An extremely unpleasant car rental experience. I thought that renting from a rental company operated by Chinese people abroad would at least offer some convenience and not rip me off, given that we speak the same language. But I was completely wrong.

First, let's talk about their attitude. My flight itinerary said that my flight would arrive in Auckland at 23:15, and after consulting with the rental company, they suggested setting my pickup time at 00:15. I booked the car for 00:15. On the flight, I found out the plane was supposed to land at 23:45, thankfully it wasn’t delayed. As soon as I turned on my phone after landing, I got a call from the rental company, with an extremely impatient tone, saying things like “Do you know you booked the car for 00:15? What time is it now?”, “Do you think you can make it here in time?”, and “Hurry up, I need to sleep.” Is this a normal service attitude for a rental company? If you want to sleep, don't take midnight bookings. And while their competitor offers free airport pickups, they charge 20 NZD. They've got the nerve to complain after taking the money! Out of the desire to keep things peaceful during a holiday, I apologized to her. Luckily, the attitude was better when they came to pick me up.

Second, the insurance issue. I bought supplemental insurance from the rental platform, which was said to be the most comprehensive. They advised against buying any additional insurance from the rental company. But the rental company told me that their insurance only covers their own car, not third parties. So if an accident involves a third party, I would need to bear those costs personally. I was skeptical but decided to buy third-party insurance from them for safety. Later on, when I rented a car in the South Island, I was told the same thing. So I believe it's the platform's insurance that’s problematic.

Lastly, the main issue. It was my first time driving a right-hand drive car, and I misjudged the position of the front left wheel and scratched the wheel against the curb while parallel parking. This kind of minor curb rash is something I've experienced before in my home country, and it usually doesn’t cause much damage because most wheel rims are recessed. However, the car I rented had protruding rims, which got scratched before the tire even touched the curb. In New Zealand, rental cars typically have this type of rims, while private cars don’t. After the scratch, I immediately contacted the rental company, who said it was fine as long as the car was drivable and that we would deal with it upon return. The next day, while returning the car, I pointed out the scratch to them. They conducted the inspection and said everything else was fine except for the rim scratch, which would cost around 30 NZD to fix. So, I returned the car and flew to the South Island.

That night, I received a message on WeChat from the company saying, “This scratch is from yesterday, just to let you know,” with a photo of a scratch on the car body. What? I returned the car over seven hours ago, and the inspection showed no issues. How can you suddenly blame me for a scratch that appeared during those seven hours? I suspect they are trying to charge me for other damages now that I’ve filed an insurance claim. The scratch in question was on the left rear fender in a straight line. How is it possible to scratch the left front rim and simultaneously scratch the left rear fender? What a scam. Even if I had created that scratch, isn't it the rental company's responsibility to notice it during the inspection? If I missed a scratch when picking up the car, they would surely blame me. If I had really caused the damage, I wouldn't deny it since I have full insurance coverage. But blaming me for something I didn’t do just because you know insurance will cover it is outrageous. This rental system is flawed. Since I didn’t buy their full insurance, they held a 2500 NZD credit card pre-authorization, allowing them to charge whatever they want. This is why they could just send me a photo with a “just to let you know” message, conveniently placing all these charges on me.

Finally, regarding repair costs. With 2500 NZD held by the rental company, I was prepared for their charges and asked them to settle the repair costs quickly and provide the bills for my insurance claim. When I received the bills, I was shocked. They charged 30 NZD to fix the rim, as stated, but the scratch on the fender cost 299 NZD. Are New Zealand car paints made of gold? While I’m not familiar with repair costs in New Zealand, I have no choice but to accept their claim. The most unacceptable part was an additional 250 NZD for labor and management fees. Are they really that busy? 250 NZD for minor scratches! It’s about the same as two days of car rental plus insurance. There were over ten similar scratches on the car when I picked it up, and they didn’t bother to fix them. Now, they want to c