East Coast Car Rentals Reviews 

The staff pointed out 2 very small dints in the roof when I returned the car and accused me strapping my surfboard to the roof and causing the minor damage which was completely untrue, nothing ever went on the roof. They kept my $1,000 bond and are now demanding an additional $700 payment which is completely over the top for the damage. Would never use this company again after facing false accusations directed at me by two staff members.

I would avoid East Coast Rentals.

The customer service at the counter was very poor. Even after I repeatedly declined the additional insurance, the employee continued to pressure me relentlessly. I was told that wildlife damage is now very common and my insurance wouldn't cover it, wouldn't cover damage to third-party vehicles, and excess reimbursement would be delayed. Despite saying "no" several times, they simply wouldn't hand over the keys until I finally gave in because I didn't want to waste the first day of my holiday.

While East Coast Rentals may be cheaper than the major rental companies, the off-airport location combined with the aggressive sales tactics made the experience not worth the savings. I won't be using them again and would recommend looking elsewhere.

Lisa was so helpful. Her attitude was outstanding and she was so nice. Couldn't recommend her more highly.

So easy to book which was done via Booking.com. Booking.com did offer some insurance which isn't exactly what it was and East Coast explained it prior to me accepting and I applied for a refund from booking.com for that portion. I thank East Coast staff member for explaining and pointing out what it was and that it was needed and booked correct insurance direct with East Coast. Handing back car was seamless.

We hired cars from this Company in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. What a breath of fresh air! Very friendly people, eager to help and going the extra mile - pardon the pun. They couldn’t do enough to help us. No problems when returning the cars. We would definitely use them again.

Was easy to navigate booking. All went to plan and we received a near new car. Pick up and drop off to airport from their office was quick and seamless. Recommend highly

I would not recommend this car rental company. They have cheap prices but its not worth it. What ever cars are on their website is not what you get in reality. They will give you an old, not clean and a totally different car in size and model. And when you ask for the help, they are passing you to each other. No body in this company cares about customers. I don’t know if it is like this only here in Australia ? We get really good customer service in Europe.

I forgot to add in!
I personally talked on the phone with an east coast car rental customer service and made sure that i am going to get the exact car i booked. He said on the phone “of course” i will be getting the same car as it shows on the picture”
I would say very unprofessional customer service and disappointing.
Any way i cant do more then just write a honest review.

Thank you and please don’t do this with other customers.

A very easy experience. The shuttle service from Gold Coast airport was very efficient and fast, and lovely staff in the office too. Angela was great. Book direct and you get 0 hassle with 3rd parties. I’ll book again. Cheers.

I booked East Coast car rentals through a third-party booking company. It was all good and fine. I came to pick up the car. They said I would have to pay $197 for two days insurance. If I declined it I would have to pay a deposit of $1000. I didn’t have any spending money in my credit card as a result of them taking a $1000 deposit there was no way I could get out of this at all so I would want anyone who comes there and make sure that wherever they’re booked it to make sure that access insurance is paid before booking so there are no surprises. I do rent from Avis as well. I found that with the excess cover it appeared to be more expensive than Avis and sixtt as well. I’m hoping that my $1000 deposit will be returned.

Used a third party for insurance . When you go to their desk to get your car they’ll try everything to sell more insurance even though your third party tells you you don’t need it even mentioning them by name . As I said to them as they crapped on about third parties etc . Why do you use a third party and take their booking if not genuine ???? They took the normal $1000 holding fee , I had an accident ( minor ) 100 percent the other drivers fault , they reviewed incident report and agreed , but now have discovered they have banked my $1000. I used east coast for years but like many I see at their counter they are forever trying to screw more money from customers . Beware I don’t believe their good ratings . Sometimes better off going with a major car hirer . I’ll continue the battle to get my $1000 back which was ill gotten by East Coast .

Have read response I returned car no damage by me and fulfilled all contract clauses re this rental and holding of the $1000. There was nothing mentioned by east coast about holding my deposit . Again they accept bookings gained by third parties but will always attempt to flog extra charges or even with hold money .

I have booked rental cars with East Coast Rentals for many years and always found them very helpful, reliable and offer a good price. Their cars are very good and they have always been very helpful and flexible.
On this occasion we have had a car on their East Coast Rentals Subscription service as I needed a car for an extended period of 8 months. The price covers the rental, insurance, second driver and excess cover and can be charged to you weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
When I asked after a few months to change the car for a slightly bigger one Stacey was fantastic at sorting it all out, including having it brought to their Sunshine Coast depot so I didn’t have to return to Brisbane where I had collected the original car.
When I was arranging to return the car at the end of my trip Dave and the team were most helpful in making sure I could return the car to Brisbane as well as being innovative in finding a solution to me needing to keep the car for an extra couple of days after the end of the billing cycle.
I have never had anything but excellent service from anyone in East Coast Rentals and the fact that some of the people have worked there for many years I think says it all. It is nice to have a person with a name to deal with too!

Immense thank you to Damian for the amazing service provided for us on (May 8, 2026) during our car hire experience at 3 Karana St,Tugun (QLD). He was Warm, welcoming, and professional, he made the process smooth, easy and stress-free.

Fantastic service, I booked through another party but we had no issues. Very good pricing for 3 days plus full insurance which was also very reasonable. they provided a prompt shuttle service from Brisbane airport. Anne let us have 2 options of a vehicle in the same class, so we went for a Mazda 3. Great little car with heaps of room and good fuel consumption. In future I will book directly through East Coast Car Rentals. There was only one little annoyance, and that was, because we had a early flight we had to return the vehicle to another company nearby for a extra fee of $55.00, but that also included a shuttle bus to the Airport. I would gladly pay extra to be able to drop the car back at East Coast Car Rentals if they opened a bit earlier at 4am instead of 6am. or failing that, drop off at a car park at Brisbane Airport.
Photo 1 in review by Allan Anfilow

I am extremely disappointed with my experience booking an East Coast Car rental through Booking.com. My flight from Brisbane to Sydney was cancelled just one hour before departure- something completely beyond my control. As a result, I had no choice but to cancel the car hire.
Despite the circumstances I was charged a cancellation fee of $235.35 and only refunded $118.95. This feels excessive and unfair particularly given that the cancellation was due to an unforeseen flight disruption.
I understand that policies exist but there should be some flexibility or consideration in situations like this. Charging such a high fee under these circumstances is unreasonable.
Based on this experience I will not use Booking.com to book car hire again.

When we arrived Denzel was amazing: extremely helpful with little tios about our travels. We were in the car and driving within 7min of arriving by the shuttle bus. Returned the car and were in shuttle bus within 3min! Just a fantastic experience when compared to other car rental companies we used previously when in Melbourne and Europe. Highly recommend!

5* all the way from beginning to end, will definitely use this company again if we return to Brisbane.
Hired a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid plus satnav from Brisbane central office the young lass was professional and helpful, dropped car off at the airport hub and shuttle bus took us to the airport. It was all effortless.
Keep it up guys good work 👍

Even though we hired one of the slightly older, higher mileage cars, it drove perfectly. They were very accommodating with our mixup with the returning date (our fault). Would recommend East Coast Cars

Didn't bother hiring a car through them. Asking for a $1000 deposit " because I haven't hired a car with them before" is an absolute disgrace.

Reply - Yes, I believe I mention that in the below review. You offered some reimbursement for your error. But that is the crux of this review isn't it. You deem that solves the matter whereas I disagree, I am still out of pocket for your mistake. Not solely from a monetary standpoint either, but mine and my wife's time standing on a curb next to your closed office with our 2 year old child after a long 3 days of travel and then the following day having to make the return trip to Brisbane to drop off the second unnecessary car and pick up the original booking.
So, you'll excuse me if I don't agree that the matter has been "solved"

Booked a pick up, called to ensure they'd be there after a flight delay, turned up to a closed office with luggage and a baby in tow. Incurred fees of a taxi and a second rental to get to my hotel. Then had to rearrange everything to recollect the original rental. Then spent a month chasing them up for reimbursement, to which half was paid.
It's a pity that poor reviews are the only thing that carries currency in a world of increasingly poor customer service. It would be one star if not for the work of one or human interactions after the fact. I think I'll stick with paying slightly more for a reputable company in the future.

I booked a car with East Coast Rentals via Booking.com and, overall, the experience was disappointing due to a lack of transparency and communication.

I had already purchased full coverage insurance through Booking (covering damage, theft, and excess fees), and I know from previous rentals that rental companies are informed of this when the booking is made. However, at the counter, the staff did not acknowledge this at all. They simply said that “with what I had included,” I would need to leave a $1000 AUD deposit and be liable up to that amount. No explanation was given about the Booking insurance or how it applied. Feeling unsure after a long trip, I paid an extra $150 AUD for their own coverage which ment $550 excess — something I wouldn’t have done if the situation had been explained clearly.

The car (a Mitsabishi) functioned okay but was given to us with a half tank which we had to return to inform the staff as they recorded it as a full tank.

The most frustrating moment was that we had to catch an early flight when returning the car. We had to drop the car off at a specific parking lot and had to pay the parking fee of $60 to leave it there for 2 hours.

Furthermore we didn't do a final inspection together and they charged me $550 excess for damage to the car that was deemed as wear and tear. Complete fraudulant, no paper work signed in agreeance of the damage which happened after drop off as I had photos of the car when dropped off at the Paking Lot.

When questioned the staff about this transaction, I was ignored, this ended up having to been chased up by the bank as a dispute. Got our money back after a massive battle and waste of time. This money should not have been taken out in the first place.

The staff wasn’t rude, but the overall experience felt poorly handled and not transparent. I wouldn’t recommend East Coast Rentals, especially to international travellers.