Sydney Airport – Best Independent Car Hire Companies
The great thing about going with an off-site independent company is you will immediately save 18% off your car hire which is Sydney Airport’s fixed Premium Location Fee. After much sifting, the following few companies came out tops and are definitely worth checking out.
All findings are based on regular non-peak rates. You might want to note school holiday periods in NSW.
East Coast Car Rentals Go To Site
Great value on all cars especially on SUVs, Vans. Unlimited km’s
East Coast Car Rentals started serving Sydney’s airport back in 2010 and offers one of the better value propositions particularly since all rentals come with unlimited km’s. They carry a good range of cars from Compact manual hatches to Family sedans, SUVs and Vans.
The standard liability on cars is A$3000 that can be reduced to A$200 for A$13.20/day, or for A$11/day for rentals over a week. This is the cheapest reduction waiver rate you can find amongst car hire companies (however, we still recommend you have a look at alternative car rental insurance options). Their depot is just outside the airport so you’ll just have to make a quick call once you’ve landed and they’ll arrange for a shuttle bus to collect you.
Discount Car Rental Go To Site
Value on Compact Autos, Family Sedans. 250km/day
It may not be the prettiest site but you’ll find competitive rates on the Compact Toyota Corolla hatch and family-sized Toyota Camry. To counter the potential inconvenience of being off-site, they offer a free customer pick-up and return service to the airport. Rates are inclusive of 250km/day and A$2750 collision damage liability that can be dropped to A$550 for A$16/day (compare that to the Big Boys’ A$24-26.40/day).
Airport Rent-A-Car Go To Site
Good value for short (3 days) hires on Compact and Intermediate cars. Look out for discounts. 300km/day
Value can be found on Compact (manual and auto) and Intermediate cars like the Toyota Yaris hatch, Hyundai i30 hatch and Toyota Corolla sedan for shorter rentals. This website requires just bit of scrolling down to get to what’s important but beyond that, the booking form itself is simple. Certain months have further 10% discounts (at this time, this is being offered in June and July 2011).
Includes 300km/day (A$0.25/extra km) and A$3300 collision damage liability (A$23/day reduces to $330). Located 5 minutes off-site but offers free transfers to/from the airport.
East Coast are great – I use them here on the Gold Coast and when we were in Sydney at Easter we hired a car for a week from them. Consistently the best prices and the cars I have hired have always been good. White but good! I think it is quirky how all their cars are white – but that doesn’t detract from the fact that they are a really good option.
Great website. This is my first adventure into the car hire market and it is mind blowing.
I notice though there is nothing on Tasmania. I am surprised at this as I would’ve though there would be a reasonable market there.
I have come across Economy Car Rentals (www.economycarrentals.com) they advertise no added insurance and their price is the same for airport pick up as city pick up. Are they genuine?
Thanks Linda! Yup, car hire is a quite the maze
And we have every intention of covering Tasmania but just haven’t done so yet. Now that you mention it, I think we better get cracking sooner rather than later!
Yes Economy Car Rentals (ECR) is a genuine site that is based in Greece with affiliates worldwide. They indeed do offer a good value proposition by offering to refund any excess charges. This means you can turn down any extra insurance the local provider tries to sell you when you pick up your car. Just be sure to read ECR’s small print so you know exactly what you are/aren’t covered for e.g. interior, underside, wheels, lights damage are all excluded (read more here). You’ll need to make sure in the event of an accident, you obtain the proper police and damage reports required.
Something else to be aware of is that the local car rental company will still charge you for any damages and you’ll have to then claim the refund from ECR. This process make take weeks (and I’m not sure how easy/difficult they make it) so just know you may be short on money in the meantime. The other catch is you need to pay 14.5% as down payment when you make your reservation.
We’ve heard of both positive and negative experiences with this company. We find the main complication can a result of miscommunication between Economy Car Rentals and its local partner. To avoid any disappointment, I would recommend once you’ve booked your car to try to confirm any details with the local provider directly if possible e.g. is after hours drop-off really included in the price? What sized car category am I really getting?
Hope that helps and do stop by again!