My first-hand experiences with 7 of the best (and worst) rental car companies in New Zealand
I’ve only had one breakdown
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I have no loyalty when it comes to renting a car in New Zealand. My process is almost always the same; search prices on DiscoverCars, go for the cheapest option.
(A quick note that DiscoverCars is an aggregator, like Booking.com for hotels, not a car rental company itself. I do often book directly with the car companies, after identifying the cheapest one).
Generally speaking, I don’t think you need to worry too much about which car rental company you choose in New Zealand. The Consumer Guarantees Act stipulates that any rental car in New Zealand needs to be roadworthy, safe, clean, and fit for purpose (you can read more on the Consumer Protection website).
This means you can’t go too far wrong. Breakdowns are always a possibility, even more so with older and cheaper cars, but in my view, car trouble comes down to luck more than the reliability of a particular car rental company.
In terms of car size, choose the model that will most comfortably fit you and your bags. When I’m on my own, I always go for the smallest and cheapest option available. Roads are well maintained in New Zealand, so you don’t need anything particularly grunty to get around. Smaller cars are easier to park and maneuver on narrow roads.
I have driven a Suzuki Swift (typically the smallest model you can rent) along the Milford Road without issue.
There is no issue with picking up a car in one place and dropping it off in another; you will most likely get slapped with a one-way fee, and it does rely on a company having a depot in both places, but it’s otherwise straightforward. Car rental companies are all over the place in New Zealand, even smaller towns, which gives you a lot more flexibility with a rental than you might have with a campervan (campervan companies typically only have depots in the big cities, Auckland and Christchurch).
There’s no issue with taking most rental cars on the ferries between the islands either.
I try to avoid paying excess cover, and pay for travel insurance separately (which effectively does the same thing for a fraction of the price). But, that relies on me having a credit card – if the excess is anything above $0, companies want to place a hold on a credit card, not a debit card.
I don’t have a credit card, so I can only use this travel insurance work around when I’m travelling with someone else. On my own, I just have to eat the excess reduction fee.
A few other things to keep in mind:
Take note of toll roads; they are all free flowing, and it’s easy to forget you owe a toll (been there, done that, got the inflated bill in the mail). It’s very easy to pay online, so do it immediately.
Fill up last thing before you drop off the car. I have been caught out once with a not-quite-full tank of gas and been charged an extra fee for filling it up.
Stick to speed limits. There is little leeway in New Zealand in terms of how far over the limit you can go before you get stung. If it says 100km/h, stick to 100km/h (there are safety reasons the limits are in place).
These are all car rental companies I have rented from, and paid for myself.
JUCY Rentals
4 days at $20.00, per day. Total hire cost $184.32 for a Queenstown to Queenstown trip
The key fell apart. At least it wasn’t the car.
I used to work at Jucy Rentals, back when they were still family owned and operated. Brothers Tim and Dan were at the helm, and the brand was fun and friendly to work for. Sadly, the Covid pandemic meant they ended up selling to a private equity firm.
It seems like the car rental side of things has been scaled back since then, in favour of a focus on their campervans. The only car rental options are either a small hatch (Suzuki Swift) or a compact SUV.
I rented a Suzuki Swift from JUCY to head to Milford Sound in the middle of winter (chosen because that was the cheapest available option).
The pick up process was a little slow, due to there being no one behind the desk when I arrived to collect the car. I had to entertain myself for 10 minutes until someone strolled in holding a sandwich.
The car itself was fine, although I’m fairly certain the tank wasn’t full (I topped it up after two hours driving, which cost a lot more than it should have).
And the key did disintegrate. When I dropped the car off, the key went into the return box into three pieces, which seemed somewhat emblematic.
Would I rent with JUCY again? Only if they really are the cheapest option. If it’s a narrow margin of price, I’d prefer to rent elsewhere.
Snap Rentals
One of New Zealand’s larger rental car companies, I used to always go for Snap because they were locally owned; as of 2025, they are owned by a Japanese investment company. I’m not sure if there is a correlation, but I haven’t rented with them since early in 2025, because the prices have been less competitive than elsewhere (I chose Jucy over Snap based on price alone).
Look out for relocation deals – I had a three week rental from Queenstown to Auckland in 2025, for around $500 (a deal so good the person at the pick up counter even commented on it). It was a mid-size sedan, a Toyota Corolla which ended up being large enough for me to sleep in with the seats lying flat. I was hopping around hiking trails, so having the option to stay at campgrounds and sleep in the car was good.
Would I rent with them again? I’m less inclined to book a car with Snap after ownership changed. If the price is right, then yes I would (and the discount code SNAP10 can help with that) but I wouldn’t go out of my way to rent here.
Use the code SNAP10 for 10% off your booking
Yes Rentals
“All you can afford”
Another day driving in New Zealand
The most hilarious, and problematic, rental I have had in New Zealand was with Yes Rentals (booked via DiscoverCars).
Hilarious because, at the Christchurch depot, there is another car rental company directly opposite called Yesaway Rentals (I would love to know if that was deliberate).
And because on the key fob, the slogan is “Yes Rentals. All you can afford.”
At least they’re honest – Yes Rentals is cheap because the depots are a little rough around the edges, the cars have seen better days, and many days at that, with higher mileage than you would normally see on rental vehicles.
They seem to make up for lower prices by slapping on high extra fees for returning cars dirty or late (we avoided these fees, but there are plenty of threatening posters that made sure we dusted the car off before giving it back).
The staff were efficient and friendly enough. No complaints there.
Although New Zealand based and operated, ownership details are vague. It seems to be owned and run by a Chinese team, which from what I can tell is where the ‘all you can afford comes from’ (I’m imagining a bad translation from something a little less on the nose).
We rented a small hybrid vehicle from Yes Rentals – once again going for the cheapest option – thinking the hybrid might help save on fuel. Unfortunately, bumping along a stretch of gravel in the midst of roadworks somewhere between Queenstown and Christchurch, all of the alarming lights on the dash came on.
It turned out to be an issue with the hybrid battery.
We had been hoping to start an overnight hike that day, but the only option was to detour all the way to Christchurch to swap the vehicle. Although that was fairly easy, they didn’t offer anything to ease the pain of losing a day, and missing out on the hike (we had to fill up the fuel tank of the car that broke down, which makes sense, but it would have been nice if they had just waived that).
We also chose to extend our rental by a day, which was quick and easy to do – when I first dialled their number, no one answered, but they called me back very quickly.
Would I rent with them again? If they had the cheapest price available, and I only wanted a short term rental, I would. I really don’t care if the vehicles are in older condition; after my experience, I’m just not sure I would take a chance on a two week or longer rental.
Mode Rentals
Mode Rentals is an independent New Zealand car rental company.
Smaller than the international brand names, Mode only has pick up and drop off options in Queenstown, Christchurch, Auckland, and Wellington.
They do however have a full range of cars, including 10 and 12 seater vans, which is what I rented with a group of friends. It was useful for a group of six, all of us with large hiking backpacks.
Other than the fact the van was ginormous, this rental went off without a hitch. I would definitely rent with Mode Rentals again (if, as always, the price is competitive).
Omega Rentals
$31.50 a day for 10 days. Total hire cost, $324
Omega Rentals is a New Zealand owned and operated business. One of the largest independent car rental companies, Omega has been around for more than 30 years, and cover all the main centres.
We booked with Omega for a two week trip Christchurch-Queenstown in 2025, the main reason being – as usual – they offered the best value for money at the time.
I was very happy to see that they don’t charge a one-way fee for a Christchurch-Queenstown rental. Those fees can be annoyingly large, so that was a huge positive.
On picking up the car, I discovered that Omega doesn’t have obvious branding (most rental cars are easy to recognise thanks to stickers or plate colours) so it felt a little undercover. This is great if you don’t want to be easily identified as a tourist, for security reasons.
The car itself was a little older, and there’s nothing fancy about the depot in Christchurch, but I had no issues at all during the rental period.
I would happily rent again from Omega; as a New Zealand owned business, with covert rental cars, they are a top choice. In fact, they might be my top pick for a car rental option in New Zealand.
Ezi Rentals
Ezi used to be an independent New Zealand car rental company, but they sold to Toyota in 2023. They are a slightly more premium brand than Snap or Mode (and streaks ahead of Yes Rentals and the like), with a large number of locations and modern vehicles.
On a group hiking trip, my friend in charge of organising the rental car went for Ezi Rentals. The deciding factor was a special discount they were offering, but I’m not sure how much research went into finding the best price.
The car we rented was perfect, a spacious and modern SUV that fit five of us, plus hiking bags, without issue.
Would I rent with them again? Yes, but only if they have good specials at that time.
Avis
I don’t usually rent with Avis, as I prefer to stay local. But, I have rented an SUV with them once and it was fine. A modern vehicle, seamless pickup from Christchurch airport, and no issues whatsoever.
Would I rent with them again? Honestly, not unless they had the cheapest rental available. As long as smaller, local companies have decent prices, I’ll opt to rent with them instead.
Thank you for reading
All words (and typos and other errors) are my own, based on my own travels.
During my time on the road, I’ve found many wonderful places — galleries, restaurants, viewpoints and more. I’m sure you’ll find others. If there’s somewhere you think I should know about, contact me at hello@petrinadarrah.com, so I can share with other travellers in future work.
If you’re disappointed with one of my recommendations, I’d love to know that too; places change, or close, so I appreciate updated information.
Thank you for supporting my work – you being here lets me keep doing what I love to do, which is explore New Zealand and share it with others. So a heartfelt thanks for reading.
If you’ve enjoyed my recommendations, you might want to check these out as well before you go:
AUTHOR BIO
I’m a freelance travel writer from New Zealand with bylines in National Geographic Travel, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and more.
I’ve travelled up and down beautiful Aotearoa and I love sharing my recommendations for the best places to visit in New Zealand.
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