South Island New Zealand Counterclockwise Road Trip

Very satisfied, the car was in great condition.

Avis and Budget are part of the same group, so we were assisted by an Avis representative. He was very polite, and the paperwork was processed quickly. Self-pickup of the car was very convenient.

The process was very smooth, both pick-up and drop-off were quick, and the staff upgraded our car for free. We had a great time throughout the trip.

We booked a Prado model on the website, but the rental company couldn't provide it at the store and couldn't offer a car of the same class. We had to settle for a Chevrolet or a five-seater Toyota RAV4. Although they offered compensation by allowing us to return the car without a full tank of gas, we didn't think this was an equivalent compensation for the following reasons: On the day we arrived, three groups of Chinese customers had also booked the Prado model, but none of them got the car. We suspect the company lowers the price of the Prado to attract bookings but then claims it's unavailable upon arrival, offering lower-class cars instead without equivalent compensation. If we had booked the RAV4 earlier, we wouldn't have chosen this rental company because other companies are obviously cheaper. The rental platform said the company quotes the same price for these two models, but anyone who understands can see that these two cars can't be priced the same.

The service attitude was excellent. The staff gave a detailed introduction to traffic rules and local maps when I picked up the car. They also provided three car choices, and I was lucky to select a new 2015 model with only 5700 kilometers driven. Dropping off the car at a different location was also very quick and convenient.