Cheap Car Rental in Australia: 15 Ways to Save Money

1When You Book

• 1. Book two weeks or more ahead. Bookings made two weeks out averaged about A$84 a day in 2025, compared with A$95 for same-day bookings.
• 2. Avoid school holidays and Easter. April and the summer holidays are the most expensive months in most cities.
• 3. Look at shoulder seasons. May to August is usually cheapest, except in the tropical north where winter is peak season.
• 4. Use free cancellation. Book a cancellable rate, then check again closer to the date and rebook if the price falls.

2Where You Pick Up

• 5. Compare off-airport depots. In 2025 data, off-airport averages were well below airport averages in most cities, for example A$51 against A$88 in Adelaide.
• 6. Collect in the city if you are not driving straight away. There is no point paying for a car while it sits in a hotel car park.
• 7. Plan one-way trips carefully. One-way fees vary widely by route and supplier. Popular routes in the direction of demand can be cheaper.

Also read: Airport vs city car rental in Australia: which is cheaper?

3What You Rent

• 8. Choose the smallest car that fits your bags. Economy cars averaged about A$88 a day in 2025 data, premium SUVs more than twice that.
• 9. Consider a hybrid on long drives. With unleaded around 242c a litre, using 4–5 L/100 km instead of 8–9 saves around A$50 on a 500 km trip.
• 10. Skip the GPS. Use your phone with offline maps, and bring a phone holder.

4Insurance and Extras

• 11. Check your existing cover. Travel insurance or a premium credit card may already include rental excess cover.
• 12. Compare standalone excess insurance with the supplier’s daily reduction, especially for rentals of a week or more.
• 13. Limit additional drivers to those who will actually drive, as fees are often charged per day.

5A Quick Saving Calculation

Small choices add up. On a seven-day rental, picking an off-airport depot instead of the airport can save tens of dollars a day, choosing a compact car instead of an SUV saves on both rate and fuel, and arranging excess cover before you travel avoids paying the counter price.

Illustrative ranges; your saving depends on supplier, city and dates.

6Watch Out for False Savings

• A very low daily rate with a small kilometre allowance can cost more on a road trip.
• Pre-paid fuel is rarely good value unless you will return the tank nearly empty.
• A cheap off-airport depot is not cheap if its hours mean an extra night in a hotel.
• Skipping excess cover saves money only until something goes wrong.

7On the Road and at Return

• 14. Return the car full. Refuelling charges are far above pump prices.
• 15. Watch the tolls. Toll admin fees add up in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Plan routes that avoid tolls where it makes sense.

Frequently Asked Questions