Together with my vife and two daugthers I am going for 8 weeks in campervan in New Zealand from later September to later November. Looking forward to it.

Now the trick - after quite a bit of search I have found the following:
8 weeks with Maui, Kea or the like runs for around NZD 12-13k - with premium insurrance package (and Kea as the most expensive one). A few others run slighter less expensie - and then there is Britz at 9k, for axactly the same terms and products (as far as I can see). I know Britz and Maui is the same company - but the price difference is so big that it actually got me worried. What is the trick? Should I be worried about the Britz deal - or should I just secure the booking ASAP?

All of them found online. Can any of the experts cast some light on this?

Thanks

No personal experience but have rented 4WD from Britz in Australia and it was in good shape (however not half price compared to the alternatives). The "extra charges", some of which are not optional, can be 50% of the rental cost in NZ and some companies include this in the base rate, some include it -- so the total cost may not be 50% different. It is really hard to get quotes that are comparable (at least that is what I found for cars in NZ, and the final cost was surprisingly similar, only the used cars were cheaper). I don't think Britz is playing that game (renting old beatup campers that were retired from the Maui fleet); in Australia it certainly wasn't.

If you want to look at other alternatives, see http://www.new-zealand-backpackers.co.nz/nz/Christchurch/transport/campervan.php?start=1

Not sure if this will be useful, but we weren't impressed with the Britz mobile home rentals in Tasmania. They seemed to be about the worst of the lot.