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Whether you’re in Melbourne, Sydney or the Gold Coast, these affordable car rental companies have you covered.
If you need a cheap rental car for an upcoming trip away, look no further.
RELATED: I tried Turo, the Airbnb for cars
RELATED: How to rent an electric car in Australia
You may expect to pay a little more in the holiday period as demand pushes car hire prices up, but you should be able to track down a deal without too much trouble, with a little help from your friends here at Drive.
We’ve compiled a list of the cheapest rental sites in the land, no matter where you’re wandering to and how long you’re planning to stay for.
1. Turo
Turo launched in Australia in November 2022, enabling users to book a car online via the Turo website, or by downloading the app on a smartphone.
This car-sharing app operates similarly to Airbnb, and is positioned as an alternative to rental car companies. Search for the desired date and destination, and available vehicles will pop up. Once the booking is submitted, you’re connected to your host, and can speak to them directly in the lead-up to the booking.
We found an older-model Toyota RAV4 available for four days listed for $269 in Hobart using Turo. Users can book a car for a few hours, or for a few weeks. Turo typically requires the user to refill or recharge the vehicle upon its return to the owner.
RELATED: Rear our honest, real-world review of Turo here
2. Sixt
As a relative newcomer, Sixt is out to offer rates to rival the established players. Owned by the NRMA, the platform offers a range of vehicles if you’re hitting the road in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne, Dubbo or Darwin.
We found a Toyota Corolla hatch listed for rent for $85.86 a day in Melbourne for four days, which is pretty good.
3. Wotif
It’s worth checking out the Wotif site, which lists last-minute deals on accommodation and also travel, including car hire.
We found an unspecified mid-sized SUV available for $471 for six days in Darwin, with a listed drop-off in Cairns.
4. Alamo
Alamo is a car rental agency out of the United States that has branched out into Australia and offering car rentals in most capital cities.
We found an unspecified medium SUV available for five days in December for $212, or a small car available for $175.80.
5. Bargain Car Rentals
Australian owned and operated Bargain Car Rentals has locations all over the country, including regional areas. We found a standard SUV available for three days in December for $182.52 all inclusive, and available for pick-up and drop-off from Melbourne Airport.
There are no booking fees, it’s free to add an additional driver to the booking, and there’s also free cancellation.
6. Lastminute
Lastminute is a great travel companion when it comes to finding a great price on last-minute car hire. The site has been around for more than a decade and includes car hire options.
We tracked down a medium SUV for rent for four days in early December for $266, all inclusive.
7. Uber Carshare
Hiring a car privately could be just the ticket. Whether you need a seven-seater or something small for a few days away at Christmas, why not hire a car from a local?
We found a luxury sedan listed for rent for $8 an hour on the platform (or $36 for the day).
RELATED: I saved thousands of dollars by using Uber CarShare
Car comparison sites
There are also a bunch of comparison sites out there worth checking out, like Economy Bookings, Webjet, Discover Cars, The Rental Radar, VroomVroomVroom and CarFlexi.
Momondo also lists the cheapest car hire options in each city. For example, it says that Bargain Car Rentals may have cars for as low as $5 a day. Kayak also offers a car rental comparison site worth checking out. We found a Hyundai Accent for $267 for rent for a week in late November.
Read the fine print
Regardless of whether you book through one of the big car rental companies or one of the newer players in the market, you will need to read the fine print.
Consumer advocate site Choice warns while you might think you’ve got a good deal, you may find the price much higher when you go to pick up the car. This is because the car hire company hasn’t let you know about the extra charges required to lower your insurance excess.
If you don’t fork over the extra cash, you’ll be charged the full excess in the event of an accident, which Choice warns could be as much as $5500.
For example, to hire a basic economy car from Sydney Airport for a week, you’ll pay a minimum of $120 a day. But to reduce your excess from $5445 to $838 for the same hire, you’ll have to fork out an additional $71 a day, Choice explains.
You can reduce your car hire excess by getting travel insurance through a car hire company or domestic travel insurance product.
Happy holidays!
The post Cheap car rental sites to try these holidays appeared first on Drive.
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