Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

Your quote will depend on the daily rate advertised when you book with us, the duration of your rental and any options selected at the time of booking or when you pick up your car:

• Extra days
• Loss Damage Waiver [LDW] or Premium Loss Damage Waiver [PLDW]
• Upgrade to higher class of vehicle
• Windscreen and Tyre Protection
• Premium Roadside Assistance
• Additional drivers
• Age Surcharge
• Child seats
• GPS unit

You may also be charged for any of the following on return of the vehicle:

• Damage Excess
• Cleaning Service Fee
• Refuelling Service Fee
• Excess Kilometre Charge (12-seater passenger van only)

The travel and tourism industry is seasonal and our daily rates vary according to many factors including off-peak and low-peak periods, and the availability of our vehicles, among others. The daily rate will also vary depending on the number of days you wish to rent a vehicle. For example, a seven-day rental will attract a much lower daily rate than a two-day rental.

The daily rate of your original booking will always remain the same, but the daily rental rate on additional days are subject to change when extending the length of your rental.

You can cancel your booking at any time. Please keep in mind the following cancellation policy applies when using the ‘Pay Now’ option:

• Cancelling the booking 14 or more days prior to the collection date of the vehicle will result in a full refund of the purchase price and any credit card surchages
• When cancelling less than 14 days prior to the collection date, the cancellation fee will be equal to the sum of three (3) rental days as per the rental fee of the booking, and, if the notice provided is less than three (3) days, the full rental purchase price will be retained by East Coast Car Rentals
• No refund will be provided on any portion of the purchase price if the Customer fails to pick up the vehicle at the day and time of collection
• No refund will be provided for ‘early returns’ or ‘unused days’ when returning the vehicle earlier than the booked dates and times. Any unused portion of the Optional Extras purchased at the time of collection will be refunded to the Customer
• Amendments to the booking can only be made by phoning our Call Centre on 1800 327 826 or +61 (0)7 5555 8900. Amendment fees do not apply when making changes to your booking

No cancellation or refund fees apply when booking using the ‘Pay Later’ option.

Our rental offices are located a short distance from the Airport. After collecting your luggage, please phone to arrange pick-up from one of our courtesy shuttle services on 1800 474 258 or +61 (0) 7 5555 8908. Our driver will be there to greet you at the designated pick-up point close to the Arrival Terminal. Your booking will be finalised following a short ride to our office.

For instructions on how to find the courtesy shuttle bus pick-up point for your airport, please click on one of the links below:

Adelaide Airport 
Brisbane Airport (Domestic)
Brisbane Airport (International)
Cairns Airport
Gold Coast Airport
Hobart Airport
Launceston Airport
Melbourne Airport
Sunshine Coast Airport
Sydney Airport (Domestic)
Sydney Airport (International)

Yes. You need to provide a valid, current driver licence. International drivers will need to bring a copy of their national driver licence written in the Roman Alphabet (e.g. A, B, C etc.). If your national driver licence is not written in the Roman Alphabet, you will also need to provide an International Driving Permit [IDP] as supporting documentation. Drivers from China will need to bring their national driver licence and an IDP. Chinese drivers may use a China National Certificate instead of an IDP

A copy of your driver licence will made for our records. We may also be ask for further proof of identity for verification purposes.

Please contact our reservation team on 1800 327 826 or +61 (0)7 5555 8900.  This is important particularly over peak car rental periods where a large percentage of our vehicles are already out of rentals.   If we haven’t heard from you and we are an hour or more past your chosen pick up time, we may reassign your rental car to a last minute renter. Also if you have booked with us through a third party travel agent or car rental website it is likely we will not have contact details for you so will not be able to contact you from our end to check where you are.

Yes. We have a range of child restraints and booster seats for you to choose from. Please refer to our Booking Terms and Conditions for further details. Please note, child seats can only be hired when renting an East Coast Car Rentals vehicle, they cannot be hired individually.  It is recommended that Baby and booster seats are attached to your online booking as during extremely busy periods we can run out of these.  Baby and booster seats are always set aside for customers who have pre-booked these.

Of course you can, we call these one way rentals.  Returning your rental vehicle to a different location is subject to availability and a service fee will apply. This fee will vary depending on the class of vehicle and pick-up and drop-off locations.  We do also remove these fees from time to time if we need to move cars from on location to another.  Typically this will happen nearer the end of a busy holiday period for certain locations. Contact our reservation hotline on 1800 327 826 or +61 (0) 7 5555 8900 to see if we have any “relocation specials” that might apply to your travel dates and locations involved. 

Returning your car and getting you from our depots in our free shuttle service to Airport departures should take no longer than 30 minutes and more often less than this.  So plan to arrive at least  2.5 hours before your flight departure this if you are flying Internationally, and 3 hours if you are flying into the USA. 

You will need to provide a valid, current driver licence when collecting your car. International drivers will need to bring a copy of their national driver licence written in the Roman Alphabet (e.g. A, B, C etc.). If your national driver licence is not written in the Roman Alphabet, you will also need to provide an International Driving Permit [IDP] as supporting documentation. Drivers from China will need to bring their national driver licence and an IDP. Chinese drivers may use a China National Certificate instead of an IDP.

A copy of your driver licence will made for our records. We may also be ask for further proof of identity for verification purposes.

First-time Customers of East Coast Car Rentals living within a 150 kilometre radius of the branch from which they are collecting the vehicle must provide a utility bill* not older than three months as proof of address. The residential address shown on the utility bill must match the address listed on the Customer’s driver license. A Holding Deposit of $1000 is also required to secure the booking and a pre-authorisation will be processed on on the Customer’s nominated debit or credit card.

*A hard copy or digital version of the following utility bills are accepted forms of identification: electricity, gas, rates, water, phone and internet bills. 

Please note: previous Customers of East Coast Car Rentals are not required to provided a utility bill as proof of address.

Please contact us as soon as you possible by phoning our reservations team on 1800 327 826 or +61 (0)7 5555 8900. We will do our best to accommodate you in the event of a delayed flight and can have staff stay beyond our normal closing time to greet you. But in some cases it may be necessary to move your booking forward to the following morning. If we have not heard from you in advance though our branch will shut at its normal closing hour so please call us before you board your delayed flight.

Please contact us as soon as you possible by phoning our reservations team on 1800 327 826 or +61 (0)7 5555 8900. We will do our best to accommodate you in the event of a cancelled flight and can have staff stay beyond our normal closing time to greet you. But in some cases it may be necessary to move your booking forward to the following morning. If we have not heard from you in advance though our branch will shut at its normal closing hour so please call us before you board your rescheduled flight if it is the same day.  Note also that during busy periods if we have not heard from you and there is a possibility that the vehicle previously assigned to your rental could be assigned to a new customer.  This becomes more likely the longer the period elapsed between the pick up time we have for you and your revised pick up time or date.  

Yes. However, any additional driver or drivers must present their driver licence on collection of the vehicle. If you wish to add another driver to your rental after collecting your vehicle, you will need to phone our reservations team on 1800 327 826 or +61 (0)7 5555 8900. You will then be asked to email a copy of the additional driver’s licence (front and back) for verification purposes to res@eccr.com.au. The additional driver is not permitted to drive until confirmation is received from our reservations team. Additional drivers incur a one-off charge per driver for each rental booking.

Yes. Australian drivers holding a Provisional Licence (P-plate) can rent a car from East Coast Car Rentals under the following conditions:

• The provisional driver must have held his/her licence for a minimum period of 12 months
• A P-plate must be displayed on your rental vehicle at all times and in keeping with the rules and regulations of the state you are driving in
• The Customer must purchase the Loss Damage Waiver [LDW] protection option at the time of collection of the vehicle
• An age surcharge applies to all provisional drivers aged between 21 to 24 years-old and must be reflected in the Rental Agreement at the time of collection of the vehicle
• The Customer must abide by the restrictions applied to their provisional licence at all times

Not all parts of Australia are suitable terrain for a rental vehicle and for your own personal safety and to reduce liability of damage to the vehicle, we enforce strict conditions that limit use. Driving on any unsealed roads, including the beach and above the snow line in alpine regions, is strictly prohibited. For a comprehensive list of restricted and prohibited areas of use, please see our Booking Terms and Conditions.

Please ensure the safety of all passengers in the vehicle and any other individual involved and report the accident to Police immediately. It is important to collect the details of all parties involved, including:

• a driver licence number;
• vehicle registration plate;
• details of the accident;
• witness statements

We recommend taking a photograph of the driver licence of all drivers involved and recording photographic evidence of the accident including damage to the vehicle or vehicles. Please be mindful of your safety and the safety of others at all times. Our staff are here to assist in the event of an accident on 1800 327 826 or +61 (0)7 5555 8900.

We are unable to advise on individual policies purchased through third-party insurers or car rental booking agencies and we strongly recommend you read the terms and conditions before making a purchase.

We are unable to act on your behalf if you wish to make a claim against your personal insurance in the event of an accident or damage to one of our rental vehicles, this will need to be handled by the company providing your cover.

Please note that a third-party insurance or damage cover policy does not reduce your liability with East Coast Car Rentals and an excess fee in the event of an accident or damage to the vehicle while in your control will still need to be charged. It is also important to note that East Coast Car Rentals will also need to charge (pre-authorise) our standard holding deposit of AU$1000.00 if you have a third party insurance or damage cover and have not purchased either our own Loss Damage Waiver or our Premium Loss Damage Waiver options.

A Holding Deposit is a temporary hold of funds on your debit or credit card. We do this by placing a pre-authorisation on your debit or credit card as security until the safe return of your vehicle. East Coast Car Rentals does not hold these funds, they are held by your financial institution. On safe return of the vehicle, we will immediately cancel the pre-authorisation. It is then up to your bank to release these funds back into your account or onto your credit card. The release of these funds is entirely the responsibility of your financial institution and times can vary. We recommend contacting your financial institution for further information on their pre-authorisation processing policy.

We recommend purchasing our Loss Damage Waiver or our Premium Loss Damage Waiver to reduce your financial risk. For further information please click here.

You have incurred a traffic infringement or parking fine while driving your rental car. An administration fee of $71.50 has been charged by East Coast Car Rentals to your debit or credit card to process the infringement with the relevant authority and a notification email has been sent to the email address listed on the rental booking. This charge is in addition to the infringement amount that will also need to be transacted.  For further information please read our Rental Agreement Terms and Conditions.

This charge will be because our roadside assistance service has attended to your vehicle in Queensland. East Coast Car Rentals covers every vehicle at East Coast Car Rental’s expense for mechanical breakdown. For all other roadside assistance services, like a key lock out or need for roadside refuelling, a call-out fee of $85.00 applies and a notification email is sent to the email address listed on the rental booking advising of the charge.

Purchasing our optional Premium Roadside Assistance, negates the need for this additional call out fee.  To read about all of the inclusions and scenarios this optional package covers  please click here.

Our roadside assistance service has attended to your vehicle. East Coast Car Rentals covers every vehicle for mechanical breakdown. For all other roadside assistance services, a call-out fee of $110.00 applies and a notification email is sent to the email address listed on the rental booking advising of the charge.

For further details on our Premium Roadside Assistance please click here.

Your vehicle was returned with less fuel than was recorded at the time of collection. All of our vehicles are given to customers with a full tank of fuel and should be returned with a full tank of fuel. A refuelling service fee will apply to those vehicles returned with insufficient fuel, this is in addition to the cost of the replacement fuel needed to get your rental car back to a full tank for our next customer.

We understand also that sometimes our customers choose to return their rental cars with less than a full tank of fuel, e.g. if they are running late for a flight.  We keep our refuelling charges at a fair and reasonable rate because of this.

A Holding Deposit is a temporary hold of funds on your debit or credit card. We do this by placing a pre-authorisation on your debit or credit card as security until the safe return of your vehicle. East Coast Car Rentals does not hold these funds, they are held by your financial institution. On safe return of the vehicle, we will immediately cancel the pre-authorisation. It is then up to your bank to release these funds back into your account or onto your credit card. The release of these funds is entirely the responsibility of your financial institution and times can vary. We recommend contacting your financial institution for further information on their pre-authorisation processing policy.

Yes. All of our vehicles are fitted with an E-tag device which registers your journey with the Roads and Maritime Service [RMS]. RMS will automatically charge a toll fee to the nominated debit or credit card listed on your booking along with a $3.30 service fee (GST included) per calendar day of toll road use. East Coast Car Rentals does not charge a service fee for the processing of toll charges.