Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Special cars to rent in SYD ?

Does anyone have a recommendation for a car rental company that offers some small but funky cars (not the usual things) like BMW Mini, BMW 1series, or something else (thanks, no Ferraris...) :o in SYD ? Airport location preferred but not a must.

I don't know of anything interesting to rent in SYD (unlike in Germany or even LAX), but be aware that traffic laws are very strictly enforced in NSW and some areas are notorious for issuing speeding tickets for 2 kph above the speed limit. Particularly along the coastal highway.

There is a place in William Street at Kings Cross. I think the name is Sports Car Rentals.

You can search www.whitepages.com.au for their contact details or Google them and see if they have a web site.

We do have 24hr speed cameras, radars, red light cameras..you name it we got it So just make sure you stick to the speed limit.

ngfan, if you could post the results of your search I'd appreciate it. I'm afraid I might start suffering from withdrawl of my 325Ci after a few weeks and might want to rent something fun for a day, even if I have to obey those pesky speed limits. Tooling around in a Z4 would be particularly enjoyable I think :)

Hertz offers the Z4 in Sydney. I'm not sure about price or availability, however.

Given the variable weather we've been having here in Syd lately, you may want something more weatherproof.

If you're not looking to break the bank, you can rent a Holden Astra Convertible w/GPS at Avis on William St. in King's Cross. If you rent it there you won't pay the 10% airport surcharge on the entire rental, yet you can still return it to the airport!

Speaking of breaking the bank, I just got a quote on a Z4 from Hertz at SYD for one day (January 13-14):

Base Rate: A$170 per day, unlimited kilometers
Tax: 10%
Airport concession fee recovery: 15%
Vehicle registration recovery: A$4
Stamp duty: 1.5%

Total approximate charges (1 day): A$223.11

There is also a minimum rental age of 25, which is a deal-breaker for me (I'm okay with Avis thanks to our corporate contract, but we don't have one with Hertz).

So even if I was able to rent the car... US$167 per day is more than twice what I paid for a Chrysler Sebring in California (US$75/day) last autumn. Then again, other than the fact they both have four wheels and a retractable roof, there isn't much in common between a Sebring and a Z4.

The only bad part is that it would be an automatic :(

Speaking of breaking the bank, I just got a quote on a Z4 from Hertz at SYD for one day (January 13-14):

Total approximate charges (1 day): A$223.11

There is also a minimum rental age of 25, which is a deal-breaker for me (I'm okay with Avis thanks to our corporate contract, but we don't have one with Hertz).

So even if I was able to rent the car... US$167 per day is more than twice what I paid for a Chrysler Sebring in California (US$75/day) last autumn. Then again, other than the fact they both have four wheels and a retractable roof, there isn't much in common between a Sebring and a Z4.

The only bad part is that it would be an automatic :(

Ouch. The wife and I are going on our honeymoon later this month in Australia. We got a Jaguar X-Type (the Z4 would be nice, but might not fit our luggage in the trunk). 14 days, A$1600 all-in (US$1200 at current exchange rates). I'd probably pay US$1600+ for the same rental from O'Hare.

I was mulling over the 5-series as well, but that has a minimum age requirement of 30. (both of us are in the 25-30 bracket). Seriously, I can see a difference between 21 and 25...but 25 and 30? Come on...

the Jag X-type is a nice car. It also comes with sat nav. Since never-lost is not available, sat nav is the only way to go. The other car with sat nav is a Ford Fairlane which is about the size of a US Ford Crown Victoria - not an easy car to drive around town.

A$1600 is a great price too! Is that price available for everyone or only on corporate rates?

the Jag X-type is a nice car. It also comes with sat nav. Since never-lost is not available, sat nav is the only way to go. The other car with sat nav is a Ford Fairlane which is about the size of a US Ford Crown Victoria - not an easy car to drive around town.

A$1600 is a great price too! Is that price available for everyone or only on corporate rates?

Not sure...I put my corporate CDP in, but I didn't check the "official business travel" box - usually when I do that in the US, I get the negotiated corporate rates, but this is the first I've done it in Australia. It is based on weekly rates, which are always better than single-day prices.

A followup: I skipped Sports Car rental as the rates are way too high. Wanted a convertible and booked an Astra Holden through Avis for around A$86/day. Got a Saab 9.3 2.0T Conv. instead :D ^

A followup: I skipped Sports Car rental as the rates are way too high. Wanted a convertible and booked an Astra Holden through Avis for around A$86/day. Got a Saab 9.3 2.0T Conv. instead :D ^

Cool! I own an apartment in the Horizon Building in Darlinghurst, a few blocks away (in fact, I'm writing this from there) and often rent cars from Avis on William St. in King's Cross... The Staff are always very helpful and accomodating... They often throw in a vehicle w/GPS or provide a gratis upgrade.

prspad,

I got the Saab at Avis QF domestic terminal office. Actually, I had to wait for nearly an hour to have the car being cleaned and brought over from the intl. terminal. But they compensated me on the spot for that inconvenience with a 5% rebate and an additional 25 A$ discount on my rental charge.

Roadsters (http://www.roadsters.com.au/) are based in Brisbane / Sunshine Coast / Gold Coast, but have exactly what you want. Unfortunately unless you want to do the drive to and from Brisbane you wouldn't have it in Sydney.

Roadsters make Hertz look like a bargain on the Z4.

I ended up driving a Toyota Land Cruiser around the South Island of NZ for two weeks (check out Overland 4wd (http://www.overland.co.nz/) if you're ever in the market, great company) and then had a Holden Calais from Avis for a couple days to make it up to Cape Tribulation from Cairns.

Avis ended up sticking me with an A$15/day under-25 fee; turns out our Avis corporate contract only waives the fee in the US, not abroad. Then again, I had reserved an economy-class car and they gave me the Calais, so I guess it wasn't so bad.