Sydney car hire advice, please

[Osbos]

We live in Canada and over the past 10 or so years have made an annual bicycling tour trip to OZ to escape some of our cold, wet winter weather. This time, we're leaving the bikes at home and plan to do some bushwalking. We'll require a hire car. Since we will be in OZ for 45 days or so, price is a consideration. Internet searches pull up the big names in car hire with big prices. Another concern is companies allowing their cars to travel on unsealed roads. Which companies in the Sydney area are recommended?

Something about us: We are experienced hikers and have done some short bushwalks in NSW, QLD and VIC. While touring by bicycle, we've done quite a bit of bush camping in NSW, QLD, SA, WA, VIC.
Our plan this time: from Sydney, we have a vague route that will take us to some of the areas where we have cycled previously but could not explore on foot. We plan to stick to established routes and take day and multi-day trips. Areas of interest include Kosciuszko, Wollemi, Gardens of Stone, Barrington, Tipton. From there, on to S. QLD to visit friends and return to Sydney.

Any car hire advice will be appreciated.
Regards, Elizabeth

Last edited by Osbos on Tue 25 Oct, 2011 9:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

[wildwalks]

Hi Elizabeth

Wow that sounds expensive. Many backpackers in Aus buy a car travel then sell it at the end. There are obviously some risks associated with this, but oftern is cheaper than hiring. We do have roadside assistance services (similar to canada). But if you are a little handy with cars this could be a good options.

this article (obvious bias to one seller) but is a good starting point for this idea
http://au.totaltravel.yahoo.com/travel-info/traveller-advice/a/-/7208779/buying-a-car-backpacker-cars-for-travelling-around-in-australia/

In terms of cheaper hire places, We used to have a few rent-a-bomb type places, but they are mosty gone now. The bigger companies tend to have good prices. But unsealed insurance is an issue with hire cars.

Nice travel plan- some great walking.

Happpy travelling

Matt

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

Do NOT get the insurance which comes from the hire car companies - that's how they make the majority of their money.

The best way to do it is hire the car as cheaply as possible, and then obtain hire car insurance on your own. Most of the car associations in Australia (like RACV or RAA etc) do hire car insurance, and it is about 1/5th the cost.

It cost us $600 to hire a car for 6 days, if we'd got the insurance ourselves it would have only been $350.

[Stibb]

"Wicked" rentals? They are targeting backpackers and you see them everywhere so probably cheaper than the Big brands? I have no personal experience with them so don't know too much about them.

There are some other companies with "older" cars. Can't remember the names but we have used some of them in the past and they are much cheaper. Need to google...used car rentals?...second hand rentals?

[johnw]

Elizabeth, I have had the same car hire issue a couple of times when flying from Sydney to Tasmania for several weeks to go bushwalking. I've found that the Australian rental conditions for Budget do allow use on unsealed roads. When originally researching this I spoke to them on the phone and they confirmed that as correct. Read the conditions carefully though, e.g. 4WD "tracks" etc are excluded. Essentially, any unsealed/gravel road needs to be recognised as a public road. It may also be worth looking at Avis. From memory, the last time I reviewed their rental agreement it appeared to have been updated to more or less identical to the Budget one. I haven't had any problems using Budget but read the conditions carefully, the devil is in the detail. Most of the other major car hire companies have rules that are absolutely draconian, with large specialist 4WDs/SUVs being excluded from any unsealed use whatsoever.

Pricewise, the longer the hire usually the better the deal. I would expect unlimited kms for that period. Insurance through car hire companies is expensive. I've taken out travel insurance instead and made sure that the hire car inclusions and allowances were generous, and that unsealed roads weren't excluded. The smaller and cheaper the vehicle, usually results in a cheaper rate, so it's worth considering what you really need. Also keep an eye on company websites and sign up to their email bulletins for any special offers that come up. All that said it isn't cheap, but these are ways to minimise some of the costs.

[Orion]

I've used Budget as well, for the same reason. Their terms and conditions specificially say that gravel roads are okay, with some noted exceptions. I notice that they have added Bruny Island to the list of places you aren't supposed to take one of their cars. Why is that? We drove to Bruny in a Budget vehicle a couple years ago and the roads seemed fine. When we've actually asked a Budget employee in person they've told us that pretty much any official road you can find on the map is okay.

http://www.budget.com.au/upload/page/1115/Budget-Terms-and-Conditions-March-11.pdf

[johnw]

I've used Budget as well, for the same reason. Their terms and conditions specificially say that gravel roads are okay, with some noted exceptions. I notice that they have added Bruny Island to the list of places you aren't supposed to take one of their cars. Why is that? We drove to Bruny in a Budget vehicle a couple years ago and the roads seemed fine. When we've actually asked a Budget employee in person they've told us that pretty much any official road you can find on the map is okay.

That seems odd. I drove one of their cars to Bruny in Dec/Jan and it was definitely OK then, I'd specifically asked about it beforehand. May have changed the agreement since, although I don't understand why they would? Yes, I've also been told that generally any official road on the map is OK.

[Stibb]

A couple of places that are at least a little bit cheaper are Bayswatercarrental, RentForLess, BargainWheels. We've used Bayswater several times in the past.

(For Tassie rentals...have you checked Lo-Cost rentals? They used to be very cheap)

[Osbos]

Thanks for the prompt replies. I will investigate further.
We did a similar trip last year in NZ, drove around and went tramping. We rented a Nissan Sunny through Apex for about NZ$30 a day. No road restrictions and they didn't say anything about the repair we did to the windscreen seal after the keas had a go at it.
Cheers.

[Tofu_Imprint]

Thanks for the prompt replies. I will investigate further.
We did a similar trip last year in NZ, drove around and went tramping. We rented a Nissan Sunny through Apex for about NZ$30 a day. No road restrictions and they didn't say anything about the repair we did to the windscreen seal after the keas had a go at it.
Cheers.

I just got back from NZ recently, and I was amazed at how cheap rental cars are there. We had a similar rental (Nissan).
Admittedly it has being awhile since I've had to rent a car here in Australia, but keeping in mind that you are generally travelling much long distances per day, so the fuel bill adds up fairly quickly.(i.e filling up two times a day instead of 1).

[eddie the eagle]

There's a car yard in Kings Cross that is good for backpackers - will sell you a car that's mechanically sound, but not an oil painting in looks, with a guaranteed on-the-spot buyback at 50% of purchase value, providing you keep the thing serviced every 8000km or so at a registered mechanic.

Friends of ours did this (10 years ago), and it cost them about $3000 to use a car for the six weeks. I can't remember how insurance worked, third party would be the minimum.

They were on William Street just north of the Oxford St interchange, but the address may have changed in the sands of time..

Enjoy the trip,

eddie

[Osbos]

Thanks Eddie. Likely you mean Kings Cross Car Market at 10 Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo, 100 meters north of William Street. (http://www.carmarket.com.au). This might be an option of we were planning a longer trip.

[johny_cc]

Car rental is very cheap these days if you only care to look for. There are plenty of car hire comparison websites if only type it in Google. Last time I went to Sydney I use some car rental company that offered half the rates of Hertz/Avis. I'll send you a link if I find it. There you go Car hire Sydney, the promissed link

[pesas]

You could also check out vroomvroomvroom.com They get the best deals from all of the different car rental companies and you can book a car without leaving any credit card details... handy, because you can cancel at any time without penalty. I have booked numerous car through this site over the past few years and it's always worked well. Good luck.

[tpoleo]

Sydney has an amazing public transport system, the buses are always going, the trains are always going. So it is not really neccessary to rent unless you want to explore more than just the main roads. Obviously the buses are limited to these.
there are treasure troves all over Sydney, so i would recommend getting a car for the fact you can travel anywhere!
I have been to sydney many times and normally rent from the Rental companies which aren't in the airport. These rental companies put levvies on as they have to pay the airport for parking on their site. Try www.carrentals.com.au they have a location about 5 mins past the airport and provide a shuttlebus to pick you up. Definately cheaper, more reliable and stress free.
Hope this helps in your adventure to sydney!

[Yodel]

I have been a lurker on this forum for a while, and I thought I would finally register!

We visited some family in Sydney last November and a local travel agency here in the UK recommended Galaxy Car Hire to us for car hire in Australia. The service really was second-to-none from the moment we picked the car up to when we returned it. The last thing you need is hassle at the airport after a long haul flight!

Good luck, hope the trip goes well

[daliatimpe]

I would suggest using a search site like http://www.webjet.com.au to compare prices. Also look at http://www.drivenow.com.au These sites will give the big companies which have the advantage of offices all over NSW which is good if something goes wrong with the car. All cars will be automatic except probably the cheapest/smallest hire car. Also the big companies usually have unlimited mileage while smaller firms may not offer this.

[Orion]

I've used Budget as well, for the same reason. Their terms and conditions specificially say that gravel roads are okay, with some noted exceptions. I notice that they have added Bruny Island to the list of places you aren't supposed to take one of their cars. Why is that? We drove to Bruny in a Budget vehicle a couple years ago and the roads seemed fine. When we've actually asked a Budget employee in person they've told us that pretty much any official road you can find on the map is okay.

That seems odd. I drove one of their cars to Bruny in Dec/Jan and it was definitely OK then, I'd specifically asked about it beforehand. May have changed the agreement since, although I don't understand why they would? Yes, I've also been told that generally any official road on the map is OK.

When we were picking up a car at Budget this past December I specifically asked about Bruny Island and the man behind the desk told me taking one of their cars there would be no problem whatsoever. Maybe he wasn't aware of his own company's policy? In any event, the Terms and Conditions say that if you get it in writing from Budget you can drive there. We were headed not to Bruny but to Scotts Peak Dam, so that wasn't necessary.