This page aims to help answer your questions immediately as email replies may take up to 24hrs or longer over weekends. You are able to obtain an instant quote and booking opportunity from our website.
If the question you have is not answered by the FAQ then please send the reservations department an email from our
contact us page.
No, your credit card is not required by Discovery Car Hire at all. For some specialty vehicles the supplier may call you directly to obtain your credit card for a guarantee. You can cancel at any time prior to pickup with no fees.
No, you do not need a credit card to make your booking online with Discovery Car hire, however you will need a credit card to pay the rental on pickup and to provide a security bond. Full payment is made at the depot upon collection of the vehicle. If you personally do not have a credit card but can get someone to go to the depot to pickup the car that does have a credit card, they can be the main driver and you can sign as an additional driver. Or you can get someone to go into a branch somewhere near them and do an authority to charge their card.
A minimum age of 21 years at the time of pickup applies to most companies, however the vehicle type is limited. Drivers under 25 will incur a daily surcharge and in some cases you will not be permitted to reduce your excess if you are under 23.
Hertz for example do not allow anyone under 25 to hire any of their vehicles, but the system will display the available companies based on the age selected on the front screen and all will display their surcharge in the quote on step 3.
Yes, you need to cancel any booking prior to pick up or you will be charged a cancellation fee. So even if it is on the day of pickup its ok to cancel.
The company you hire from will charge an administration fee on top of the fine or they may supply your information to law enforcement agencies, who will in turn issue a fine to your postal address, and they will still charge a service fee.
We advise if you live overseas that you pay any fines you receive before leaving the country. (If you are aware of them) Failure to pay fines received in Australia may result in refusal of a hire car, refusal of entry or cancellation of a visa on a return visit.
Budget and Thrifty cannot accommodate seats for newborns, only forward facing seats suitable for 6 months up to three years. The other car companies can provide forward facing, rear facing seats and booster seats for children over 3 years.
Yes, just enter your rental details on the home page . Rates are automatically and instantly calculated for all car hire companies and will include any applicable one way surcharges, age surcharges, airport taxes for that particular depot.
Your voucher can be viewed by clicking the retrieve voucher link in the left menu and entering either your confirmation number or your email address. If your email address is correct then a list of your bookings will be displayed and you may select the one that is relevant to you. If your confirmation number is correct your voucher will be displayed automatically.
Yes, on the left hand menu bar you can click different categories to see full range of vehicles offered by all the car rental companies.
No, there is no further discount, the rates shown on this website are already discounted web rates.
Yes, you can reduce your excess or liability in case of an accident when you pickup your vehicle at the depot. There is no need to advise us at this stage.
The driver must carry a full drivers licence from their home country, if not in English a valid international drivers licence must accompany the original licence. This cannot be probationary or a photocopy, as long as the normal licence is valid and in English it will be accepted in Australia.
Budget and Avis will not allow any of their vehicles to be driven above the snow line.
Europcar and Hertz do allow this with the following conditions:
HERTZ: Only vehicle groups allowed to be driven above the snow line are Ford Falcon Station wagon, Ford Territory & Ford Fairlanes. These are all 2WD vehicles.
Snow Cover Insurance is compulsory and is $22 per day. The snow cover Insurance does not cover you for any damage as a result of you fitting snow chains or roof racks to the vehicle. Snow chains or roof racks are not available to be hired from the depot.
The Snow Insurance reduces full liability to an Excess of $2,750.00 You are then able to take out one of the standard Insurance Excess Reduction options to reduce this further. They are:
Option 1: Reduce Excess to $385.00 (not including tyre & windscreen damage) by paying an additional $22 per day. Option 2: Reduce Excess to $385.00 (INCLUDES tyre & windscreen damage) by paying an additional $28 per day. Option 3: Reduce excess to $0 (INCLUDES tyre and windscreen damage) by paying an additional $34 per day. If you are wishing to take any of these options please advise upon collection of the vehicle.
We need to advise the depot at least 72 hours prior to collection that the vehicle will be taken to the snow.
EUROPCAR: Any vehicle category can be taken above the snow line as long as the Snow Cover is taken. This is $24 per day. The excess on this is $2,750.00 in the event of any damage done to the vehicle. Cover is void if damage is from the result of snow chains. The depot does not provide snow chains however these can be hired in bright which is about 20 minutes from Mt Hotham.
Europcar recommend you also take one of their excess reduction packages in conjunction with the Snow cover as the snow cover is only valid once you are above the snow line i.e not between the Airport and Hotham.
Europcar has a standard Insurance Excess of $2,750 for their compact 2WD & 4WD vehicles. This can be reduced down to $330 by paying an additional $24 per day. Their premium reduction option to reduce the excess down to $0 is an additional $35 per day. For their large 4WD vehicles the Excess is $5,500.00 which can be reduced down to $990.00 by paying an additional $28 per day. If you are wishing to take any of these options please advise upon collection of the vehicle.
