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.
Car Rental in Newcastle: 4 Local Companies
Cristobal Galilea · 31 October 2026 · 8 min read
- car rental businesses compared in Greater Newcastle
- 13
- have a Google rating. 3 have none.
- 10
- have 15+ ratings and at least 4.3★
- 6
- Australian average across 677 independents
- 4.43★
These are the four local car hire companies that made our Newcastle list, out of 13 we compared, and what each one’s own site says about price, bond, minimum age and overseas licences. The international brands at Newcastle Airport are not on the list. To ask the listed operators for a quote, send one request.
The short answer
Newcastle Car & Truck Rental, ARA Car Rental and Velo Car Hire top Carz’s Newcastle ranking. One of the four publishes a weekly rate, from $262.27 + GST (subscription).
Published weekly rates, cheapest first. The other three quote on request.
Weekly rates re-read on 31 Oct 2026. They may have changed since, so check with the operator before you book.
Only true independents: Australian-owned, Newcastle-local, no international franchises and no networks of three or more branches. Built for anyone renting by the week or the month.
The four, by Carz score
The Carz score is the Google rating, weighted by how many people gave it. We add 50 ratings at the Australian average (4.43★) to every business, so a few perfect ratings cannot beat hundreds of near-perfect ones. Velo’s 5.0★ from 15 ratings scores 4.563. Newcastle Car & Truck’s 4.8★ from 497 scores 4.766.
Bar: Carz score. Dashed line: Australian average.
The top 4
- Place 1
Newcastle Car & Truck Rental
4.8★ from 497 Google ratingsCarz score 4.766Argenton
Highest Carz score on this list, trading since 1999.
Weekly from
Not published
- Bond
- Deposit on debit cards, amount not published
- Min age
- 21 (25 for some vehicles)
- Kilometres
- Daily limit, then 38c/km
Read the full review
Two depots, at 418 Lake Road in Argenton (Glendale) and at 16 Johnson Street in Maitland, renting cars and SUVs alongside vans, utes, minibuses, moving trucks and trailers. The car range runs from an MG3 hatch to a Kia Carnival, with hybrids and a Nissan Leaf. Google lists the Maitland depot as a separate business with 57 more ratings; it is the same company, so the score above uses the Argenton listing alone. Google also files the Argenton listing under real estate, so a search of the car rental category misses it. We found it by text search and added it by hand.
The FAQ sets the minimum age at 21, with a daily surcharge up to 24 and some vehicles reserved for drivers of 25 or over. It accepts current Australian licences that are not provisional and current overseas licences, which must be in English with a photo or come with an International Driving Permit. Red P-platers are refused; green P-platers aged 25 or over can hire some cars at a surcharge and double the excess.
Payment is by credit card. Visa and Mastercard debit cards are accepted only for certain vehicles, with a deposit whose amount is not published. Each hire includes a daily kilometre limit, with extra kilometres at 38 cents in a car. The minimum hire is 24 hours. Standard cover carries a $5,500 excess, reducible to $2,750 for $38 a day or $550 for $48 a day. The FAQ says its vehicles cannot be hired for ridesharing.
Who it’s for: a renter over 21 who wants a choice of depot between Lake Macquarie and Maitland, or a car and a moving truck from the same counter. Who it’s not for: a rideshare driver, or anyone paying by debit card who needs the deposit amount before booking.
- Place 2
ARA Car Rental
4.8★ from 55 Google ratingsCarz score 4.625Mayfield
Novocastrian-owned since 1988, with the lowest published bond here.
Weekly from
Not published
- Bond
- $220 credit card hold (minimum)
- Min age
- 21 (20% levy to 25)
- Kilometres
- Limit not stated, then 22c/km
Read the full review
Established in Newcastle in 1988, with an office at 22 Hanbury Street in Mayfield and another at 129 Melbourne Street in East Maitland. The fleet runs from economy hatches to large sedans, people movers, 12-seaters, utes, pantech trucks and mine-site vehicles, and the company also runs fleet leasing. Google lists the East Maitland office separately with 9 more ratings; the score above uses the Mayfield listing.
Its terms set the bond at a credit card pre-authorisation of at least $220 ($1,000 for vehicles over 8 tonnes). Hirers must be 21, with a 20% levy on the rate from 21 to 25. P1 and P2 licences are accepted with a further 20% surcharge; learner drivers are not. The excess is at least $2,900, reducible to $330 for an accident involving another vehicle. Extra kilometres cost 22 cents in a car, though the allowance itself is not published. Visa, Mastercard and cash are taken without a surcharge.
Who it’s for: a P-plater over 21, or anyone who wants the smallest published bond in the city. Who it’s not for: an overseas visitor who wants the licence rule in writing, because ARA publishes none.
- Place 3
Velo Car Hire
5.0★ from 15 Google ratingsCarz score 4.563Mayfield
Daily prices online from $66, and no rules published.
Weekly from
$262.27 + GST (subscription)
- Bond
- Not published
- Min age
- Not published
- Kilometres
- Not published
Read the full review
Based at 38 Cadell Avenue in Mayfield, with prices on its booking site: an MG3 from $66 a day including GST, a Toyota Corolla hybrid from $82.50 and a Kia Carnival from $154. A subscription option prices the same MG3 from $262.27 a week plus GST. The fleet also includes a dual-cab ute and a Subaru Forester hybrid.
We found no page with a bond, a minimum age, a licence rule or a kilometre allowance, so every rule column says Not published.
Who it’s for: a renter who wants to see a daily price and book online. Who it’s not for: anyone who needs the age, bond or licence rules before paying.
- Place 4
Cardiff Rent-A-Car
4.5★ from 258 Google ratingsCarz score 4.489Cardiff
Family-run since 1989, with the second-most ratings on the list.
Weekly from
Not published
- Bond
- $500
- Min age
- 21 (full licence under 25)
- Kilometres
- Agreed per hire
Read the full review
A family-owned business at 336 Main Road in Cardiff that calls itself a pantech moving-truck specialist and also rents 4- and 6-cylinder automatic sedans, people movers, vans and utes. Its car page advertises cars from $49 a day, a figure it bases on a hire of more than 15 days, with a $500 refundable bond.
The FAQ refuses drivers under 21 and accepts drivers from 21 to 25 who hold a full licence, at a daily surcharge. Comprehensive insurance is included in every rate: the excess is $500 for drivers over 25 on a full licence and $1,500 for drivers aged 21 to 25 or without a full licence. Each quote includes an agreed number of kilometres for the trip. No rule on overseas licences, debit cards or rideshare is published.
Who it’s for: a renter on a long hire who wants a low excess built into the rate. Who it’s not for: an overseas visitor who needs the licence rule in writing.
Just outside the four
Josh Travels in Fletcher (5.0★ over 15 ratings) passed the floor but is not listed: none of the reviews Google returns is more recent than October 2024, and its website address no longer resolves, so we could not confirm it still trades. Plenum Car Rentals in Kotara (5.0★ over 15 ratings) also passed the floor and is not listed: 11 of its 15 ratings arrived within 31 hours on 6 and 7 October 2026, so its place would rest on that burst.
Six businesses scored higher than Cardiff Rent-A-Car and were left out under the methodology. East Coast Car Rentals (4.8★ over 994 ratings) is a national network with 14 locations across Australia. The three SIXT branches at Newcastle Airport, Charlestown and Beresfield belong to an international brand. Right2Drive (4.8★ over 32) supplies accident-replacement cars. Hunter Supercruise (4.8★ over 20) sells rides in supercars and muscle cars. Diggers Shuttle Service (4.6★ over 62) runs shuttles with a driver, and Newcastle Hire and Auto (4.7★ over 45) hires trucks, utes and trailers.
Quick comparison
Six things decide whether you can rent: what a week costs, how long you must commit, what you have to put down, how far you can drive, how old you must be, and whether an overseas licence works.
- Published
- Partly published
- Not published
| Operator | Weekly from | Min term | Bond | Kilometres | Min age | Overseas licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Newcastle Car & Truck Rental | Not published (online quote) | 24 hours | Deposit on debit cards, amount not published | Daily limit, then 38c/km | 21 (25 for some vehicles) | IDP if not in English |
| 2ARA Car Rental | Not published | Not published | $220 credit card hold (minimum) | Limit not stated, then 22c/km | 21 (20% levy to 25) | Not published |
| 3Velo Car Hire | $262.27 + GST (subscription) | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 4Cardiff Rent-A-Car | $49/day on hires over 15 days | Not published | $500 | Agreed per hire | 21 (full licence under 25) | Not published |
| Publish it | 1 of 4, 1 in part | 1 of 4 | 2 of 4, 1 in part | 0 of 4, 3 in part | 3 of 4 | 1 of 4 |
Only Velo publishes a weekly price, for a subscription. It also lists a daily price and no rules. Three publish a minimum age, two a bond figure and one an overseas-licence rule.
Why a 5.0 can sit below a 4.8
Hollow is the Google rating, solid is the Carz score. The fewer ratings a business has, the further its score drops towards the Australian average.
How we ranked these operators
The Carz score starts from the Google rating and counts how many ratings stand behind it, so a 5.0 from 15 people cannot beat a 4.8 from 497. We took the car rental businesses Google Maps lists in Greater Newcastle, from Lake Macquarie to Maitland, plus text searches, on 31 October 2026 and scored them this way.
The technical name is a Bayesian average, the method IMDb uses for its Top 250. Every business starts with 50 notional ratings at the Australian average, and its real ratings are added to those. The Australian average is 4.432★, measured across the 677 rated independent car rental operators in our national census. The Carz score is printed beside every entry, on the same star scale, so the order can be checked without trusting us.
The floor is at least 15 ratings and 4.3★. We excluded international brands, networks with three or more branches, accident-replacement fleets, chauffeur services and businesses that do not rent cars. 13 car rental businesses in Greater Newcastle were compared; 10 have a Google rating and 3 have none, so those 3 were classified but never scored; 6 passed the floor; 1 could not be confirmed as still trading and 1 reached the floor on a burst of ratings; 4 were published.
Google files one of them, Newcastle Car & Truck Rental, under real estate instead of car rental, so a category search of the map misses it. A text search found it, and we added it by hand.
Some listings Google files under car rental are something else, and their own sites or reviews say so. The Happy Human Hub, Therapeutic Support and Mercy Health Community Transport provide disability and community support. Manager365 sells fleet software. Newcastle Hire Cars and First Rate Chauffeured are chauffeur services.
Prices, bonds, ages, kilometre allowances and licence rules were read from each operator’s own website on 31 October 2026, never from a directory, an aggregator or a booking site. Where an operator publishes nothing, the table says Not published; it never says “no”.
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. Nothing on this page is paid for, and no operator can buy a position on it.
Newcastle operators can read about Carz’s car rental software. Using it has no bearing on the order above.
What you need to rent weekly in Newcastle
Age
21 everywhere it is published. Newcastle Car & Truck Rental and Cardiff add a daily surcharge under 25, and ARA a 20% levy up to 25. Newcastle Car & Truck keeps some vehicles for drivers of 25 or over. Velo publishes no age rule.
Overseas licence
Only Newcastle Car & Truck Rental states a rule. It wants a licence in English with a photo, or an International Driving Permit. ARA, Cardiff and Velo publish nothing.
Bond
$220 to $500 among those that publish it. ARA holds at least $220 on a credit card. Cardiff takes $500 on its cars. Newcastle Car & Truck asks for a deposit on debit cards without stating it, and Velo publishes nothing.
Debit card
Only Newcastle Car & Truck Rental mentions debit cards. It takes Visa and Mastercard debit for certain vehicles, with a deposit. ARA’s bond is a credit card pre-authorisation. Cardiff and Velo publish nothing either way.
P-plates
ARA accepts P1 and P2 licences, with a further 20% surcharge. Newcastle Car & Truck takes green P-platers aged 25 or over on some vehicles, at double the excess, and refuses red Ps. Cardiff quotes a $1,500 excess for drivers without a full licence but does not say which licences it accepts.
Rideshare
No operator on the list allows it in writing. Newcastle Car & Truck Rental says its vehicles cannot be hired for ridesharing. ARA, Cardiff and Velo publish no rule.
Weekly vs daily in Newcastle
Only one operator prints a daily and a weekly price for the same car, and they are not the same product. Velo prices an MG3 at $66 a day including GST, and its subscription prices it at $262.27 a week plus GST. Cardiff’s $49 a day applies to hires of more than 15 days.
Apart from Velo’s subscription, a week in Newcastle is priced on request. Ask each operator for the same car and dates. Ask about the bond on your card type and the kilometre allowance before you compare totals.
What the list says about Newcastle’s rental market
Three of the four rent moving trucks as well as cars. East Coast Car Rentals, the city’s biggest rental name by ratings with 994, is not on the list. It is a national network and the only business in Greater Newcastle with a higher Carz score than Newcastle Car & Truck Rental.
Only one of the four publishes a weekly price, and it is Velo’s subscription. Compare with Sydney, the nearest city on these lists, or see every city on the rankings hub.
Frequently asked questions
How much is weekly car rental in Newcastle?
Only Velo Car Hire publishes a weekly price: a subscription from $262.27 a week plus GST for an MG3, and its daily rate for the same car is $66 including GST. Cardiff Rent-A-Car advertises cars from $49 a day, a rate it bases on hires of more than 15 days. Newcastle Car & Truck Rental and ARA Car Rental give prices through an online quote.
Can I rent a car in Newcastle under 25?
Yes, from 21 at three of the four. Newcastle Car & Truck Rental and Cardiff Rent-A-Car add a daily surcharge for drivers under 25, and ARA adds a 20% levy up to 25. None of the four publishes an age below 21. Velo Car Hire publishes no age rule.
Can I rent a car in Newcastle on an overseas licence?
Only Newcastle Car & Truck Rental says so in writing. It accepts a current overseas licence in English with a photo, or with an International Driving Permit if it is in another language. ARA, Cardiff and Velo publish no rule.
What bond do Newcastle car rental companies ask for?
ARA Car Rental takes a credit card pre-authorisation of at least $220. Cardiff Rent-A-Car takes a $500 refundable bond on its cars. Newcastle Car & Truck Rental asks for a deposit when you pay by debit card but publishes no amount, and Velo publishes nothing.
Which Newcastle car rentals allow Uber and DiDi driving?
None of the four allows it in writing. Newcastle Car & Truck Rental says its vehicles cannot be hired for ridesharing. ARA, Cardiff and Velo publish no rule either way.
Why are well-known Newcastle names missing from this list?
Six businesses with a higher Carz score than Cardiff Rent-A-Car were left out under the methodology. East Coast Car Rentals is a national network with 14 locations across Australia. The three SIXT branches belong to an international brand. Right2Drive supplies accident-replacement cars. Hunter Supercruise sells supercar rides, Diggers Shuttle Service runs shuttles with a driver, and Newcastle Hire and Auto hires trucks, utes and trailers. Josh Travels passed the floor but is not listed: none of the reviews Google returns is more recent than October 2024, and its website address no longer resolves, so we could not confirm it still trades. Plenum Car Rentals in Kotara also passed the floor and is not listed: 11 of its 15 ratings arrived within 31 hours on 6 and 7 October 2026, so its place would rest on that burst.
How was this ranking calculated?
We took the car rental businesses Google Maps lists in Greater Newcastle, from Lake Macquarie to Maitland, plus text searches, on 31 October 2026 and ranked them on a Bayesian average, the method IMDb uses for its Top 250. Every business starts with 50 notional ratings at the Australian average, which is 4.432★ across the 677 rated independent car rental operators in our national census, and its own ratings are added to those. We required at least 15 ratings and 4.3★, and excluded international brands, networks with three or more branches, accident-replacement fleets, chauffeur services and businesses that do not rent cars. Prices and rules were read from each operator’s own website on 31 October 2026.