Alpha Car Hire
Verified4,051 reviews
- Yes
- ·
- No, I received a worse vehicle
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- No, I received a better vehicle
AI reviews summary
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Overall sentiment for Alpha Car Hire is overwhelmingly positive, with customers frequently praising the cost-effective rates, clean vehicles, and friendly customer service. While the off-site location requires a shuttle transfer that occasionally experiences delays during busy times, the majority of travelers report a smooth and efficient rental experience from pickup to drop-off.
The cars are clean fully fuelled and functioning well. The lift from the airport was easy and flexible. The employers behind the desks when I came to pick the car where not very welcoming and flexible, they are just doing their jobs as robots. Kept me wandering and searching where the car is, just gave me the keys . When I went back for a couple… Read more
of questions no one were at their desks and I kept waiting for 10 minutes for someone to talk to. Overall experience was not the best in comparison with other renting companies. I am not happy booking with them again.
Reviews with attachments
Staff very friendly,good service..and very helpful. I will continue booking next time with them. Show details
Absolutely stress free and all service was as described! I will be back again! Show details
Staff lovely and knew their stuff also fast process to pick up and drop off Show details
Fantastic customer service and they have a really good range of cars in excellent condition. But most of all the staff really helped me when it came to my assistant's dog having easy access. Show details
Very good – Rentals price was great and the car was superb. I will definitely renting again Show reply
Car hire isn't as cheap as what they say, watch out for daily insurance charges, they will push it on you and say if you get a shopping car park dent on it, you have to pay $5000 excess, a scare tactic trying to up sell insurance, also car was dirty and needed a service, the car also had a weak battery in the key fob and randomly would not lock… Read more
the door.. Not to say don't use them as a car hire provider, but possibly look at the whole package of the cost of the car including the daily add on insurance... After all if you got a parking dent in Pacific fair would you be prepared to pay $5000 excess, also the attendant said... If I had a crash and was not my fault I still have to pay $5000 excess... not sure if this is a car hire /QLD thing... but in NSW if you have an accident and is not your fault you pay no excess... Also they will not fit the baby capsule in the car for you.... It's at your own risks to parents... For those that feel uncomfortable installing them by yourself... This may be the short straw for you... Not a complete terrible experience.. But in some way a bullying experience.. Will I use again.. No
I hope not all branches of the same company are the same but a reputation damaging case to Alpha Car Hire happened to me. For a minor damage to the lens to a rented ute tail light, I was contacted a day later and urged by a staff at Alpha Slacks Creek branch to consent a deduction of $5,489.64 to be kept as bond money. The trouble is more than 2… Read more
and a half months later no-one from Alpha has rang or emailed me about how much the repair will cost and how much of my bond would be refunded. The closest of any reply was "Well it is in the system and will be looked at", but weeks and months would go pass with no further confirmation. Luckily I was aware of my right and only gave my consent for the branch to withhold $1,000 which is the fair and correct amount stated in the rental contract. I really don't understand why a company of Alpha stature has left big loopholes like this in their daily operations. Surely anyone with similar experience to mine would not be impressed nor have deep trust. I have filed a complaint to Office of Fair Trading with the hope that someone more responsible at Alpha will take notice and have appropriate fixing actions. Renters at the very least support a business and do deserve some basic respect.
The pick up and dropped off were fast. Car on point. Costumer service 10 points. Price, I think it´s expensive.
I highly recommend Alpha Car Hire to everyone. They mostly don't want to complicate the process of renting a car because they accept debit cards. The car itself is ideal for my needs. Thank you, Alpha Car Rental. I will give you a 10 out of 10. Show details
Called up to cancel as they were deceitful about the deposit amount. I was told that if I cancel I wouldn’t get any money back. They then said the cancellation policy is in the booking confirmation email how we when you click that link it says “oops page not found”. I then went to the terms and conditions on their website site and it only states that a cancellation fee of $250 is payable.
never using another company again ... price beat everyone with a better car. can was clean kids booster was clean, car was well looked after and fir our needs. staff were so friendly, making jokes and just made the whole experience easy but also fast and effective Show details
Find out how Alpha Car Hire compares to other Direct Car Hire
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Very friendly, vehicle is well maintained and taken care of. Alot of pride Alpha has towards their work and customers. Show details
Prompt pick up and drop off from airport to car rental depot. The vehicle I booked was in the same class I expected. Friendly office staff. Friendly drivers. The bond was returned to my account within 24 hours. This is the second time I've booked with Alpha & I haven't been disappointed. Thank you very much to everyone at Brisbane Branch! Very pleased. Maria Show details
Latest follow-ups
Excellent service with a great rate that no other rental company could match for our needs. First impressions were excellent on arrival at Gold Coast airport with an amazing lady (I'm sorry I didn't get her name) who picked us up on the shuttle to… Read more
get to the depot - Thursday 13 August around 6pm. She was so friendly and welcoming and we knew then we had picked the right company. Please thank her again for us. Car was good and no issues with anything. Communication and notifications from the time of booking were excellent. We would definitely make Alpha our first choice if needing a rental car again.
Follow-up · Return process was easy, just dropped keys back to office then waited for the shuttle. Wait time for shuttle both ways was quite good. We just missed the shuttle on return of car and had to wait 10 minutes but that is not unreasonable. Model car we hired was a small Kia Picanto which was adequate for our family of 3 with suitcases. We only needed a car for the drive to our accommodation and short trips in between whilst there.
Thoroughly recommend Alpha Car Hire. Great service, great value for money. Show details
Follow-up · It took a while for the pick up to arrive, however, the driver was very friendly and helpful. Drop off van picked us up as soon as we dropped the car back. Again, the driver was very friendly and helpful. It is suggested you allow half an hour at each end for the shuttle. The MG was a hybrid and was very economical
Great cars, great value and excellent customer service. Been using Alpha every time we visit Australia and always deliver the goods. Show details · 1
Follow-up · Since then have hired a car from Brisbane for two weeks. Specifically ordered a Yaris Cross but non available when we arrived. A return then turned up and they quickly sorted it for us. Great service and only a short delay. The car was fantastic, they helped us set up navigation and we had a a great trip. Returning was seamless and. We were soon on our way to the airport in their free shuttle. Great service.
In-depth reviews
0 liability does not include kangaroos, hail, reversing or undercarriage. My own car (not a rental car) died in Brisbane when I was about to drive home to Armidale, so I paid about $240 over the phone to rent a car for two days through Alpha with… Read more
what I thought was 0 excess and 0 liability for accidents, then caught public transport directly to Alpha near the airport to collect it. At the Alpha office I saw a sign saying the liability does not include hail or animals. Therefore if I hit a kangaroo they can charge up to $5250 (depending on cost to fix). I then asked to cancel because when driving to armidale there is a small risk of hitting a kangaroo (I have hit one previously) and I couldn't afford risking 5k (I was a student at the time......and I didn't even have a car because my own car had overheated). However, they said there was a no cancellation policy within 24 hours even though I only booked 2 hours prior and pretty sure I was not told about these exceptions on the phone. Overall, I lost $240 for no reason, in the end I had to catch the train and bus back to Armidale which took two days. The people working at the counter asked a manager for me to check if they could refund the money (but she said no). The manager said no rental car companies cover kangaroos which I suspect may not be correct? I haven't checked. She also tried to convince me that I was thinking of worst case scenario. If she thinks this is worst case scenario and the chance of it happening is very small then why don't they cover it! This policy is ridiculous they should have refunded $240 considering they only lost 2 hours of possible time where other people might have booked and I really don't think I was informed of these exceptions prior to the sign at Brisbane airport office. I sent in a complaint and they sent it on to the Brisbane airport office and of course no reply, I assume because the same manager. I'm sure they are fine if you don't hit anything but I bet if I had accidentally hit a kangaroo they would have made me pay $5250 or more.
Follow-up · update based on (probably automatic) follow up questions: I did not take the vehicle and they would not give me a refund so I do not know if the vehicle was clean nor if the model was correct and cannot assess the fuel policy
Totally underrated car hire! Brilliant service, great communication and for the competitive price, the car we received was immaculate and quality! Their office location was very inviting, vibrant and matched the quality of the overall experience. The pick up service was super easy from airport. However only very slight constructive criticism is… Read more
that they should have more vehicles running and there was quite a bit of a wait for drop of back to the airport for the shuttle and not so much by us but the gentleman near us had been waiting 20 min already when we got there. I think that if they improved the faster shuttle service to take you back to the airport, then they would be smashing it in overall service! Either a member of their staff should jump in a shuttle if the other shuttle is not back yet from a previous drop off or they need another shuttle running especially that they have a fair indication of the drop back of car hire and numbers needing to get back to airport, that would be the only thing I could fault.
I booked 2 cars at different times on my recent trip,both in the smallest size.The first car was better than the second in its condition and its accessories but the second had more grunt uphill.However, they both were excellent for my needs and gave me no problems and I covered a lot of miles.The staff were very friendly and the book in and drop… Read more
offs were so quick and easy.They listen to your preferences in the type of cover you want and are able to provide help and advice.The bond hasn't come back yet for the second car but they kept in touch throughout to let me know when the second month's bond would be taken. My only complaint was the list of things they didn't cover like hail damage as I was there at a very stormy time and I also feel this was told to me after I had paid but I may have misremembered this.The first time I received a list of damage to the car,the second time I didn't. Overall though I was so happy with the service I am already planning when I am going to hire a car with them next time I visit.
Positive reviews
After being considerably delayed from our flight, we were delighted that two staff members had stayed back for over half an hour after the 9pm closing time to ensure we could get our vehicle and safely get on our way. As repeat customers, we highly recommend Alpha to anyone who is looking to hire a car.
Find out how Alpha Car Hire compares to other Direct Car Hire
Know better, choose better.
From the first point of contact on the phone to ask them to pick us up from airport to the person that picked us us, which she was excellent, so friendly and nice, to picking up the car, giving us advice about the insurance and the tolls and drop off it was excellent, a freeze, and everyone friendly, and patient and knowledgeable Show details
The experience couldn’t be smoother. Very good price Perfect service Easy to call for support- no delay answering calls. No wait for shuttle bus at all. Also I don’t think it’s fair to blame Alpha car for delayed shuttle as I think it’s managed by third party (if I’m not wrong) but i didn’t have to wait at all. Even though I was alone shuttle… Read more
was sent to and from for me very quickly Staffs are very helpful and welcoming Clean car Options to upgrade cars Good communication Loved it Thanks to Bookings.com for recommending alpha car. I wouldn’t have known alpha otherwise. I booked a car for three day hire from Sydney airport
Negative reviews
Terrible, very rude costumer service, lack of knowlege. We had a bad experience with their costumer service that seems located outside Australia. They coulnt help us with cancelling our booking. They hang up phone on us several times, when we asked how to cancel or from where to cancel, they were interfering my speech rudely and didnt let me… Read more
explain. No sorry at all I heard from them! That is so so rude and terrible. Then after several calls they gave us a wrong number and they didnt know what is the website to cancel! Finally they hang up! They need lots of training how to behave to a costumer.I am so lucky that we are not hiring car from this terrible carhire!
These others must be fake reviews... Do not book from Alpha Brisbane Airport!! Got up at 4am for a 6am flight (just 2hrs) then waited another 45 minutes for a shuttle from the airport to the depot! The whole point of catching the early flight was because we had places to be. Two phone calls and they cant even tell you how far away it is just that… Read more
"one is on its way".
We saw all the other companies shuttles come twice in the time we were waiting. The reason given was 2 drivers called in sick yet my friend said they had the exact same experience and had to wait one hour... so clearly a reoccurring problem. Such a crapy start to our holiday. There is a reason why they are cheap. The car was also rubbish for a intermediate, like driving a tin can that struggled to make it up hills. But at least it was clean.
45 minute wait for a shuttle to the airport is unacceptable. To be told that we have staff off sick and domestic on requires you to be there 1 hour before the flight is also unacceptable. Show details
Recent reviews
from booking online to pickup at yard to returning car is first class, the Staff are just amazing , 10 out of 10 service, great value for money, highly recommended, I rent a Alpha car twice a year past 5 + years Show details
The vehicle and service was as we expected, no surprises which is a surprise in itself! Our vehicle was upgraded and all set to go as arranged. I would recommend Alpha. Show details
Simple process to pick the car up - shuttle was there within 15 minutes and took us to the yard - very well organised pick up of the car - paperwork was a breeze Late model car in good condition and excellent price
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