Rental car adventure in 'Oz'

Call any car rental companies in the Yellow Pages here, and you will likely get a warm response. But sometimes the process can get confusing.

For example, we asked over the telephone, "What time should we return the car next day?"

"We can give you a 59-minute leeway," answered the salesperson. So if we hired the car at nine in the morning, we could return it by 9:59 a.m. the next day.

But when we arrived at the rental company to pick up the car, the staff there said: "Who told you so? We never quote the time overdue to our clients, that is our policy. The time to return the car is 9 a.m., although we do understand when there is a traffic jam and you are late a few minutes."

Ditto for other aspects of renting a car.

"What documents should we bring?" we asked.

"A driving license and credit card. The holder of the credit card should come in person," the salesperson said over the phone.

"Fine," we said, but not so at the rental company.

"Do you have an identity card with a photo?" they asked.

"No. You told us we only needed to bring a driving license and credit card, and that the card holder should come in person."

"Sorry, we cannot serve you."

Did we miss something?

Perhaps it is better to go to the car rental company in person, rather than booking one through the telephone, because at least in our experience, the discrepancy was too glaring: Marketing officers tended to make big promises and welcoming responses, but office staff at the rental companies tended to be all business.

Getting over such "service fatigue" among tourists is a big problem in many countries, especially those with famous tourist destinations.

Such an experience is a downside for any country, since it can ruin the day -- at worst, the entire holiday -- for tourists. This holds especially true in Australia, since most rental cars are in good condition and prices are competitive.

A one-day tour to the Gold Coast costs a little over A$100 (about Rp. 800,000), for a big car with a passenger capacity of eight to 10 people.

A small car can start as low as $22, according to Yellow Pages ads, including tax, stamp duty and insurance. There is an optional insurance fee of about $18, which will save you the cost of $2,750 in damages in the case of a traffic accident, irrespective of who was in the wrong. With the insurance, you need only pay $275.

The distance from Brisbane to the Gold Coast and back is less than 250 kilometers, the usual maximum limit for a one-day rental. You will have to return the car with a full tank of gas, just as when you took it from the car rental's garage.

Gasoline costs about $1.10 (Rp. 9,000) per liter, but if you want to rent with an unlimited odometer range, there will be an additional charge of about $10. In the case that you exceed the travel limit, there will be an additional $0.30 per kilometer over the limit.

Motoring in Brisbane and its surroundings has its own pluses. The road is excellent and the signs are clear, except when you go to places like Mt. Coot-tha at night, when the road signs are not very visible. Otherwise, as long as you follow the speed limit, it will be a nice drive. -- Harry Bhaskara