Compare Hire Car companies in New Zealand at Canstar Blue. Budget, GO Rentals, Apex, Avis, Jucy, Ezi Car Rental and Hertz were compared on Overall Satisfaction, Availability of Vehicle, Booking Process, Customer Service, Transparency of Cost & Fees and Value for Money.
Budget car rentals is driving customer satisfaction, rated the country’s No.1 hire car company by consumers.
Our review compares hire car companies on customer satisfaction, so you can discover what other Kiwis think about our compared companies before you hire your next car. Think of it like asking hundreds of your closest family, friends and colleagues which hire car company they think is best!
Canstar Blue surveyed 648 Kiwis who had hired a car in New Zealand in the past 12 months and asked for their feedback on the company they’d used.
Respondents rate their satisfaction with their providers from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:
The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall Satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall Satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.
This is the first time that Budget Car Rentals has won Canstar Blue’s Hire Cars Award, and it does so in impressive style. Not only is Budget the only rental car company to earn 5 Stars for Overall Satisfaction, it earns the top rating across all of the award categories.
In total, Budget earns six 5-Star ratings from its very happy customers, which is equal to the total number of 5-Star ratings earned by the other six hire car companies on our awards table. It’s a fantastic result that really highlights Budget Car Rental’s commitment to delivering its customers the best value and service.
Budget Car Rental, which is owned by Avis Budget Group, is one of the world’s best-known car rental brands, boasting approximately 3500 locations in over 120 countries. Here in New Zealand, Budget is guaranteed to have a car for everyone. Whether that’s a small hybrid for your weekend getaway, or a U-haul to help you move.
Its digital check-in option helps speed up the booking process, while its FastBreak membership option offers a range of benefits, including faster reservations, check-ins, drop-offs and receipts. Budget has over 30 offices across the country, including at all major airports. For more details, check out the Budget website.
GO Rentals is a four-time winner of Canstar Blue’s Hire Cars Award, and this year it achieves another great set of ratings from its customers, placing it in second place on our awards table. Alongside its 4-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction, it earns four top 5-Star ratings, for Vehicle Availability, Booking Process and the all-important categories of Customer Service and Value for Money.
Established in 1997, GO Rentals now operates eight offices across the country, allowing you to pick-up and drop-off at different locations: Auckland City, Auckland Airport, Christchurch Airport, Dunedin Airport, Nelson Airport, Queenstown Airport, Waiheke Island and Wellington Airport.
GO Rentals offers a choice of modern vehicles, from small cars and SUVs to 4WDs and vans, plus it has a large fleet of Tesla and MG4 EVs. To add to its green credentials, you can also offset the carbon emissions of your trip via CarbonClick.
Third on our Hire Car Award table, Apex Car Rentals is one of only four car hire firms in our ratings to earn a 5-Star rating, which it achieves in the all-important category of Value for Money. Across all other categories it earns great 4-Star ratings from its customers, including for Overall Satisfaction.
Apex Car Rentals has 14 offices spread across the North and South Islands. Apex’s airport locations are situated close to airport terminals, and provide free airport shuttle services between the terminals and the Apex branches. Its car fleet covers vehicles from mid-range hatchbacks to large 4WDs, people-movers and minibuses.
The global car-hire brand earns high praise from its customers, earning a clean sweep of great 4-Star ratings across all our award categories.
Founded in the US nearly 80 years ago, Avis is now a multinational company. In New Zealand it operates 23 offices, many in airport terminals.
It has 14 different vehicles in its fleet, ranging from small economy cars, such as the Toyota Corolla hatch, through mid-size hatchbacks, up to large 4WDs and utes. Its choice of EVs includes the 3 and Y models from Tesla and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kona Electric.
Jucy scores mainly 3-Star ratings. However, it’s no surprise that the budget car hire brand earns a 4-Star rating for Value for Money, plus one for Customer Service.
As well as its iconic campervans, Jucy offers two types of rental vehicles: small hatchbacks and compact SUVs. While its small cars are available from all three of its airport locations – Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown – small SUVs are only available to rent from its Queenstown branch.
Ezi Car Rental earns a mixed set of results, and is one of only four car-hire brands on our table to achieve a top 5-Star rating, for Value for Money. For Cost Transparency it earns a 4-Star rating, and it earns 3-Star ratings in all other fields.
100% Kiwi-owned and operated, Ezi Car Rental has 24 branches across New Zealand, from Auckland to Invercargill, including many airport terminal locations.
Its wide choice of vehicles includes small hatchbacks and large 4WDs, plus utes and people movers. For the ecologically minded, it also has a choice of five hybrid vehicles.
Hertz earns its top ratings, 4 Stars, for Customer Service and Value for Money. Across all other categories, including Overall Satisfaction, it scores 3-Star ratings.
Hertz is a US car rental company, and one of the biggest car rental companies in the world, operating in 160 countries. In New Zealand, it has locations in all major cities and airports.
As well as small and medium-size family hatchbacks, it offers green EVs and hybrid vehicles, Ford Mustangs, premium Lexus models, and vans and utes.
Other hire car companiesNot all hire car companies in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are more hire car companies to check out before you hire your next vehicle.
Ace Rental Cars operates four offices in the North Island: in Auckland and Wellington, and at those cities’ airports. In the South Island, Ace Rental Cars can be found at Dunedin, Queenstown and Christchurch airports, as well as at the Picton car ferry terminal, Greymouth and downtown Christchurch.
Europcar is a massive worldwide car rental company that was founded in France. It has 16 locations across the country, stretching from Auckland to Invercargill, including in the terminal buildings at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown airports. Europcar’s fleet of vehicles is massive, and includes luxury vehicles from BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz.
Omega Rental Cars operates a wide fleet of vehicles, including small hatchbacks, mid-range sedans and family and luxury SUVs.
In New Zealand, it has 10 offices: two each in Auckland and Wellington, including at each city’s airport, and six in the South Island: Picton, Nelson, Blenheim, Christchurch Airport, Queenstown and Queenstown Airport.
RaD has 23 rental offices spread across both islands, in all main centres and near major airports. It offers two levels of car hire: Classic and Premium. Its Classic fleet includes small economy hatchbacks, and mid-range sedans, SUVs and 4WDs, as well as large people movers, minibuses, utes and trucks. Its Premium range of late model vehicles includes Subaru Outbacks and Jeep Cherokees, as well as 4WD Nissan X-Trails and Kia Stonics, plus new Hondas and Toyotas.
Snap Rentals is a smaller hire car provider, and has just four offices: Auckland city, Auckland Airport, Christchurch Airport and Queenstown. Its range of cars includes models for all budgets, from older, smaller cars to late model luxury vehicles, including Skoda Kamiqs and Kodiaqs. It also has hybrid and fully EV models to choose from. In addition to regular rental terms, Snap Rental offers long-term monthly rentals.
Thrifty has 32 locations across the country, and offers a wide choice of vehicles, from small economy models, including the Toyota Yaris, up to sporty Ford Mustangs, large SUVs, utes, vans and minibuses. Thrifty Car Rental is part of the Hertz group of companies.
While hiring a car online is a pretty streamline process, things can hit a snag when you arrive to pick up the keys. Sometimes the car isn’t the one you expected, or you can be left waiting due to excess paperwork or a lack of staff … and then there’s the drop-off process. It’s not surprising, then, that good, old customer service is the most important factor for car hire customers, rated the No.1 driver of satisfaction by over a third of those in our survey.
Of course, Value for Money is also important, and that rates a close second, cited by 30% of our survey respondents as the No.1 driver of satisfaction when hiring a rental car.
Overall, here’s what the consumers in our survey say are their most important considerations when rating their hire car companies:
This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.
Ease of online booking is the main consideration when hiring a car: 47%
Always pay for additional insurance offered by rental company: 39%
Consider a vehicle’s safety rating when hiring a car: 36%
Would hire a hybrid for environmental reasons: 34%
Pick-up / drop-off procedures should be made easier: 33%
Canstar Blue surveyed 5127 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from respondents who had rented a hire car in the past 12 months. In this case, 648 New Zealanders. Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criterion.
The past winners from Canstar Blue’s hire car ratings:
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