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Discover Cars

Discover Cars

 Verified
Discover Cars
4.0

516 reviews

Positive vs Negative
69%31%
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Received Booked Vehicle ?
  • Yes
  •  · 
  • No, I received a worse vehicle
  •  · 
  • No, I received a better vehicle
Transparency ?
3.5
Customer Service
3.5
Value for Money
3.6
Booking Process
4.1
Vehicle Condition
4.0

 AI reviews summary 

The overall sentiment for Discover Cars is largely positive, with most users praising the platform's ease of use and competitive pricing compared to booking directly with rental agencies. However, there is a significant divide in experience; while many find the service seamless, a notable segment of users reported critical failures regarding booking fulfilment and insurance transparency. Recurring issues involve discrepancies between the broker and the local rental providers, leading to "no-show" cancellations or unexpected on-the-ground fees.

Pros
User-Friendly Interface: The website and mobile app are frequently described as intuitive, making the search, comparison, and booking process quick and straightforward.
Competitive Pricing: Rates are consistently cited as being significantly lower than direct bookings or other major competitors, often including affordable insurance options.
Efficient Booking Management: Users appreciate the flexibility to modify or cancel bookings, with several reports of prompt refunds and easy application of credits.
Transparent Comparison: The platform successfully aggregates various local and international providers, allowing users to filter by car type, price, and supplier ratings on a single page.
Cons
Booking Fulfilment Issues: A recurring and serious complaint involves arriving at the rental desk to find the reservation is not in the system or the vehicle is unavailable, sometimes resulting in no refund.
Insurance Confusion: There is significant frustration regarding "Full Coverage" purchased through the site not being recognised by local providers, forcing users to pay for additional, expensive insurance at the counter.
Communication Gaps: Users report difficulty reaching human support when issues arise at the rental desk, often being restricted to a chatbot or facing long delays in email responses.
Hidden Fees: Several reviewers flagged unexpected costs, such as international transaction fees (due to the company being based in Latvia) and undisclosed local surcharges for drivers or specific license types.
Verdict

Discover Cars is a highly effective tool for finding budget-friendly rentals through a streamlined digital interface, making it ideal for proactive planners. However, the disconnect between the broker and third-party rental agencies presents a risk of booking cancellations and insurance disputes at the point of pick-up. To avoid common pitfalls, users should confirm their booking directly with the local provider and carefully review the specific documentation and credit card requirements of the rental desk.

516 reviews
5 Bec I.  · Easy to use, rather good customer service and will be back again
5 Deborah Cowan  · Excellent service, quick, easy and affordable. Collected from the airport and taken straight to the car. Very grateful thankyou
5 Michelle  · Easy to navigate and book a vehicle, was an excellent site to go through
5 Legweak  · Great price particularly given I am returning the car to a different location!
5 Domenic R.  · Easy experience. We will see what service is like when we accept the car
5 Bill Cagliarini  · Website was clear to follow and booking was quick and easy
ibuild.eh
ibuild.eh
 

Brilliant website. so easy and fast and most importantly accurate and no tricks to catch us out on paying for insurance etc. Very clear every step of the way! Impressed. Show reply

Ask the reviewer
John K.
John K.
 

The process was simple and the price was good. Shamin picked us up in a shuttle bus on the Thursday and was the driver to return us on the Saturday. He was polite and efficient. Show details ·  1

Ask the reviewer
poshak s.
poshak s.
 

Worst experience with Discover Car Rental. I paid extra money because I did not want an MG vehicle and expected to have other car options available. However, when I arrived, I found that they only had MG cars and no other vehicle choices at all. It was disappointing to pay extra for something that was never available in the first place. If your… Read more

fleet only consists of MG vehicles, this should be made clear to customers before they pay additional fees.

I would not recommend their service based on my experience.

Discover Cars
Discover Cars    

Hello, We are sincerely sorry to hear about your… Read more

Reviews with attachments

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Neil
Neil
  Verified

Older car with a few bumps but drove very nicely Show details ·  1

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Adam
AdamQLD
 

Highly recommend..enjoyed immensely fantastic service..great reliable economical vehicle helpful staff. All round OUTSTANDING! Show details ·  1

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Peter S.
Peter S.WA
  Verified

Great service, helpful staff, new car and exactly as ordered. Show details ·  1

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Alihan S.
Alihan S.QLD
  Verified

Worth the price. Got my deposit back in an hour. Show reply

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Andrea H.
Andrea H.VIC6 posts
 

Picked up car in Picton they offered an upgrade very happy to take it! The car was great no problems at all! Dropped off at Christchurch airport. Quick and seamless great experience. Show details ·  1

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Asel
Asel
  Verified

Rented in Jeddah airport, booked in advance and it was super quick check in and car pick up and drop off service also smooth. The car was as described Show details ·  1

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Karen
KarenQLD
 

After 48 hours travelling to Aus we expected to puck up our car at Brisbane airport. No answer on the phone so we had to get a ride to the office 20 minutes away. Once there we were told our car had had a malfunction & there were no alternatives. Yes Direct cars found us another company, but after 4 hours of messing about & extra costs, plus… Read more

having to pay another 241.00 to the new suppliet on arrival. Our insurance from the other car was invalid so a waste of 89.00 so had to purchase new. Not a nice way to start our holiday & the fact that no one contacted us to let us know our car had been in a smash is nothing shory of despicable.

Discover Cars
Discover Cars    

Hello Karen, Thank you for sharing your… Read more

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rob c.
rob c.2 posts
 

I have used Discover Cars multiple times with a great experience on the Platform. This experience extends to dealing with the Rental Car Company on the ground Show details ·  3

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Diana
DianaNSW
 

Friendly service and nice new 7 seater car. Pick up and drop off of the vehicle was smooth and very friendly even though we were after hours both times. Being from Australia, I was pleasantly surprised to see they drive on the left hand side of the road in Mauritius and all road signs are in English. Fantastic fun and a bit chaotic driving around the island. I wouldn’t have changed a thing with using Discover Cars. Show reply

Direct Car Hire

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Econo L.
Econo L.
 

I experienced Discovercars.com is a scam. Paid $43 for rental car which was full amount with Discovercars.com, I had a receipt from Discovercars.com, but it turned out it wad middle man fees only $9 was applied to my rental cost. I had to pay $72 when I pickup my rental car.

Discover Cars
Discover Cars    

Hi Jerry, I regret to hear about your experience… Read more

Latest follow-ups

Peter C.
Peter C.NSW
 

I needed to modify a booking as my flights changed. I wasn't able to change the pick up date so I cancelled the booking and got a cheaper deal with Discover Cars. I used the credit from my previous booking to pay, and now I have some money left on my account for next time Show details ·  1

 Follow-up  · Changing dates on the original booking wasn't possible, I don't know why, but cancelling painlessly and rebooking gave me a cheaper price so I was happy. I will use Discover Cars again and use my credit then

Narelle P.
Narelle P.QLD7 posts
 

We were very satisfied with everything about our car rental. The price was very good value for money and the system was simple to book. We were offered a more spacious car which we accepted at no extra cost. Show details ·  2

 Follow-up  · We were upgraded to an MG SUV which was very spacious, but not too big to handle in carparks etc. Pickup was pretty simple - just a phone call to let them know we had our luggage and the staff member left their premises and drove our car to us, then back to their premises to do our sign up. No need to reload suitcases. The car had not been… Read more

Glenyss
Glenyss
 

It was easy to book the vehicle on the web site. Compared to other sites the rate was the best. So far we have only booked the vehicle so it will be interesting to see how the rest of the process goes. Show reply

 Follow-up  · On arrival at Hobart there was confusion over the insurance coverage which was brokered through Discover Cars. It was very misleading we thought we had full cover when in fact we did not. Luckily for us the staff at Bargain Cars sorted this out and helped us with the refund process. So for the same cost we took out full insurance cover with… Read more

Positive reviews

Leonie M
Leonie MVIC3 posts
 

The booking process was straightforward, and I appreciate the options given for different car sizes and rental providers. Discover Cars has assisted us with bookings in many different countries around the world. Show details ·  1

Trevor W.
Trevor W.QLD7 posts
 

Very well organised the only negative is that we ask whether they'd quote for some minor paint restoration to the faded plastic rear spoiler. They wanted to charge us $50.00 for a quote. We declined the payment of the $50.00 Show reply

Pascal B.
Pascal B.QLD
 

Cheapest rental quote I received from all the websites/companies out there. I was provided the car I requested, not a replacement. There were no hidden fees from the website; the only additional fee was a credit card surcharge from the car rental company, which was mentioned before I made the full payment. Very happy with the service and the information received during the process. Show details ·  1

Negative reviews

Alexandru P.
Alexandru P.3 posts
  Verified

The car rental trough discover cars.com was not honored by Avis when we arrived in Aruba, claiming that there not any cars available.Trying the get the refund from discover cars.com is a hassle There is a phone number but no answer.Don’t make the full payment unless you are ready to loose the money.

Discover Cars
Discover Cars    

Hi Alexandru, We’re truly sorry to hear about… Read more (+3 replies)

shahana k.
shahana k.
 

It’s a scam service. I booked a car and I was told I will get the confirmation from the supplier within 24hrs and my card was already charged. I waited 36hrs & haven’t heard anything from the supplier or the discovery car hire. I called the discovery car hire and I was told that they can’t offer me anything alternative & they asked more money for… Read more

offering another car, although it was not my fault. I felt like I was getting blackmailed as I had very little time to arrange an alternative option. These service providers are dodgy and scammers.

Discover Cars
Discover Cars    

Hi Shahana, I am truly sorry for the stress and… Read more

Direct Car Hire

Find out how Discover Cars compares to other Direct Car Hire

Know better, choose better.

Compare all
Nikki
NikkiVIC2 posts
 

SCAM company - get you to pay in full, then when you arrive they tell you there's no time for the shuttle to pick you up before they close and this is considered a "no show" and no refund is provided. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY, THEY ARE A SCAM, TAKE YOUR MONEY AND DONT PROVIDE THE CAR. Show details

Discover Cars
Discover Cars    

Hello Nikki, I am truly sorry to hear about the… Read more (+2 replies)

Recent reviews

David Haggith
David HaggithQLD8 posts
 

"Would have been 10 but had to call provider a number of times with no answer when we were at airport to get shuttle. Took over 6 attempts to call but phone just rang out. Had to google and find another phone number which also rang out. took an hour from when I first tried to contact provider until we had our car." "Excellent car well presented " "Took too long to answer my call for shuttle." "Got an upgrade to a better car, well done" Show details ·  1

Lisa
LisaWA5 posts
  Verified

Was easy to view all the car rental rates from local carhire companies as well as the well-known brands. Liked how you could filter by price. And was easy to review the rental conditions and pickup/dropoff location details before booking. Only thing was that the office location on the maps was incorrect for Iceland - I havent found that with other destinations that I have booked. But as usual, always a quick and easy process to follow. Show 3 replies

Marianne
MarianneNSW
 

Would definitely recommend using Discover Cars when hiring a vehicle for your trip. Easy to book, competitive pricing, great choice of companies and cars to choose from. You can adjust your booking timeframe or even cancel up to 48 hours before your trip - I did and it was easy to do. Do yourself a favour and hire your next vehicle through Discover Cars. Show details ·  1

Elena
ElenaQLD
 

Discover Cars helped us to find an amazing car at a very reasonable price and a trustworthy car rental company. Will use Discover Cars again. Thank you very much. Show details ·  1

Rob K.
Rob K.
  Verified

Car booking process was good resulting in a great deal being found (car was provided by Mode Rentals) for our 2 & a half week New Zealand holiday. Car pick up & drop off was a breeze with no booking issues etc. experienced. Happy to use again. Show details ·  1

Graham Crocker
Graham CrockerQLD2 posts
  Verified

I found Discover Cars web site very easy to use and follow. Everything was laid out in an easy-to-understand format. The price we paid for the car we booked was good. The extra Full Car insurance was well explained and worth taking out. We have booked this car for a holiday later this year. I will use this company again when looking for a car rental. Customer service and communication was great. Show details ·  1

Graham M
Graham M
 

This is the second time that I am using Discover Cars for car hire in Europe, and have been extremely happy with the level of service I have received on both occasions. The website was extremely straight forward to use , with a good range of options, at competitive prices. Show reply

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