New Zealand Car hire options?

[320touring]

Hello,

Hoping to travel to New Zealand later in the year with the intention of doing a driving holiday round both islands.

The plan is to fly into Auckland and collect a car, then tour our way down to Wellington where we'll take a ferry to the South Island. We'll leave the car at Christchurch and get an internal flight back to Auckland.

I've had a look at DiscoverCars (as recommended on the car hire Sicily thread) and the cost of a one way hire seems reasonable, especially with the additional insurance cover factored in.

However, I'm a bit unsure as to whether it is actually possible to collect the car from Auckland then drop it off at Christchurch - I'm getting plenty options for deals, but some are showing "no ferry use".... Under the 'travel to another country' Section. As per screenshots.

Am I right in thinking this pertains ONLY to using ferries to go between countries, and the crossing from north to south islands should be ok as it is all one country?


Has anyone got experience/advice they could share?

Thanks

[Grandad Gaz]

We hired a car from Auckland city and dropped it off at Greymouth before catching the train to Christchurch.
This was last October. Car hire company was Avis.

[samjaynz]

I don't know about that particular rental car company but it's fairly common for people to take rental cars (whether one way/relocations or normal round-trip vehicles) on the ferry. However, I do think that some companies forbid it in their terms, whereas others allow it.

For example, Avis allows for you to take your rental car on the Interislander ferry and Budget even has a specific 'Island Hopper' system that lets you take the same car across on the ferry instead of having to drop off the car in either Wellington or Picton and then haul all your luggage onto the ferry and then pick up another car.

One thing to note - which may not have surfaced in your research - is that the ferry system here has been under a lot of pressure recently. Basically the majority of the interisland ferry fleet was broken down at one point and the backlog still hasn't been caught up. We have some family who got married in the South Island and who had to wait over a month to take their car back up to Wellington where they live.

It should be fine by the time you arrive, but equally it might be easier to fly and get another car.

[tex200]

https://www.radcarhire.co.nz/

This company have no problem with cars using ferries.

Absolutely breeze to deal with too.

[peter tdci]

I was about to suggest Ace Rental Cars who I've used in the North and South Islands previously - I'll definitely use them again.

Looks like they don't cover the Wellington-Picton crossing though. But you could do two separate bookings for the North & South Islands?

[PomBstard]

We’ve used Apex a couple of times in NZ and Aus…

https://www.apexrentals.co.nz/

Cars are usually 1-3 yo and prices are accordingly lower, plus no one-way fee. Might work for you.

[320touring]

Thanks very much everyone - a fair few things to go and look at!

[Screenwash]

Ezi Rental is another company you might want to get a quote from (via their website). I have used them a few times over the past 5 or so years. New vehicles and invariably cheaper than the big franchises.

Pre-Covid, many of the rental companies insisted that you left the car at Wellington docks and picked up a different car on the other side. I think they were trying to combat all their 1-way rentals ending up at the bottom of the South Island!