TIPS FOR RENTAL VEHICLES IN AUSTRALIA

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TIPS FOR RENTAL VEHICLES IN AUSTRALIA
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A number of threads have been posted in
Australian forums concerning rental cars and
campervans. Some posters ask for

• recommendations,
• help with the myriad of options for insurance
  cover, bonds or deposits issues or others
  experiences with suppliers.
• At other times, some people post negative
  comments on TA about their vehicle rental
  experiences.

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MINIMISE YOUR RISK

• You can minimise any risks or concerns you may
  have, for example
• do your research, contact the company directly if
  youre not sure about anything they have the
  contract terms and conditions
• research several sources, not just one, be it TA
  or other travel sites
• dont rely upon guide books the information is
  old before the books are published !!!
• for a cost of a few dollars - contact the local
  tourist information bureau and ask if there has
  been any feedback about a supplier, or, look up
  the Department of Fair Trading site (see links
  below) to see if any companies have received
  fines or been banned for some infringement etc.
  Alternatively, contact the Department of Fair
  Trading directly and they may be able to assist.

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• inspect the vehicle before accepting it and if
  you're not happy with it, it's your choice to
  accept it as is, decline to take it, or perhaps
  negotiate a better rate if you can
• look at the bodywork from different angles to try
  to see if there are any tiny dents or scratches
• list ALL dents, scratches or issues with the
  vehicle on the inspection report PRIOR to leaving
  the premises.
• Ensure that you receive a copy of this report and
  put it somewhere safe.
• make sure that you read and understand the T C
  completely.
• If you plan to use a car ferry, make sure that
  the T C allow you to do so.
• if you're taking a vehicle into the bush / on a
  road trip where there won't be crowds of people,
  don't expect that the vehicle will be repaired in
  a heartbeat.
• All vehicles no matter how well they are
  maintained mechanically do break down
  unexpectedly.
• Some people take photos of the car on delivery as
  evidence that the car was in a particular state
  or condition at the time of delivery.

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EXCESS, BONDS and INSURANCE

• Many questions have been asked on the Australian
  Forums concerning this issue. In a nutshell, a
  rental vehicle may include a car, a mini-bus,
  camper van or a four wheel drive for example.
• Excess
• For cars, based on posts on TA, many people have
  asked about excess which can be quite high, say
  up to about 3,000 for a car. Basically, this
  means if the excess is 3,000 for example you
  will be required to pay for the first 3,000
  damage. If the cost of the repair is less than
  3,000, you pay for the cost of the repair. To
  reduce your excess to a more acceptable level,
  you can pay an additional daily amount (in other
  words another insurance premium) which could
  result in your excess being reduced to say 200.
  
• .

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• Bonds
• Some companies require a bond and for campervans
  in particular, these appear to vary up to 7,500.
  This may entail you pay a bond up front with
  your credit card, or perhaps your credit card is
  swiped and the CC receipt is held by the company
  until the vehicle is returned undamaged.
  Depending on the company and your financial
  institution, this may put a hold on a sum of
  money which would result in you not being able to
  access all of the credit on your card. Bear in
  mind that where a company does require payment of
  the bond, should the vehicle be returned
  undamaged, then you could lose on exchange rates
  and that can add to significant amounts to your
  overall vehicle hire expenses.

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Other insurance cover that may be required or
offered by the rental company

• Rental vehicles are usually offered to customers
  with a basic accident cover that usually only
  covers the hired vehicle, and no other vehicle or
  property that may be damaged. Apart from excess
  reduction, there are also a number of extra
  insurances and premiums offered to cover specific
  damage that you may be offered as an option to
  take up prior to taking delivery of the vehicle.
  Some companies may require the hirer to take out
  some of these insurance covers read the T C.
  Those extra premiums may include or cover any /
  all of the following
• Single vehicle accident (this may be covered in
  the basic accident cover)

Single vehicle accident (this may be covered in
the basic accident cover) Multi vehicle
accident Collision waver insurance Windscreen
damage Tyre damage 3rd party property
damage Excess reduction Hail and Storm
Damage Animal Damage Headlight damage Theft Destru
ction by fire General damage/scrapes/dents etc
TRAVEL INSURANCE AND CREDIT CARD INSURANCE COVER
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See more at

• Article Source TripAdvisor.com
• Image Source A1CarRentalCairns.com