Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport Reviews 

5,316
TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

4.4

410 Sheridan Street, 4870 Cairns North, Queensland, AU


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Rated 4 out of 5 stars

At Townsville Airport pick up was efficient but car was not completely full of petrol. Car performed as expected Transfer from drop off point to Cairns airport, we had to wait until they had a ful... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I am a returning customer to Bargain Car Rentals in Cairns. Staff experience is professional and courteous. The vehicle was clean reliable and was certainly adequate for our needs. When l fly to Cair... See more

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Bargain car rentals is ok but not the best off airport rental business I have used. The standard car I rented had done 84000kms and had a significant numbers of scratches and small dents. The customer... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

"The car was clean, well-maintained, and ready on time. The professional team made the whole rental process easy and stress-free. Prices were very reasonable too. Will recommend them to anyone lookin... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Car rental company

About Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport

Written by the company

New Cars, Bargain Prices!

You're only ever one #Bargain away! Start your next adventure with Bargain Car Rentals!

We're Bargain Car Rentals, an Australian-owned and operated company with locations all around the country. We specialise in local, interstate and international travel, and always have New Cars at Bargain Prices. We offer a large range of vehicles to suit any need, from small cars, large moving trucks, or 25 seater buses.

Contact info

  • 410 Sheridan Street, 4870, Cairns North, Queensland, Australia

4.4

Excellent

TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

5k reviews

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4.4

All reviews

(5,316)

9,953 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Make sure you factor in the insurance cost

Make sure you look into the insurance gap. Its not just the excess that isn't covered its almost everything else. Bargains insurance is huge $45/day. So it adds significantly to the cost of the rental. The pressure sales and catastrophising of what might happen made the whole experience a horrible one. Never again.

6 September 2026
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Excellent. Good price and service. A very busy company so if off a flight, there may be queues once at their office once you get there as the check out process takes time. We had hired through a 3rd party so the insurance spiel is given. Next time we'll hire direct and purchase their insurance.

5 September 2026
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

So disorganized

So disorganized. I had no idea I had to arrange a shuttle to pick up my car. By the time I waited in line to get the shuttle, then waited in line to collect car it was close to nearly 2 hours from when I landed!
Don’t ask for my flight details and time of arrival if you have no intention of using the information to have the car hire etc ready!

5 September 2026
Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Initially Awkward & Not Car Requested

Initially Awkward & Not Car Requested, despite follow email as to why wanting the particular brand/model
..although insurance prearranged thru 3rd party booking, it supposedly wouldn't cover car, so bought BCR Premium Cover which was competitively priced ..but all fore- mentioned issues discussed since & look forward to giving BCR another go !

As for the vehicle itself, it was presented in good clean condition
..although I deemed it a lesser vehicle than booked
..afew things like operation of cruise control I could not sort, nor BCR (need better awareness of functions of those vehicles they rent)

4 September 2026
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Polish Peter assisted us in Cairns

Polish Peter assisted us in Cairns, and the pick up process went very smoothly. Peter was very friendly and also efficient.

I don't know how, but my request for a NON Chinese brand of car thankfully came to fruition.

The vehicle return also went very smoothly and Nicki (?) was affable and efficient.

30 July 2026
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Reply from Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport

Thanks for your positive feedback! the team always appreciates hearing when they have helped make your experience a positive one,

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

1518 AUD for repair of paint scuff claimed I had caused

Was charged 1518 AUD for repair and 6 days of non-use of a cargo van that had a scuff on the plastic front lip, claiming that I had caused it. Even if I supposedly had, under the front lip is considered fair wear and tear under Queensland Consumer Law. Didn't have prior lip photo to prove I hadn't caused it, neither was I provided with a prior photo documenting that it wasn't there before renting. The piece of paper given to me doesn't even have a front lip on the diagram to put an 'X' on.
Have filed complaint to AFCS. Never again. Would recommend full-HD photos of entire vehicle including under the bonnet and under the car fenders, lips and bumpers if you are brave enough to rent from this company.
Just noticed that several other customers renting from this company have reported similar experiences and
outcomes, especially on Google. I wish I had read these reviews beforehand. The most common scenario involves a foreign tourist who is only in Cairns/ Australia for a few weeks and doesn't have the capacity/time/ experience to file a complaint, and suffices to leaving a poor review, if even that, ending up ruining his holiday and leaving with a bad impression and experience.

edit update:

Complaint to AFCS led to nowhere. Have therefore filed a proper lawsuit against the company and served them with QCAT Form 1 Application for Minor Civil Dispute at the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Will reupdate on how things proceed.

Latest update: Company tried to intimidate me by offering to pay back the complaint filing fee to QCAT, which I refused. Following this, they refunded 3 days value of the 6 days of vehicle off road fee, which they had charged (imagine a cargo van being taken off the road for 6 days(!) to 'repair" a paint scuff on the front lower lip).
I have received feedback from QCAT and a sitting has been scheduled in a few weeks

28 August 2026
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Reply from Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport

We do inspect our vehicles before releasing them for any booking, this includes a report with a diagram of the vehicle and notes for any issues that are not apparent, using these we would either take the vehicle off the road for repairs if needed or if deemed minor we may still release the vehicle but have it listed for our staff to be aware.

We do take every interaction regarding our vehicles into consideration when having them assessed (by a third party if needed) including previous inspection reports and customer interactions, if there is nothing to show the damage has been pre existing we do need to work with the booking the damage has appeared during.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Good experience

"The car was clean, well-maintained, and ready on time. The professional team made the whole rental process easy and stress-free. Prices were very reasonable too. Will recommend them to anyone looking for reliable rental cars. Special mention to the friendly, helpful airport shuttle bus drivers!

24 August 2026
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Reply from Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport

Our team always loves to hear when they've helped your experience be a positive one, thank you for your feedback!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Good vehicles and service

The company has good vehicles at competitive prices. We have found the pick-up and drop off services excellent, and staff are unfailingly friendly and helpful.

28 August 2026
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Reply from Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport

We're so glad to hear you found our vehicles to be good and competitively priced! It's wonderful that our pick-up and drop-off services were excellent, and that our staff were friendly and helpful.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Left us at the airport with no notification & had to hire a car from another provider

I arrived into Cairns airport on Saturday and as instructed via my booking email called for a pick up at 1652. I then received instructions via text on where to exit and meet the courtesy bus. I missed a return call (with no voicemail) at 1657. When another customer joined me at the pick-up point and told me that he thought no bus was coming I called the customer service line. By this stage it was 1715 and they told me the Cairns office closed at 1700 and that no-one was coming to pick us up and nor could we collect the car. Infuriated, I asked them to cancel the booking but was told that it could not be done with the admin team on the phone and it would only be considered on Monday. As I could not be guaranteed I would get my money back I had to take out a 24 hour rental via another hire-car operator in the airport to drive the family (2 children) up to Port Douglas which is about 1 hour away as that is where we were staying. We then had to return to Cairns on the Sunday to return the additional hire car and collect the Bargain car. It is worth noting that the drive between the airport and Bargain care hire depot is less than 5 minutes. Horrible communciations and service which cost me money and wasted a chunk of my holiday.

15 August 2026
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Reply from Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport

Thanks for taking the time to add your review,

In our confirmation emails we do link everyone to the location info, that does list our office hours and that the "Shuttle Bus is available within business hours and up to 20 minutes prior to closing.", apologies if this has not been communicated to you as thoroughly as needed, feedback will be passed along to our internal team.

Any booking using our pay now and save option to receive a 5% discount to the daily rate of a vehicle does have the term stated when making the booking that this is not a refundable payment in the event of cancellations and would be held as a credit for future use.

Apologies again for your issues at collection.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent customer service

Excellent customer service
Excellent vehicle
Excellent value

2 September 2026
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Reply from Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport

We're delighted to hear that you had a great experience with your booking!

We truly appreciate your positive feedback.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Staff were polite and assisted when…

Staff were polite and assisted when asked.
A few more staff on counter would expedite processing.
Shuttle boarding disorganised, no queue, or assistance with luggage. Pretty much survival of the fittest.

27 August 2026
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Reply from Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport

Thank you for adding your review, feedback around our customer contact points and shuttle collections is always passed along, we hope to see you again in future.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Friendly and efficient pick up

Friendly and efficient pick up. Great staff. Good value for money.

2 September 2026
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Reply from Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport

We're so glad you found our pick-up friendly and efficient, our staff great, and our service good value for money. Thank you for your positive feedback!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great car, great service, great price

Great car, quick service at pick up and drop off. Friendly, efficient.

28 August 2026
Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport logo

Reply from Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport

We're so pleased to hear that you found our car great and experienced quick and efficient service during both pick-up and drop-off. Thank you for your wonderful feedback!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I was only advised when I was on my way…

I was only advised when I was on my way to Melbourne airport on Saturday the 15th August that your Cairns car rental depot shut at 5pm and unfortunately due to an unexpected delay I did not arrive until after that time. I rang and spoke to someone to advise of my delay earlier in the day and agreed to come into pick up the car the following morning. I then incurred UBER costs to get to Palm Cove and back again next morning. When I picked up the car I understood that I would pay a lesser amount than was the previous case but this did not happen and I was charged the full amount. Given the very late notice of advice about the depot closing at 5pm I am extremely disappointed in the customer service I received and I noted that when I picked up the car the next day there were a number of others there that had also had late advice about the 5pm closure the previous day and they too had incurred unexpected transport costs.

15 August 2026
Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport logo

Reply from Bargain Car Rentals Australia - Cairns Airport

Thank for taking the time to leave your review,

We do make all of our depot locations open hours available in their location page on our website that we do link to in our confirmations we send out, apologies if this has not been communicated thoroughly enough to you during your booking process.

Our bookings are billed in 24 hour periods, for example if you collect a booking at 9 AM the next day charge would then fall on 24 hours later, taking a quick look it does not look like your collection was delayed long enough to mitigate a later drop off time booked, so the number of 24 hour periods your booking fell into was the same, even with the delayed collection.

If you have any queries specific to your booking you can always get in touch with us via our contact page over at https://bargaincarrentals.com.au/feedback/

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