The rental car had over 100,000kms on it, was in bad condition and the Atlas staff were grumpy.

The Sydney airport branch requires you to call for shuttle pickup. However, the store phone number provided by Zuzuche is unreachable. I called the hotline for nearly half an hour, but no one answered, so I had to take a taxi to the pickup point, which cost about 23 AUD. When I asked the staff why no one answered the phone, a rude lady said the free shuttle bus requires waiting, and it is normal to wait more than fifteen minutes. She kept arguing with me even though my English wasn't fluent. Another staff member came over to help with the rental process but said I couldn't rent without the driver's credit card. His attitude was not good either, so I canceled. I asked a few other rental companies that day, but they all said they had no cars available, forcing me to stay in Sydney for another day. Other companies' staff were normal, especially Hertz, who were very friendly. Other companies don't require the driver's credit card, and you can just fill out a form. Atlas offers cheap one-way rentals, but I really wouldn't go back to that branch. Budget's service and prices are okay.

Atlasrent's location at Sydney Airport is about a five-minute ride from the terminal, but don't worry as they provide a shuttle service to take you to the pick-up point. Even after you return the car, they responsibly drive you back to the airport. During pick-up, they mainly check your rental agreement, driving license translation, and international credit card. The car comes equipped with a toll device for toll roads, and the charges are deducted from the deposit. However, there's a 3 AUD fee for each day you use a toll road. We set our GPS to avoid toll roads, so we didn't incur any charges. We originally booked a Toyota Corolla, but because the previous renter extended their rental period, we were upgraded to a new Kruger SUV, which had only been driven once before us. The fuel tank wasn't full when we picked up the car, and when we questioned it, the staff said they would waive the 10 AUD charge for adding an extra driver to offset the fuel cost. They know how to haggle too! We were worried about being charged for sand from the beach on the floor mats when returning the car, but the return process was incredibly simple. They only check three things: return the keys, check the fuel gauge and inspect the exterior. The only downside: the deposit was too high at 350 AUD, and they said it would take 5-10 business days to release it, whereas the rental platform said it would take 1-2 months. I returned the car on February 15th and still haven't received the deposit back. For comparison, we later rented from Hertz, who only took a 200 AUD deposit. The most surprising was Budget; they didn't take any deposit for a short one-day rental and simply collected the keys upon return without checking the fuel gauge or car condition.

The customer service person could have been more elaborate, and helpful. He was ok, but he could have made the difference.

Like: Great value - Atlas was the cheapest of all the companies I checked online. Easy to book online, and reassuring email backup and instructions. Less than 5 minutes from and to Sydney airport by free courtesy bus, with minimal waiting. Free upgrade. Very friendly and helpful staff. Car in excellent condition. No hidden extras.
Dislike: Everything was really good.

Like: Car in good condition, clean and no hassle