From the Blog

We need your feedback on the rental companies.

Everyone who has booked with us will receive an email this week asking for their feedback on renting a car. A large proportion of the renting public has had at least one negative experience. Has your experience been positive or negative? Let us know via our anonymous 1 minute survey (its on Facebook but still anonymous): http://goo.gl/rRaRf

As you know we are just an independent car rental price comparison website that processes bookings (without deposits or payment) on your behalf. We are totally independent, our only mission is to save you money. We work with the renal companies to get you good deals but we don't touch the vehicles, we never visit depots and like any good web development firm we rarely get out of our pyjamas. OK that's just a joke, but what's ont a joke is how much questionable billing and unbelievably poor customer service goes on when our customer shsow up to get their vehicles.

Please help us out by providing your feedback, it's on Facebook but it is completely anonymous. We use Facebook so that we know you're a real person. We will be collating all the responses with a consumer advocacy group in an effort to diagnose the real world problems and advocate for change on the back of those findings.

Please help us out by completing the survey at http://goo.gl/rRaRf

Rental Cars

It's important to get the car you want or it could be a less than memorable trip!

With our car rental search displaying prices and points from Thrifty, Europcar, Hertz, Avis and Budget, you could end up with over 50 rental cars to choose from. Outdoor enthusiasts off to see Fraser Island or the wonders of Kakadu from Darwin or Far North Queensland may want to try a Pajero or Landcruiser 4WD.

If you want to live it up like the guy from American Beauty, definitely get a sports car. Popular car rental models include Audi and Mini Cabrio or go serious with a Statesman, family car, station wagon or SUV. Whatever spins your tyres or blows your hair back, take a minute to choose the right car for your journey.

The major car rental companies carry a plethora of cars available for hire. They range from small or tiny vehicles with not many features such as the Hyundai Getz and go right up to the feature packed Mercedes CLC200 or Lexus RX350. In between all sorts of cars are available from muscle cars to 4WD's, so instead of getting a standard car why don't you try something different to your regular drive.

Hertz Cars

Hertz Car Rental offers cars for every kind of driver. Environmentally-conscious travellers have the opportunity to rent from their Green Collection, choosing from an Earth-friendly Prius or Camry. Mini Coopers are available for those who want to put a little fun into their drives. Luxury car drivers can have a Lexus or Mercedes at their control, and convertibles, wagons, SUVs, and minivans are also available for rental according to each driver's needs.

• Toyota Yaris (or similar) - 5 door
• Hyundai Accent (or similar) - 4 door
• Fiat Panda (or similar) - 5 door
• Hyundai Getz (or similar) - 3 door
• Toyota Tarago (or similar)
• Toyota Prado 4WD (or similar)
• Mini Cooper S (or similar)
• Toyota Corolla Sedan (or similar)
• Mini Cooper S Cabrio (or similar)
• Toyota Aurion (or similar)
• Toyota Kluger (or similar)
• Holden Statesman (or similar)
• Toyota Camry (or similar) - 4 Door
• Holden Astra Convertible (or similar)
• Toyota Prius (or similar) - Hybrid
• Lexus IS250 (or similar)
• Holden Sportwagon (or similar)
• Holden Calais (or similar)
• Mercedes Benz C200K (or simiilar)
• Lexus RX350 Wagon (or similar)
• Toyota Camry Hybrid (or similar)
• Mercedes CLC200K (or similar)
• Toyota Rav4 (or similar)

Avis Cars

CarRental.com.au customers enjoy a wide selection with Avis Car Rental. Whether it is the Hyundai Getz, the Hyundai Elantra, the Mitsubishi Lancer, Ford Falcon XR6, or the Holden Commodore Wagon, there are more than enough variations to suit each driver's tastes. The prestige driver can be seen in a Holden Calais, Statesman, Caprice, or Astra convertible.

• Hyundai Getz
• Hyundai Elantra
• Mitsubishi Lancer
• Ford Falcon
• Ford Falcon XR6
• Holden Calais
• Holden Statesman
• Toyota RAV4
• Toyota Prius Hybrid
• Nissan Patrol 4WD
• Hyundai Imax
• Holden Commodore Wagon
• Holden Astra Convertible - 2 Door

Budget Cars

With Budget Rent-A-Car, drivers can get a cheap rental car in the form of a Hyundai Getz, a Nissan Tiida, or a Mitsubishi Lancer. Full size and premium renters can take advantage of Budget's fleet of Holden Commodore, Holden Calais, Holden Statesman, or Ford Falcon cars. Those customers who require a 4WD or AWD vehicles will find them in Budget's Nissan X-Trail or Mitsubishi Pajero. For families visiting Australia, there is the Hyundai iMax.

• Hyundai Getz
• Hyundai Elantra
• Mitsubishi Lancer ES
• Ford Falcon
• Ford Falcon XR6
• Holden Calais
• Holden Statesman
• Toyota RAV4
• Toyota Prius Hybrid
• Nissan Patrol 4WD
• Nissan X-Trail 4WD
• Hyundai Imax
• Holden Commodore Wagon
• Toyota Yaris Hatch
• Holden Astra Convertible - 2 Door

Thrifty Cars

Customers who choose Thrifty can pick from a selection of money-saving compact cars such as the Hyundai Getz, Toyota Corolla, or the Nissan Dualis. Luxury and sport car enthusiasts can rent a Ford Falcon, Mitsubishi Outlander, or a Ford G6E and enjoy the speed and agility that only a luxury car can provide. Families are not left out with Thrifty as they are able to choose between minivans such as the Toyota Tarago and Kia Carnival, to name a few. The adventure set can find the wheels they need in a Toyota Rav 4, Landcruiser, or Mitsubishi Pajero.

• Hyundai Getz
• Mitsubishi Lancer Sedan
• Nissan Tiida Hatch
• Ford Falcon
• Ford Falcon G6E
• Ford Territory
• Mitsubishi Pajero 4WD
• Mitsubishi Outlander 4WD
• Toyota Tarago
• Toyota Corolla
• Mini Cabrio Convertible - 2 Door

Rent A Car

Where to rent a car in Australia.

Always popular, Queensland has dozens of depots including the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast Airport, Brisbane, Cairns and Brisbane Airport. There are over 30 NSW locations, in Sydney alone all points of the compass are covered with depots in Parramatta, Artarmon, the Airport and the Sydney CBD plus depots in regional areas and Canberra.In Victoria shingles have been set up throughout the state, sometimes within 2 km's of eachother such as in the Melbourne CBD.

South Australia and WA cater to all types of visitors, as does NT where it is easy to get taken by a nice 4WD, be careful though.

Airport Car Rental

Frequent flyer? You'll still get all your points

We compare car rental prices for the major car rental companies in one go. But don't worry, complete the booking with us and not only will you score a bargain and save about 10 hours, all points will be credited to your frequent flyer, Velocity or other airline rewards account. Enter your rewards number into your Travel Profile after you book and you'll get your points.

You might land at Brisbane Airport destination: Gold Coast. Or maybe you've headed for a long day's journey into night from Sydney Airport or you're cruising with a car hire at Melbourne airport. There's over 50 airport car hire locations in Australia to choose from so you won't be walking home.

Car hire in Australia is largely dominated by 5 main rental companies: Hertz rentals, Europcar, Avis, Budget cars and Thrifty. These 5 car rental agencies have roughly 900 depots in Australia that provide rentals to every state and territory.

Because most of Australia's airports are located well outside of their respective cities, arranging for an airport car rental car can save you a significant amount of money on both of your arrival and return trips. In fact, some cabs and shuttle services can run anywhere from $40-50 or more depending on your arrival city.

If the distance is negligible, however, you can save money at certain airports by reserving your car hire for pick-up at a downtown car rental depot and returning it to the airport at the conclusion of your trip. Split-end reservations such as these can allow you to bypass the airport surcharge that is often levied onto car rentals.

Whether at the airport or in the central business district, one thing is for certain: business travellers and leisure travellers alike will save both time and money during their stay by expensing a car rental. Rentals afford a mobility and freedom that you cannot find with any other form of transportation.

CarRental.com.au compares cheap car hire, campervan hire and motorhome hire from all the major rental companies including Cheapa, Maui, Britz, Jucy, Apollo, Europcar, Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Hertz & cars and campers from under $50 per day from operators like Britz & Backpacker Cars & Campervans. The price and campervans are provided to us by each supplier, so you can save a lot of time by searching in one place.

In addition we offfer great discounts and deals, such as relocations from $1 a day. These discounts on Australia car hire tend to change from month to month and they will get you a saving that is not available if you make a reservation directly with with Thrifty.com.au, Hertz.com.au, Avis.com.au, Apollo.com.au, Jucy.com.au, Backpacker.com.au & the rest.

To search for Australia car hire just add your departure dates and return dates in the form. In the second step you will be able to select a vehicle. All types of vehicles are on offer including 2 bed campers, campers for families and larger luxury campers plus rental cars. The search results will show cars, campervans and motorhomes from several rental companies.

Airport car hire will get you around the traps to see the best of the country. The masses of natural beauty and scenery include but are not limited to the Outback and the Reef. Int he Outback you can wander the Oodnadatta Track for a few days and not see a soul, but if you like a crowd then clamber up Uluru to see the vast view of the Red Centre, but the power of the place will amaze you. Learning about the Aboriginal culture and ways of life will interest you.

If you can drive straight from Alice Springs Airport the round trip is about 500 km's. You will likely be charged excess kilometer fees of about $125 but it is an interesting if remote drive. Alternatively you can arrive at Ayers Rock Airport.

If you are looking to make a trip like that, enter your details into the form below and you will be able to compare the all Airport car hire prices from all our rental companies. Our historical relationships with the rental companies means that special discounts are on offer for our users. Just show them upon pikcup and the discount will be applied.

The top 5 rental companies in Australia are present at over 100 Australian airports. Each day something like 10,000 rental cars are taken from airport depots. You may not be aware that rental companies charge excessive airport car hire fees. These fees are up to 22% of the cost of the rental vehicle. One way to avoid them and to make ensure that you get cheap car rental is to arrange a pickup from te city or elsewhere, but drop off at the airport. The price will be considerably cheaper.

Airport hire cars (the fancy ones in black) are likely to charge $50 for a one way trip from the major airports, moreso for Melbourne and Brisbane than sydney where the airport car hire depots are quite a distance from the CBD. Rental cars from rental companies however are more likely to be under $50 per day.

CaRental.com.au compares car, campervan and motorhome hire prices from all the major suppliers including Hertz, Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Europcar, Maui, Britz, Kea, Cheapa & 2 bed camper specialists like Jucy, Spaceships & Backpacker Campervans. The prices shown are pulled from each supplier, so you'll save a save money and time by comparing them all in one place. 

On top of that we offfer great discounts and deals, such as $1 per day deals. These discounts on airport car hire differ from month to month and they will get you a saving that is not available if you book directly with Apollo.com.au, Jucy.com.au, Backpacker.com.au & the rest. To search for airport car hire just enter your details in the booking form. From there, just choose your vehicle and enter your personal details. Vehicles available include 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 berths. The comparison engine will show campervans and motorhomes from our partners.

Car Rental Companies

We compare car rental prices and points from Thrifty, Hertz, Avis, Budget and Europcar. Here's how.

Try doing a search on CarRental.com.au and you will see results listed from our partner sites. The listings show the exact price and number of points that you would get if you searched their own sites. You're also eligible for all loyalty points and discounts. We don't add a booking fee. In fact we don't do much, just make it super quick to compare and book, then we do everything in our power to keep you coming back. We won't test you on this, but the advantages would seem to be: 1. Same price as you get on the supplier's sites. 1.1. Better price (i.e. more providers means you might get a bargain when suppliers get stuck with a lot of cars that need to be moved asap). 2. Same points. 3. More cars to choose from. 4. More locations to choose from. 5. Guaranteed cheapness (Mmm. Poor grammar Mr Rental). 6. Rinse and start again.

That's why people like us on Facebook and Twitter (@carrentalau) and that stuff.

CarRental.com.au is a search engine that saves you time and money by performing a car hire comparison from Hertz, Thrifty, Avis, Budget and Europcar. To make it even cheaper, we also throw in special coupons and discounts which can be claimed by entering your details into the booking form below. The resulting page will show a car rental comparison table from which you can easily choose the vehicle that you prefer and then you can proceed to book.

There are 3 easy steps involved:

1. Enter your trip details. These include your pick up and drop off times as well as the airports or rental agency locations from which you will be picking up and returning your rental.
2. After you have entered your trip details, the car hire comparison displays all current prices from our partner websites. Included in these search results are the frequent flyer points available for each rental that will help you determine which deal is best for you. You choose the car that you want at the price that you want.
3. Complete the reservation form by entering your personal information. Review each field before clicking through to ensure that the information is accurate. Doing so will help prevent possible complications when you pick up your vehicle.

Your booking is complete! We will forward confirmation numbers to you via email along with dozens of exclusive car hire coupons that you can claim when you collect your vehicle.

By using our booking form to car rental comparison prices, you can rest easy knowing that you reserved the best car at the best price for your trip.

Cheap Car Rental

Is it possible to rent a car on the cheap?

When renting a car sometimes you just want to get cheap car rental. There are a few car hire companies such as the ‘rent-a-bomb’ type of operators. These may seem appealing at first glance, however the trouble of renting cars from such places may be more trouble than it is worth. Across Australia today, there are other ways to find the cheapest possible car rental.

There are some occasions where if you were to book your car rental well in advance, you may get a discount, or you can book a car for low rates, not being effected by any rate rises in the near future. Some travel agents such as Flight centre can offer package deals which include car hire for longer trips.