Car hire Christchurch New Zealand
Like hotels and motels, car hire companies are a dime a dozen here in New Zealand. Learn which better-known car hire opportunities are available in Christchurch, and in particular at Christchurch's domestic and international airport terminals.
There are several car hire companies in Christchurch (New Zealand) varying in size, quality of service, and whether they’re located at Christchurch airport or not.
If a car hire company is not located at the airport, you’ll most likely have to phone them when you arrive, so that they can bring the car over to the airport, or you’ll have to find alternate transportation to their office to pick up the car.
Some car rental companies may offer to bring the car over to the hotel where you’re staying or to the airport.
I don’t know about you, but I tend to always rent cars from companies that are well-known and with which I’ve had a good experience in the past. So in this article I’ll highlight the better-known companies you can hire a car from in Christchurch.
Car hire at the domestic terminal at Christchurch airport
The following car hire companies are located within the Christchurch airport domestic terminal building:
- Avis Car Rental
- Budget Car Rental
- Hertz Car Rental
- Thrifty Car Rental
Car hire at the international terminal at Christchurch airport
The following car hire companies are located within the Christchurch airport international terminal building:
- Avis Car Rental
- Budget Car Rental
- Backpacker Campervans
- Britz Campervans
- Europcar
- Hertz Car Rental
- Maui Rentals
- Thrifty Car Rental
Hire a car from Avis, Budget, National, Thrifty, or … ?
Up until today, I’ve rented cars from 3 car rental companies in Christchurch New Zealand:
- Budget Car Rental
- Avis Car Rental
- National Car Rental
My experience with each one of them has been different. Let’s take a look at how they differed.
Photo: A Holden Viva from Budget near Ben Ohau Range
Budget Car Rental was the first car rental company I rented a car from in New Zealand. I’ve never been disappointed by the service Budget has given me.
A good example of this is when I first came to New Zealand for a visit, had booked a car through the Budget web site, had changed my reservation, and those changes had never been recorded in the system.
I had changed the pick-up location from Auckland airport to Auckland city center. When I arrived at the Budget office in the city center at 8 a.m. in the morning, the staff there were surprised to hear that I had made a reservation, and that they did not know about it. However, they did not make a big deal about it. On the contrary, they told me to wait 15 minutes while they prepared a car for me, and after those 15 minutes I got a brand new Mitsubishi I could take with me.
Another thing I like about Budget Car Rental is that whenever I make a reservation on their web site, the quote that I’m given has always been close or exactly what I’ve had to pay at the end of my car hire period. This is unlike a bad experience I’ve had in the past with renting from Alamo in Toronto Canada where many costs were hidden and which they charged me at the counter when I picked up the car. The lesson I learned from that was: "Cheap does not always mean good, and you need to be careful who you rent from."
Onto Avis now. Avis Car Rental does not differ much from Budget here in New Zealand. Actually, they’re run by the same company. So the same service you get from Budget, you’ll most likely get from Avis. The only difference between Avis and Budget at Christchurch airport is that with Budget you get the keys at the counter, while with Avis you have to go to a booth outside the terminal building to get the keys. By the way, you always have to go outside to pick up the car anyway, so it does not make a big difference where you get the keys, right?
Photo: A Toyota Rav 4 from Avis on Hakatere-Potts Road
Another difference between Avis and Budget is that Avis gives you more opportunities to accrue points with your favorite airline through a frequent flyer or loyalty program. The options with Budget are more limited in this regard.
Both Budget and Avis do not charge your credit card until after you return the car. And here’s a tip: If you’ve accepted car insurance and you get a flat tire and have the tire repaired, keep your receipts, because they might refund the reparation costs.
Renting with National Car Rental here in New Zealand reminded me of renting with Alamo back in the U.S. and Canada. As soon as they give you the car keys, they take the money off your credit card. At least they did when I rented a car from them back in 2004; I’m not sure if they still do that, though. Needless to say, that was the first and last time I rented a car from National.
While I’ve not rented with Thrifty Car Rental here in New Zealand, I’ve often rented cars from them in Canada, and they’ve never disappointed me or charged my credit card up front. Unfortunately, I have not rented with them yet over here in New Zealand, so cannot comment on their service.
What I do know, though, is that unlike Budget or Avis who do not ask you to enter a credit card number when you make a reservation online (if you live in New Zealand, that is; not sure if this is also the case for overseas visitors, because I do remember entering a credit card number when I used to live outside of New Zealand), Thrifty does ask you for one when booking online.
Nonetheless, I might book with Thrifty someday soon if nothing else to report back to you on their service. Besides, last time I was on the South Island for autumn colours their counter at Christchurch airport was so busy, I started wondering about what they were selling…
Filed under Car Rental in New Zealand, How-To Travel Guide
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