The 9 Best Independent Car Rental Companies in Perth

Perth’s independents are institutions. The city’s isolation kept the east-coast networks out for decades, so family operators grew deep roots instead: 42 years at Burswood, 30+ at Ace, 20+ at Perth City. We ranked all rated car rental operators in Perth and kept only the true independents: Western Australian-owned, no international chains, no 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. We excluded international brands (Dollar; the NZ-based Lucky Rentals), national networks (Go With The Gecko) and non-consumer fleets. Prices are the lowest advertised on each operator’s own website; where none is published, we say so.

The top 9

1. TAK8 Car Rental — 5.0★ (570) · 141 pts

Best overall — and most flexible. A perfect 5.0 across 570 ratings, the strongest score in Perth. East Perth operator renting by the hour, day or long term with no hidden fees; watch for promos like a $40/day Suzuki Swift.

2. Cheap Car Rental Perth — 5.0★ (243) · 136 pts

Best flat daily price. $45 a day out of Baldivis, south of the river, quoted flat rather than as a teaser that grows at the counter.

3. H2O Holiday Car Rentals — 5.0★ (228) · 135 pts

Best for regional trips. Bentley-based and built around exploring the state rather than city errands — the fleet and the terms assume you are leaving the metropolitan area.

4. Dream Car Rental — 4.9★ (743) · 133 pts

Best rated at volume. Kewdale. Holding 4.9 across 743 ratings is the hardest combination on this list — plenty of operators manage the rating or the volume, few manage both.

5. Burswood Car Rentals — 4.8★ (1,280) · 127 pts

Best institution, and the one that rents to the youngest drivers anywhere in this series. Forty-two years family-run, with Burswood and Perth City offices and the widest independent fleet in town — budget hatches, corporate and long-term plans, luxury, utes, EVs, even trailers — plus airport and hotel delivery. From $25/day. It will hire to a driver of 19, and it charges nothing extra for an international licence — two doors almost nobody else here opens. The bond is $500, or $400, $300 or $200 if you reduce your liability, and $200 more on a debit card. Read the kilometres before you sign: 100 free a day, 200 for $5/day, and $0.27 to $0.37 a kilometre after that.

6. City Centre Car Rentals — 4.8★ (1,034) · 125 pts

Best all-rounder — but not if you drive for a living. South Guildford, minutes from the airport, in business since 1982, with a large fleet and a booking system that does not need a phone call. Over a thousand ratings at 4.8 is the volume record among Perth independents. Drivers must be 21 to 75, the bond is $500 on a credit card or $1,100 on a debit card, and the standard allowance is 100km a day with an unlimited option. One thing to know before booking: its contract prohibits any commercial use, rideshare included.

7. Perth City Car Rentals — 5.0★ (34) · 123 pts

Best new fleet. Victoria Park family operator (20+ years) whose cars are all six months old or newer, hybrids and EVs included. Quote-based.

8. Ace Rent A Car — 4.7★ (344) · 108 pts

Best airport budget. A 30-year WA independent (not the NZ chain of the same name) with three branches — Redcliffe by the airport, Victoria Park and Mandurah — free airport shuttle and low-excess options. From $24/day (Kia Picanto); airport specials from $39/day.

9. Cottesloe Car & Ute Hire — 4.7★ (85) · 99 pts

Best for a ute. Swanbourne, near the western beaches, with utes on the same counter as the cars. The one to call when the job is moving something rather than going somewhere.

What the list says about the Perth market

Two patterns: longevity — Perth’s market rewards operators who stay, and four of the nine here have between 20 and 42 years behind them (Burswood 42, Ace and City Centre over 30, Perth City over 20) — and silence on terms. Perth is the city where the least is published: the top-rated operator in the state, TAK8, puts a single number on its entire website. Prices cluster tightly at $24–25/day, the most competitive floor of any city in this series, but almost nobody tells you the bond, the kilometres or the excess until you call.

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: Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.