occasions when hiring cars away from home -
    > www.holidayautos.com and have never had any problems. At first glance you
    > may not appear to be getting a better rate than booking directly with the
    > majors, but they do include all the essentials such as CDW in the rate, so
    > there are no "hidden:" extras. Invariably the car has been supplied by a
    > major company, and the car has been almost new and you get what is
    > expected.
    > I too have heard the sad stories about people having mysterious amounts
    > show up on their credit card statements afterward from supposed damage to
    > the vehicle, unfortunately this could be a problem with unscrupulous
    > operators, who could pocket the extra charges to make up for the lower
    > rates they quote.
    > Regards
    > David Bennetts
    > Australia
    >

Psych_prof

We rented a camper van in Adelaide and dropped it in Perth. We rented
from Apollo (they also rents cars) and had no problems what so ever.
We found Apollo through a broker. The Apollo dealer was surprised at
the low price we were getting (but they may say that to all of their
customers.)

Abe Ross

Rq

Thanks to everyone for the comments. I'm still researching, but did come
across the Apollo website. I was at first a bit "turned off" by them since
they appear to not offer airport service, even a shuttle service, even at
major cites.

However, their website does appear to contain detailed info about how to get
to their depots, and the cost for doing so (presumably by taxi), and pretty
good info on terms and conditions, etc. And on the surface, at least, their
rates look not too bad (subject to general comments below). It appears they
may even offer freephone service for calls from most places in the world,
although I haven't tried it yet. So their website seems to indicate a little
more "customer friendliness" than their failure to offer airport service
would suggest, always subject to direct experience, of course. It's
interesting to hear of experiences of at least one previous customer.

In general, I've learned in researching this stuff so far that there are
LOTS of taxes and surcharges that get added on top of the "sticker" price
for car rentals, so it's hard to make a judgment on what the true cost will
be until a detailed quote is obtained. Even then, I'm finding it's hard to
be sure.

I don't know if this is unique to Australia when it comes to renting cars,
but for sure in Australia there a lot of these "add-on" taxes, fees and
surcharges, amounting to significant $, as well as "optional" insurance
coverages which may be more necessary than optional, and the cost of which
may differ considerably among rental car companies. Rental company websites
are often vague and unclear (saying things like, "for details, see the
retnal agreement" which may not be available until the customer is at the
desk, obviously too late!) and agents at call centers are often not very
knowledgeable about the subject, often just as confused as the customer may
be. For example, I contacted Avis to ask about insurance, called at least
three different times within a three week span, and got
three--count'em---THREE!!! different answers (for the same kind of vehicle
and basically the same rental period) about how much it would cost to reduce
the standard excess/deductible (ranging from $13 AUD per day to $23 AUD per
day). I also received two different explanations as to whether the very
large excess ($2500 AUD) applies just to the rental vehicle or also to third
party property (e.g. another automobile) damaged in an accident. (This is an
important question, since, based on my research, credit card programs may
often cover damage to the rental vehicle, but will NOT cover damage to third
party property. In an accident, there is, of course, an excellent chance
there will be such third party property damage, such as to another
automobile. As an aside, these very high excesses seem to be pretty standard
in Australia--even one rental car agent (not at Avis) agreed that it's quite
high when compared to other countries, but didn't know why.)

(Avis' (Australia) website says "Unlimited public liability and property
damage (PLPD) are included in the rental charges", says that an excess
applies to the rental car, but says nothing about the excess applying to
third party property. That is, their website seems to say there is zero
excess/deductible on third party property damage. An agent at the
international call center told me a couple of times, even after I questioned
it, that there is, in fact, zero deductible/excess on third party property
damage. However, an email from Avis customer service says "If there is
damage to the Avis vehicle and/or third party property, the renter is liable
for the excess amount applicable to their rate (excess amount example
15%).", apparently contradicting what the agent had previously told me. [Not
sure what this 15% refers to. They didn't explain it. Perhaps 15% of the
(depreciated) value of the vehicle(?).] The Avis email goes on to say "Any
additional information you will need to contact the Avis location at the
Sydney Aiport". I have yet to contact the Sydney depot, but given all the
confusion, I'm not sure I could rely on a verbal explanation.)

Just some comments from the continuing (frustrating!) saga of checking out
rental car options in Australia!! Thanks again for the previous (and any
future) comments!

RQ

"Psych_prof" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] oups.com...
    > We rented a camper van in Adelaide and dropped it in Perth. We rented
    > from Apollo (they also rents cars) and had no problems what so ever.
    > We found Apollo through a broker. The Apollo dealer was surprised at
    > the low price we were getting (but they may say that to all of their
    > customers.)
    > Abe Ross
    >

Frank Slootweg

RQ <[email protected]> wrote:
    > Thanks to everyone for the comments. I'm still researching, but did come
    > across the Apollo website. I was at first a bit "turned off" by them since
    > they appear to not offer airport service, even a shuttle service, even at
    > major cites.
    >
    > However, their website does appear to contain detailed info about how to get
    > to their depots, and the cost for doing so (presumably by taxi), and pretty
    > good info on terms and conditions, etc. And on the surface, at least, their
    > rates look not too bad (subject to general comments below). It appears they
    > may even offer freephone service for calls from most places in the world,
    > although I haven't tried it yet. So their website seems to indicate a little
    > more "customer friendliness" than their failure to offer airport service
    > would suggest, always subject to direct experience, of course. It's
    > interesting to hear of experiences of at least one previous customer.

FWIW, I am another satisfied Apollo customer. We rented two campervans
from them (first 4WD, second 2WD).

[rest deleted]

Caric

RQ wrote:

    > In general, I've learned in researching this stuff so far that there are
    > LOTS of taxes and surcharges that get added on top of the "sticker" price
    > for car rentals,

You're not wrong there! An example just this week from one of the
major companies in Victoria: 3 days @ $82 per day = $246
plus 7 extra "charges" bringing the total to $430.

Alan S

On 17 Oct 2005 14:31:17 -0700, "Caric" <[email protected]>
wrote:

    >RQ wrote:
    >> In general, I've learned in researching this stuff so far that there are
    >> LOTS of taxes and surcharges that get added on top of the "sticker" price
    >> for car rentals,
    >You're not wrong there! An example just this week from one of the
    >major companies in Victoria: 3 days @ $82 per day = $246
    >plus 7 extra "charges" bringing the total to $430.

Unfortunately, it's the same all around the world. I'm
researching car rental in NZ, Eire and US/Canada next year -
in all of them it's wise to read the fine print on
insurance, which can double the bill, and also on one-way
charges.

If you are using Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity etc - they all
exclude insurance extras, so read the details carefully.

Incidentally, on the local news here there was a report of
car renters being uninsured in the recent Gold Coast
hailstorm, and being liable for up to AU$3000 in costs. I
can't find any reports on this story on the web- does anyone
have a link to details?

Cheers, Alan, Australia

Rq

Good point re Expedia, Travelocity etc. So if booking a car through an
online service like that, when does the customer get the chance to see the
total price? Only at the counter when picking up the car?

RQ

"Alan S" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > On 17 Oct 2005 14:31:17 -0700, "Caric" <[email protected]>
    > wrote:
    >>RQ wrote:
    >>> In general, I've learned in researching this stuff so far that there are
    >>> LOTS of taxes and surcharges that get added on top of the "sticker"
    >>> price
    >>> for car rentals,
    >>You're not wrong there! An example just this week from one of the
    >>major companies in Victoria: 3 days @ $82 per day = $246
    >>plus 7 extra "charges" bringing the total to $430.
    > Unfortunately, it's the same all around the world. I'm
    > researching car rental in NZ, Eire and US/Canada next year -
    > in all of them it's wise to read the fine print on
    > insurance, which can double the bill, and also on one-way
    > charges.
    > If you are using Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity etc - they all
    > exclude insurance extras, so read the details carefully.
    > Incidentally, on the local news here there was a report of
    > car renters being uninsured in the recent Gold Coast
    > hailstorm, and being liable for up to AU$3000 in costs. I
    > can't find any reports on this story on the web- does anyone
    > have a link to details?
    > Cheers, Alan, Australia