"RQ" wrote in message
.. .
Thanks to those who responded.

I'm still researching various providers, but some additional points
prompted by responses here or info on car rental websites etc.

a) It appears that many car rental companies have a standard
excess/deductible (applying to damage to the vehicle or to any third party
property) amounting to $Aus 2000-$2750, even for compact cars. Reducing
this excess to (what I would consider to be) a reasonable level of
approximately $300-$600 seems to cost up to $18/day, depending on the
company, vehicle and length of hire. This excess is at least twice as
high, and in many cases three times (or more) as high as the case for New
Zealand rental car companies that I researched (and the one I used) a year
ago or so.

I guess (cynically) that this is a way to get a bit more yield from the
customer.


I realize that sometimes credit card plans will cover the excess, for
damage to the vehicle. But at least some such plans would NOT cover damage
to third party property. I assume such "third party property" would
include the vehicle of another party, if the renter were deemed to be at
fault in the accident.

Most credit cards or travel insurance would perhaps cover accident damage to
the vehicle.
But if it is damage not related to an accident eg stone chips, supermarket
trolley scrapes, breakin, malicious damage, etc then you most likely aren't
covered.


Not sure why the default excess is so much higher in Australia than NZ,
but from my perspective it seems to mean that the "sticker" Australian car
rental price should effectively be ignored, unless the renter is willing
to accept a particularly high level of risk.

Would agree.

b) Standard terms and conditions (the ones I've seen at least) exclude
coverage for water damage, which would seem to mean that the vehicle
couldn't (or at least shouldn't) be taken on the ferry to Tasmania.
Although I haven't seen this issue addressed specifically, I assume that
if the company also serves Tasmania, they will let the renter drop the car
on one side and pick one up on the other side? (Others have noted that
some companies allow a hire to be split up into segments, and treated as
one continuous hire, so I assume that would apply here.) Does anyone have
any further comments/suggestions in this regard?

I don't think you would find it an economical proposition to take the car on
the ferry, better to hire each side of Bass Strait.
Much the same with New Zealand, hire a separate car on each island.

c) A further question alluded to in (a) above: What role does driver fault
play in the Australian system(s)? I assume an "at fault" driver is liable
for the cost of damage to any other automobile/property, and that these
costs would be paid through the "at fault" driver's insurance company? And
what if that driver is uninsured? E.g. if I'm in an accident caused by
another driver who, for whatever reason, is not carrying insurance, would
my own (i.e. the rental car) insurance then automatically cover the damage
to the rental vehicle and any damaged property of "not at fault" third
parties?

There's a "knock for knock" agreement between many insurance companies, so
that the excess can in theory be recovered from the at fault driver. If the
driver of the other car isn't insured, then sorry, you can only try to
recover the damages from the individual. That may prove difficult or even
impossible.

d) the personal injury liability insurance included in the vehicle
registration: Do I understand correctly that an injured party can sue a
driver deemed to be "at fault", but that the liability insurance which a
vehicle owner must purchase (from a private sector insurer) as part of the
registration would always cover any damages awarded? Or could one be sued
for a higher dollar amount than the insurance would cover?

Interesting question - in theory you are fully covered for any injury or
death compensation costs, which could amount to millions of dollars.

e) (Not an insurance issue) - As mentioned, I'm still working on the
research, but so far I haven't found any company (without a rental depot
in an airport) which offers shuttle service to and from the airport.
Perhaps I just haven't found them yet, but in NZ (Auckland at least) this
service seemed to be relatively common, so I was a bit surprised to find
(some) Australian companies saying basically that it's the customer's
problem to find them. Can anyone suggest some companies that do offer such
shuttle service, particularly in Sydney, Hobart and/or Melbourne?

Don't know whether they exist, you probably have to pay for the shuttle or
taxi to the off airport site.

Thanks for any further information.

Pleasure

David Bennetts