montrealer

Hi there. Coming for a vacation/wedding to NZ in January. Am arranging a 21 day one-way car rental from CHC to AKL.

The above-named company (nzrentacar.co.nz) is quoting significantly lower rates than the global majors I know, in part due to overall lower daily rates, no one way fee, and option to take somewhat older cars for a further rate reduction. However, in part due to their very generic name, am having lots of trouble finding any 3rd party reviews or discussions of them.

Anyone familiar with them? Are they even an actual bricks and mortar operation, or are they a broker and my actual car would be from someone else? My bottom line is that I'm happy to save 35-40% for a somewhat older car from a 2nd tier but reputable company, but not willing to pseudo-save that amount of money if it's quite likely to cause grief or time wastage from our limited vacation time.

Thanks!

Exec_Plat

I have no experience but can offer my thoughts...

If you can protect yourself, then I wouldnt hesitate- have a back up reservation that is cancellable; make this one cancellable; see what the car looks like when you get there; etc.

If the car is a POS, decline it and go to the next agency. If the car breaks down, park it and get another.

many years ago I rented a camper van in NZ. I was promised a new one, but when I arrived I got an older 4 speed with 380,000 km. I had no back up. Two days later in a rain storm with a leaking roof the night before I called the company in Christchurch and said "Come get it, Im going to rent a car and stay in motels". They put me on hold for 10 minutes, then said 'where will you be tomorrow AM? We will drive a new camper to you". The next AM at a camper park outside of Wanaka, a gentleman was shaving in the communal bathroom, I was brushing my teeth. He paused, said "Might you be Exec Plat?" I wasnt dumb enoguh to ask 'how did you guess?" )

The whole experience blew me away. Anecdotal I know, but at least then there was a different 'integrity' I felt in NZ on every level.

Mwenenzi

There are many 2nd and 3rd tier rental car companies in NZ. Some are at airports. They rent out used Japanese cars. NZ imports 1000's of used Japanese cars (+5 years plus old)

https://www.acerentalcars.co.nz
http://www.apexrentals.co.nz/
http://www.omegarentalcars.com/
https://www.jucy.co.nz/
http://www.a2b-car-rental.co.nz/ (I have rented from these)

montrealer

Thanks, will explore those alternatives as well.
As someone who keeps my own car at home for 10+ years (I spend my money on travel, food, and musical instruments....), I'm not put off by driving an older and "experienced" vehicle, provided it is in decent condition. What is general opinion on whether these 2nd tier/older car rentals are a hassle or decent? And any of the list above that are generally known to be either less or more hassle than average?

Mwenenzi

I have rented from A2B and 1 other, that I cannot recall the name of, with no issues.
I have had cars 15 plus years old as daily drivers and have some other cars 75 years old.

SeriouslyLost

Generally, they're fine, IME. I generally use Omega, but I've tried Apex in the last year. I won't use Apex again, but Omega continues to be great IME.

Mwenenzi

The name I could not recall a few hours ago was ARF that now trades as USAVE Car & Truck Rentals http://www.hirecar.co.nz/. Were OK, but some years ago

backprop

I used Apex one-way and was very pleased. It was a Corolla, 150K kms or so. I had full coverage (zero excess) and it was far more reasonable than that of the international companies.

montrealer

Thanks all (sorry to drop off from the thread for a few days).

For the record, went with Apex who was a bit more expensive than NZRAC, but a lot less than the majors (Avis etc), and was more forthcoming with info about the age of the car (chose middle-price level of a 2010 car rather than cheaper 2004-2007).

Unfortunately we arrive in Christchurch at 10pm so have to use after-hours car pickup, therefore good ideas like making a spare, cancellable reservation elsewhere don't help in our case (and somewhat to my surprise needed to pre-pay, even if the Apex reservation is cancellable!). So we'll just take our chances.

Notice a lot of responders in this thread paid extra for zero excess. In our case, this is covered by our credit card, so skipped that (seemed full of exclusions, anyway).

Thanks for all the help, will try to remember to report back after the rental - but that won't be until end January!

Mwenenzi

Worth checking again with your cc.
Insurance jargon does not always have the same meaning in different countries

Exec_Plat

I was on a business trip and had an accident in Oz. "Thats OK- I used my AMEX Platinum".

That month the expense report had an extra $3500 in it....

So do double check.

Amelorn

Many visitors to NZ get on just fine with these companies. In Auckland, I see lots of "Jucy" cars out-and-about.

I would advise you though, that if you're doing significant mountain driving, you might want a car with some engine power. I've observed that some of the low-cc Japanese econo-wagons really struggle in mountainous terrain.

montrealer

Not quite sure what to check...customer service by phone was (as always) rather clueless, and seemed to have only a vague idea what foreign countries are So a while back had them send me a copy of the actual insurance certificate. Damage up to the value of a rented car, plus admin fees and reasonable loss of use, is covered worldwide, provided

• Reserved with and at least 75% paid by the CC
• Extra CDW from car rental agency declined (and damage covered only up to level of any compulsory included CDW I can't decline)
• Rental no more than 31 days
• Special cars (e.g. trucks, premium cars) excluded
• Do have to call specific number provided within 48 hours of an event leading to a claim, i.e. not sit tight and then just push it on them when rentalco decides to bill me a month later.

None of the potentially nasty exclusions that seem standard on rentalco CDW in some countries, e.g. negligence/DUI, single-car accident, gravel roads, windshield damage, etc.

This is for a Canadian HSBC Premier MasterCard - thought it was rather standard for Premium cards. Note does not include liability coverage, but a) the rentalcos themselves have some liability insurance, b) in NZ wouldn't most things fall under the uniform car accident coverage scheme anyway, and c) I carry (for other reasons) a personal umbrella liability policy on my homeowners' insurance.

Bizarrely, I also have a US HSBC Premier Mastercard, They were equally clueless on the phone but couldn't even send me the insurance certificate ("we'll have to look into that"...and never did). So even though it's not as good in terms of fx, I use the Canadian card for car rentals.

b1m9t0

As an example, my NZ bank issued credit card insurance policy has the following:

So a 5 day, $300 rental would become $500 plus due to having to add all the options like reduced excess. Which makes it rather pointless to have.

montrealer

Indeed.
Here in Canada, these credit card policies are precisely intended to allow you to save money by declining car rental excess cover nearly worldwide. They are a major competitive feature of premium credit cards versus basic ones.