Choose Your Language

We've been working behind the scenes the last few months to make our website more user friendly for our non-English speaking customers, or for customers who speak English as a second language.

You can now select to view the site in a range of languages - English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. Just use the drop down menu at the top of the site and select your language of choice to return a specialised version of the site in that language.

How Accident Replacement Vehicles Work

Chances are you've been there yourself, or know someone who has been unfortunate enough to have a car accident that wasn't their fault. It can quite often be a nightmare, with your car off the road in the repair shop for days, weeks or even months. Life goes on though, and with it the need for your vehicle.

It's a little known fact that if you are not to blame for an accident you are legally entitled to a replacement vehicle, paid for by the at fault insurance company. Many insurance companies encourage people to rent the vehicle themselves then claim the costs back. As we all know though, the cost of renting a vehicle can be impossible for some people to cover. Luckily the industry of accident replacement vehicles has evolved to address this very problem. So what exactly are accident replacement vehicles? Effectively they are rental cars provided to you free of charge while your car is repaired, with the at fault insurance company covering the cost.

The accident replacement vehicle movement started in the U.K where the shipping term "demurrage" has been appropriated to cover the industry. There are numerous operators in the UK providing anything from regular passenger vehicles right through to exotic super cars. Some of the better known operators like Drive Assist & Easi-Drive have fleets in excess of 10 000 vehicles!

In Australia the industry is less evolved, having been implemented here based on the UK industry. Even still there are some companies found servicing the local population in the various capital cities, and at least one national company, Acorn Rentals with fleets of cars in multiple capital cities.

Typically the free rental vehicle is delivered to the customer at the smash repair shop when they are dropping their cars off for repair. The customer then has the rental car until their vehicle is repaired, at which point they return the rental car to the panel shop and pick their own vehicle up. It should be a seamless process, with no down periods without a vehicle. The rental company then sends their bill direct to the at fault party's insurance company.

Of course as with anything in life it's best to go into any rental with your eyes open. If you stick to a reputable company then you should have no issues, so be sure to look for a company that has been long established, has a lot of customer feedback and is open and transparent with their terms and conditions. Some things to watch out for are high excess charges should you have an accident in the rental vehicle, having to pay large deposits or leave credit card details and also the risk of having the rental company charge you if they don't end up getting paid by the insurance company.

With these potential pitfalls in mind, the benefit of having a like for like vehicle delivered to you while your vehicle is repaired is obvious. So if you happen to find yourself without the use of your vehicle through no fault of your own keep this in mind - seek out a free rental car through Acorn Rentals.

If you're in need of a rental car after an accident head here to learn about accident replacement vehicle

Win a rental car for a week!

Acorn Rentals is giving you the chance to win a rental car for 7 days! Yep, a free rental car without having to have an unfortunate non fault accident first! We will deliver and pick the car up as part of the deal and it even comes with a free tank of fuel! There'll be one winner each in Sydney, Melbourne & Adelaide.


In order to enter just head to our Facebook page and follow the instructions there.

Acorn Vans on the Road

Here's a sneak peek at our new Hiace vans, back from the graphics shop fresh with our Acorn branding. Keep an eye out for them on Sydney's roads!

Bring on 2012!

The Acorn Rentals office is back in full swing for 2012. After our most successful calendar year yet in 2011 we're excited to continue servicing the accident replacement vehicle needs of Australia.

In some Sydney based news we've just taken delivery of new Toyota Hiace vans and Toyota Aurion sedans, with new Hilux utes to follow shortly! If you've been in an accident that wasn't your fault get in touch today for a free courtesy car - 1300 22 67 67.

Free delivery & pick-up now available for our Perth customers

We're now offering free delivery and pick-up of our rental vehicles for customers in Perth as part of our courtesy car service.

All customers living in the Perth metro area are entitled to this service. If you've been in a non fault accident and you live in Perth just give Acorn Rentals a call and we could have you back on the road in one of our free courtesy cars.

We're able to deliver the car to any smash repair shop in Perth.

Adelaide customers... delivery makes life easy!

If you're in Adelaide and in need of a free accident replacement vehicle you might want to consider Acorn Rentals.

We have been providing courtesy cars in Adelaide free of charge for nearly three years. We now take this service a step further, with the vehicles able to be delivered and picked up to a location that suits you best.

We implemented the delivery service in Adelaide earlier this year and it has been very well received. We'll deliver the courtesy car anywhere in the Adelaide metro area. Most deliveries are done to smash repair shops, so if you're getting your car repaired after a non fault accident in Adelaide give us a call!

Acorn's rental management software system showcased at FileMaker DevCon

In keeping with our commitment to innovation in our industry we've developed our own rental management solution inhouse at Acorn Rentals.

This system is totally customised to our unique courtesy car rental service and has been refined constantly over the years. It is considered an ever evolving work in progress - we're constantly refining it based on our experience, requirements and feedback.

The system was deemed worthy enough to be showcased at the recent FileMaker DevCon in San Diego, USA. Our solution was presented as a highly customised and complete rental and business management system for the courtesy car industry.

Acorn Rentals open Melbourne office/depot

The first half of 2011 has been a big one for Acorn Rentals, with our Melbourne depot & office opening successfully.

After many marketing trips and site scouting visits we settled on a location in Collingwood earlier this year. The depot has since been fully staffed and a fleet of Acorn vehicles have been getting our customers back on the Melbourne streets after a non-fault accident.

So if you've been involved in a non fault accident in Melbourne get in touch with us and we'll be able to get you back on the road while your vehicle is repaired... and in keeping with the whole Melbourne/Collingwood theme guess we'd better say go the Pies!

Acorn Rentals = Defensive Driving

Acorn Rentals recently sent three staff members out to the Drive to Survive driver training program at Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney.

This program teaches defensive driving under the umbrella of Post Licence Driver Training and Development. The team members learnt braking and collision avoidance techniques.

With many Acorn staff spending thousands of hours and kilometres on the road per year, this was a valuable session and in the name of safety something Acorn is considering rolling out for all delivery staff in future.

For more information on the course check out http://www.drive-to-survive.com.au/

Acorn Rentals ditches the paper

The team at Acorn Rentals have been hard at work behind the scenes as part of our push to reduce our environmental impact by cutting down the consumption of paper, printer toner etc. We've invested significant time and effort in upgrading our technology systems and operational processes, with the focus on removing the need for paper based files. After months of hard work we're now running a paperless office, meaning our consumption of consumables and impact on the environment is substantially less.

Interview on the Acorn Rentals iPad system

Aaron Martin from Acorn Rentals was recently interviewed for the Filemaker produced podcast series "Business & Database Solutions for iPhone & iPad".

The interview discussed the development & implementation of our ground breaking iPad based rental management system.

To listen to the podcast head to http://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/business-database-solutions/id421544291

Vote for Acorn Rentals in People's Choice Telstra Business Award

If you've had a good experience using one of our accident replacement vehicles we'd love your vote in the 2011 'People's Choice' category of the Telstra Business Awards.

Voting is really simple - just head to http://tinyurl.com/3d2o5qp and click on the 'Vote' or 'Recommend' button at the top of the page. That's all there is to it.

Thanks for your support!

New Acorn Rentals website launched

We have launched our brand new website design today. Our emphasis when creating the site was on a clean, professional layout that was easy to use. All the key site features are easily accessible from the main page.

The site re-design also sees Acorn Rentals engaging in the social media realm. Check the links for our Twitter & Facebook pages to stay up to date on the latest accident replacement vehicle, motor insurance and general motoring news. We have also included a blog feed on our main page. We'll constantly update it with Acorn news, so keep checking back.

We hope you enjoy the new site.

Acorn Rentals featured in April edition of NETT Magazine

NETT Magazine recently chose to profile Acorn Rentals in a feature article on mobile solutions for business. The article follows our implementation of the iPad/FileMaker Go mobile set-up for our delivery drivers.

The magazine is available now in all newsagents. A PDF of the article can be found by clicking here.

For more on NETT magazine head to their website at http://www.nett.com.au/

FileMaker features Acorn Rentals in promotional video and article

FileMaker recently chose to use Acorn Rentals implementation of the iPad/FileMaker Go set-up in a case study promoting their FileMaker Go app.

The company arranged for a film crew to film a short video covering our use of the iPad and FileMaker Go and also for some editorial content to support the video.

This case study and video can be found on the FileMaker Website at:

http://www.filemaker.com/solutions/customers/acorn-ipad-database.html

For more information on Acorn Rentals:

http://www.acornrentals.com.au

The video can also be found on Youtube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEyN12uVTpY

Acorn Rentals featured in MacWorld Magazine

Acorn Rentals have been featured in the latest edition of Australian MacWorld.

In the February 2011 edition of the magazine Filemaker have taken out a double page spread in the centre of the magazine to promote their Filemaker Go application.

The spread includes a full page case study focusing on Acorn Rentals and our implementation of their FileMaker Go apps.

For more information on Australian MacWorld head to http://www.macworld.com.au

For more on Acorn Rentals and our free courtesy cars please head to http://www.acornrentals.com.au

Acorn Rentals featured on Australian Macworld

An article on Acorn Rentals and our decision to implement iPads for our delivery drivers has been included on the popular Mac related website Australian Macworld.

The article can be found here:

http://www.macworld.com.au/blogs/ipad-in-business-an-interview-with-acorn-rentals-19168/

Here's the article:

Since our interview with MicroStrategy in September about how the company has introduced iPads to its operations, even more companies have been taking to iOS. One such business is Acorn Rentals – a company that temporarily replaces vehicles after an accident. Those not at fault get a free rental car while their car is being repaired and the costs are recovered from the insurance company.

Acorn provides this service Australia-wide and has been in operation for 20 years. In that time they have run their entire rental bookings system and managed all data on a custom FileMaker setup, which has been constantly refined over the years.

This has culminated in the company recently implementing FileMaker Go on iPads for all its delivery drivers. Not only can the drivers access the database, but head office can quickly see how far the drivers are away from a customer.

We asked Michael Costin from Acorn a few questions on how the iPads are going.

AMW: What sort of hardware have you been running FileMaker on over the past 15 years?

MC: Many years ago we started out with a simple Filemaker database on a single computer. Over the years as we refined our rental process and the company expanded, we have continued to constantly tweak the application. After 15 years of development it is now a very sophisticated piece of car rental software – perfectly streamlined for our business. These days we have a special FileMaker server in our head office which all our office staff are able to access over our network, as well as the iPads running Filemaker Go.

AMW: How does FileMaker typically help business run smoothly?

MC: Filemaker is the core of our day-to-day business. Every potential client is assigned an RA Number. Within this unique file on the system we are able to store all their information, insurance details, delivery details, time stamped file notes of all actions taken and a wide range of other functions. We schedule all our deliveries and pick-ups through Filemaker as well.

AMW: How many staff now have iPads? How much time does it save having access to the FileMaker database?

MC: We currently have 5 iPads in operation in Sydney for our delivery drivers. Previously rental agreements made out on the road were completed on paper. Now using FileMaker Go on iPad we have full access to our database remotely and can input our client and vehicle details directly into our server in real time, saving us countless sheets of paper and hours in office administration. Furthermore, our drivers now have visibility into vehicle movements via the iPad so additional pick-ups and deliveries can be made without returning to the office. Using satellite tracking on the iPad it also allows us to locate drivers and provide more accurate arrival times for our clients.

AMW: Can you estimate how long it takes to make up the purchase price of the iPads?

MC: We look at the purchase of the iPads as an investment in savings on administration time and costs as well as saving on the costs of consumables like paper, toner cartridges etc. It is hard to put a dollar figure on that, but over time the iPads will pay for themselves.

AMW: You mention being able to locate drivers using GPS. How exactly do you do this? Do you use MobileMe?

MC: Yes, we have MobileMe on all our delivery iPads plus a main iPad back at the office. Using this we’re able to see the precise location of all our drivers out on the road. This helps us give customers an estimate of when the vehicle should arrive or when we can expect our drivers back at base, removing the need for phone calls back and forth with our drivers.

AMW: Why did you opt for iPads rather than iPhones or iPod touches?

MC: The simple answer is screen real estate. Since we are accessing our Filemaker database out on the road the bigger screen of the iPad allows us to view it all easier. The Acorn FileMaker system until now has only been used on our desktop computers, so the iPad was best for use with our existing software.

AMW: Finally, and most importantly, would you recommend these solutions to other businesses?

MC: We’ve found this setup to really cut back on office admin and it’s another step in our move to become a paperless organisation. This setup has worked well for us because we have had 15 years of developing our Filemaker system behind us. We trialled FileMaker Go and were instantly amazed with the possibilities, power and ease of use. It’s exactly like using FileMaker Pro in the office, just with a slightly smaller screen!

For anyone currently using Filemaker in their day-to-day operations, the use of Filemaker Go can give you true mobility with minimum headache. Tackling the project from scratch would prove to be more of an undertaking, but for our purposes we were able to purchase the iPads and FileMaker Go apps and then start using them with relatively few modifications to our existing Filemaker system.

The only minor complaints we’ve had would be the limits of the 3G networks when it comes to data speed, but this really has had minimum negative impact for our purposes.

Acorn Rentals article in Filemaker Magazine

Acorn Rentals has been featured in the Filemaker newsletter, covering our decision to implement Filemaker Go on the iPad across the board for our delivery drivers.

Here's the link:

http://staging.filemaker.com.au/newsletter/oct2010/FM_pages/page_03/FM-News_pg-03.html

And here's the article:

Acorn Rentals Reduces Costs and Environmental Impact with FileMaker Go

Acorn Rentals, accident replacement vehicle specialist, has been using FileMaker Pro to manage its data for the last 16 years. To help improve administration efficiency and increase the mobility of its team, the company invested in the recently released FileMaker Go for iPad.

Acorn Rentals was introduced to FileMaker Go by FBA member, Keysoft. At the time Acorn was in the midst of developing a system to access its FileMaker database remotely with a company in the UK, however it was proving to be expensive and complex.

Aaron Martin, National Marketing Manager at Acorn Rentals said, “We trialed FileMaker Go and were instantly amazed with the possibilities, power and ease of use. It’s exactly like using FileMaker Pro in the office, just with a slightly smaller screen! We cancelled our other project almost immediately, and we remain on good terms with the company.”

“Previously rental agreements made out on the road were completed on paper. Now using FileMaker Go on iPad we have full access to our database remotely and can input our client and vehicle details directly into our server in real time, saving us countless sheets of paper and hours in office administration.”

“Furthermore, our drivers now have visibility into vehicle movements via the iPad so additional pick-ups and deliveries can be made without returning to the office. Using satellite tracking on the iPad it also allows us to locate drivers and provide more accurate arrival times for our clients.”

“FileMaker Go on iPad has allowed us to expand at a rate not previously possible while vastly reducing costs and environmental impact,” concluded Martin.

For more information on:

Keysoft please visit www.keysoft.com.au

Acorn Rentals please visit www.acornrentals.com.au

Acorn Rentals Implement iPad technology

Australia’s leading accident replacement vehicle firm Acorn Rentals has today announced the implementation of iPad technology for all delivery staff across the board. This new system has enabled Acorn to greatly speed up the rental process, reduce the amount of admin work involved in each rental and reduce their environmental impact.

All car rentals are now done electronically, with Acorn’s delivery & pick-up staff using an iPad to complete the process out on the road. The iPad is linked to Acorn’s custom rental management server at their headquarters via Telstra Next G, giving their delivery staff full remote access to all the features they require. The admin work associated with each rental is greatly reduced as all the data is fed into the main system in real time. Acorn’s drivers can now see vehicle movements required in real time and can make these pickups and deliveries without returning to base. Further costs and environmental impact have been reduced by the ability of the iPad to access the satellite navigation app which shows the best route, as well as the elimination of massive amounts of paper use. The iPad also allows Acorns office staff to locate the delivery drivers using GPS to better organise vehicle movements and provide ETA’s for their customers.

The entire iPad rental system has been custom developed by Acorn Rentals to work with their existing systems. These latest developments ensure Acorn stays at the forefront of the courtesy car industry in Australia.

http://www.acornrentals.com.au
1300 22 67 67