Zippy, roomy and comfortable vehicle - better than expected for a Ford!

The car rental point at the airport is located right at the arrival exit, which is very convenient. Since I arrived at night, it wasn't peak time for picking up cars, so I only encountered one person ahead of me in line. The wait time was very short, indicating a fast processing speed. UnionPay cards are definitely accepted, and since I paid the full amount in advance, I didn't face any extra upselling from the staff. They didn't push sales aggressively, which is better than in Europe or America. I only had to provide a credit card for the pre-authorization deposit. Unlike in the US, my credit card wasn't charged sporadically. After picking up the car, I could take my luggage cart directly to the pickup point, which is about a 3-minute walk. The car was in good condition, and although the model wasn't upgraded, there were plenty of models available, possibly because it was the off-season.

Europcar experience was poor to average - the car was great but at pick up it took around 30 minutes per pick up at the service desk - there were three pick ups. Too long since we all had online bookings. And there is nowhere to sit while waiting and waiting. I had reason to call the 1300 Europcar number during the rental to extend the rental and it failed so badly on every count. She kept me on the phone for a long time and then said she couldn't confirm the extension nor how much it would cost but I would get an email to confirm, the email never arrived. Fortunately I managed to find the local number and they were helpful.

The pick up process was disgusting. 45 minutes in line after having booked is a disgrace and meant we had to cancel booked activities in Melbourne City. Why I had to stand in line while people who had not booked ummed and ahhed over choices or had to have every said twice due to language barriers is beyond me. Why I had to write on scrap pieces of paper which were then scanned or give details that I had entered under my booking was also staggering. My past rental experiences at all other large airports in Australia have taken 10 to 15 minutes. It was unbelievable. I happened to see the manager in the car park and asked her how this could be, she suggested I join the loyalty programme, nothing about how they can sort the issue inside that was going on. When I suggested having a separate desk for people who had not booked she said this had been tried and did not work as they got served faster thasn those who had booked in the end. How the hell does that happen. There were 5 staff working, if you make just 1 line for those who have not booked then it must become faster for the people who have booked with four people serving them. If there is no one in the non-booked line then that person can also serve a booked person. Where is the reward for booking ahead. This was a monumental clusterfuck that affected the whole day for a group of visitors who had one day to spend in Melbourne. One of the group had to cancel seeing his sister for lunch who he had not seen in 5 years as we had other booked activities to get to. I would not be writing this if this was the way it is in Australia but past experience means I know it isn't and something was wrong with this company office. Further we did not get a Nissan X Trail as requested, we have had the X Trail twice before, and I am aware how that is never guaranteed the Subaru Forrester was nothing on the X Trail. A real disappointment and will not be using Europcar again.

All good

We up graded to a larger car than booked at an extra cost

Like: brand of car
Dislike: nothing