Car rental rates during the pandemic

[lovetravellingoz]

It’s normally included in local rentals but subject to an excess payable if there is claim. You can pay the rental company additional fees to reduce or remove the excess. Travel insurance might cover the excess and/or some credit card insurances. It pays to look closely at the rental agreements and insurance policies to avoid not being covered or paying twice/three times for redundant cover.

Yes understood.

For my European car rentals I have used third party insurance as it is substantially cheaper than direct from the rental company. Plus they can cover other things apart from the excess removal such as tyre damage, windscreens etc

I used to have an ANZ Credit card that provided it for free in Australia, but no longer have the card. The European firm I usually use does not cover the vehicle I am looking at in Australia

For example Rental Car Insurance - From $8.99 a day | Rentalcarprotection is not as good as the european company.

 

[SYD]

Yes understood.

For my European car rentals I have used third party insurance as it is substantially cheaper than direct from the rental company. Plus they can cover other things apart from the excess removal such as tyre damage, windscreens etc

I used to have an ANZ Credit card that provided it for free in Australia, but no longer have the card. The European firm I usually use does not cover the vehicle I am looking at in Australia

For example Rental Car Insurance - From $8.99 a day | Rentalcarprotection is not as good as the european company.

Yeah, it’s bit of a murky minefield for the occasional renter.

Paying the rental company is probably the most expensive (especially if you’re already covered by TI and/or CC) but it can provide peace of mind. I had a motorcycle run into me in Costa Rica with a fully insured car. Just filled in a form and we were on our way. Another time in Adelaide, I was charged a couple $K and the TI didn’t cover it Because basically the car wasn‘t written off!

 

[somebol]

Not sure whether this is appropriate but having been born in Germany, I frequently check German websites for car rental, especially when local fares are high and for one way rentals. On the weekend, I booked a one way rental in NZ for early June, collecting in Nelson and returning in Queenstown. The booking is with Europcar (they wanted close to $NZ1,000 for the three days, mostly due to the one way fee), the website I have used several times brought that down to 167 Euro. This also includes excess free (!) insurance, the website is www.billiger-mietwagen.de!

Google Translate is your friend, I guess. Friends used it in Cairns during school holidays (early April) and they paid a third of what Europcar wanted, and the booking was with Europcar. Food for thought.

Made a booking using the german site for a 4 day trip to Melbourne, end of June.

The price difference is crazy. German site (europcar) - 200 EUR vs Europcar - $870. This is for a kia sportage or equivalent.
Now hoping the booking sticks.

Is there anyway to check the booking on europcar website?

 

[burmans]

ANZ credit card for me (its one of the reasons I still have mine) but there are a number of companies who offer this much cheaper than the hire car companies, google is your friend.

Rental Car Insurance | Allianz Global Assistance

Everything you need to know about buying rental car insurance, including rental car insurance coverage details and benefits.

www.allianztravelinsurance.com

RentalCover.com — Save On Your Rental Car Insurance

Great value collision damage protection for 50% less than you'd pay at the rental desk. Save up to $134 per week!… Get an instant quote →

www.rentalcover.com

Rental Car Insurance

 

[RB]

Who do people use for CDW insurance in Australia?

Our recent rental was a motorhome with high excess. After a fair bit of reading we used Prosura. I was intending to use Tripcover but at the time I needed to take out the cover Allianz were reviewing their relationship. I looked at Rentalcover but there seemed to be quite a few negative reviews by people who had actually had a claim and others who were not happy with ease of contact

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Our recent rental was a motorhome with high excess. After a fair bit of reading we used Prosura. I was intending to use Tripcover but at the time I needed to take out the cover Allianz were reviewing their relationship. I looked at Rentalcover but there seemed to be quite a few negative reviews by people who had actually had a claim and others who were not happy with ease of contact

Thank you. I have read through their website Prosura and PDS and they look to have good coverage including some items that not all cover.

Importantly for me they cover all public roads and not just surfaced ones. I like out of the way sites and so driving on gravel roads is quite common on my trips.

The wide vehicle type is a plus too.

 

[FromTheRail]

I use my Diners card for insurance, it's actually got a good policy

going back to the other subject

I just booked a Pajero sized vehicle in Broome with Avis, Mon to Sat, for just over $500 which I felt was quite cheap considering a mid sized car was much more expensive

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I am off to the Cairns Region for 18 days in mid June. And like much in the pandemic one had to pivot !


Normally I would get a rental car, but yowser on checkng the prices After the initial shock it was as per usual onto AFF, and in turn to this thread, for a little background research.

As per this thread rental car prices were ridiculous ($200 to 400 per day for vehicles in Cairns that in past trips would cost $30-50 though admittedly I normally book earlier ), and for a longish stay like this 18 days without your own vehicle at least for some of the time is very limiting.

So as per the tip earlier in the thread I looked at campervans.

If you were happy with really old you can book at campervans from $30 plus fees per day. Say $50 on up.





However the reviews were not that positive due the age of those vehicles.

In the end we settled on a slightly larger, but much newer, camper from Britz. $945 including a second driver for 11 days. I also looked at utes and other commercial vehicles and that would have been about $1100.




We will not sleep in it every night as we will also book separate accommodation, but will do so on some nights as it will allow us to overnight in some nice national parks etc where there is no fixed accommodation, and simply because in the right setting it will make for a fun experience.

Plus for daytrips to remote beaches and at some of our day hiking locations it will be handy having the kitchen, fridge (a cold beer will now await from the hike's return) and table.

So this will suit us well as we explore Cairns to Mission Beach including inland.

I will use Prosura for CDW (Thanks RB ! )

 

[SYD]

For years, legit corporate rates from Hertz and Avis have served me well on leisure travel but I have been surprised by rates in the NT....

In my search for better deals I’ve realised / remembered that there are a bunch of discounts via CCs, professional and other associations - some that seem to be better than I thought.

On campervans/RVs, NRMA members get 10% discount with Apollo and they generally don‘t have km limits!

Motorhomes and Campervans

Save 10% off the daily rental rate.

www.mynrma.com.au

Wine Selectors (“Members Extras“) encourage drink driving with Avis and cellar door discounts.

Buy Australian Wine Online - Wine Selectors

NAB VISA Signature claims to give Hertz Gold 5* and discounts but I haven’t got that to deliver yet (but the CC insurance appears to cover insurance / excess)....

Visa Offers and Perks | Visa

www.visa.com.au

But one of my professional memberships (AIPM), paid big on reducing a Hertz one-way from DRW-ASP by almost 50% . Unfortunately, it still has 100km per/day....

 

[DC3]

Darwin car hire can be near impossible in August/September in my experience, unless booked months ahead.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Dude at Budget BNE today was staggered at my 5 day rate BNE-TSV @ $203 - said a month ago that was daily rate.

2 days ago Avis was showing $230 same itin- clearly they want to get cars north.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Memo to self: Do not forget to hire a car for 1 day in Cairns B4 you arrive next time!!!

Every supplier booked out 100% - and in peak season 2 day min booking.

Solution: Book a $5 Uber ride then negotiate with driver to drive you around off the meter for next 1hr 20mins and sling him an ‘avacado’

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Deleted

 

[PLANT]

Cheap car rental Brisbane or Gold coast?
Tips and tricks to be aware of?
Any deals or company attached offers to be aware of?

 

[vetrade]

Cheap car rental Brisbane or Gold coast?
Tips and tricks to be aware of?
Any deals or company attached offers to be aware of?

We're flying into OOL in 2 weeks (hopefully) and in April I booked a mid size sedan for 6 days with with East Coast Car Rentals for $409 incl. insurance, which was significantly lower than other renters.
You might get a better rate with them because pickup is not at the airport - they provide a shuttle to their nearby depot.

 

[burmans]

We're flying into OOL in 2 weeks (hopefully) and in April I booked a mid size sedan for 6 days with with East Coast Car Rentals for $409 incl. insurance, which was significantly lower than other renters.
You might get a better rate with them because pickup is not at the airport - they provide a shuttle to their nearby depot.

I’ve used East Coast for an upcoming trip to Tasmania, half the price of the majors. Have used in the past, no issues. Cars are slightly older but not that big a deal really.

 

[clifford]

Arrived Int CNS last night - could not hook up with Rooey coz had business dinner - actually ate at Ollies Italian on waterfront right outside HH - pizza was excellent - narrow menu but they built to order

Yes I had a similar experience at ADL a few days ago, where the only vehicle I could get was an Audi Q3, at a cost of $125/day. Nice vehicle, though.

 

[jakeseven7]

Well a massive amount of car rentals just flooded onto the Tasmania market thanks to their governments decision to shut the border to all of Melbourne! We just booked a bunch for work. Tas gets over 50% of its business from VIC, and it’s off season so they are hurting badly.

 

[drron]

The LST rental lots were nearly full yesterday when we drove past.
And lunch at Woolmers they had lost half their bookings and all those that booked accommodation there for the weekend when border closed to Victoria.

 

[SYD]

I have a one week AVIS (small SUV) rental in ADL this week coming for only ~$300. Which I think is pretty good, not with standing the general gist of this thread. I booked it a few months ago using a corp rate. But haven’t been quite so lucky with rates for future trips in Tassie, NT and QLD...

The LST rental lots were nearly full yesterday when we drove past.
And lunch at Woolmers they had lost half their bookings and all those that booked accommodation there for the weekend when border closed to Victoria.

I suspect the Coonawarra might be a little quieter when we’re there next week... I read that there is a border check point setup in Penola!