Renting or buying a car/van

Dave!

Hey folks,

Just wondering what ye think about buying a car or van for travelling around Oz? In theory it sounds like a good idea for seeing the coasts, but would we be better off using public transport?

If I were to rent a car, I'd probably spend my whole time worrying about it I've also been told that petrol is quite expensive over there, so it would work out alot cheaper to use trains, etc., when travelling around?

How much would you get a van for over there, that isn't going to break down after a couple of miles? Is the reality of sharing a van with 4 other people (though we probs wouldn't be sleeping in it) completely different to the theory? I'm sure some of ye have done so going down the east coast, and it ended in tears


Finally, and sort of unrelated....... if we want to hit the outback, or at least go somewhat rural, what's the safest way to do it? Obviously it's kind of dangerous to drive out there with no experience or expertise. Do most people take the chance, and just bring lots of water? Or do we have to go on some sort of organised tour (and presumably pay through the arse hole)?


Cheers folks. Not going for over a year, but sooo excited already

Xavi6

Petrol expensive?! Ha! It's about 48 euro cents a litre, i.e. less than half what it is back home. I can fill my car on 15 euro.

You could pick up a decent jammer for about $5000. That would be solid between 4 of you. I'd recommend going a bit more though, maybe to abot $8000 and getting a 4WD if you're going to be trekkin about a bit.

With regards to routes, either go across the north through Darwin and the NT or else go south through Adelaide along the Eyre Highway which connects to WA.

BraziliaNZ

cars/vans etc are cheap here, they're practically giving away petrol right now, and you don't have to have insurance. The roads are obviously 100 times better than in Ireland, and there's not as much traffic. Driving here is fine just look out for kangaroos at night if you're in rural areas. Forget about trains as a means of travelling around, they don't have a good rail system, country is too big. If you're going into the "outback" just bring tonnes of water and don't go too far off the beaten track, there's nothing to see there anyway, except sand and rocks!

The Sweeper

New cars are dirt cheap compared to the UK/Ireland.

Second hand cars, however... It cost me $5,000 to pick up the crockbucket I drive, which I would have paid about £1,400 for in the UK. It's because motors over here age well without rusting - less rain, and no salt on the roads because there's no ice. By paying a bit more, you'll get a good second hand car with a decent resale value for when you're going.

As for "you don't have to have insurance" - the rego (compulsory annual registration tax) gives you unlimited protection in the event that there's an accident and someone takes a compensation claim against you. However it doesn't cover the cost of your car, your own injuries or loss of your vehicle through fire or theft, and it does not cover damage to property or the other person's vehicle. All vehicles have to have a current rego - think of it the same way you'd think of your tax disc in Ireland.

Considering the *EXTREMELY* high likelihood of you hitting a kangaroo if you drive at night in rural, bush and outback areas, you have to weigh up the repair cost of your car, and you, versus the likelihood of you hitting only a small kangaroo, and it being only a glancing blow, or it possibly causing an even worse accident if it causes you to swerve.

Dave!

Yeeshk, are there that many 'roos about?!

88show

Dave! wrote: »

Yeeshk, are there that many 'roos about?!

not on the main roads.
you can pick up a good set of wheels for 1500aus-3000 that will last you the year.
if you land in sydney there's always travellers unloading there cars that they've already taken round the countrry.
check out the trading post online in aus and you can see what motors u can get for the money

missannik

For the insurance part... GET IT! Third party fire and theft will suffice, as a bare minimum- covers the cost of damage to the vehicle or property that you've hit, doesn't cover your own vehicle you'll need comprehensive for that. Plus covers if it gets stolen or if someone gets bored and lights it up (which is damn rare.) RACV, RACQ, NRMA should do online quotes... just google them. Just as a heads up, Victorian registered vehicles have a good scheme if you do get injured in a accident- the Transport Accident Comission is quite generous when it comes to covering medical expenses plus income.

Dave! wrote: »

Yeeshk, are there that many 'roos about?!

Ummm... I live in metropolitan Melbourne and I see numerous roos dead on main roads, or crossing when I'm driving. Just depends if there is a national park near the roads. Just remember to not swerve if you see one crossing, and mind your speed in the areas marked. Same goes for wombats, they are a bastard if you hit them too- they look small, but they cause quite a bit of damage.

Zambia

Dave! wrote: »

Yeeshk, are there that many 'roos about?!

There are a few.

I brought a bloody good car last month for about 10,400.

Good crew cab 4wds will cost you about 20,000. If i where you i would do the following.

Buy a ford holden station wagon that runs on gas or dual fuel (Gas/Unleaded).

gas = 1/2 price of petrol

Proceed to the RACV buy insurance for the car (it wont be huge)
Take out RACV breakdown assist (It not much either < 100)
Then buy a sat nav in RACV (They do them at a discount for members) very important for city navigation

Buy a big tent in one of the many outdoor stores for when you are stuck.

Use hostels when you can.

This way the 4 of you can sleep in comfort and with some air 4 in a van = smell

And if the car stuffs up you can call the RACV and they will cover you.

Enjoy your trip...

adamski8

might as well stick in my question here instead of opening a new thread.
Im heading form sydney to brisbane on the jan and want to rent a car. seems easy enough to make it in one day(seeing as two of us will be driving). thing is online websites like hertz seem very expensive to rent a car. anyone know the cheapest place to get one, only want it for one day! Mainly want it cheap but i guess air con is nearly nessecary, good performance wouldnt go amiss either. My friend is also keen on driving very fast and i take it over the speed limit, im not too keen on this, is there a very good chance he'll get caught and fined? I take it that road has loads of speed traps

One Cold Hand

adamski8 wrote: »

My friend is also keen on driving very fast and i take it over the speed limit, im not too keen on this, is there a very good chance he'll get caught and fined? I take it that road has loads of speed traps

Your mate is an idiot. Tell him that apart from getting caught and fined there's an increased chance of him crashing the car and killing someone.

adamski8

One Cold Hand wrote: »

Your mate is an idiot. Tell him that apart from getting caught and fined there's an increased chance of him crashing the car and killing someone.

true that but his theory is they are long empty straight roads in aus! cant exactly stop him!

BraziliaNZ

the speed limits here are ridiculous, just try not to go overboard but no one seems to drive at the 100/110 limits they impose on highways here

hussey

adamski8 wrote: »

true that but his theory is they are long empty straight roads in aus! cant exactly stop him!

I wouldn't bother get in the same car as him, he simply has no clue.

any time around sunset is when the animals (roos etc) tend to wake up and wander on the roads, hit one of them at 130km and see what happens

missannik

adamski8 wrote: »

true that but his theory is they are long empty straight roads in aus! cant exactly stop him!

By empty I assume you mean long boring highways, with large gum trees on either side and numerous large wildlife that just happen to enjoy crossing such roads... if that doesn't stop him literally then I don't know what will. We used to count how many rolled caravans we'd see when we used to drive up to Queensland from Melbourne, certainly a sad way to pass the time when you're a kid. And the cops along those roads are nasty, don't think you can sweet talk them for going over the limit, they are generally sick and tired of dumbass hoons.

adamski8

anyway well that was just a side note, still want to drive up and take it slow to soak up the scenery we're not in a rush to make time but cant stop him anyway.
the question i really wanted to know about the cost of renting a car? as ive said they seem quite expensive on the websites ive looked at. can you get cheaper in person?

missannik

Online, via the phone or in person will usually make no difference to the price. If you're under 21 you're screwed, and not much better if you're under 25. Check out http://www.rentabomb.com.au/ they might be a better option.

adamski8

missannik wrote: »

Online, via the phone or in person will usually make no difference to the price. If you're under 21 you're screwed, and not much better if you're under 25. Check out http://www.rentabomb.com.au/ they might be a better option.

seems pretty good prices but: [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

vehicles are to be driven within the metropolitan area of the city of rental pick up only,
(approx. 50 km radius from the city center).
click here to view area of use maps: sydney.

extra travel outside of the metropolitan can be arranged for some areas at an extra cost, 24 hrs notice is required. enquire in store for more detail.

[/FONT]cant even drive it out of sydney!!!! why the **** would you want to rent a car then, to pick up groceries. hopefully they'll allow me to take it to brisbane!

One Cold Hand

adamski8 wrote: »

anyway well that was just a side note, still want to drive up and take it slow to soak up the scenery we're not in a rush to make time but cant stop him anyway.
the question i really wanted to know about the cost of renting a car? as ive said they seem quite expensive on the websites ive looked at. can you get cheaper in person?

Let us know how much the cars are that you've seen, and we should be able to help you. You should get one for $50 a day or there abouts, for the smallest car, a Hyundai Getz or similar. It might actually be a good idea for you to get something like this as it will struggle to go over 100!

missannik

adamski8 wrote: »

seems pretty good prices but: [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

vehicles are to be driven within the metropolitan area of the city of rental pick up only,
(approx. 50 km radius from the city center).
click here to view area of use maps: sydney.

extra travel outside of the metropolitan can be arranged for some areas at an extra cost, 24 hrs notice is required. enquire in store for more detail.

[/FONT]cant even drive it out of sydney!!!! why the **** would you want to rent a car then, to pick up groceries. hopefully they'll allow me to take it to brisbane!

Sorry, didn't know that.

adamski8

i was told by that company "sorry we have nothing available for this period" when i asked to rent a car for one day jan 9th!!!!! pretty strange how could they have nothing, must be extremely popular, i could understand if i was taking it for a week
I checked www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au which aparently checks loads of companies hertz,avis trinity and the cheapest for one day is $160 and then there extra like age surcharge, seems a tad dear for one day! But sure if thats the going rate...

adamski8

missannik wrote: »

Sorry, didn't know that.

no bothers i just read the fine print. who rents off them is beyond me

One Cold Hand

adamski8 wrote: »

i was told by that company "sorry we have nothing available for this period" when i asked to rent a car for one day jan 9th!!!!! pretty strange how could they have nothing, must be extremely popular, i could understand if i was taking it for a week
I checked www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au which aparently checks loads of companies hertz,avis trinity and the cheapest for one day is $160 and then there extra like age surcharge, seems a tad dear for one day! But sure if thats the going rate...

Come on mate your not even trying. Just go straight to the Hertz (or Avis or wherever) webiste itself and book it there

https://www.hertz.com.au/rentacar/reservation/gaq/index.jsp?targetPage=whatView.jsp

There's cars there for under $40 a day.

adamski8

One Cold Hand wrote: »

Come on mate your not even trying. Just go straight to the Hertz (or Avis or wherever) webiste itself and book it there

https://www.hertz.com.au/rentacar/reservation/gaq/index.jsp?targetPage=whatView.jsp

There's cars there for under $40 a day.

well i havent busted my balls looking at places caus i just thought someone here might have a site or place. but i have looked at a few. And true hertz does say "FROM under $40 day" but once you actually select that range of cars after putting in dates(I tired a few) and for less than a 24hr rental the cheapest seemed always to be around $180!

breadmonkey

Hi Dave,

Having recently rented a van in Aus and just bought one in NZ I'd have to go with buying. Just knuckle down and put as much work as you can into getting something decent for a good price. It'll be a **** few days trying to sort it out but that's all you can do. The insurance policies with rentals are laughable to say the least. I don't know how long you're going for but if you look at the cost of renting something that will take four people you'll soon see that buying is a better bet. And you won't have to worry about denting the thing or losing the stupid ****ty little table they gave you with it and have to fork out $125!

Also, 4WD would be very very advantageous.

Good luck

One Cold Hand

adamski8 wrote: »

well i havent busted my balls looking at places caus i just thought someone here might have a site or place. but i have looked at a few. And true hertz does say "FROM under $40 day" but once you actually select that range of cars after putting in dates(I tired a few) and for less than a 24hr rental the cheapest seemed always to be around $180!

I don't know what way your doing it, but when I select a car for pick-up at 10:00 and return at 18:00 the same day (random date in Jan. selected) the price it gives is $51 (this is the cheapest car with no extras). Can't help you any more than that mate.

adamski8

One Cold Hand wrote: »

I don't know what way your doing it, but when I select a car for pick-up at 10:00 and return at 18:00 the same day (random date in Jan. selected) the price it gives is $51 (this is the cheapest car with no extras). Can't help you any more than that mate.

Ah yeah i can see how your getting that price alright. your searching for pick and drop back in the same place on the same day which would obviously be very cheap. anthing else will be expensive as of my plan even though i only want it for less than 24hrs.