Cheapest Way to Rent A Car for A Holiday?

FareEvader on 28/08/2019 - 09:46

Greetings,

I'm travelling to Perth WA for 8 days at the end of the year.

There are 10 of us, we are planning on doing some sightseeing and exploring so Uber/Taxi would be too expensive to travel around.

I've never rented a car before so I'd like to know what is the best and cheapest way to rent a car?

I've heard of "carnextdoor" and I've seen car rentals at the airport, I'd like to know what your experiences are with any car share or car rental platforms. Any tips and recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

Automotive

Comments

  • GG57 on 28/08/2019 - 09:52
    +1

    I usually have a look at vroomvroomvroom.com and see what is available. That site will link you through to car rental agencies to make the booking, and in doing comparisons over the years these are pretty much what you would get via direct bookings anyway.
    Not sure what you are looking to get to cater for 10 people, but you can input filters to see what is available.
    You should also draft an itinerary of places you want to see / go to, to see if a hire car is really worth the cost (or maybe for only part of your 8 days duration).

    • spackbace on 28/08/2019 - 10:05

      The sprawl is pretty bad in Perth, and the public transport is horrible. Car is definitely recommended!
      +1 to vroomvroomvroom, and/or entertainment book coupon deals

      • FareEvader on 28/08/2019 - 10:18

        It would seem that PT in bad in every Australian city! If only we had the same trains as Hong Kong or Japan

        • GG57 on 28/08/2019 - 10:32
          +1

          I would suggest that population density in HK / Japan lends itself to a much more efficient PT system than anything in the sprawling cities of Aust.

          Having said that, I found that Perth has one of the best bus networks I've used, and I like the way that the trains utilise the centre of freeways to reduce the transport footprint.
          But, most things you would want to see (as a tourist) are not that convenient to PT.

        • Beanvee on 28/08/2019 - 13:04
          +1

          As a Perth resident I'd like to add my two cents. The PT is good from a quality and cleanliness perspective. But because of the sprawl the services aren't as frequent or convenient as major cities.
          Overall I'd say it's unfair to call it horrible.

          • spackbace on 28/08/2019 - 13:09

            @Beanvee:

            Overall I'd say it's unfair to call it horrible.

            Try catching a bus to the burbs on a Sunday/public holiday

            Or anything really after 9pm

            To really 'see' Perth/WA you need a car

            • Beanvee on 28/08/2019 - 13:16

              @spackbace: Granted my use case might not be the same. I only started driving at 21 and used public transport for everything before then without any major complaints since Uber wasn't a thing and taxis rarely showed up. But chances are after 9pm or public holidays I'd be drinking and not trying to cart around.

    • FareEvader on 28/08/2019 - 10:17

      Thanks, I've never even heard of vroomx3, I'll check them out! We're probably going to have to hire 2 cars… or maybe a Honda Odyssey or Toyota Tarago… or any soccer mum car that can fit 10!

      • spackbace on 28/08/2019 - 10:20
        +1

        No car can fit 10, that's a bus ;)

        • RockyRaccoon on 28/08/2019 - 12:17
          +1

          Hire a Ute, fit it out with some cheap stackable plastic chairs and you're all set 😼

          End of trip donate the chairs to Vinnies.

        • onetwothreefour on 28/08/2019 - 14:24

          Troopie?

    • DiLs on 28/08/2019 - 14:02
      -1

      Thumbs up for being able to remember this website address

  • YTW on 28/08/2019 - 11:15

    I've found that trying a few different pick-up locations can drastically change the hire price when you're looking at quotes. We ended up getting our last rental for half the price of the other alternatives by picking it up 5 min down the road from the airport instead of at the airport or in town.

    • FareEvader on 28/08/2019 - 12:45

      Cheers for the tip!

  • yasui on 28/08/2019 - 13:36
    +1

    you could also save on insurance by using third party insurance companies instead of the insurance offered by a rental car company. https://www.rentalcover.com/
    https://tripcover.com.au/

  • crentist on 28/08/2019 - 17:32

    I've done carnextdoor or drivemycar, forget which. It was pretty good, except I got a pretty basic car for cheap and then vastly underestimated how far we would be driving and paid about double.
    In the end I could have got a much nicer car with unlimited km for way cheaper, and cruised around the nation in style.

    • FareEvader on 18/09/2019 - 09:50

      How do you get a vehicle with unlimited km?

      • crentist on 18/09/2019 - 11:18
        +1

        No limit on how many km you can drive when renting. That should be common for most rental cars I think?
        Or if not unlimited, more than what I had. The private rentals allow owners to set a low limit, which was unsuitable for me. A higher limit would have been better

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