East Coast Car Rentals Reviews 

This review is for East Coast Car Subscriptions. Unfortunately, I remain locked in a contract with them for a further five weeks; however, the customer service is the most appalling I have EVER come across in a business.

When I initially tried to sign up, I was not informed of the $1000 bond that needed to be paid. When I didn't pay this immediately, I was then told the car had been cancelled. As we were moving back to Australia from New Zealand, this caused a lot of panic, and I found a car rental elsewhere for two weeks. Suddenly, though, the car had not been cancelled, and I had panicked for no reason. Just blatant loose threats, with little to no apology for the stress it caused. I proceeded with the intial cancellation and this took three emails and an overdue invoice for a service they had apparently cancelled before I received a final confirmation this was officially cancelled.

I should have trusted my gut and stayed away; however, I did find myself needing a car subscription while we found employment and settled our finances between the two countries. I travelled from Hervey Bay to Brisbane to collect the car I subscribed to. I initially enquired about an MG ZS; however, I was told this was not available, and I would have to take the similarly sized Hyundai Venue.

When I picked the car up, it was significantly lower and smaller than an MG ZS and looked and smelt like it had been sitting in a paddock for the past year. The passenger seat and footwell were covered in dirt and dust, with straw on the floor. It was bad, but I needed to get home to Hervey Bay, so I proceeded to leave the depot. Ten metres down the road, I noticed a large crack in the windscreen and immediately returned to the depot.

The depot staff coordinated with the car subscription head office, and it was almost 40 minutes before the car subscription office called me. I made it known that I was disappointed with the car, as I had been told it was the same size as the MG ZS and it was too low for my mum (who has back issues) to get in and out of.

I was placed on hold for ten minutes before being cut off. I called back five minutes later to be told there was an MG ZS, but it was a 2025 model, so it would cost more, and the insurance would be more as the MG ZS was bigger than the Hyundai Venue. A bit of a catch, when the day before I had been told it was the same size...

I explained that initially we had been told the MG ZS was the same insurance cost and this was hardly a 'large car'. I was told one thing on the phone and then noticed I had been charged a different amount on my contract, so I immediately made contact regarding this, where I was ignored. No response, nothing. I had to complain about this to the customer service email before receiving any reply.

And now we fast forward two weeks into the contract where I am trying to add additional kilometres for this week and have sent FOUR EMAILS that have gone unanswered over the past five days. Just ignored.

When we rang, we were told they hadn't received my emails; however, I have an email from customer service that says, 'We have received your email', and every other person I have emailed since Friday has received the email.

So now I am going to be invoiced on Friday for way more money than I expected because East Coast Car Subscriptions has the worst customer service ever, while also having me locked into a 49-day contract with my bank details. Brilliant.

They tell you to email them and then just don't bother to reply to emails. There is no way that four emails have just gone 'missing' when all previous emails were received just fine.

I can't explain how upsetting and frustrating my ENTIRE experience has been with East Coast Car Subscriptions. I still have another month with them and can't imagine the hassle it will be when I return the car and the wait for my $1000 deposit to be returned.

DON'T use East Coast Car Subscriptions. There are so many other options for car subscription. Research first and stay away from these guys.

UPDATE: I rang customer service and was told a manager was looking into it and would call me back. The manager called me back and didn't seem to know why he had to call me. Then told me I didn't need to add the kilometres as I still had kilometres left for the week. I explained I had used extra and why would I lie about that when it was going to cost me money? Another issue was found and the GPS data is not talking to my contract data so it didn't show the 600 kilometres I had used on Monday, only 300 kilometres... Can anything else go wrong here? Honestly. I would be so completely embarassed if this was my company and a customer continued to have these issues, yet these guys don't seem concerned at all. So now apparently my auto-billing has been suspended for this week to see what happens on Friday and the manager will call me again on Friday to discuss. We shall see.

DARWIN depot.
We had stopped just up the road to refuel the car, my daughter allowed the pump to click off twice to make sure the tank was full. When we arrived back and the employee checked the fuel gauge he said it was down one bar. My daughter said we could go back up the road and refill as we had plenty of time. He quickly jumped on that and said no don’t worry I will only charge you if it goes over $10, he seemed to be quick to quell our concerns. Of course today I noticed an amount of $18 has been taken out of my account. It made me furious, what a scam. I so wished I had questioned it and checked the gauge myself after he said that.
To add to this I had booked through Booking.com beware there is a pop up to organise insurance which I did at a cost of $185 only to find when I arrived that this has nothing to do with East Coast Rentals so I had to pay for insurance again.

Never paid so expensive for car rental insurance.

Very close to the airport with a neat shuttle service. Cars are almost new and in good condition.
Easy and fast process to collect and return car.

Very helpful and kind staff, fast shuttle service pick up and drop off from and back to the airport. I will be renting again with East Coast car rentals upon my return to Adelaide.

Excellent service from East Coast Car Rentals. The process was smooth, quick, and hassle-free.
Costumer support was top-notch.
I'll coming back for my next rental and I'd definitely recommend East Coast Car Rentals to anyone in Adelaide looking for a reliable car rental.

The car was virtually new, and a pleasure to drive. The rates very competitive, and the location easy to reach - no shuttle rides to a remote car park as often happens with airport hire companies. Staff helpful. Verification of identity as a first-time customer was a bit of a problem, but we got around it.

Car rental companies often get a bad rap, but these guys were great so I actively sought out doing a review for them. We used the Melbourne airport branch, and got a very good price complete with their no-excess full insurance. The car was very clean, in great condition. Returning was very straightforward with cheery staff who didn't behave as though their only aim in life was to find some way to get extra money out of us. Even their shuttle drivers were lovely and super-helpful. Would hire again from them in a heartbeat.

Stay away from this scam.
Besides giving me a smaller car than I booked, they charged me the full liability amount for a small scratch someone had intentionally made on one of the doors, without providing me with any estimate for repairing the damage. Furthermore, they didn't respond to my emails informing them of the incident and asking for instructions (even though I had filed a report with the local police anyway). Worst of all, after checking in, at least two agency employees told me the superficial scratch was nothing and that I could leave without worrying. To confirm this, they initially sent me a check-in report formally stating that the exterior of the car was fine, only to send me another one later complaining about the damage and simply informing me that I would be charged the full liability amount. Avoid them if you don't want to be scammed. I've never had such a terrible experience with a car rental.

From pick up to drop off we cannot fault the service.(Cairns)
I booked direct and was able to pay full insurance direct at the time.
The pick up was absolutely no wait and organised, the driver knew exactly who he was there to collect, we got an express ticket as we had booked direct and went straight to the counter, the
Friendly helpful staff member, walked us to the car and made sure we were ok.
Car ran smoothly and at drop off it was pick up in reverse, fast and efficient!
Cannot fault them, which is probably the first time I’ve ever said this about a car rental company!
Excellent service

Very very smooth collection and return process. Excellent staff. Helpful and friendly. Vehicle was excellent.

When I left my phone in the car, Adelaide East Coast Car Rentals could not have been more helpful. They got it back to me in Queensland quick-smart. Previously, a few years ago, I did the same thing with my wallet and they made an emergency dash to the airport to get it back to me before my flight left. Thank you so much, guys. Next time, I'll try to make sure I've got all my stuff!

East Coast Car Rentals operates with zero maintenance standards and zero regard for customer safety. I chose their subscription service to save money while waiting a month for my new car to arrive, expecting a spacious, modern vehicle as advertised. Their website clearly pictured the new 2021 redesigned model. Instead, I was handed an old, pre-2021 Kia Sportage (Rego: 708CJ7) with over 90,000 km and no Apple CarPlay—a complete bait-and-switch. Right before returning it, the battery died completely, wasting an entire day waiting for RACV roadside assistance. I was then forced to drive non-stop for 45 minutes just to charge their faulty battery. When I reached out, customer service says they cannot help due to its subscription vehicle, claiming the "subscription department was not available during weekend." It is the same company—what is the point of customer service if no one takes responsibility of the subscription vehicles? I wasted hours driving to the airport to swap cars, only for the replacement 2024 Hyundai Kona (Rego: 511LK6) to be even worse. The tyre pressure light came on within just 1–2 days. When confronted, customer service sent a "pre-check photo" as proof, which literally just showed an open door on the dashboard rather than tyre pressure levels. This proves they perform zero safety checks before handing over vehicles. The most critical hazard occurred during recent heavy rains at night. The windshield was coated in an extremely thick oil film. When I used the wipers, the glass became completely blurred with blinding glare, totally obscuring my view of the road. Panicked, I had to pull into a gas station just to buy washer fluid myself. They don't even bother refilling washer fluid or cleaning glass oil films.

The whole experience was seamless, from booking to return drop off. Costs were clear, reasonable and transparent. Hugely appreciated the shuttle bus service to and from the airport. Staff were attentive and courteous. Highly recommend the Adelaide branch of this company.

This was a really great experience with an easy pick-up at airport point ADL and then a well-priced rental that was in good condition. Would definitely use again.

Easy online booking, friendly helpful staff, quick Shuttle service to and from airport, modern low kms car and very competitive and affordable price. Have used many times before and will definitely keep using ECCR in the future. Well done guys
Alec

From the booking to the drop off back at the airport - everything was great! No age discrimination, if you have a licence you can hire a car! Cars all in great shape
Cost of rental great. Highly recommended
Staff very friendly and helpful

⭐☆☆☆☆

I wanted to support a smaller Australian car rental company instead of automatically booking with Budget, Avis or Thrifty. East Coast was only slightly cheaper, so I thought I’d give them my business. Unfortunately, the booking experience left me feeling misled.

I booked directly through East Coast and paid an extra $52 for the Express Package because it was advertised as including “No Excess or Bond.” Like most people, I understood that to mean I wouldn’t have to provide a security bond.

Before booking, I clicked the blue information icon to read the package details. It explained the zero excess, roadside assistance and windscreen & tyre cover, but it did not explain that first-time local renters would still be required to provide a $1,000 security deposit.

I completed the booking, and even the payment summary showed $0 damage liability, reinforcing that I had purchased the highest level of cover.

It wasn’t until around 18 hours before pickup that I received an email telling me I needed to bring a utility bill because I lived within 150 km of the branch and that a $1,000 security deposit would still be held.

To be clear, I have absolutely no problem with East Coast requiring a $1,000 security deposit if that’s their policy. My issue is that the website advertises the package as “No Excess or Bond”, yet nowhere during the package selection or checkout process was it made clear that this benefit doesn’t apply to first-time local renters.

By the time I received that email, I was already inside the cancellation period, so if I didn’t agree with the new condition, I would have forfeited my prepaid booking. That didn’t leave me with a fair opportunity to make an informed choice.

Because the package wasn’t providing the advertised “No Bond” benefit in my circumstances, I requested a refund of the $52 Express Package. That left me with the standard rental agreement and a $6,600 damage excess. Ironically, had this been made clear upfront, I could have booked through a broker like Vroom, purchased excess cover for less money, and still been better protected.

This review isn’t about the staff—they were polite and professional. It’s about the booking process. If the “No Bond” benefit doesn’t apply to first-time local renters, say so clearly at the point of booking. A simple note under the Express Package stating “First-time local renters are still required to provide a $1,000 security deposit” would have avoided this entire situation.

Transparency is all I was expecting.

Booking R3XQ1C

Edit: replying

Thanks for your reply.

I understand what you’re saying, but you’re still not answering the question I’ve been asking from the beginning.

I know the Local Renter Policy exists. That’s not what I’m disputing. I’ve read the Booking Terms & Conditions, the Rental Terms & Conditions and the Fees & Charges Guide, and I can clearly see that first-time local renters are required to provide a utility bill and a $1,000 security bond.

What I’m asking is where it says that the advertised “No Excess or Bond” benefit of the Express Package doesn’t apply to first-time local renters.

Your response says the Express Package doesn’t override the Local Renter Policy, but where is that actually disclosed before purchase?

I’ve read the documents several times and I can’t find any clause that says first-time local renters are excluded from the advertised “No Bond” benefit, or that explains who the “No Bond” benefit actually applies to.

If I’ve missed it, please point me to the exact clause.

The “No Excess or Bond” benefit was one of the reasons I purchased the Express Package. If I’d been clearly told before paying that this benefit didn’t apply to me, I wouldn’t have purchased it.

What I don’t understand is why I was able to buy a package advertising “No Excess or Bond” if, because I was a first-time local renter, that advertised benefit was never available to me.

That’s the question I’ve been asking all along, and I still don’t feel it’s been answered.

East Coast care rentals staff are amazing when you rent a car. After sales service if there's an issue, not so much. When you rent they take a $1000 deposit which is passed to a third party, I assume to collect interest until they return it, which they say they will do as soon as the car is returned. In three days it will have been a month since I rented from them. A month of calling, being lied to, being promised things that don't happen and the money is still not back in my account. It was only a 2 day rental but I can't get my money back and I don't have time to keep chasing it. This has completely turned me off using East Coast Car rentals again. Rental agreement CA142735

Easy pick up and drop off. Friendly staff and quick response for any problems happens on my trip. Make my trip easy.