Hire car insurance for Mitchell Plateau

by Peter
(Netherlands)

On the way to the Mitchell Plateau

On the way to the Mitchell Plateau

We understand that our hired 4wd car insurance only covers the Gibb River Road, and not the Kalumburu Road and Mitchell Plateau Track. Does someone know if you can get an additional insurance for those?

Comments for
Hire car insurance for Mitchell Plateau

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by: Birgit

Hi Peter,

For many drives like that you need written permission from the hire company. It depends on the company. They all have different rules, regarding which roads exactly are excluded from what. But the majority of them require you to get written permission first for that trip, that's if they give it at all.

Here is a good FAQ and reasonable summary for most big hire companies. Scroll down about half way to the heading "Roads".

The Mitchell Plateau Track is still not a gazetted road (or "recognised" road or track). Most car hire companies that I know stipulate that you need to stay on gazetted/recognised tracks. If you do leave them it is totally at your own risk.

So basically you are asking to buy insurance for the consequences of breaching your hire agreement...

You need to find someone who is willing to hire you a vehicle and give you permission to take it to the Mitchell Plateau. Or ask the hire company you already selected for that permission.

That's what I know. If any readers have managed to get permission/insurance for a trip to the Mitchell Plateau, please let us know.
Thanks
by: Peter

Thanks Birgit,

This is very helpful.

Our plan was to drive up to the Mitchell Plateau Campsite and do a hike to the falls, but now understand Kea will likely not giving a written permit for that destination.

many thanks again,
kind regards,

Peter & Marjolein
(excuses for my bad english)
Don't be put off!
by: Charles Callis

Australian 4WDHire said we could take the vehicle up to the Mitchell Plateau,no written permission required - their terms and conditions effectively give carte blanche to go off road, but no insurance for it. Insurance anyway only covers you for collision damage, but this is the biggest risk on that track. Provided you drive carefully and watch out for other vehicles at bends and rises, there shouldn't be a problem.
Only the wording varies
by:

Well, if they don't cover you, then at the end of the day it makes no difference. No matter which company, you can ignore the requirement for written permission and pay any damages out of your own pocket.

So to say they "allow" it where others don't is a bit misleading. The outcome and costs of any damage would be exactly the same.

Update: after following up with Australian 4WD Hire I learned that in fact they do cover you on all existing tracks. You would only be breaching your agreement with them if you left the track and started pushing your own track through the bush (so, no carte blanche for offroading).

If anyone knows of other companies who can cover you up there, let us know.
Avoid Australian 4WD Hire
by: Anonymous

I just wanted to throw in here our experience with Australian 4WD Hire. First they tried to increase our hire rate and throw on some additional fees 6 months after we made our booking, and then when we finally agreed as we were only 2 weeks out from our holiday and not likely to find another suitable vehicle in peak season, the sent an email (no courtesy call) to say they suddenly had no vehicles available and their Force Majeur in the contract said they didn't have to provide us a vehicle at all. This is after being charged the wrong amount twice. Save yourself the heart ache!
Re Avoid Australian 4WD Hire by: Anonymous
by: Brook Picken

It is disappointing (and telling) when someone will not put their name to a negative comment. I remember this incident well. What is not written here is that Auto Trans, one of Australia's largest car carrying companies, had left the vehicle in Perth. They also left it to the last minute to inform us. We did what we could and helped the client find a replacement vehicle. They were able to continue on their holiday. We could not do any more than that.

Brook Picken,
Australian 4WD Hire
COLLISON DAMAGE WAIVER
by: Anonymous

AUSTRALIAN 4WD HIRE DO ALLOW YOU TO GO TO MITCHELL FALLS AND YOU ARE COVERED TO GO THERE. WE ALSO ALLOW YOU TO GO TO OTHER STATIONS AND PARKS IN THE KIMBERLEY AND HAVE DONE FOR NEARLY TEN YEARS.

NO CAR HIRE COMPANY WILL COVER YOU FOR WATER DAMAGE, OVERHEAD DAMAGE OR UNDERBODY DAMAGE. THIS IS CONSIDERED TO BE NEGLIGENT. IF YOU DRIVE A VEHICLE ON THESE TRACKS AND DO NOT MAKE YOUR OWN TRACKS YOU WILL HAVE NO ISSUES, WHILST STILL BEING COVERED.

THIS WEB SITE HERE HAS EXCELLENT TIPS FOR THE REGION. AS A COMPANY WE ALSO SUPPLY YOU WITH AN IN CAR COMPENDIUM WITH 4WD DRIVING TIPS. I CAN NOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THE IMPORTANCE ON READING THIS OR SOMETHING SIMILAR.
Australis Premium Tours
by: Anonymous

I would never use Australis Premium Tours (formerly Australian 4WD). They have had a court case decided against them for unlawfully deducting a security deposit and you can't argue against the court on this one. We found their service to be dreadful - The most unhelpful company we dealt with in Australia. They ripped us off!
Australian 4WD ripped us off too!
by: Anonymous

Avoid Australian 4WD! We used them on a trip and when we returned the jeeps they slogged us with a cleaning bill above the amount specified on the T&C, damage that they provided no documentation for, and the replacement of equipment which could have been repaired at a fraction of the cost!
Stay Away!
by: Anonymous

Yep, Australian 4WD hire are nothing but trouble. No matter how good it might sound, They will try every possible way to rip you off.
Australian 4WD Hire
by: Anonymous

This is yet another warning to keep away from Australian 4WD Hire. They do NOT have properly maintained vehicles. Just one example is a tyre was repaired with a plug in the wall of the tyre!

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