Q: How come you are so much cheaper than every other car rental operator for the insurance excess reduction package? Others charge up to $34.50 per day for what seems to be the same cover that you offer your MaxiSafe package at $49.50 for 7 days cover – are you taking any shortcuts that diminish my protection?
A: We see it very much as a case of them being much dearer than us, rather than us being much cheaper than them. Many years ago I (Darryl Wilson) was for 10 years the Chief Executive of a motor vehicle insurance company– I know the pricing profile for the reduction in car rental insurance excess arrangements. We do not take any shortcuts, we don’t exclude Single Vehicle Accidents; Hail or Storm Damage; Interior Damage or Glass and Tyre Damage which are often excluded from coverage offered by our competitors. There are some 3rd party insurance arrangements (e.g. RACV) where the cost of protection is approximately the same price as our MaxiSafe Insurance Excess Reduction Package – you should be confident that we have got it right and the others have got it wrong.
Q: As I am on a tight budget, older vehicles seem to be the best bet for me, but I don’t want my holiday spoiled because of problems with the car – what can you tell me?
A: Our late model vehicle rental packages are often cheaper than other operator’s older vehicles, but with us it doesn’t matter whether you get our newest or oldest car, the same “Clean & Reliable Guarantee” applies to all of our cars – it is shown on our home page, but we have reproduced it here:
“Our vehicles are all meticulously maintained to the highest levels of reliability and cleanliness, and are covered by RACQ 24hr roadside service. With every car hire we give our customers a signed copy of our 45 point Vehicle Preparation & Condition report.
If you experience an operational problem with the vehicle you rent from us and as a consequence you lose more than 30 minutes of your holiday, we’ll refund the car rental charge for the entire day. This guarantee applies equally to our newest and oldest vehicles but excludes “driver error” items (e.g. lost keys, out of fuel, flat tyre etc.)”.
Q: I’m still on my “P’s”; can I still rent a car from you?
A: Yes, you will need to bring your own “P Plates” and conform to any restrictions imposed in your home state. You will have a limited choice of vehicle and your insurance excess will be higher than otherwise would be the case. It will be best to make your enquiries by phone.
Q: I’m under 21yrs of age; can I still rent a car?
Q: I don’t have a credit card; can I still rent a car from you?
A: Yes, if you have a Visa or MasterCard debit card, we view these in the same manner as a credit card – unfortunately, many other car rental companies do not accept them. If you don’t have any card at all, you can still rent a car, the Security Bond requirement will be different, please refer to our website section headed “SECURITY BONDS”.
Q: What happens with traffic and parking fines?
A: Fines can be initiated in 3 ways ...
(a) You are personally fined by a police officer and given the fine notice
(b) The fine is attached to the vehicle
(c) The fine results from a camera detected offence.
In (a) and (b) above, you should pay or dispute the fine yourself (you need to wait 3 days for parking fines to get onto the system) before the expiry date of your time to pay as shown on the fine notice. If you leave it, the authorities will check the registration, add $10 and send a demand notice to us. We will then add another $10 and charge the whole amount to the credit card that you provided as Security with the rental contract.
In (c) above, a fine will be issued to us as the registered owner of the vehicle – this will be for 5 times the value of the fine if it were done in your name (this is to deter people from avoiding the demerit points component of the fine). We then need to do a statutory declaration nominating the renter as the person responsible for the vehicle at the time of the offence. We charge a fee (currently $25) for this. The authorities will then withdraw the fine from us and send a new (reduced) fine to you and you should then pay or dispute it.
Q: What about tolls?
A: The toll points in and around Brisbane are all electronic, there is no means whereby you can pay “as you go through”. You can pre-purchase the tolls at some shell service stations, but you need to know where and when you will trigger a toll point. Alternatively, you can pay over the phone, provided you do so within 72 hours of triggering the toll point.
Failure to pay will result in a demand notice being sent to us with a penalty component and again, we will then need to add our fee and charge the relevant amount to the credit card that you provided to us.
If you have an E-Tag at home in Sydney or Melbourne, you can bring that with you and use it, the toll will automatically be charged to your home account.
A. All of our cars have a local street directory in the glove box. If you are venturing outside of the Gold Coast, we can provide additional directories that cover Byron Bay, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast or Toowoomba. They are all free or alternatively, you could rent a GPS navigation unit from us for just $15 for the 1st week and $1 per day thereafter.
Q: Can you supply approved child seats?
A: These are provided free of charge – if you check on our webpage headed “HOLIDAY ACCESSORIES” you will find a range of items designed to help you enjoy your holiday without having to bring half your house with you. Child seats (Reverse facing, Upright, Booster Seats, Booster seats with Harness, ½ Boosters) are all free and the reverse facing ones come with a sunscreen for the side window. Other items such as portable cots, strollers, high chairs, beach chairs, golf clubs, GPS Navigation, mobility walkers and wheelchairs are available at concessional rental rates.
We recommend that the parents check the fitting of child seats every time they are used – an older child could easily accidently undo the seat belt connection.
- Family Car Rentals ™
