You are king: make an informed decision

Questions To Ask Before Hiring a Car in Australia

Getting a rental car can make or break your vacation. You may be happy that you are not using your own vehicle or you could appreciate the freedom that the car can give you to see your destination.

In Australia, over 400,000 people from all over the world rent cars in the country every year. One of the biggest cities in the country that people like to go to is Melbourne.

So, when looking at hiring a car in Melbourne, what should you be aware of? What aspects of a Melbourne care hire can make or break your trip?

These are some of the most common questions asked when it comes to car rental in Melbourne.

FAQs About Renting a Car in Australia

  • 01 How Old Do You Have to Be to Rent a Car?
  • 02 Do You Need an International Driver's License?
  • 03 Is It Easy to Pick up a Car at the Airport?
  • 04 Is There a Kilometer Limit on Cars?
  • 05 Can You Get a Refund if You Cancel the Trip?
  • 06 Can You Add Other Drivers for Free?
  • 07 Do You Have to Get Gas Before Returning the Car?
  • How Old Do You Have to Be to Rent a Car?

    In Australia, the age requirement has two answers to it. So, to actually be able to drive a rental car in Australia, you have to be 21 years old. That is the youngest age that is legally allowed to get behind the wheel and have insurance cover damage if something happens to the car while you are driving it.

    For those of you that are from the United States, this is good news if you are in college or just getting out of college. The reason is that the minimum age to rent a car in that country is 25 years old.

    However, Australia has a catch for those that fall between the ages of 21-24. You are going to have to pay an additional cost to drive that vehicle at a young age. This can add a fee to the daily rate because younger drivers can be considered at a higher risk to cause damage to the car.

  • Do You Need an International Driver's License?

    Some countries allow you to show your country's driver's license as long as it is written in the same language as the one that country speaks. When it comes to Australia, that may not necessarily be the case.

    Most of the time in Australia, you will need an International Driver's License that acts as the official translation of your country's driver's license while also allowing you to drive anywhere in the world.

    The only time that there may be an exception to this is if you have a driver's license from an English-speaking country. Sometimes, having the driver's license in the same language that the country speaks can be good enough. However, if you find yourself in that situation, you may want to have your passport with you just to be safe.

    With all of that said, getting an International Driver's License is usually relatively easy and very reasonably priced. So, it is best to get this organized before coming to Australia.

  • Is It Easy to Pick up a Car at the Airport?

    With Australia's location, almost everybody coming from abroad is going to be flying in. Most people will probably be looking to pick up their rental car near the airport. In this case, can you find a car hire in Melbourne Airport?

    Having that as an option usually makes it a lot easier for travelers to start their vacation right away.

    The only other option is usually getting a taxi or taking public transportation to a destination that may be cheaper to rent a car but usually adds a lot more time to the process.

    When it comes to finding out about rental car companies in certain airports, you can use the airport's website, which usually lists those companies. Alternatively, you can search local rental car companies and see if they have that airport as an available pick-up location.

  • Is There a Kilometer Limit on Cars?

    Sometimes, rental car companies will limit you to driving a certain amount of kilometers with the car for free if you are only renting the car for a short time. This is something that you need to pay attention to before you get the car because if you ignore this, then you can end up surprised with a surcharge fee at the end of your trip.

    Find out in advance if there is a kilometer limit before you start getting charged. Most of the time, there is no limit on kilometers. However, if there is a limit on it, you can plan around that. Figure out how many kilometers you have to work with and if it does not make sense to take any off, start putting aside money for that additional fee.

  • Can You Get a Refund if You Cancel the Trip?

    Finally, there are going to be unforeseen circumstances that come up that force you to potentially cancel an upcoming vacation. This is especially the case during pandemic times when someone may test positive for COVID or not feel well enough to travel.

    When these unexpected situations happen, the first thing smart travelers try to do is to get as much of their money back as possible. Sometimes, this is not always possible and it ends up costing the travelers a lot of money.

    However, these rental companies are not completely unreasonable. Most of the time, they are willing to work with you to give you your money back. Typically, if you cancel a trip with more than 48 hours' notice, you are likely at least able to get your deposit back and any insurance premiums that you might have already paid for.

    Receiving a refund for last minute cancellations is where it starts to become more difficult. It is understandable when you think about it from the rental company's perspective because if you cancel on the day of the booking, they are likely not going to have enough time to replace your booking.

    Sometimes canceling a day or less in advance cannot be avoided if something unexpected comes up. But, if you feel like you know you will have to cancel, try to do so with more than 48 hours notice.

  • Can You Add Other Drivers for Free?

    One issue that can come up with a car rental service is when you are traveling with a group of people and you want to have more than one person drive the rental car. While there are some rental companies that will let other drivers be added onto the plan for free, there are other companies that will charge you an additional fee for having to add other drivers to this.

    An instance where a fee can get added is if you are the primary driver and older than 25 but you have someone else in the group that wants to drive who is younger than 25. As stated above, there can be a surcharge that is added to this.

    The additional fee for multiple drivers can be a decisive factor for some groups, especially in Australia. That is because Australia is one of the biggest countries in the world.

    With that in mind, some destinations within the country can be a day's trip from one another. So, certain groups are going to want to have a few people drive if they plan to travel to the other side of the country by car.

    Ask about this and read the fine print on deals. If you have another driver that you do not report on a rental car and they get into an accident with that car, you could be liable for all of the damage on that car.

  • Do You Have to Get Gas Before Returning the Car?

    Finally, one question that those who are new to renting cars may not think about is how the fuel policy works with rental car companies. You may not think about this, but you will notice that when you receive a rental car, the car is basically going to have a full tank of gas.

    However, what you may forget about with this is what happens when you have to return the car. It is very possible that you may not think about how much gas the car has left in the tank before you give it back to the rental car company.

    Well, you need to keep in mind that with most rental car companies, you are going to be expected to return the rental car with a full tank of gas. When you think about it, it is a pretty fair policy because you are going to receive the car with a full tank of gas, so you are going to be expected to return the rental car as you got it.

    With this in mind, make sure that you factor in the fuel cost to get the car back to a full tank before you get hit with an unexpected fuel fee.

Start the Process of Hiring a Car

These are just five of the most common questions that are asked when it comes to hiring a car in Melbourne and other major cities in Australia. Make sure you are organized and read the fine print before you come to Australia.

Are you ready to find a cheap car rental in Melbourne? Book your rental car with us today.

Australia Travel Tips

  • Continent

    Oceania
  • Capital

    Canberra
  • Language

    English
  • Currency

    AUD
  • Country code

    +61
  • Average gasoline price

    $1.82 / liter

six of the best locations in Australia

  • Sydney Opera House

    Surrounded by the stunning scenery of the Sydney Harbour and the Royal Botanic Gardens, this famous Opera House hosts more than 1500 performances a year! It is still regarded as a 20th century architectural masterpiece.

  • The Great Barrier Reef

    Located in the natural world of the Coral Sea, the Great Barrier Reef encompasses 2900 coral reefs and hundreds of stunning islands. If you are into scuba diving, you can’t miss these pristine waters that teem with tropical fish. It boasts 30 species of whales, dolphins, porpoises, and six species of sea turtles. More than 1500 species of fish live on the reef.

  • Ayres Rock

    This huge sandstone monolith is located in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Witness the dramatic change of colors with each sunset. The local Aboriginal tribe regards this site as sacred and not without good reason. The area around the formation is home to an abundance of springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings.

  • Kakadu National Park

    If wallabies, dingoes and crocodiles are your thing, then the specular wildlife of Australia’s largest national park is the place to go. It is located three hours from Darwin in the Northern Territory. It is vast in size, extending nearly 200 kilometres from north to south and over 100 kilometres from east to west. Kakadu National Park is renowned for the richness of its Aboriginal cultural sites. 

  • The Blue Mountains National Park

    Located in New South Wales, west of Sydney, this park is best known for the Three Sisters rock formation, 3000 feet above the Jamison Valley. It is the home of many loveable koalas. It is also a natural playground for adventurers who enjoy any adrenaline sport!

  • The Great Ocean Road

    Located in Victoria, it is one of the most beautiful drives 60 miles or 100 km from Melbourne. This coastal highway has breathtaking views of the sea. Don’t miss The Twelve Apostles, 12 limestone stacks that rise up out of the ocean near Port Campbell National Park.

Here are some real reviews of car hire inAustraliathat we have collected and hope will help you

Traffic Rules

Be sure to know Australia traffic rules before embarking on a road trip! Avoid unnecessary violations

  • Traffic direction

  • Slow down

  • Stopping for police

  • Special road signs

  • Matters need attention

  • KEEP LEFT

    Starboard rudder to left, round the island to right.

  • SPEED LIMITS

    Within South Australia (and in fact throughout Australia) the maximum default speed limit outside a built-up area is 100 km/h. The maximum default speed limit in a built-up area is 50 km/h. Unless a road sign or a licence condition indicates otherwise, these are the general maximum speeds at which you are allowed to drive.

    Speed limit signs have a distinctive red circle with a black number indicating the speed limit in kilometres per hour. Different speed limits and where they apply are described.

  • PARKING

    Unless there are signs or markings on the road to indicate some other method, you must park parallel to the edge of the road and footpath. The rules are:

    Park your vehicle so that it is facing in the same direction as the moving traffic

    In a two-way road, park your vehicle parallel to and as near as practicable to the left edge of the road

    in a one-way road, park parallel to and as near as practicable to the left or right edge of the road

    Where parking bays are marked on the road, leave your vehicle entirely within a single bay, unless the vehicle is too wide or long to fit completely within the bay

    Where there are no parking bays, leave at least one metre between your vehicle and the vehicles in front and behind

    Unless permitted by a parking sign, leave a minimum of three metres between your vehicle and any continuous dividing line or dividing strip; or, if there is no continuous dividing line or strip, leave a minimum of three metres from the other side of the road.

  • STOP

    When you are faced with a Stop sign, you must stop your vehicle at the stop line or, where there is no stop line, as near as practicable to but before entering the intersection.

    stop

    GIVE WAY

    When you are faced with a Give Way sign, you must slow down and, if necessary, stop your vehicle in order to Give Way.

    You must give way to a police or emergency vehicle with a warning siren sounding or displaying red and/or blue flashing lights to ensure that it is provided with a clear and uninterrupted passage.

    give-way

    ROUNDABOUTS

    A roundabout is an intersection with an island at its centre. When in a roundabout, you must always keep to the left of the centre island. Roundabouts will be marked with a Roundabout sign and can either be single-lane or multi-lane roundabouts.

    roundabout

  • PEDESTRIANS

    Drivers commit an offence if they fail to wear a seatbelt when one is available.Drivers (except the driver of a bus or motorcycle rider) also commit an offence if passengers of any age are not wearing a seatbelt or child restraint.Drivers must ensure children:

    Up to the age of six months

    • Use an approved rearward-facing infant restraint and must not travel in the front seat of a vehicle that has two or more rows of seats.

    6 months to 4 years

    • Use either an approved rearward-facing infant restraint or a forward-facing child safety seat with an inbuilt harness and must not travel in the front seat of a vehicle that has two or more rows of seats.

    4 years up to 7 years

    • Use either an approved forward-facing child safety seat with an inbuilt harness, or booster seat with a properly fastened and adjusted lap-sash seatbelt or child safety harness.

    • Do not travel in the front seat of a vehicle that has two or more rows of seats, unless all the other seats are occupied by children who are also under 7 years.

    • If there is not enough space to put a third restraint in the back seat, then a child in this age group may sit in the front seat providing they are appropriately restrained. Note: Where a child is seated in the front seat you will need to use a booster seat without a top tether strap, as anchorage points are not available for the front seat.

    7 years up to 16 years

    • Use either an approved child restraint (child safety seat or booster seat depending on their size), or a seatbelt that is properly adjusted and fastened.

    MOBILE PHONES

    You must not use a hand-held mobile phone while your vehicle is moving or is stationary in traffic (for example, at traffic lights). You may, however, use a hand-held mobile phone while your vehicle is parked.

Other popular destinations

  • New Zealand
  • Europe
  • England
  • United States
  • Canada
  • Asia