Auckland Car Hire

Pros: The car specifications..

Cons: The guy at the reception of airport was challenging everything we had to say. Not polite.

Receipts don't match

Pros: The car was large enough for my needs.

Cons: The price given to me online was not the price I was charged for and when I called the 800 number, the customer service office was closed. I feel I was charged more money because I was in a rush to catch my flight- Poor business practice by Budget. When I picked up the car, the service representatives had me sign that the car was not damaged before even receiving the keys. I asked if there was damage, could I come back and fill out the form to reflect that, and they said "yes"... but the second I received my keys they shut the gates and left for the day. I asked why the price on the document they gave me was different than what I received online and they told me I'd only be charged the additional amount if I returned the car with less than a full tank of gas. The car was returned full and I was still charged more money than quoted online.

Hidden costs

Pros: Clean ride

Cons: When other rental car companies quoted me it was an all inclusive cost, it wasn't clearly noted that the car was a manual and the price didn't include insurance. So when I actually picked up the car they gouged me on both of those and the quotes price was more than doubled. I had somewhere to be and didn't have much of a choice. Feel like they knew that and really took advantage with the price.

Budget have overcharged me by $300 and not even se

Cons: Budget NZ have overcharged my Credit Card by $300 and not even sent an invoice to justify their charges. What a joke - supposed to be a premium provider...they didnt give me the car paid for (it was a crappy hybrid) and the car stank like a previous renter had spilled Dum Sum in the boot! Dissapointing Budget total rip off and fraudulent charges without substantiation!

New Zealand

Cons: There is no information when booking the reservation that discloses that the car cannot cross from the north island to the south and there is a minimum rental of 3 days. The reservation was booked from Aukland to Queens town and we did not learn about this stipulation until we went to pick the car up. Had to change our plans and spend much more money on new reservations.

Pickup nightmares

Pros: The car itself was clean and new. Handled new Zealand roads very well and was perfectly adequate in regards to space.

Cons: Upon arriving in Auckland we were told by the Budget desk at the airport that there was no reservation in the system under my name. This was not our original pickup location, but they assured us they would be able to see it regardless. After a couple minutes they said they saw it after all at the Penrose branch and told us to catch a cab there. $40 cab ride later the Penrose station tells us that they also cannot see my reservation, that all of the cars like the one I could PROVE I'd reserved on the lot were reserved by other people. They then told me my total reservation for a smaller car would be $350+ higher than I had secured in advance and that I was out of luck if I wanted anything else. Thankfully upon delivery to Wellington the Budget desk was able to lower the previously charged amount to match my original quote, which is a huge saving grace for me. Unfortunately that still means that I paid the price of an SUV rental for a Toyota corolla.