So you're tossing up whether to buy a car or rent a campervan in Australia whilst you travel there. Well, here's some food for thought.
One advantage to hiring a campervan is that the longer you rent it, the cheaper it gets in most cases. Another is that pretty much every rental company will provide you with roadside assistance in the case of a breakdown and a third is that you can pick up your campervan in one city and there will be no problems in dropping it off in another. To top all that off, most campervan hire companies will allow you to change campers if you need to.
However, when renting, there can be hidden costs so check the fine print carefully and be aware that many will charge you a deposit on your credit card that they will take off your card at the time of rental. You will not have access to that money whilst you are travelling as it will be tied up in the deposit.
Purchasing a car, on the other hand, can pose just as many problems as hiring. Firstly your money is tied up in the vehicle. Secondly, if you buy a lemon you can end up with nothing - wasting the money you used to buy it. Additionally, most states in Australia require roadworthy certificates to be done upon annual registration and some when the vehicle changes hand. If the registration runs out whilst you are driving it you will be up the registration costs of around $600 as well as any repair work to get the roadworthy certificate. If you buy from other backpackers you can almost guarantee they have not spent a cent more than absolutely necessary on maintaining vehicle, and like a hot potato, it just gets passed around from traveller to traveller. Eventually the long kilometers and lack of maintenance will cause a breakdown and if this occurs 300km from anywhere you will find yourself in a lot of bother. You will want to plan in advance on whether to spend money on roadside assistance for the car or just get it towed when it dies - towing is expensive.
Obviously, the nearer you get to your end date, the less the purchase offers will be to take the car off your hands - another likelihood that you will get a lot less back in your pocket before taking off.
Look, at the end of the day, campervan hire in Australia can be tailored to fit nearly any budget. In addition to this, it can offer piece-of-mind knowing the price of the journey is already known before you leave the depot and that you will have roadside assistance for the whole journey.
One advantage to hiring a campervan is that the longer you rent it, the cheaper it gets in most cases. Another is that pretty much every rental company will provide you with roadside assistance in the case of a breakdown and a third is that you can pick up your campervan in one city and there will be no problems in dropping it off in another. To top all that off, most campervan hire companies will allow you to change campers if you need to.
However, when renting, there can be hidden costs so check the fine print carefully and be aware that many will charge you a deposit on your credit card that they will take off your card at the time of rental. You will not have access to that money whilst you are travelling as it will be tied up in the deposit.
Purchasing a car, on the other hand, can pose just as many problems as hiring. Firstly your money is tied up in the vehicle. Secondly, if you buy a lemon you can end up with nothing - wasting the money you used to buy it. Additionally, most states in Australia require roadworthy certificates to be done upon annual registration and some when the vehicle changes hand. If the registration runs out whilst you are driving it you will be up the registration costs of around $600 as well as any repair work to get the roadworthy certificate. If you buy from other backpackers you can almost guarantee they have not spent a cent more than absolutely necessary on maintaining vehicle, and like a hot potato, it just gets passed around from traveller to traveller. Eventually the long kilometers and lack of maintenance will cause a breakdown and if this occurs 300km from anywhere you will find yourself in a lot of bother. You will want to plan in advance on whether to spend money on roadside assistance for the car or just get it towed when it dies - towing is expensive.
Obviously, the nearer you get to your end date, the less the purchase offers will be to take the car off your hands - another likelihood that you will get a lot less back in your pocket before taking off.
Look, at the end of the day, campervan hire in Australia can be tailored to fit nearly any budget. In addition to this, it can offer piece-of-mind knowing the price of the journey is already known before you leave the depot and that you will have roadside assistance for the whole journey.
About the Author:
Learn more about campervan hire in Australia. Stop by Tim Ahern's site where you can find out all about motorhome rental and what it can do for you.
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