Melbourne Car Rental - Any gotchas ?

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martyyn

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#205015 26-Oct-2016 17:33

It's been a looooong time since I rented a car and looking at the various sites once you get into the added 'extras' the prices double.

I need something for two people for Friday to Monday this weekend from the airport.

Are they all as bad as each other or does anyone have a recent experience ?

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Batman

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#1658414 26-Oct-2016 18:02

Try Apex?

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dickytim

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#1658680 27-Oct-2016 06:41

www.airportrentals.com.au

We have used them a few times now.

Be aware some rental car outfits don't operate from the airport so if you are on a deadline try Geddy, Europcar, Budget, Firefly, Avis.

Like all car rentals the excess on claims is excessive, but so is the fee to reduce this, always have travel insurance that will cover the full excess amount, watch for the smaller rental companies that have a $5000 excess as standard travel insurance doesn't go that high.

With Airport rentals don't bother with their excess reduction as it acts like travel insurance but is more expensive and less cover, basically you still have to pay the excess out and then claim it back.

In Melbourne there are heaps of fixed cameras so stick to the speed limit, the fines then admin fees are very high.

Discuss the tolls and how they are billed with the rental car company, Europcar has the best set up for this as they just debit the credit card the amount with no admin fees, others have you pre purchase per day and some will bill an admin fee if you don't arrange the tolls beforehand, pretty much from the airport you virtually can't avoid the toll roads, unless you know the area.

doctormaxim

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#1658681 27-Oct-2016 06:57

I went through Hertz last year for a road trip from Melbourne - Adelaide - Melbourne. Hertz were fantastic with really good location at the airport, the price was good and the condition of the car was excellent (Toyota GT86). I have also used Alpha Car Hire in the past, they were okay apart from all the little fees they didn't mention anywhere and the car being being downgraded because it was all they had available.

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#1658683 27-Oct-2016 07:01

Make sure you're insured where you want to go... one car I rented (in Sydney) was only insured inside the city.

sbiddle

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#1658686 27-Oct-2016 07:13

What do you define as "extras"?

Typically speaking in most countries insurance is really the only extra you need to worry about. In the US no insurance cover is included in most rentals so it's essential you buy insurance from them. In most other countries you'll have basic insurance with an excess of ~$4k as typical. Since most people have travel insurance this covers it so there is no need to buy anything else.

If you hire a car from an airport you can often expect to pay an airport pickup fee if vehicles are located at the airport itself.

martyyn

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#1659088 27-Oct-2016 15:09

Thanks everyone,

In the end we went with Thrifty who had a Ford Focus as we are looking to buy one in the near future.

Can I assume the toll roads are cameras and automatically charged to the rental company ? I'll confirm how they deal with that when we get there.

In terms of extras....one of the sites had a credit card fee, vehice registration recovery fee, admin fee, premium location surcharge and an out of hours fee as we want to return it at 7am and there were the protection fees on top as well.

trig42

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#1659090 27-Oct-2016 15:19

Last time I rented a car in Melbourne, I just went to the toll road website and entered the plate number of the car and paid the tolls that way (after I had been on the toll road).

This was a few years ago now, not sure if you can still do it?

Wheelbarrow01

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#1659097 27-Oct-2016 15:34

trig42:

Last time I rented a car in Melbourne, I just went to the toll road website and entered the plate number of the car and paid the tolls that way (after I had been on the toll road).

This was a few years ago now, not sure if you can still do it?

Yes you can still do it that way. Generally you just setup a temporary account, tell them what dates (and times) to charge you, and supply your credit card details.

At the conclusion of the dates you have stated, you will receive a statement of charges for all toll trips made during the period and your card will be charged.

This is great as it avoids the previous or next renters tolls from being charged to you. It also avoids any admin charge that the rental car company bills you for paying tolls on your behalf (some admin fees can be upwards of $40)

For Melbourne, see https://www.citylink.com.au/before-you-travel/passes

You will need to set this up after you pick up the rental car as you need to enter the car's rego number.

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martyyn

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#1659116 27-Oct-2016 16:11

Wheelbarrow01:

trig42:

Last time I rented a car in Melbourne, I just went to the toll road website and entered the plate number of the car and paid the tolls that way (after I had been on the toll road).

This was a few years ago now, not sure if you can still do it?

Yes you can still do it that way. Generally you just setup a temporary account, tell them what dates (and times) to charge you, and supply your credit card details.

At the conclusion of the dates you have stated, you will receive a statement of charges for all toll trips made during the period and your card will be charged.

This is great as it avoids the previous or next renters tolls from being charged to you. It also avoids any admin charge that the rental car company bills you for paying tolls on your behalf (some admin fees can be upwards of $40)

For Melbourne, see https://www.citylink.com.au/before-you-travel/passes

You will need to set this up after you pick up the rental car as you need to enter the car's rego number.

That's gold, thank you.

Lias

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#1659172 27-Oct-2016 17:14

Bit late, but +1 for Apex

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#1659182 27-Oct-2016 17:19

never too late, free cancellation with most expensive rental companies

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Fred99

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#1678176 27-Nov-2016 10:55

Lias:

Bit late, but +1 for Apex

Another +1 from me - used them after reading this thread and being very surprised by the insurance excess surcharges from most rental companies.

Deal was $44 / day unlimited km for a basic but adequate 1.8l Hyundai sedan, zero insurance excess, 3 drivers nominated including one under 25 (with full NZ license), airport shuttle was there when we needed it.

Car was fine, not new with about 100,000km on the clock, but reasonably clean and tidy, good boot space and rear legroom. Victoria drivers have strict adherence to speed limits, you'll get many lanes travelling at two speeds only, 95km/h for the people who don't have GPS and use their car speedo, and bang on 100km/h for people with GPS. Beware as the fine for 10km/h over the limit is $330. Watch speed limit signage - they'd changed many down by 10km/h recently, my (Tomtom) maps had not been accurately updated, so don't rely on GPS.

They do charge an admin fee for tolls, $3 per day tolls are levied - hardly worth the bother avoiding IMO.