Car hire/rental Melbourne

[chrismch]

Did some research for this and it seems that if I want a 1 day use, most drop offs other than the airport close early evening or you pay a surcharge. Car sites didn't list the surcharge fee. We will be staying in Southbank and I see that the parking overnight is $8 if you get out prior to 7am. I'm on vacation don't want to get up that early. If I choose the airport drop off will it be easy/cheap to get back to my hotel?

[Globaliser]

You normally get a full 24 hours from a one-day rental, don't you? So why not just leave the car longer in the parking and return it when you're ready?

 

If you drop off at the airport, take a cab back to town if you want easy - about AUD 50-60 at a guess, although I've never taken a cab all the way into the city centre. Or for a cheaper option, take the Skybus (AUD 16 per person) to Southern Cross station on Spencer Street, and then walk back to your hotel (probably about 20 minutes).

[chrismch]

Yes, I can have the car for a full 24 hrs. By doing so I will then add fees for overnight parking in town which looks like an add'l $30 if I don't move it prior to early morning drive. Then by taking it back to the airport for drop off I get to pay $32 for the skybus to take both of us back to the hotel. The car rental was in the mid $50's so this is like paying for another day with no use other than the return.

 

So my other other would be to use a downtown dropoff. Has anyone returned a car downtown and paid a surcharge for after hrs return?

[Globaliser]

Yes, I can have the car for a full 24 hrs. By doing so I will then add fees for overnight parking in town which looks like an add'l $30 if I don't move it prior to early morning drive. Then by taking it back to the airport for drop off I get to pay $32 for the skybus to take both of us back to the hotel. The car rental was in the mid $50's so this is like paying for another day with no use other than the return.

Why don't you pay for the overnight parking but return it downtown the next day with no surcharge? And while you've got it overnight, why not use it for the evening, to go somewhere that would be inconvenient by public transport?

[kenish]

Also keep in mind if you take the car from the city to MEL airport you will either pay a toll or spend a lot of time on local streets and have possible navigation issues. There is an automated toll payment kiosk in the return garage; you pay a flat fee of about $12 after the fact...it's good for the previous 24h of toll road use. FYI, there is a BP station at the airport to top off the fuel; rental car return is in the bottom level of the parking structure (in the middle of the access loop road) and was poorly marked due to construction when were there a month ago.

 

Last comments, we were repeatedly warned about speed cams (so don't speed). Speed limits are frustratingly low by California standards. Also be sure you understand how to do a "hook turn".

[Aussie Gal]

In Melbourne, the driving speed is 60kmph and in a suburban street it is 50kmph. If you use any of our freeways, it is 100kmph.

 

I would prefer to keep the car for 24 hours and arrange to drop it off at a city depot rather than drive all the way out to the airport. There are tolls on the Tullamarine Freeway and unless you know Melbourne well, it is the only way to get to the airport without any hassle.

 

If you add up the extra fuel required to drive the distance to the airport, plus the tolls, plus either getting a taxi back or using the skybus, you will be probably up for more than the extra charge to return it to a city depot rather than to the airport.

 

I would definitely put it in a car park overnight. Does your hotel have Valet Parking because often that is the cheapest way to go.

 

Jennie

[kenish]

We needed a rental car to drive to Phillip Island. Since overnight parking at Southbank is only $8 and we had a very early flight out of MEL, we planned the drive to PI for the last full day. Picked up the car in the CBD, then parked overnight and drove to the airport early the next morning. Since the drive to PI was easiest on the toll road, the drive to the airport was covered by the same 24h flat-fee toll pass. There was no drop-off fee to return the car to the airport. So our net savings was the cost of two Skybus tickets. We also saved considerable time since Skybus does not pick up at individual hotels before 700 or 800.

 

Our situation was different than OP's but this might give them ideas on other options.

 

Aussie Gal- We had a great time in MEL and Oz. Thanks for your suggestions back in March. We left MEL on June 30 as the weather was going bad. I hope the storms we heard about later didn't cause problems for you. We got to see Collingwood handily defeat Fremantle and they have won all but 1 game since, including the game where they won by a single point! I've now become a fan of AFL and Victoria Bitter which are both difficult or impossible to find in the USA!

[Aussie Gal]

kenish,

 

So glad that you enjoyed your time here and that the weather held out for you. June was a good month this year with quite a bit of sunshine but not much rain unfortunately.

 

I am thrilled that you saw a AFL match. I think our Aussie Rules is the best game for spectators and would love to take overseas visitors to a match but of course most come in our summer. Collingwood is going well and hopefully may win the Premiership this year.

 

Jennie

[Oxymoron]

We got to see Collingwood handily defeat Fremantle and they have won all but 1 game since, including the game where they won by a single point! I've now become a fan of AFL and Victoria Bitter which are both difficult or impossible to find in the USA!

 

Grrrr I like the Fremantle dockers! lol :p

Glad you saw a game though, it is a great spectator sport at the ground!