Car Hire - Help Needed

SydBoy on 04/04/2017 - 18:02

Hi, everyone

I am looking to hire 7 seater when my extended family is visiting me. First I had looked at traditional sites like budget, thrifty, avis etc. and price quoted online was between $730-$900. Then checked with other website such as carnextdoor , goget and drivemaycar etc….

What surprise me that even after having number of sites which is providing car hire similar to Airbnb, there isn't any price difference whether you buy from Budget or drivemycar? On Car share site the car owner charges anywhere between $35/day to $60/day so they are cheaper than traditional sites but then there is a catch that they only provide you with limited 100km or 150km per day and you need to pay extra $0.30 to $0.45 per km which will make them costlier than traditional car hire company.
I am looking to hire few weekends within 3 month and one long holiday driving to Melbourne when I have extended family visiting me but seems to be difficult to find deal on hire car.

So the question is….any way to get bargain deals for hire car? Or is it cheaper to buy second hand worth $5000 and then sell it off for $4000 after 3 months?
Has anyone got similar experience? Any bargain idea?

Thanks

Poll Options expired

  • 3
    1. Hire car through traditional site
  • 1
    2. Hire car through Car share site
  • 7
    3. Buy and then sell it
Automotive

Comments

  • robbyjones on 04/04/2017 - 18:14

    You could try overseas car rental, I have used the following two companies for car hire when I visit Adelaide: http://www.rentalcars.com/.
    http://www.economycarrentals.com/

  • Cheeper on 04/04/2017 - 23:35

    The 7 seater you buy for $5000 could cost that in repairs & consumables that may need replacing (tyres, servicing). Don't forget to add rego transfer and insurance to your outlay also.

  • jace88 on 04/04/2017 - 23:53

    If you are able to find a corporate/gold membership with one of the car rental companies, there are some pretty significant discounts. My corporate Hertz Gold Plus discount got me an 8 seater Kia Carnival for $57/day with unlimited kms over 5 days (all inclusive with insurance/etc).

  • Oofy Doofy on 04/04/2017 - 23:57
    +1

    I thought buy a cheapo and then sell it… then I thought maybe that's not such a good idea.

    Perhaps just use the nearest and most easy to get to car rental place or car share site (with a car located close to you), and just deal with the outlay. Less problematic and risky to you than purchasing a potential lemon for several grand, then trying to offload it.

  • k-rokfm on 05/04/2017 - 08:08

    Have a look to see what condition 7 seaters you could buy for whatever budget you are looking for. If you up your budget to 10k you could probably get some decent cars and only lose a few thousand

  • pantsparty on 05/04/2017 - 08:57

    What is your location and required dates?

    • SydBoy on 05/04/2017 - 09:57

      Sydney….i am looking for 10th June to 17/18th June and some weekends…between May & June.

  • pantsparty on 05/04/2017 - 12:06
    +3

    I just did a quick search on Hertz and get a price of $518 on a 7 seater Toyota Kluger from 10/6 to 17/6. Using Skyscanner I found an 8 seater Hyundai iMax van for $426. Trying searching on these sites and you should get a much better price than the $730 - $900 you have found.

    • SydBoy on 05/04/2017 - 13:47

      Thanks, Skyscanner does have good deals.

  • Euphemistic on 06/04/2017 - 07:02

    I wouldn't buy to sell in the future, but is it worth upgrading your current car to a 7 seater more permanently? Ours comes in pretty handy, but we are already a family of 5. Trading in your current car for a bigger one could be more cost effective.

    If hiring for a long trip consider the amount of luggage space you will need for 7 people, it is often more than the space available in a 7 seater and you might need a roof pod or trailer as well. Some 7 sweaters have very little space for luggage when the full set of seats is in use. Our Captiva was terrible for this (it's gone now)

    • SydBoy on 06/04/2017 - 09:21

      thanks for the tip about luggage space. i got brand new 5 seater so can't upgrade, as the guest are there for two month only.

  • SydBoy on 24/06/2017 - 07:30

    Just follow up feedback….i end up hiring with apex car rental. They are the cheapest and easy going (atleats sydney cbd location).

    I hired kia carnival for 8 days unlimited km, interstate roadside assistance, excess $500 for total $550..!!! And it was last minute booking.

    They provide car that are old model and had odometer of 100000+ but it is value for money compare to rip off you get from others..!

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