[AXL]

Hi!

We are driving for around a month on North & South islands. Since we spend so much time in car, we thought we should go for a car that is under 2 years...

Anyone knows of competitive car deals/ agents?

Had a quote from a local agent but for 5 - 6 yrs car. Any advice if we should consider these?

Should we also look out for/avoid any troublesome car rental companies?

Thanks!

[Tim Uden]

A five to six-year old car should be fine and it will probably be a lot cheaper than a newer car. I'm assuming that this is from a small rental car company and that you are returning it from the same location you picked the car up from.

All rental cars should include emergency breakdown assistance with AA, but if there are problems with the car it will be harder to swap it over for another one if the rental car company's nearest office is 600km away. With a bigger company you wouldn't have this problem.

The bigger rental car companies (Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty) will normally have brand new cars. Because they have offices everywhere they are more likely to let you have a one-way rental.

With the bigger car rental companies you also save money on the ferry crossing between the North and South Islands as you just drop your car off at the ferry terminal in Wellington and pick up a new car when you get to Picton. This way you don't have to pay to take your car on the ferry and you can take advantage of cheap flights between Wellington and Blenheim or Nelson. With smaller rental car companies you have to pay to take the car on the ferry (twice if you're returning it to the same place you picked the car up from).

However the best deals for long (a month or longer) rentals are with the smaller companies.

Another thing to look out for is the insurance excess. The rental car company will try and make you pay extra to reduce the excess on your insurance. Sometimes the fee they charge can double the cost of your car rental! However you don't need to pay this extra fee if your travel insurance includes rental car excess reduction (any travel insurance policy that doesn't include this is a waste of money).

[poppageorge]

I rented a car for my trip. Even though not cheap was best way to go in my opinion since no worries over repairs. Just keep eye open as Speed cameras are everywhere and fines really add up.Be aware ferry cost north and south island for the car both ways will run $500. or was it $300. Plus your fare as well.something like that. but check it out.

[travellers legs]

i would try dreamticket.co.nz they have loads of cheaps cars but whatever you do make sure you get a proper check out done and try to make sure it has quite a recent WOF.

[kimrennin]

If we need to rent a car at the last minute, we can save time by comparing car hire rates with DriveNow™. Or if we are planning ahead, we can check out rates and book car hire up to one year in advance.

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kimrennin
Car Auctions

[David Morris]

If you are travelling for a month renting is the way to go. Buying a car would be a disaster . . . mainly because you have the difficulty of selling again at the other end.

I wouldn't get worried about the age of the car. Most NZ rental companies use Japanese cars which are much more rugged and longe- lasting that British or European cars. I have run 12 year-old Toyota Corollas in my rental car fleet with 450,000km on them . . and they still ran like a Swiss watch. Rental cars here are under rigid quality control from a government agency. They must meet very high safety standards which are checked every six months. Rental companies must be licensed by the government and they lose their licence if they fail to meet reasonable performance standards.

Rather than deal with the big international franchises go for the second tier companies: Ace, Omega, A2B, Apex are some names I would recommend. (And, no, my rental company is not among them. I'm not in your market).

Re Cook Strait: Crossing does cost, but there is the advantage of not having to unload and reload your car . . . just drive on-drive off. If you plan to travel in one direction only, go south to north. Start in Christchurch and drop off in Auckland. You may get a much better deal that way because most people want to travel the other way and rental companies have a problem balancing fleet availability. For more on Cook Strait travel have a look at New-Zealand-Travel-Guide.com. There's a page there that spells out your options.

[MichaelBrandon]

Originally Posted by David Morris

If you are travelling for a month renting is the way to go. Buying a car would be a disaster . . . mainly because you have the difficulty of selling again at the other end.

There are certainly many that buy cars. But in talking with a few rental car companies about it, I have heard stories of cars breaking down, and people grabing rental cars to continue their journey.

If you are buying off another person that has just used it to tour New Zealand, the car is unlikely to have been well maintained. And you bare the risk of the car breaking down on you through the journey.

Its not a bad idea to let the rental car company take that risk for you. And certainly great when that company is also a member of the New Zealand Automobile Association. The AA is able to get a vehicle towed to the nearest service station and the hire company will then pay for its repair and you can be on your way again. Far easier than you having to bare that cost and hassle yourself.

Originally Posted by David Morris

go for the second tier companies: Ace, Omega, A2B, Apex are some names I would recommend.

Can I add DriveNZ.co.nz to that list. Yes, I am working with them, but wander around the websites of each company, and make up your mind.

Originally Posted by David Morris

Re Cook Strait: Crossing does cost, but there is the advantage of not having to unload and reload your car . . . just drive on-drive off. If you plan to travel in one direction only, go south to north. Start in Christchurch and drop off in Auckland.

DriveNZ have depots in both Auckland and Christchurch, so the above recommendation is not a bad one.