Road Trip Around Christchurch

Very good

I booked because it included zero deductible collision and theft insurance, but at the car rental location, they insisted there was no such coverage. Even with the voucher from Zuzuche, the staff couldn't read Chinese and stubbornly insisted there wasn't zero deductible coverage. At the time, Zuzuche couldn't provide immediate help to solve the issue, so I felt scammed (either rent a car without insurance or pay extra for it).

Booked a Prado well in advance, but they provided a Highlander instead. Even though it was a downgrade, they didn't refund the cost difference. We agreed I could return the car with an empty tank, but I returned it with half a tank of fuel left. Not only did they not refund me, but they also charged me for the remaining fuel.

Dealing with Hertz was very easy; just filled out a few forms and got the keys to pick up the car myself. There was no inspection. However, the car given to me wasn't great, it had over 50,000 kilometers on it, which is quite old for a rental car. The engine wasn't very powerful, and the air conditioning barely worked. I rented it for 16 days, mostly driving on mountain roads, and was constantly worried if it would hold up. Thankfully, there were no major problems. I rented cars three times in Australia and New Zealand, and this was the longest rental period, but the car was the oldest. The other two cars had only done a little over 1,000 kilometers and were in much better condition. Hertz is a big company; their cars should be better maintained. Returning the car was even easier; I just found the office, handed over the keys, and that was it. No inspection needed, probably because I had full insurance.

Picking up the car was convenient. The staff asked if we wanted to buy a tank of fuel at a price lower than the market rate and return the car empty, which was a good deal. They also reminded us to use the fuel until it was very empty. Additionally, they provided us with maps.