The short answer
Ranked by a transparent points system over Google ratings (August 2026), Melbourne’s best independent car rental operators are Prime Car Rentals (5.0★ across 219 ratings, from $29/day with unlimited kilometres), Baraka Car Rentals (5.0★ across 191, an all-Toyota hybrid fleet approved for Uber, DiDi and Uber Eats from $240/week with no lock-in) and A & Jay Car & Truck Rentals (4.9★ across 809, the most-reviewed independent in the city). Budget daily hire starts at $19.99/day (One Stop), weekly rideshare-ready plans at $180/week (2Ezy, which also publishes $160/week for a hatchback), 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 August 2026 and scored with a transparent points system: every tenth of a star above 4.0 is worth 10 points, and every tenfold increase in ratings is worth 15 — so a higher score always outweighs volume, but a business with thousands of ratings is not invisible next to one with forty. The points are printed beside each entry so the order can be checked. A 5.0 with a handful of ratings 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★ (219) · 135 pts
Best overall value. A perfect 5.0 across 219 ratings — 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= Baraka Car Rentals — 5.0★ (191) · 134 pts
Best for rideshare drivers. A Tarneit operator running Toyota hybrids specifically for Uber and DiDi work, where fuel is the difference between a good week and a bad one. Perfect 5.0 across 150-plus ratings, almost all from drivers.
2= A & Jay Car & Truck Rentals — 4.9★ (809) · 134 pts
Best south-east coverage. Three metro branches — Oakleigh East, Dandenong and Pakenham, all rated 4.9, with the Dandenong depot alone carrying 809 of those ratings. Passenger cars (Camry, MG ZS, 7–12 seaters) plus moving vans. Quote-based.
4. One Stop Car Rental — 5.0★ (85) · 129 pts
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.
5. EZ Car Rentals — 4.9★ (184) · 124 pts
Best published price list. Fourteen weekly rates on the page, from $195/week for a budget car through $220 for a mid-size, $275 for a one-tonne van or ute and $385 for a large SUV or a seven-seat hybrid — no surge pricing and no lock-in contract. Cars, vans and utes from a single yard in Huntingdale, drivers accepted from 21, international licences accepted, and free drop-off at Jordanville station. There is a rent-to-own path too.
6. 2Ezy Car Rentals & Repairs — 5.0★ (33) · 123 pts
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.
7. Diamond Car and Commercial Rentals — 4.9★ (97) · 120 pts
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★ (62) · 117 pts
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= Phoenix Car Rentals — 4.9★ (40) · 114 pts
Best flexible terms. Fourteen years in Rowville renting everything from Swifts to Commodores, short-term, long-term or subscription-style. Quote-based.
9= Advance Car Rental — 4.7★ (800) · 114 pts
Best airport-to-city. North Melbourne base with a free shuttle to Melbourne Airport and a CBD pick-up point, so the hire works whether you arrive by plane or already live here. The most-reviewed independent in the city by a distance.
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 — two of the ten (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, which also builds the software some of these operators run on. We say it here rather than bury it: you should know who wrote a ranking before you decide what to do with it. Nothing on this page is paid for, and no operator can buy a position on it. Also see: the Brisbane top 20.
Frequently asked questions
- Which Melbourne operator is best for Uber or DiDi driving?
- Baraka Car Rentals runs Toyota hybrids specifically for rideshare and holds a perfect 5.0 across 191 ratings, mostly from drivers. Below this top ten, AAA Green Rentals in Hoppers Crossing (4.3★, 177 ratings) is built around the same work and takes up to 20% off once a hire passes 31 days.
- 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?
- Nobody on this list. Accident-replacement hire — where the bill goes to the at-fault driver’s insurer instead of to you — is a different business from everyday car rental, with different pricing, different paperwork and a different customer, so those operators are excluded from this ranking rather than mixed into it. If that is what you need, start with your insurer or your repairer; they normally arrange the car.
- How was this ranking calculated?
- We pulled every rated car rental operator in Greater Melbourne from Google Maps (August 2026), scored each with a transparent points system — every tenth of a star above 4.0 is worth 10 points, and every tenfold increase in ratings is worth 15, so a higher score always outweighs volume but a business with thousands of ratings is not invisible beside one with forty. A 5.0 with a handful of ratings can’t outrank a 4.9 with hundreds, and excluded international brands, national multi-branch networks, and van/caravan-only businesses. The count beside each rating is Google’s ratings total, which includes people who left stars without writing anything. 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.