Car rental in NZ

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andymyles
andymyles

Hi,

I realise this is probably done to death on this forum, but search didn't throw up too many conclusive results (is there a FAQ? Mind you, is there even a consensus to be found?).

We're having a family holiday in NZ in 2 months and I'm wondering what a good car rental company is for collecting in Auckland and dropping of in Christchurch.

I've visited in 2003 with friends and we used Omega then (Auckland to Queenstown) and they were absolutely fine. Are they still worth considering? As always, a quick squint at tripadvisor throws up one or two horror stories; not too many but enough to get the spider-senses tingling, so I'm not just wanting to jump in there without testing the local waters for advice.

Omega? Someone else? Looking forward to visiting again and don't want to risk major hassle for the family for the sake of saving a few hundred NZD versus Hetz, Avis etc.

Cheers,

Andy

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lew_stuhle
lew_stuhle

Go with the majors if you want a trouble free experience but just read the fine print.

As for Tripadvisor, I'm surprised they're still in existence. It's predominately populated by negative serial whingers who should never have left home.

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harry_ramsden
harry_ramsden

Personally I love tripadviser and have picked every hotel or apartment I've stayed at via tripadviser for over a decade now and I've never gone wrong. Many of these places had bad reviews, or weren't the top pick. The trick is to actually read the bad reviews, and sort out those that are pathetic and petty, and those with a one-off complaint (the booking got lost) from those with a serious problem.

On cars, go with the majors, especially for a one-way hire. There's a good local company APEX, but they use older cars, and are not that cheap on a one way hire. But if the deal is good, they are fine. Check out drivenow.co.nz for the best deal, but also use any links you have - I got the best deal as a Qantas Frequent Flyer with Hertz, motoring clubs have other deals, and Virgin too.

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iamrobin
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andymyles
andymyles

Thanks to all for their advice!

Andy

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