Apex Car Rentals Australia Reviews 

I rented a car in Hobart and the service was absolutely terrible. Apex Car Rentals doesn't even deserve the one star that I'm giving. Please do not be scammed by the supposedly cheaper prices that Apex offers! We PAID for the After Hours Drop-Off and set a certain timing for the drop off, which was clearly written in the contract. However, when we reached the drop off point EARLY, the staff in charge of the shuttle services told us to get on board the shuttle bus immediately and if we don't, he will leave us behind and the next shuttle service will only come very much later. We tried explaining to him that we are still very early compared to the official drop off time stated in our contract and he didn't care at all. Unfortunately, we had to rush to get on the shuttle bus because the next one will be more than an hour later, which will cause us to miss our flight.

Because we had to rush, we didn't have time to clean the car thoroughly and take all of our things. We had to leave some of our precious souvenirs behind because the bus driver threatened to leave without us. After our flight back, Apex Car Rentals contacted us and informed us that they had charged 150AUD for the cleaning fees. We tried to explain the situation to the staff (who was extremely rude throughout all the emails), but he kept pushing the blame to the shuttle bus driver and saying that the bus driver is from an external company and hence they do not accept any form of responsibility for the entire situation.

To make matters worse, he kept calling our souvenirs rubbish despite us telling him they were not rubbish to us, but things that we were unable to take because of the threat by the bus driver to leave us behind. He kept using sarcasm in all the emails and mocked us.

Apart from that, the staff was also very inconsistent in his statements. One moment he said that the car requires professional cleaning and next moment he said that we could have cleaned it. I am very sure that my friends and I are not professional cleaners. After that, he reverted back to his original statement that it required professional cleaning services again. I am extremely sure that my friends and I could have cleaned the car very easily if we were given the time - it wasn't that dirty to begin with.

All in all, Apex Car Rentals is a scam and has non existent customer service.

very unprofessional company rep (Alexis), when placed a booking and paid the deposit was asked for a lot of non-related documents (DVLA codes, 2 proofs of address, passport, driving licence etc). Finally, they delivered a wrong car! Called the owner of the company who declared he has nothing to do with what the employees are doing!

Obviously a company that prides itself on its condescending, rude and lazy staff. Rented an outlander. On arriving had the pleasure of getting to fill out our paperwork with the most condescending rude women I have ever meet. The cars interior clearly hasn't being cleaned carpets were full of sand and dust. Buttons on dash were full of grim. The visor mirror was smashed and broken glass was just hunging in there. The exterior was covered in scratches and dents. One dent so bad at the front of the drives door the whole door dropped everytime it was opened. So it's clear why the don't say welcome back, how was the holiday when you dropped the car back. Just get the same cold frosty reception that you receive when you pick the car up.
But it's not a wonder working for such a horrible company would suck the life and soal out of anyone.
Just wish I read the other reviews on here before booking because they all follow the same trend. Don't say you weren't warned.

We hired a car (which had loads of scratches and a non-functioning radio) and were involved in a small accident with another driver. The other driver was at fault, took full responsibility and even dropped into the Apex office and gave over their details. The damage was not severe (there was a small dent on a single side panel) which was not much more than the scratches that were already on the car.
Upon returning the car on the Friday afternoon, we were told that they would still take the full deposit, but they would get the car repaired on the Monday and refund the cost difference straight away. We were even told the claim's manager would call us that very afternoon to explain the process.
We did not receive any communication by the following Thursday, so I sent an email, to which they responded that the process would take up to 12 weeks! I believe I was lied to on that Friday afternoon, so that they could get me out of the office (and out of the country) and had no intention of resolving the claim and just keeping the full excess.
I have also enquired as to how Apex will take our money to repair the car, but also will be claiming from the other driver. Needless to say, They have avoided the question every time.

Hired a car from Apex at Cairns for a week - only issue was our flight was delayed and we arrived after their office closed at 5pm Saturday.
They did send an e mail telling us that car was dropped at airport and we could collect there - all Ok no problems but if I had not seen e mail I would have been waiting at pick up point for hours so maybe a message would be better option.
HOWEVER cannot fault car and service at drop off point in Cairns - staff were v pleasant and driver to airport v professional.
I need to point out that compared to Thrifty/Avis et al these guys charge a reasonable rate for excess removal. I am renting another car from them in Melbourne for 3-4 weeks and the closest competitor because of extortionate excess reduction insurance is over $1300 compared to $1023!!!!
Would I use them again - in a trice. Sorry to see others with issues but I think the full cover option gives you much more peace of mind.

When I arrived at Cairns airport the instructions I was provided on picking up my keys were not clear. The air hostess on my flight also read the instructions and explained the room location to use a phone to ring to inform of my arrival did not exist. I rang the 1800 number provided and was very rudely told to read the instructions emailed to me. I explained I had and was very rudely informed where to pick up the keys - nothing like the instructions I had been emailed. Having to return the car to their business address and be driven to the airport rather than being able to return the car to the airport is extremely inconvenient because the reason for hiring the car is to provide independence. I will never use this company again and I will advise everyone I know not to hire from them.

Fish and rental companies; neither seem to travel well in the tropics. I've rented many times from Apex in NZ and thought what could go wrong. Plenty! The woman at the counter was evasive in her answers. She would not answer the simple question of "is there any grace period?" I decided to go out for a quick ride of the block on my road bike to smell the flowers. Back again, loins girded, I got the branch manager, and then got lost in the other customers when her expertise in bullying was called upon. I'd initially signed up for the 2750 AUD excess as I have international excess reduction insurance up to 4000AUD. Nope, after listening in on my "former" front of counter assistant demolish a returning renter, I decided a 500AUD excess was worth the 11AUD per day. The other renter's argument [damaged windscreen was preexisting damage from hail not noted on the defect list but clearly prior to their pickup [as Apex agreed to the roof pummeling]] was sound but when the threat of "do you want to get back to the airport" was made, I quickly changed my mind and paid an extra 44AUD. Note, also, they offer a downtown branch, but do check [as I did not]. Their downtown branch is their airport branch and the airport branch is the city branch; they're the same branch and are within mortar distance of the runway, Pleased I had the road bike to ride 4km from "downtown" to the virtual reality that is "Apex downtown". I'm sure it was all being filmed for reality TV and I look forward the credits for my walk on part.

booking ok
customer service non existent
had to wait 45 miniutes for a 10 minute shuttle. staff got on shuttle before other customers.
was made to side out young children on laps as there were not enough seats on the shuttle.
rude manager on return of the car.

shocking

Hired a Mitsubishi oulander from Brisbane today. I am a regular customer at apex and my previous experience has always been fine. They dont do the best cars but given the competitive pricing I have preferred to use them. Customer service has always been okay.

I was initially given a car with dirty interiors. The lady who attended was very polite and immediately spoke to supervisor and changed the car. The car had a cleaner interior but the exterior had bird poo. You would expect some decency from a large car company to offer customers clean cars.

I went in again to inform some fault in in the interior and another person attended and told me that cars are not detailed and they don't record interior faults.I then mentioned about the bird poo and they just shrugged.

The staff were polite but service is definitely declining. I have future bookings already booked and i am a bit anxious about the service from a company that I used to trust

The above Title tells you it all. But let's be fair, we all have our off days 'at work' right and blame it on the customer, right??
What an exciting start to our holiday. We were picked up from Coolangatta airport by an Apex van on Saturday the18th June. Friendly enough service. Can't complain. We arrived at the Gold Coast Branch at approximately 10.30am. My partner suggested I go into the office while he helped sort the bags. There were about 3 desks but I couldn't see anybody. I said 'hello', then I heard a voice say 'down here'. So I sat, no greeting. The young lady said, credit card and passport. I did not have any of these as I was not the driver. She was in a huff and kept cursing her computer. Apparently it was all my fault for her having a bad day. My partner arrived and I just glared at him and he could see things weren't the best. Very politely he took out his credit card and passport as 'ordered'. We were not eye contacted. It was not until It was mentioned to the young lady that a family member had started up Apex from New Zealand, that her persona changed dramatically and we then got a free upgrade. A GPS. Disgusting service from a front desk person. I was then asked to check the fuel gauge. It looked like it was on the 'f'. On starting the car we noticed the fuel gauge went down. We filled up at the garage down the road and $12 and some change had to be added to fill it up.

Our destination was then to Brisbane a little over a week later to drop the car off at Hendra Branch. Not over friendly staff at counter but they were an improvement. We informed them of our $12 fill up and didn't expect to be reimbursed. However, when we arrived home we discovered we had left a house key on their key ring. We phoned them to apoligise and asked them if they would not mind sending it on to an address in Brisbane. They informed us there would be a charge of $2. We informed them once again of the $12 fill up. All good and fine they told us. No charge. We then discovered $2 had been deducted from our account. Back on the phone to the same lady who then apologised and reimbursed.
Would we go back to Apex after this experience. No. We were very disappointed in customer service from both branches especially the blonde agro woman who we first encountered!!!!!!!!!!!! Such a pity as Apex was a mighty fine establishment back in the day.

We waited 26mins to be picked up by their shuttle from Cairns airport. When we arrived at the hire office we were told that they could not fit the rear facing car seat that we had ordered when we booked. It was implied by the staff there that it was our fault for not reading the conditions when we booked. The lady said that it is made clear on the website, through the booking process that they don't fit rear facing car seats. I then went through the booking process in front of her and got up to entering my credit card details and it had still not told me that the car seat we had ordered would not be able to be rear facing (which is required by law for infants under 1 year old). It turns out we had to go to the FAQ section on the website and then click on another link before we found the bit where it said they wouldn't fit rear facing car seats. We rang several other car hire companies and they all said they would fit a rear-facing child seat no problems so we went back to the airport and used another company.

I Booked an Apex rental in Cairns because it was very economical. Being a budget booking the pick up and drop off was away from the airport, and a shuttle was provided. I forgot to tell the staff that I needed an early drop off because my departing flight was so early. When I arrived at the drop off location, the manager (Ian) was unlocking for the cleaners. He checked in my car and personally drove me to the Airport an hour before the rental office was due to open. A++ customer service.

Only minor issue is pick up location at Sydney Airport as it's not at the terminal but next to the helicopter port - That said I believe they pick you up for free at the terminal and take you to the rental office. I was already in Sydney and had to get a taxi to the airport to pick it up. That is the only minor comment I have to make. I hired a Mitsubishi Outlander 4x4 for 35 days to drive up to Port Douglas and drop off at Cairns airport (again office is not at airport and same free bus transport deal)

Emailed them via their web site with my pre travel/booking questions and a really quick reply from a guy called Dave in head office covering them all ...absolutely great service. So car booked and no payment actually taken as I pay on pick up - again this was great as it was booked months in advance.

On pick up no pressure selling but calm and friendly answers to any questions - Many Thanks.

Also, toll charges in Sydney area were no problem at all and no excessive handling charge (one off $4 day charge on day you use a toll road plus toll charge of course) which I thought took the fear out of using toll roads if I wanted to (and did on one day).
The car met all my needs, 3 of us plus loads of luggage and no problems at all nor unexpected charges after handing the car back (though if the car is really dirty I usually wash the car and clean it out before handing back - no big issue but I do look after any car as if it were mine and after 35 days it did need a clean and it's no problem as there are many car cleaning ports around and a few $ well spent I think) - perfect. I'd use them again without question. Truly Recommended. Many Thanks to the team for a great service.

We picked up an elantra from Sydney airport the week before Easter to drive to Melbourne . Was a little concerned about previous reviews but need not have been. Fantastic staff,very easy pick up and the car drove like a dream. No hidden costs or one way fee like a lot of other rental companies. Arrived in Melbourne and dropped the car off with no trouble. Would definitely recommend this company to everyone. Thankyou Apex you have made our holiday .

On my arrival at Apex Brisbane, I was given a car that was all scratched, hail damaged, i20. When I ask for another vehicle as I wasn't happy about what they chose for me, the staff said The vehicle was allocated to me whole day, we could have rented to other customers if you didn't want it, therefore, you HAVE TO take it. I was like..excuse me.. I didn't choose it. I came to Brisbane for my business meetings, I feel so embarrass driving this vehicle around. That was a big effort from a customer to ask for not scratched vehicle, I can tell you.
The day before my return, I was driving on a highway. I was going 100 km/h, and all of sudden an antenna on the roof flew off. All I found was a spring connection with the Antenna root.
I called Apex, and explained what happened. They told me the manager have to have a look at it first, on my return.
When I arrived at the office, the lady who served me she walked out (not the manager), and said directly that it is definitely my fault. She said, it would have been a bird strike or something.. I was like... I was going for 100km/h, a bird like on highway? what? I said, if it was a bird strike or snapped, the spring connection wouldn't be there.
She was being so judgemental as if she was the manager. She asked me to fill out the accident form. I said it wasn't an accident. She said, if you don't do this, you will be in trouble. WT? It was a threat, and I felt so threaten.
She was like because you signed for the vehicle, everything is on you. I said, Yes I signed it, based on the fact that the vehicle is in a perfect condition. She also told me to pay 400 dollars as a deposit because it's in the agreement. I was like I'm not paying for that, I will talk to the manager when she comes back on Monday (it was on Sat). She called another branch manager and asked about it. The other manager said I am free to go without paying anything. so It wasn't on my agreement, huh?

On Monday, the manager emailed me and said they will not be charging me. Because it looks like its caused as a result of the screw loosening over time. but there was NO APOLOGISE.

I rented a car in APEX Gold Coast from 22-25 Jul 15 for our family holiday.

As this is our first experience with this company, I assumed they would have the same treatment and term as other rental company which we had used before.

We returned the car in a proper condition with no damage at all. Having 3 children travelling with us, we left the car with some food scrapes/crumbs on the back passengers area which is very normal and nothing close to major thing.

And with our experience with other rental company, we believe this should be fine as the rental company will have to clean the car any way.

Then one of the rental officer inspected our car and he didn’t make any comment on the condition and he was seem to be ok. He released our bond and everything seems to be fine.

We flew out Gold Coast and the next day I just checked my email when I saw their email which is coming roughly around few minutes after I left the rental.

They charged me 100$ on my card for cleaning the interior of car!!!

For 240$ rental car I paid, they charged me additional 100$ for cleaning the car??

Very tricky and unfair business ethic they are operating. If they told me that they’re not happy with the car condition when they inspected the car, I could have cleaned the car for nothing. Even if I have to go to car wash, it won’t cost me not even half of what their charge.

Instead they waited until the customer left and charged them on the back. I don’t even know if charging customer card without their agreement is legal??

I made the complain to them regarding this charge and they didn’t bother to response.

Really disappointing experience and will never use their service anymore.

On the day i got the car, i was not shown the car key condition. After i got to the hotel, i accidentally dropped the car key and the key case broke, just dropped it once. Seriously?! Because the sensor thing dropped out with it, i had to call RACQ for help.
When i returned the car, i got charged for the key fix and the call out fee. If the key wasn't dodgy at the beginning, i wouldn't have wasted time and effort for it. The worst part, the company told us Mitsubishi car is known for that, the key case breaks easy. WT?

I booked a car online, and received an email confirming my booking. The email stated that I would need a credit card for the deposit/bond on the vehicle. Upon arriving at Brisbane Domestic Airport I called the number on the email to let them know we arrived. We waited over 25 minutes for the shuttle to pick us up, and then it spent ages detouring via the international terminal. We finally got to their office and they checked our booking. The Apex employee said that as we had elected to pay for the hire on the Debit card that she would need a credit card for the bond. I handed over my American Express card, and was told, "Sorry, we don't accept American Express!". Before leaving Melbourne I had reviewed all of the paperwork and website, and nowhere did it say that they did not accept Amex! She said that even though the credit card bond was $500, if we didn't have another credit card, we could pay them $800 Cash! As we were travelling on a shoestring budget, so that my daughter could compete in the QLD State Climbing Championships which was a requirement as part of her training to represent Australia in the World Champs, there was no way we had that amount of money to tie up in their account! If their non acceptance of Amex had been detailed on their website, or in the confirmation email, I could have arranged the bond on another credit card prior to arriving! As they had stuffed us around for so long, we ended up having to catch a very expensive Taxi to the competition venue, and only just made it with 5 minutes to spare!! Definitely not the way to start the day of a State level comp!! Very UNHAPPY!!!!!!!

I have just returned to the UK from 2 months in Australia and having hired cars from three separate locations in different States I can highly recommend Apex Car Rentals as by far the best Company to deal with. I hired from Brisbane and returned the vehicle three weeks later to Cairns. At last no hidden extras to pay just one straight all inclusive price. Great value. If you are in Brisbane ask for Pam and if you are in Cairns the girls on reception are superb. Don't even bother with anybody else! I wish I had hired from them in Melbourne and Adelaide. I would have saved myself a great deal of money!!!

We rented a car from Sydney to Cairns. In case of death in our familiy we had to give back the car earlier than planned. The staff in Sydney (Christie) was very friendly and anxious. Thanks for the smooth running! We would definitely rent a car form apex again. George and Julia