Any experience with EconomyCarRentals?

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  zerocritical on 09/10/2013 - 08:11

  I have been using them for past 6-7 trips. Great service and best price I found online.

  The only issue I had was when I hired a SUV in NZ. I was given a juicy rental car which was a 6 year old Honda CRV with no cruise control. The car died down in the middle of the trip but was promptly replaced but another crv.

  But I think it's common in NZ to rent out old cars unlike Australia where you get less than 2 year old cars.

  Double check on the zero excess. I think it was included with every rental earlier but is now is optional. I may be wrong on that.

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  zerocritical on 09/10/2013 - 08:16

  Also they have a free cancellation policy for I think up to 3 days before the trip which works out well. During booking they usually charge their commission as booking fees(in euros) and the rest amount has to be paid directly to the hire company(in hire country's local currency) on the day of hire. So don't forget to use 28 degree card for this. :)

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  elease on 09/10/2013 - 10:15

  I used them couple of times for trips in Europe and once here in AU. All went well except the AU rental where Budget refused to rent a car because my Eu driving license didn't have words "driving license" translated into English, while at the same time Avis had no issues giving me a car altough the price was considerably higher.

  I guess the money rental companies make when they get an order from EconomyCarRentals is pretty low and they start to be picky. =)

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  cosjav on 12/10/2013 - 23:25

  Thanks for all of the replies.

  I've gone ahead with a PayPal purchase of $195 for 6 days with a 2002-2007 Nissan rental (during the xmas break).

  They took $25 aud as an initial payment and the rest I will pay to the actual rental company.

  The actual booking hasn't been confirmed yet so I haven't been told what company is actually providing the car.

  I'm hoping to purchase full insurance at the actual rental company - hopefully its not too expensive to add on.

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    zerocritical on 13/10/2013 - 09:33

    It is usually confirmed with in a day of booking. May take more time on weekend. Did you double check on the zero excess? If you are already getting zero excess, why would you need full insurance with the rental company?

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    robbyjones on 13/10/2013 - 15:58

    CDW excess insurance adds considerably to the cost, it is likely to be a lot more expensive to purchase it from the car rental company than if you purchase it ahead of time. I used Economy Car Rentals for a car in Adelaide and purchased travel insurance to cover the excess. As you are heading to NZ, and I presume you are in Aust, it may cost more or may not be covered in OS travel insurance, but definitely worth a look. Google collision damage waiver excess insurance and see. I hope you have a fab trip.

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  gimme on 15/10/2013 - 08:54

  Glad I looked at this thread as I typically use Arguscarrental which are very cheap. Economy car rentals are even better!! Just booked one and their processes and information was very good. Also had a quick Live Chat which was spot on as well. Seems like a good company.

  As some have already said just look at your options regarding EXCESSES on Collision and Theft waivers. Typically these are covered by either your travel insurance (for oseas trips) or your Credit Card company for domestic trips. HOWEVER ALWAYS check how much they cover you for and make sure there's no gaps between your actual excess and the insurance cover.

  PS: And yeah NEVER purchase anything at the desk. They're ALWAYS rip off prices. Do your homework BEFORE you get to the desk.

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  shani123 on 13/02/2018 - 22:17

  Hi all

  I love this community and have scored some incredible deals so I want to warn everyone about Economy Car Rentals. I used them based on reading comments in this thread on Ozbargain (along with some other threads) but my experience was incredibly disappointing. Set out below is a summary of my experience, which I intend on sharing as much as possible so others don't experience the same issues as me. Happy to elaborate if anyone wants some more information.

  Long story short: Avoid this company unless you want to ruin your holiday. Full story below.

  • I pre-booked 2 rental cars through Economy Car Rentals for my trip from Brisbane Airport to Gold Coast Airport 1 month in advance. I received a confirmation of my booking shortly after making the booking and it stated that I was to contact Atlas Car Rentals, who would pick me up via a shuttle bus to a location about 10 minutes from the airport, where I could pick up my rental cars.

  • I arrived at Brisbane Airport at 4:30pm on a business day and called Atlas 3 times but had no answer so I tried calling Economy Car Rentals. To my shock, Economy Car Rentals said Atlas was closed for the day and that I would have to wait until the next day to pick up the cars which I had paid a deposit for and received a confirmation email for. To add insult to injury, the customer service representative was unapologetic and shouted at me over the phone because she couldn't understand english well.

  • In the end, I had to book with a proper rental car company and had to pay significantly more as I needed the cars on short notice. I would highly recommend that you stay away from Economy Car Rentals.

  My conclusion are that:
  1. They are not a car rental company, they just find a random car rental company (which in many cases do not have cars available) and try to get a commission from doing so.
  2. They do not operate out of Australia - they operate from somewhere out of Europe as they charged my deposit in Euros and couldn't speak english properly over the phone.
  3. When they stuff up (highly likely) they will not work to resolve the issue leaving you stuck at the airport and forced to pay a lot more for a rental car.