From Whangarei to Paihia to Kerikeri

Renting the car went smoothly, but returning it was another story. The attendant made me feel discriminated against as a Chinese person by checking the vehicle multiple times and insisted there were scratches on the front bumper that were already there when I rented it.

The pickup process was extremely fast, probably within two or three minutes. There were no unnecessary questions; after checking the documents and registering some basic information, they handed over the keys. Returning the car was even faster; as soon as I handed over the keys at the counter, I was free to go.

We never had this car. They were sold out and we had to wait more than an hours to finally get the smallest car in the parking lot.

We arrived to find the car we had booked wasn’t available They offered us an “upgrade” to a compact car or the 8 seat people mover we ended up with When asked about the car we booked we were told it wasn’t available and the only cars available were the compact and a couple of people movers. We ended up taking the people mover as we had two small girls with us The booster seats that I had emailed to confirm that they would be installed had to still be installed before we could go to the car It was a stressful start to our holiday and some people in line wouldn’t have been getting a car at all

Car was good but terrible service at counter. Long delay because of possible staff shortage. Unnecessary detail required by counter staff and explanations of unattractive options. A charge of $30 because of location and high office rental was extortion!!