Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Avis
(
0800 655 111, 09-526 2847;
www.avis.co.nz
)
Budget
(
0800 283 438, 09-529 7784;
www.budget.co.nz
)
Europcar
( 0800 800 115;
www.europcar.co.nz
)
Hertz
( 0800 654 321, 03-358 6789;
www.hertz.co.nz
)
Thrifty
(
0800 737 070, 03-359 2721;
www.thrifty.co.nz
)
LOCAL RENTAL COMPANIES
Local rental firms dapple the
Yellow Pages
. These are almost always cheaper than the big boys − sometimes half the
price − but the cheap rates may come with serious restrictions: vehicles are often older, and with less formality some-
times comes a less protective legal structure for renters.
Rentals from local firms start at around $30 per day for the smallest option. It's obviously cheaper if you rent for a
week or more, and there are often low-season and weekend discounts.
Affordable, independent operators with national networks include the following:
a2b Car Rentals
(
0800 545 000;
www.a2b-carrentals.co.nz
)
Ace Rental Cars
(
0800 502 277, 09-303 3112;
www.acerentalcars.co.nz
)
Apex Rentals
(
0800 939 597, 03-379 6897;
www.apexrentals.co.nz
)
Go Rentals
(
0800 467 368, 09-525 7321;
www.gorentals.co.nz
)
Omega Rental Cars
(
0800 525 210, 09-377 5573;
www.omegarentalcars.com
)
Pegasus Rental Cars
(
0800 803 580, 03-548 2852;
www.rentalcars.co.nz
)
Transfercar
(
09-630 7533;
www.transfercar.co.nz
)
One-way relocation specialists.
Motorcycle Hire
Born to be wild? NZ has great terrain for motorcycle touring, despite the fickle weather in some regions. Most of the
North Island's motorcycle-hire shops are in Auckland, where you can hire anything from a little 50cc moped (aka nifty-
fifty) to a throbbing 750cc touring motorcycle and beyond. Recommended operators (who also run guided tours) with
rates from $80 to $345 per day include:
New Zealand Motorcycle Rentals & Tours
(
09-486 2472;
www.nzbike.com
)
Te Waipounamu Motorcycle Tours
(
03-377 3211;
www.motorcycle-hire.co.nz
)
Insurance
Rather than risk paying out wads of cash if you have an accident, you can take out your own comprehensive insurance
policy, or (the usual option) pay an additional fee per day to the rental company to reduce your excess. This brings the
amount you must pay in the event of an accident down from around $1500 or $2000 to around $200 or $300. Smaller
operators offering cheap rates often have a compulsory insurance excess, taken as a credit-card bond, of around $900.
Most insurance agreements won't cover the cost of damage to glass (including the windscreen) or tyres, and insurance
coverage is often invalidated on beaches and certain rough (4WD) unsealed roads − read the fine print.
