Am off to NZ in Feb/March for a month long tour of north and south Island. Looking to hire a car in Auckland, dropping it off in Christchurch.
Anyone got experiences (good/bad)? Anyone recommend any company?
Cheers
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www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=70...5
I used Avis.
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Suzuki swift for £1400 for the month from car Hire 3000
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Money supermarket have something bigger for £500 but they can't/wont quote for differing pick up and drop off points
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 03/01/2009 at 21:13
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£540 for a month including free of charge one-way rentals via www.holidayautos.co.uk
£10 cashback through Quidco as well I believe.
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Omega car hire - cheap and cheerful. They use older Japanese cars. We've used them several times without trouble. The cost is usually less than half of that charged by the well known companies.
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We used h*tp://www.acerentalcars.co.nz/ in 2007. Cheaper end of the market and had a Mazda 626 Estate (Capellas ?) which was perfect for us.
We picked it up in Wellington and dropped off at Auckland airport. Picked up another one in Queenstown and dropped off at Picton Ferry Port.
Would recommend.
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We're going there for the first two weeks of February - booked with Thrifty Car Rental who seemd to be the best value (given that we'd rather have a new car). NZ$ 73.70 per day (about £27) unlimited mileage.
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I visit NZ about once a year on business for periods of two to seven weeks and have rented cars on a number of occasions as I often tack on a holiday. Nowadays I always use Apex, I find them to be good value, very obliging people and good value for money (I am usually paying with my own money!). They use secondhand japanese vehicles which are generally distinguished by their blandness, modest performance and reliability. Also you can rent in one place and drop off in another at no extra cost, I tend to pick up in the city and then drop off at the airport when I go. if you are travelling in via various airports they offer a pick up service and take you to their site usually just around the (less expensive) corner. At Christchurch their site is about a 15min drive into the city. If you are travelling between the islands you may find it easier to fly and drop off/pick up at either end. The roads are quiet and travelling around is straightforward, with only the bigger cities posing any sort of navigation problems, although parking can be problematic in the centres. Apex also do a very nice road atlas come tourist guide which has suggested routes and places of interest together with travelling times. I have a copy beside the bed right now in preparation for my next visit in two weeks time. If you choose to use them go for the all-in insurance which covers accidental damage etc and then all you do is drop it off with no worries about scratches, car park dings etc. If you need a room then a good website for short notice accommodation, a bit like lastminute.com, is wotif.com which often has good deals available. I am looking forward to trying some more of their pinot noir next time as well, lovely!
MGs
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I would also second Apex. They also charge in NZ$, so if the pound is strong, then you get your car hire cheaper. e-mail them in advance and it will be all ready for you when you arrive.
Used them in March 2002 & Oct 2004, both pickup at Auckland and return to Christchurch. When you cross over onto the South Island, you leave the car you had on the North Island and get another at Picton (on South Island).
The only problem we had was that in 2002, the car we got on the south Island was a Toyota Corolla 1600 3spd auto, which was utterly utterly gutless, it couldn't overtake a flea on an incline as when you floored it, it kicked down into 2nd, but then was revving its' nads off so then changed backup into top and oh look, no power. It just confirmed to me that automatic gearboxes + small engines don't go.
Be Warned : When my mates & I were planning our trip there in 02, we were using a World Map to figure out which bits of NZ to visit. We then decided to cross over onto the South Island on the 9am-ish crossing and then drive down to Fox Glacier in the afternoon..."doesn't look far"!
It's miles, it's like driving from the south coast of England upto the Scottish border but without motorways. We got to Fox Glacier at something like 7 or 8pm after some spirited driving (see the comment about underpowered Corolla).
the second time we went, we crossed over in the afternoon and spent the night in Picton, then had a nice lesiurely drive down to Fox G.
In 2004, the car we had was based on a Nissan Primera, but I can't remember it's name (Jap Import).
Auckland is a bit of a pain to drive round in; the other towns were fine.
You won't see that many Triumph 2000's but there will be the odd one or 2.
hope that helps ?
cheers
Stu
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Thirded (us), Fourthed (inlaws) and Fifthted (inlaws' friends) for Apex. Well all found them great when we were there on separate trips.
Do open jaw hires and don't try to take between islands, really easy to get Apex to help with the connection to the ferry.
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I too would recommend Omega Car Rentals.
Used them 18 months ago, got a Toyota people carrier about 5 years old. Done the job great, efficient administration, airport pickup......and pretty cheap too!
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Hi All
Thanks for the replies so far. Have looked at Argus who charge about £400 for 20 days hire of a Golf (or similar).
I will investigate recommendations made by you all. Being in our 50's, we like comfort and are not speed demons by any stretch of imagination.
Some of the big companies quoted silly money compared will lesser lights.
I understand fuel is cheap!
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>>...we like comfort and are not speed demons by any stretch of imagination.
>>
As has been commented earlier, distance / travel times need to be carefully checked.
We found mobile phone coverage had big holes in it especially on the west coast of south island so beware if you have mechanical problems.
Take the warnings about the Kea alpine parrots at the Homer Tunnel else loose your wiper blades and any other bits of rubber :-((.
Kea parrots into Google will show their antics.
A very good example
tinyurl.com/7jgukk
www.tourism.net.nz/images/new-zealand/animals/kea....g
members.cox.net/chuxwords/kea2.gif
so do not feed em rubber.
A local road sign
www.betterdesigner.com/images/newzealand/kea_dontf...G
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