The short answer
Ranked by review-weighted Google rating (July 2026), Melbourne’s best independent car rental operators are led by Prime Car Rentals (5.0★ across 216 reviews), One Stop Car Rental and EZ Car Rentals. Budget daily hire starts at $19.99–29/day (One Stop, Prime), rideshare weekly plans at $160/week (2Ezy), and every operator on the list is Australian-owned and Melbourne-local — no international chains or national networks.
Melbourne’s independent rental scene doesn’t live at the airport — it lives in the south-east: Oakleigh, Clayton, Huntingdale, Mulgrave, Rowville. That corridor holds most of the city’s owner-operated fleets, and on Google they comfortably outscore the multinationals. We ranked all 55 rated car rental operators in Greater Melbourne and kept only the true independents: Australian-owned, Melbourne-local, no international chains or national networks.
How we ranked them
Every operator was pulled from Google Maps in July 2026 and scored with a review-weighted (Bayesian) rating — so a 5.0 with a handful of reviews can’t beat a 4.9 with hundreds. We excluded international brands, national networks (Go With The Gecko, Rent A Bomb, Compass Cars), and van-, truck- or caravan-only businesses. Prices are the lowest advertised on each operator’s own website; where none is published, we say so.
The top 10
1. Prime Car Rentals — 5.0★ (216 reviews)
Best overall value. A perfect 5.0 across 216 reviews — the strongest score in Melbourne. Family-run in Thomastown with a no-hidden-fees policy: Yaris and Corolla hatches, Camrys, RAV4 and Kluger SUVs, and a Tarago people mover. From $29/day.
2. One Stop Car Rental — 5.0★ (83)
Best airport budget. Melbourne Airport hire with a lowest-price guarantee and a fleet heavy on hybrids (Prius, Camry, Civic). Flexible long-term terms too. From $19.99/day — the lowest published rate on this list.
3. EZ Car Rentals — 4.9★ (179)
Best one-stop fleet. Cars, vans and utes from a single yard in Huntingdale — handy when a house move and a daily driver land in the same week. Quote-based.
4. A & Jay Car & Truck Rentals — 4.9★ (154)
Best south-east coverage. Three metro branches — Oakleigh East, Dandenong and Pakenham — with passenger cars (Camry, MG ZS, 7–12 seaters) plus moving vans. Quote-based.
5. Viewhill Car Hire — 5.0★ (51)
Best luxury accident replacement. Not-at-fault after a crash? Viewhill delivers a Porsche Cayman, Maserati Ghibli or Land Rover Discovery to your door and bills the at-fault insurer — no cost to the driver.
6. Asset Rentals — 4.9★ (109)
Best for corporate fleets. Bayswater operator covering not-at-fault replacement vehicles and business fleets, with Lexus hybrids at the top end. Quote-based.
7. Diamond Car and Commercial Rentals — 4.9★ (94)
Best for young drivers. Preston-based value fleet that rents to drivers from 21 and arranges airport pickups. From $39/day (Fiesta, Yaris, Mazda 2).
8. Retail Rentals — 4.9★ (61)
Best long-term discounts. Mulgrave fleet with unlimited kilometres and stacked long-term pricing: up to 15% off weekly and 25% off beyond a month. From $64/day (MG3).
9. 2Ezy Car Rentals & Repairs — 5.0★ (33)
Best rideshare & rent-to-own. Clayton operator built for Uber and DiDi drivers: weekly plans from $160/week, rent-to-own paths, and its own repair workshop so downtime doesn’t eat driving income.
10. Phoenix Car Rentals — 4.9★ (39)
Best flexible terms. Fourteen years in Rowville renting everything from Swifts to Commodores, short-term, long-term or subscription-style. Quote-based.
What the list says about Melbourne’s rental market
Two things stand out. First, geography: Melbourne’s independents cluster in the south-east suburbs, not the CBD or the airport — renters willing to drive 20 minutes routinely pay half the walk-up airport rate. Second, accident replacement is Melbourne’s specialist niche — three of the ten (Viewhill, Asset, and Prime as a sideline) run not-at-fault replacement programs billed straight to the insurer, a model that barely exists at the chains.
Compiled by the team at Carz — we build the operations platform that independent rental operators like these run on: weekly billing, digital contracts, inspections and collections in one place. Run a fleet? See how it works. Also see: the Brisbane top 20.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest car rental in Melbourne?
- Among independents with published rates: One Stop Car Rental from $19.99/day (with a lowest-price guarantee), Prime Car Rentals from $29/day (Toyota Yaris), Diamond Car and Commercial from $39/day, and 2Ezy Car Rentals from $160/week for hatchbacks on weekly plans.
- What is the best rental for Uber and rideshare drivers in Melbourne?
- 2Ezy Car Rentals & Repairs in Clayton specialises in it: Uber/DiDi-ready cars from $160/week, rent-to-own options, and a repair workshop in-house so a breakdown doesn’t kill a week of driving income.
- Who provides a replacement car after a not-at-fault accident in Melbourne?
- Two independents on the list specialise in it: Viewhill Car Hire (luxury replacements — Porsche, Maserati — delivered to your door) and Asset Rentals in Bayswater. In both cases the hire is billed to the at-fault party’s insurer, at no cost to you.
- How was this ranking calculated?
- We pulled every rated car rental operator in Greater Melbourne from Google Maps (July 2026), scored each with a review-weighted (Bayesian) average so a 5.0 with a handful of reviews can’t outrank a 4.9 with hundreds, and excluded international brands, national multi-branch networks, and van/caravan-only businesses. Prices are the lowest advertised on each operator’s own website.
Cristobal Galilea
Co-founder, Carz
Cristobal builds Carz alongside the operators who use it — fleet software for independent car-rental businesses leasing weekly to gig drivers in Australia.