Kiwi Car Hire

Status
Not open for further replies.

skorat

Newbie
Joined
Jan 11, 2007
Posts
7
I really hope this isn't a double up (done a bit of reading thus far). If it is, I apologise.

Any tips for kiwi car hire for someone who gets no corp discounts???

I noticed that post on the engineers/scientist/manager thingy organisation and if that was worthwhile, might be able to fudge our way into membership.

Usually, I just book online with same company. But it does get expensive.
 
I normally rent through Hertz. They have several publically available CDP (corporate Discount rates). They aren't crash hot, but do save some $ sometimes.

Eg.

Qantas Frequent Flyer: 297302
Entertainment Book: 1441781
Your AAA (NRMA/RACV/RACQ etc) Eg. RACV 074269 or NRMA 074155

If you know some good CDP's then you can use them, but be aware that if you are involved in an accident then your use of the CDP could be questioned. Same deal when picking up the car.

Other companies like Avis et.al also have similar CDP's - you just have to hunt around for them.

There are also dedicated websites where you can book cars through a third party booking site (kinda like the last minute hotel booking sites, but for cars) although I can't recommend any.



Also, have a look at the following Jetstar page. There are some good (public) discounts for NZ rentals there:
Jetstar - Cheap car rental deals through Avis and Budget
 
Last edited:
You may also want to look at Ace Rentals. I have rented from them in the past.

Their vehicles are generally older than Avis/Hertz/Thrifty/Budget but have never had issues in the 4 or 5 times i've used their vehicles. Their previous rates used to include 0 excess but even with their new excess reduction policy doesn't look to be too expensive.
 
Where are you needing a car for? Often can get one-way rentals for nothing or next to nothing when all their cars are in the wrong end of the island.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Kiwi Flyer, just for running around the city (auckland) -- I used to have a car there but don't go often enough now to justify it.

I've decided to take up an offer to borrow a mates car -- got a thing about rentals; I hate them, and am fussy about what I drive.

Thanks y'all for an interesting board, but I'll be taking my leave.
 
DriveNZ Auckland Rental Cars / Christchurch Rental Cars

For great prices without the need for corporate discounts, check out DriveNZ - Auckland Rental Cars, Christchurch Rental Cars.

DriveNZ is in the second tier of rental car companies, and has some well groomed cars for hire. For the executive type there are "super tourist" Tourist Car Rentals from $NZD59 per day, or $NZD63 per day for 3+ days. Compare that to the prices you get from the Hertz/Budget etc companies.

For the cheaper hires, try out their cheapest - from $NZD25 per day Cheap Car Rental New Zealand, or $NZD29 per day for 3 days.

Yes, a little bit of self interest in promoting the company - I looked after the Search Engine Optimisation for frequentflyer.com.au and also look after the SEO for DriveNZ. But I would not promote a company that I did not believe in :).
 
I am looking to book a car in NZ for Xmas, and I have noticed for the same larger companies (ie Avis, BUdget, Thrifty, Hertz) they constantly charge at least 20-30 dollars more than AU hire after currency conversion. Can anyone explain why this is? Is it because there is less competition?
 
Are you renting from an Airport?

e.g. AKL has a NZD30 levy on car hire pick ups. :shock:
 
At Christchurch Airport ...... I am planning to rent over Xmas and New year ..... so want to get that ready since the city rental store may be closed during Xmas.

But still, even when not renting in airports it still seems to be a lot more expensive than renting in Australia. Is there some hidden tax that has to be paid by us? Or because car hire is so popular they can charge whatever they want?!
 
Are you renting from an Airport?

e.g. AKL has a NZD30 levy on car hire pick ups. :shock:
Yes the airport levy and 12.5% GST could easily make up more than half the cost of the car hire. I have booked a car for 1 day in AKL through Budget in September and the rate is $34.67 for the day and when you include the levies and taxes it works out to $72.75. Even if I take into consideration the valet parking and petrol costs I still come out in front of the NZ$55 taxi fare each way from the airport.
 
hello
its great information. now many agencies are offering cheap car rent. anyone can book online.
 
I hired a couple of cars in April. Had to get a party of six from Picton to Christchurch via Hanmer and Kaikoura.

First off, if you are travelling with a partner, leave them to retrieve the luggage and run for the car rental places. The ferry gets in, a dozen other people will have booked cars, and you want to be ahead of that dozen, rather than unlucky Thirteen.

Second, join the frequent driver scheme. I'm in Avis's Priority system, and my car was waiting for me right outside the office. It costs nothing to join, you enter details of credit card and license on the internet and when you collect your car, they just hand you the keys with no bother.

Unfortunately, they had run my two bookings into one, cancelling the second. But they quickly came up with another car for me.

Driving in New Zealand is pretty straightforward. Half the time there's only one way to get to your destination. Nevertheless, I can heartily recommend hiring a GPS with the car. Like as not the previous renters will have plugged in tourist destinations, the rental dropoffs, the airports. All the places you need, without the bother of entering the street addresses. And if the places you need aren't there, you can search for your hotel or restaurant from the popup menus.

Road trip to Paradise
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top