Transport > New Zealand & Pacific Islands > New Zealand > Driving in New Zealand > Renting a car in New Zealand
Renting a car in
New Zealand
Renting a car or motor home is cheap and easy in New Zealand and it is very common among backpackers. New Zealand has all the major rental companies plus a lot of smaller car rental agencies that often have much better rates. You may need to stick with the major companies if you want a one-way rental, particularly if the car is being dropped off on a different island.
Generally inter-island rentals entail dropping the car off in Picton or Wellington ferry terminals or Blenheim, Nelson or Wellington airports and picking up another car when you get to the other side of Cook Strait. This saves having to pay to take the car on the ferry.
The price of a rental car can drop substantially if you rent for a month or more. This is particularly the case with some of the smaller car rental companies.
Because most travellers fly into Auckland and drive south, there are some very good relocation deals if you’re renting a car and driving north although the cheap deals are usually only available if you complete your trip within a couple of days. It is well worth enquiring with the rental companies if you want to drive north from Christchurch to Picton or Wellington to Auckland – if you complete the trip within 24 hours you may even get the rental for free.
The standard insurance cover that comes with most car rental companies requires that you pay an excess of $2000-3000 before the insurance company pays out. Rental car companies will sell you insurance to cover this excess, but at around $20 a day this is overpriced and in many cases doubles the cost of your car rental. A much better idea is to take out travel insurance that covers this excess or arrange rental car excess insurance through your auto club before leaving home. This works out a lot cheaper than paying the excess cover that rental car companies charge.
Rental car companies in New Zealand include:
A2B Rentals
11 Stanley Street, Parnell, Auckland
Tel 0800 616 111
Website www.a2brentals.co.nz
Ace Rental Cars
39 The Strand, Parnell, Auckland
Tel (09) 303 3112 or 0800 422 771
Website www.acerentals.co.nz
Open 8am-5pm daily
Avis
17-19 Nelson Street, Auckland
Tel (09) 379 2650 or 0800 655 111
Website www.avis.co.nz
Open Mon-Fri 7.30am-6pm, Sat-Sun 8am-5pm
Bargain Rental Cars
99 Beach Road, Auckland
Tel (09) 444 4573 or 0800 566 700
Website www.bargainrentals.co.nz
Budget
163 Beach Road, Auckland
Tel (09) 976 2270 or 0800 652 227
Website www.budget.co.nz
Open Mon-Fri 7am-6pm, Sat-Sun 8am-5pm
Ezy Car Rentals
2-16 The Strand, Parnell, Auckland
Tel (09) 374 4360 or 0800 399 736
Website www.ezy.co.nz
Hertz
154 Victoria Street West, Auckland
Tel (09) 367 6350
Website www.hertz.co.nz
Open 7.30am-5.30pm daily
National
73 Shortland Street, Auckland
Tel 0800 800 115
Website www.nationalcar.co.nz
Open 8am-6pm daily
Omega Rental Cars
75 Beach Road, Auckland
Tel (09) 377 5573 or 0800 52 52 10
Website www.omegarentals.com
Pegasus Rental Cars
83 Haven Road, Nelson
Tel (03) 548 2852 or 0800 803 580
Website www.rentalcars.co.nz
Thrifty
150 Khyber Pass Road, Auckland
Tel (09) 309 0111
Website www.thrifty.co.nz
Free one-way car rentals
Many travellers fly into Auckland, rent a car, drive to the South Island and fly out of Christchurch. This means that there is often an excess of rental cars in Christchurch that the rental car companies would rather have in Auckland.
To help solve this problem rental companies sometimes offer free one-way rentals if you're prepared to travel against the tide and pick up your car in Christchurch and drop it off in Auckland. This is a great deal, although you generally have a very tight time frame to make the delivery. You can find free one-way rental deals at transfercar.co.nz.
