Cheapest Way to Rent a Car for a Few Days [MELB]

outlander on 31/05/2018 - 12:41

So I'm looking at traveling down to Warrnambool for a few days. I have a car but its not reliable enough to trust fully, so I'm considering renting one for 3 days.

Only requirement is that its reliable, less than 15 years old, can fit two people and is reasonably fuel efficient for the 700km round trip

The first and cheapest option I've seen is to hire a car from the Airport for around $25 a day, but it'll cost $50 just to get there from the city, so that kind of kills it.

My week is open ended, so I can go on a weekday if it works out cheaper

Any creative ideas?

Travel Car Rental

Comments

  • dasher86 on 31/05/2018 - 12:45
    +1

    use skyscanner.
    You can pick up cars in Melbourne CBD or surrounds.
    I saw a swift which will do what you want for $28.50 per day.

    borrow a friends / families car.

    steal one.

    • Lv80 on 31/05/2018 - 12:50

      Just be careful of the extra kms you pay for. On a 700km journey you'd want to hire something with unlimited kms or you'll be up for hundreds

  • Ozbargainite on 31/05/2018 - 12:51

    Steal one option comes with free accommodation.

  • tdrive on 31/05/2018 - 12:53
    +1

    I don't drive, but my friend has used Car Next Door a few times. I think you basically sign up online, find the car parked somewhere, unlock it and use it. I believe petrol is included, but I could be wrong.

    • outlander on 31/05/2018 - 13:07

      If it wasn't for that 33c/km charge, this would be a winner.
      33c * 700 = $231 😢

  • wantitforless on 31/05/2018 - 13:00
    +1

    we use east coast a lot.

    They have office in Melbourne city at

    254 La Trobe Street

    Just had a quick look 26-29 June & starts at $81. Not bad, but if you don't book ahead will cost more, eg. 5-8 June, same car sold out, but can get next for $87 inclusive.

    • wantitforless on 31/05/2018 - 19:56

      these guys offer unlimited kms. $81 for 3 days is $27/day !!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Oz8argain on 31/05/2018 - 13:32

    It would be good to find something that doesn't charge per km. The best is to pay a friend/family a reasonable amount for their car.

  • neo on 31/05/2018 - 19:19
    +2

    I've used Apex Car Rentals before. Name is a bit scary at first but it was a good experience. Just had to have the tank full of petrol before returning.

    $55 per day for the Elantra + full cover - unlimited km's - Melbourne City pickup and dropoff.

  • tabz on 31/05/2018 - 23:29
    +1

    Maybe check out Jucy. I haven't used them personally, but have been told it is good.

    • wantitforless on 01/06/2018 - 18:00

      jucy are ok. At St Kilda. Only open 9-4 Mon-Fri & they have a few extras, not included in 1st price. Pricewise similar to east coast, but east coast cars are much newer on average.

      Their cars are generally older. (they import some used from Japan with big kms).

      They are run by Kiwis & some people think kiwis are very dodgy, look at the All Blacks.

    • outlander on 04/06/2018 - 20:02

      Looks pretty good! $22 a day for a basic Toyota corolla.
      Their pricing scheme is a bit strange. $45 per day for one day, $35 per day for two, or $22 per day for three. So its cheaper to get 3 days than 2.

      • SnoozeAndLose on 04/06/2018 - 20:05

        Butit count the other charges for 3 days will wneedup more

        • outlander on 04/06/2018 - 20:28

          Hmmm… yes I see.

          You must be enjoying a little light refreshment tonight LB

  • outlander on 19/06/2018 - 12:53
    +2

    Mission report:

    I took tabz suggestion and checked out Jucy. It was by far the best choice. Not only the cheapest daily rate, but they rent by the 24 hour period, so to pick it up at 3pm tuesday and return it 12pm friday was charged as 3 days. All other rental joints would count that as 4 days.

    They said the I would be given a car as early as 2007, but I was given a 2016 Hyundai. It was exceptionally clean, and looked almost new. It drove perfectly and had no faults with anything.

    Now, for insurance, all rental places ream you a bit on it, so I took it out via a third company, tripcover.com.au. They're back by Allianz. They have two levels of cover, but I went for the more expensive 'no excess' cover, as I figured any damage I was likely to cause to the car would fall within the range of 100-500 dollars. Keep in mind they have catches to it. For instance, Jucy charges a $75 admin fee for any damage, which is not covered by the insurance policy. Never had to claim on it in the end, but it seemed reliable.
    Keep in mind if you go down this route that jucy place a $3000 authorisation charge on your CC. This caused some headaches for me, as I have spending locks which caused it to fail the first time round.

    Total cost
    Base charge - $22 per day X 3= $66
    Additional driver fee- $2 per day X 3=$6
    subtotal: $72

    Insurance
    $13 X 4 days=$52

    Total cost= $134

    • tendliya on 19/06/2018 - 22:27

      Could you have taken Jucy's $0 excess (conditions apply) and no freeze on the credit card if you take this option. From memory, their no excess insurance was only around $19 or so per day.

      • outlander on 20/06/2018 - 06:55

        True.. I could have done that and made it simplier. Doing it how I did it only saved me about $8, BUT… I found a sneaky way to get the same insurance even cheaper, so next time I'll be doing the same thing.

        • Triple J on 20/06/2018 - 07:02

          Did you see any whales or too early for them yet ?

        • outlander on 20/06/2018 - 07:13
          +1

          @Triple J:

          Too early. There was a few sightings, but when we went down we didn't see anything. Too bad.. I even bought binoculars from kmart to see them ($15)

          Didn't care too much though, too relaxed enjoying the natural hot springs.

        • movieman on 29/06/2018 - 16:04

          Hello,

          What is this sneaky way to save even more?

    • tabz on 20/06/2018 - 22:28
      +4

      Thanks for the update. There are so many times an OP asks questions to the OzB community and never reply.

      Glad it all worked out for you.

      • outlander on 21/06/2018 - 11:57

        Yes I hate that too. Its like reading a book and finding the last chapter has been ripped out.

        It worked out really well, and its thanks to you I was able to find that place. I'd like to buy you a beer tabz to say thanks ($5)
        PM me your paypal address and I'll make the transfer

        • tabz on 21/06/2018 - 19:14
          +2

          Oh I really couldn't accept that, but appreciate the thought :)

        • outlander on 22/06/2018 - 14:48
          +1

          @tabz:

          OK

          Because you shared some advice that helped me, I'll give you a little tip of my own: If someone offers you money, unless it will cause some serious problems, you always take it. People in this world guard their money above almost everything else, they don't give it away easily. Someone who offers you money has either put a lot of thought into it, in which case you should take it so you don't offend them, or they haven't thought about it, in which case they spend recklessly and by you not taking the money it will likely end up in the pocket of someone with lesser morals.

          If you don't feel you deserve, thats fine, give it to charity. I know Wikipedia is always begging for spare change :P

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