Apex Car Rentals Australia Reviews 

I always hire a car with Apex in Cairns unfortuately this time when the shuttle bus dropped us off at the car hire place i went to get out of the van my depth perception is not that good so went to step of and came crashing down on the ground both knees and hands i was able to get up inside they offered me a ice pack which i didnt need my right arm and leg copped the brunt of the fall which was lucky as i had shoulder surgery 3 months prior left side as i told them in the office if i had of landed more to my left i would be in hospital, all i got was sorry our bus has a broken bottom step and were waiting on replacement yet they do have a portable step which was not used my driver and driver did not warn people that the step down was a long way down. I was not even offered maybe some form of compensation like an amount of my car hire i have a graze to my right knee and left shoulder is aching a little bit so back home im back to doing light gym work as part of my work cover but cant do heavier eg 2kilo weights as arm if a bit painful which is due to the fall hoping it will get better

Picked up our pre-booked car from Cairns. The car had a few minor nicks and scratches, no problem, but also had 49K on the clock.

On the 3rd day got a puncture, bolt embedded in the front tyre. Called a local tyre replacement company who came out and swapped the tyre for the skinny spare for a small charge. The tyre mechanic said the damaged tyre was so worn it was unlikely anyone would repair it.

Skinny spare is limited to 200 kms distance so phoned Apex Cairns who agreed to swap car. On arrival was told replacement tyre would cost me $300 ! What ? “Either pay that or walk away with no car !” “I’m not paying $300 to replace a tyre that’s got nearly 50k’s wear on it.” “Oh, I just work here. You’ll have to talk to the manager.” So I did.

I told her what the tyre mechanic had told me. She said she would get their own mechanic to look at it and phone back p.m. Car was replaced but no phone call. Next day we were on the road all day and I had grim forebodings about returning the car on Sunday morning for our early flight and having some discussion with whoever was in the office at that time. But late that day got a phone call – there will be no charge.

Huge relief and kudos to Apex for sensible and reasonable decision but minus points for their initial confrontational attitude which was both unnecessary and left a bad taste.

Would like to give 3½ stars but settled on 4 rather than 3.

The booking process was straightforward, and the Mitsubishi Outlander provided was clean, comfortable, and reliable throughout the trip. Pick-up at Melbourne Airport and drop-off at Sydney Airport were smooth and efficient, with friendly staff making everything quick and hassle-free. I had the car from 3 January 2026 to 8 January 2026 (six days), and it performed perfectly the entire time.

I booked only three days in advance for an interstate one-way rental and paid $448.50 after receiving a website booking discount. The standard price would have been around $640, which was still significantly better than most other companies during the same period — and I compared multiple options before booking. Many competitors were charging additional one-way relocation fees of around $300 plus a security deposit, pushing total costs well above $800.

Another major advantage was that no security deposit was required, which made the process much easier. Since I already had my own excess insurance, this suited me perfectly.

I have also used Apex previously on the Gold Coast, where they allowed me to drop the car off in Brisbane without extra fees and provided free child seats, which was a great bonus for family travel.

Overall, a convenient, well-priced rental experience with no hidden surprises. I would happily use Apex again and recommend them to anyone looking for a reliable and cost-effective rental option. If you need to pick up the car outside business hours, you may want to check availability or consider other options depending on the location.

The staff at Apex car rentals in Launceston area great to deal with and nothings too much trouble , very polite and very informative , a big shout out to Emma Price for making our experience memorable , cheers.

I hired a car from Melbourne to drive to Sydney. Collection was very easy and pleasant. Unfortunately the car had a puncture but there was no adapter for the locking wheel nut. I had to make all the decisions to get the car recovered to their out of hours drop off as it was outside office hours and no one was contactable. I picked up a different car the next day. Drop of at Sydney was straight forward.
I think they should have an emergency number.
An unusual situation which cost us time/money but otherwise happy with the car and service.

Very good value for money, almost half the cost of other brands
Prompt and good service. We were also given a free upgrade to a larger car.
The car was clean and of a good spec. The only issue was that front wipers were quite worn.

Had a case booked during cyclone Alfred. Airport was closed, was still charged full amount.

Brilliant staff who were very helpful when our plans all had to change due to cyclone Alfred.
Even with the zero excess option they proved cheaper than what we could get through booking.com

Great car and experience ruined by hidden fee. I rented 2 cars on a NZ holiday for 10 days each. I was much happier with everything about Apex until I got home and had a $30 NZD charge on my credit card with no explanation. My plans had changed and I dropped the car off 2.5 hours early, which was 30 minutes before their branch opened. They had instructions on their website for how to use the after hours drop off, so I followed them and it was super smooth... Except this is what earned me the $30 fee. They should list this on the instructions, and shouldn't charge people without notifying them of the charge. I wouldn't use them again because I don't trust them to charge me whatever they want, whenever they want and not even tell me.

Absolutely horrendous!!
Not given the car we booked at Cairns. We were given a car that was 2000kms over its service. The car kept going off … tyre pressure warnings . Engine warnings. The tyres were just roadworthy and it had a clunky sound like a wheel bearing or even transmission slip.
Had to place the car in neutral to start it more than once. Place closed early and the complaints department told us not to drive it..
emailed the company no response. So scared someone else will be given this car I’m actually calling Queensland roads to make sure it’s no longer available for hire…

Apex car rental cairns Very unpleasant experience. The car I rented had no GPS map and could not connect to my phone via Bluetooth. The most annoying thing was that a tall white staff could not solve the problem and his tone and attitude were extremely bad. His so-called solution was that you could cancel the rental.

On returning the rental car, was told there was a chip in the windscreen. Was told that the car would be going to repairers Monday or Tuesday. Called on the Thursday as I'd heard nothing. Called again a week later, and was then told it could be 'weeks'. Absolutely ridiculous amount of time to wait. Can't put in insurance claim until final repair invoice is received, so they sit on your money! Terrible company avoid if you can. I won't be using them again.

Great service, we got the car wanted . Booked in and returning car was excellent, shuttle service was also very good , excellent staff . apex car rentals Brisbane Nudgee road

No complaints about the car, service or price. HOWEVER - although there is absolutely no mention in their advertising of a fee for after-hours drop-off, if you need use that service it will cost you $45. We only found out when we uplifted our booked vehicle from the Melbourne office and the office person gave the after-hours drop-off details. For a company advertising 'transparency' and 'no hidden fees' this is simply not good enough. We will not be using this company again due to this.

I used a NSW license to rent a car in SYD airport. I called them before i booked car to make sure everything is expected. The call centre lady told me only license and credit card.
Then when i pick up the car they ask me to pay $3k bond. Because I own NSW license (How does it matter?) and never rent with them (those who rented with apex before will never come back again anyway). 2 days later the transaction is processed as paid. WOW, which car rental in the earth, actually not process bond as pre-authorization but payment? 2 days after i returned car they still haven't refund me. They said will take 7-10 business day. I guess they trying to make profit from bond's interest.

Don’t ever use Apex Car rentals Tasmania .They cost us 2 Uber rides one night in hotel . Because Apex Tasmania do not allow drop of a car before 8am or after5pm .they are rude they don’t care The idiot told me you have to drop car back day before and would not refund money . And another guy sent a refund amount next another guy sends email saying no refund .apex is miles away from airport and do not offer any after hours service can not leave car there at all from5pm to 8am BEWARE.use other rentals

At end of last year we travelled from UK to tour Australia and booked 3 cars for 3 different parts of our journey hiring cars in Adelaide,Cairns and Brisbane
We chose Apex as they were much cheaper than any of the other car rental companies and we did not have to pay in advance.
Having read reviews here we were very concerned,however we had nothing other than an excellent experience.
It was very quick and easy to pick up the cars,no long winded paperwork which we experience when hiring a car in the UK or Europe.The cars were all in excellent condition and similarly drop off was fast and efficient.
All the staff we encountered were helpful and polite
Could not fault our experience

Avoid these guys at all cost. Absolutely abysmal service!
Booked a car online for pickup, and paid credit card hold. All good.
Arrived next day to collect car, with my licence and credit card, only to be advised of their "local policy" (not mentioned at all during the booking process). Because I live in Brisbane, they wanted utility bill, lease agreements etc lol. Absolutely ridiculous. Expected me to go home to retrieve documents!
The lady who served me was nice, and just doing her job, but then the big bully manageress comes running over to straighten me out! She was the only one ranting by the way. They really should employ someone more professional. I think maybe she fancies herself as a nightclub bouncer! Disgusting approach.
Do yourself a favor, and stick to a mainstream rental company. These guys suck!

No after hours key drop off at Hobart depot & when I enquired about dropping car off early due to flight time, I was told it wasn’t possible. Depot opens at 8am which is useless if you need to catch an early flight.

Shame only gave them 1 star . Travelled from UK to Oz to attend wedding but Apex failed to pay me back monies for failed battery on their hire car . On 24th July 2023 my hire car key fob failed and after contacting Apex had to call out the RACQ breakdown company to rescue me. As advised by Apex and RACQ engineer I replaced the battery and sent a copy of the receipt to Apex expecting a payment by return. After numerous e-mails to Apex I have had no response!!! After paying Apex a lot of money for the rental what is their problem ?