Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Rental Car deals in Melbourne?

I'd like to rent a small/economy size car in Melbourne (ideally from the airport, but I will be staying in the eastern suburbs - Blackburn - if that helps at all) for three weeks, starting next Friday July 6. Any gurus out there with knowledge about how I could get the cheapest rate? Or knowledge of current Codes to use for special deals? The cheapest I've found so far is $706.70 AUD (about $606 USD) for 3 weeks/21 days, INCLUSIVE of all taxes, insce and charges - drive away.

Connected to this, I have looked at Priceline's pricing (slightly more expensive than the above), but I have not yet used their opaque bidding system, which I will try once I've found the lowest open offer for comparison. Has anyone had any success bidding for cars this way in Australia? It will be the first time I've tried using Priceline bidding for anything (although I've been reading the forums), so all car-specific ideas/guidance gratefully received.

BTW, I've also reviewed the airline-connected rates (partner deals etc.) for AA and Qantas, which are my loyalty programs - I can't find anything cheaper than the above.

Thanks a bunch for any ideas! :)

We have extra taxes for collecting rental cars from the airport. Check what the rate is to rent from the city. For 3 weeks this is likely to be a good saving.

I think these taxes are only applicable if you collect the car from the airport, and not if you return it to the airport.

Audrey

Try red spot cart rentals (http://www.redspotrentals.com.au/v2/) and other 2nd tier rental companies. As above, for 3 weeks will be cheaper to rent off airport. You could take skybus (www.skybus.com.au) into the city or even Avis-Hertz-Thrifty-Budget from out Blackburn way (after a taxi to Blackburn).

G-day AussieInUSA,
The price of A$706.70 is the best I could get using www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au pick up in the city was $636.67 however you have to get to the city and back. I tried Red Spot rentals and they wanted $875.58.
When in Melbourne remember the TOLLS.

Have fun, Ray

Catch the Skybus ($24 return pp) into the city and pick up there. All the locations are in Franklin St. which is a little frustrating as it is a good 10 min from Southern Cross Station on the tram but this tram is free.

I wrote my rental car off on Monday so don't skimp on the insurance!

Usually about $100-$150 cheaper to skip the airport.

Yes, it's not a well-planned trip, just a quickie over Easter.

How interesting - following advice in the forum I booked with vroomvroomvroom, to get a Corolla for 3 days from MEL.

It was $240 with Hertz and I wanted to add my #1G number, so logged into Hertz and while there I checked my dates for pricing the same car.

Behold, $159! It's like I got a day free!
Avis, which was another option on the vroom site, for its smallest Getz, was still $220, so I think I've been extremely lucky today.

Hertz also had a 2-level upgrade offer plus the customary 1000 QFF miles offer, so it would be nice to get one of these, too, but I'm just happy that I checked the direct option.

Hopefully that is what I pay - can I lock it in, Eddy?