Picked up the car at Melbourne Airport, drove along the Great Ocean Road, and returned the car at Me

Very close to the airport, just across the road, very convenient.

1. I arrived at the store at 2:50 PM but only managed to get the car at 4:40 PM, even though my appointment was at 3:30 PM. Extremely long wait times. 2. The staff told me that there were no Group F large SUVs available and offered me a Group E smaller SUV instead. I clearly stated that I had prepaid and wouldn’t accept a downgrade. The staff then said they would upgrade me to an 8-seater van. I explained that I had booked an SUV specifically to experience driving an SUV on the Great Ocean Road. She actually blamed the lack of cars on the numerous Chinese tourists visiting during the Lunar New Year, saying it wasn't their fault. It was the first time I heard a rental company staff blame their poor vehicle management on customers. 3. Reluctantly, I agreed to the 8-seater van, but then she told me the vehicle hadn't arrived at the store yet and asked me to keep waiting. I waited another half hour with no sign of the car. I called the overseas hotline of Zuzuche, and after their customer service intervened, the staff member got upset and stressed several times that she was “serving me.” After another 15 minutes, she finally told me where the car was parked. 4. The staff kept pushing me to prepay 100 AUD for tolls and an additional 50 AUD airport tax, a total of 150 AUD. Even after I clearly refused, she entered these charges into the order anyway and printed it out. After repeatedly saying I didn't want to prepay, she finally crossed out the prepayment items on the printed order with a pen but didn’t change it in the computer. This caused issues when returning the car, as the staff there couldn’t finalize the return due to a “system error.” I had to explain the whole situation again, wasting another 30 minutes.

The car was not provided with a full tank, and even though they acknowledged this when I returned the car, the process was extremely slow. I waited for half an hour and was then told to resolve it with the agency. It took two compensations to settle the fuel charge.

The service at the Melbourne airport location was very poor. First, I booked an Audi Q7 two months in advance. During those two months, no one informed me that the car was unavailable. When I arrived, they told me that there were no Q7s, and they didn't have any 7-seaters either. Why wasn't I informed earlier if there were no cars available during those two months? Not even a single other 7-seater? The staff didn't even apologize, telling me confidently that there were no cars, and suggesting I switch to a smaller car. I had three people, three suitcases, and two backpacks. How could a small car fit all that? I booked a Q7 for the comfort, not to make do with a smaller car! Second, the staff rudely informed me that the insurance I bought on Zuzuche wasn't recognized by Hertz! Excuse me? I bought full coverage and additional insurance! They gave me a document stating that if there was an accident and I didn't buy their insurance, I would be liable for 5500 AUD! My insurance wasn't applicable! Third, they finally gave me an Audi Q5, which took almost an hour to get. During this time, I called Zuzuche's customer service to complain, but nothing was resolved! The car hadn't been cleaned at all. I picked up the car late at night, so I didn't have time to inspect it. We arrived at 6:30 PM and got the car at 8 PM, needing to drive to Geelong, an hour away from Melbourne. The next day, I found the back seats were filthy. My daughter sat in the back, and her shorts were stained. We had to clean the seats bit by bit! Also, the MMI system stopped working the next day. We had already left Melbourne and couldn't return to the office. I called Zuzuche, who told me Hertz would contact me, but no one ever did! We also rented from Hertz in Sydney, and that car hadn't been cleaned either. The first car we got in Sydney had tire pressure issues, but luckily we were still in Sydney and quickly went back to the office. The staff told me I could either fill up the gas tank before returning or inflate the tires myself. Was it my fault the tire pressure was low? After arguing for a while, they finally replaced the car without conditions. The first staff member who served me in Sydney was nice and patiently explained that I could drive confidently because I had bought full coverage. She also asked if I wanted to purchase a toll pass to avoid additional charges on toll roads. I appreciated that service. However, the Melbourne staff was very impatient once I refused to buy their recommended insurance, and they just handed me the rental documents and moved on to the next customer. Before returning the car, we refueled, but since we had to drive to the airport, the gas gauge might not have shown full after a half-hour drive. An inspector told us the tank wasn't full and asked for either 60 AUD or suggested we refuel again. We drove to a nearby gas station and spent 6 AUD on gas to get the approval. This was my first experience with Hertz, and I will never use them again! The company abuses its position. The waiting time was long, the car was dirty, and there were problems. My two rentals were dirty with issues. This is definitely not an isolated incident!

Hertz is very professional, the car was in great condition. This Toyota Corolla had only run a few hundred kilometers, and it worked perfectly fine.