FAQs and other Important Information
Delivery Arrangements
If you want to be picked-up from Auckland Airport we need to know your flight number and arrival time.
We are available for delivery and drop-off between the hours of 7am and 9pm. Either service can be arranged outside those hours for an additional $25 per service.
For domestic arrivals, we will meet you immediately outside the airline terminal. Just look for a car that has your name in the passenger's-side window.
For international arrivals, after clearing customs and immigration call us on our free-call number, 0800-80-86-87. We will collect you from outside the terminal building about 10-15 minutes later. You will have to take our driver back to our base - about 10 minutes away. We will meet you on the drop-off zone opposite the bus-stop just outside the arrival area doors. Go out door number 9 and look to your left - you'll see the bus stop to your left.
If you wish to be collected from overnight accommodation please call us the night before or on the morning of delivery to confirm the time and place we are to meet you.
For other delivery arrangements, please call our office and we'll work out whatever is best for you. But, PLEASE, do not just roll up to our address in Onehunga - we are not always there. (We're away delivering cars!). It is much better if you can advise us in advance what time you would like the vehicle so that we can programme the day's deliveries to suit your preferences.
Late Returns
If the vehicle is not returned on the due date without prior arrangement a penalty rate of the daily hire rate plus 50% will be charged until such time as the vehicle is returned or recovered. This also applies to cases where the vehicle is left at the airport or other location without prior arrangement.
Rental and lease cars:
The terms of rental car insurance in New Zealand are set by law . . . the government lays down the terms of the insurance policy all rental car companies must use. There are, therefore, no hooks or barbs in our insurance contract that were put in by some smart-ass $400-an-hour lawyer.
All our rental car and lease car prices include basic insurance. The basic insurance package covers you for damage to our car or any other car, person or property with an excess (deductible) of $2000 - that is, you must pay the first $2000 worth of any damage.
Please note that hireage to under 21 year olds is subject to close scrutiny and we reserve the right to refuse to hire to anyone under 21. Hirers under 21 will be required to pay an additional insurance surcharge of $6 per day to secure the basic insurance cover.
On payment of a Collision Damage Waiver ("CDW") you can reduce the excess risk. This also provides full cover (no excess at all) on windscreens and headlights and tyre damage.
| To reduce your excess to: | 4-6 days | 7-29 days | 30 days or more |
| $1000 | $6 per day | $4 per day with a maximum of $60 | $2 per day |
| $500 | $8 per day | $6 per day with a maximum of $90 | $3 per day |
| $200 | $10 per day | $8 per day with a maximum of $120 | $4 per day |
Credit card insurance: Some card companies include cover for rental car insurance if you use the card to pay for the hire. That's fine, but it is a contract between you and your credit card company, not between that company and us. Therefore we do not recognise it and will not exclude our insurance cover from the rates. The advice from the Rental Vehicle Association of New Zealand is that we should not accept credit-card cover as any form of insurance on the vehicles after a major international firm lost $25,000 when a credit card company refused to pay.
It is not compulsory to take insurance in this arrangement. Indeed it it is not compulsory to carry motor vehicle insurance at all in New Zealand, unlike many overseas countries where some form of cover is required.
You can arrange your own insurance on our buyback vehicles if you can find it cheaper, but otherwise we can provide you with cover as follows:
Vehicles under $3000 in value: $80 per month.
Vehicles over $3000 in value: $90 per month.
In each case the excess is as outlined above for rental cars.
EXCLUSIONS
There are some exceptions to cover under the insurance clause. They are as follows:
- An accident while under the influence of drugs or drink.
- Using the car knowing it to be unsafe or unroadworthy.
- In any race, rally, speed test or contest, official or unofficial.
- If an unlicensed driver was driving the car.
- If the licences shown to the owner and detailed on the agreement are invalid in any way.
- For wilful or reckless damage. Wilful damage is damage done on purpose. Reckless damage is caused by more than just ordinary carelessness (all crashes are caused by carelessness). In this case it is reckless driving such that you are taken to court by the police and found guilty of careless or dangerous use of a motor vehicle.
- On Skippers Road near Queenstown, or any beach.
- Operating the vehicle beyond the term of the agreement.
For masochists, or lawyers, the full terms of the hire agreement can be read. This agreement is set by law . . . it is Parliament's decree that rental cars shall be hired out on these terms and conditions and no other.
Why is Skippers Road excluded: Because it is extremely dangerous to drive on it. It is winding and in places so narrow that two cars can not pass. As a result, it may be necessary for a car to back up some distance - like a kilometre! - in order to get a passing bay. Many drivers are simply not skilled enough to back considerable distances on a narrow shelf and as a result accidents occur. You can not get on to Skippers Road by mistake and if you do, the first thing you see is a large yellow and black sign warning you not to proceed further.
The most important thing is that we maintain our cars to a very high standard. On-road breakdowns are an annoyance for our customers and expensive for us . . . for those reasons alone it's in our interest to minimise the risk of problems away from home.
We have a 24-hour, 7-day emergency free-call number to deal with breakdowns and (heaven forbid) crashes.
If the vehicle requires repair, take it in to the nearest garage and get a mechanic to have a look. If the repair will cost more than $50 have the mechanic check with our office before going further.
What happens then depends on the class of car: Obviously if you are paying more you are entitled to and can expect better, faster service. The downside of renting a Backpacker Special is that the response time may be slower.
So much depends on where the problem occurs, the time, the day and what the problem is that it is impossible to say exactly what will happen. In general, however, there are three considerations: How long you have to wait for the vehicle to be repaired, whether or not and how we supply a replacement vehicle, and what happens to that replacement vehicle.
In general, if you break down within three hours drive of Auckland or Christchurch we will come out to you with a replacement car, if the breakdown cannot be repaired in reasonable time.
Most breakdowns - 85% - are repaired within two hours. A further 10% take up to five hours. It is only a very few - one or two a year - that involve major work that will run into a day or more.
One of the factors we will take into account is your own response to the problem. If the trouble is something that has developed over a period of time and you knew - or should have known - that something was wrong, our response will be less than enthusiastic, especially if you consequently break down in an isolated spot having driven through towns where repairs could have been done quickly and easily. In other words you must use your brain if you expect us to bend over backwards to keep you moving.
If you have failed to take reasonable care in having an obvious problem repaired when it becomes apparent - in other words if you just keep driving and ignore the obvious - you will be held liable for extra recovery and repair costs.
Discount Cars, SuperSleepers, Family Campers: If a repair will take longer than a day we will arrange for a replacement vehicle from the nearest supplier of similarly priced cars. You must pay the costs of getting to that supplier's depot. If the repair will be completed within two days you must return the replacement vehicle to its supplier and resume your journey in our vehicle, otherwise you may complete your hire in the replacement vehicle and it is our responsibility to return it to the supplier. Alternatively, we can declare the hire ended, and refund any unused portion of your hire. We will then assist you to locate another vehicle. Any additional hire costs will be at your expense.
Lease Cars and Backpacker Specials including SleeperVans: You must wait for repairs to be completed. If those repairs take longer than five hours, we will credit you with cost of the lease/rental for as many days as it takes to get the vehicle going again. We will, if asked, assist you to locate a temporary replacement car, but the cost of the vehicle is your expense. Alternatively, we can declare the lease/rental terminated, and refund any unused portion of your lease.
Booking conditions and cancellations
Rentals cars and station wagons:
To confirm the booking we require your credit card number. We will deduct a 10% deposit on confirming the booking. There is no cancellation charge if you notify us at least 14 days before the expected arrival date that you are cancelling, in which case your deposit will be refunded on to your credit card. If less than 14 days notice of the cancellation is given the deposit of 10% - or four days hire, whichever is the greater - will be taken as a cancellation fee. You are advised to check your travel insurance policy to ensure that cancellations fees are covered in the event of you being unable to travel.
Sleepervans / Minicoaches / FamilyCamperVans / Supersleepers:
To confirm the booking we require your credit card number. A deposit of 10% is payable on confirmation of the booking and will be debited to your credit card. The balance of the amount of the hire must be paid no later than 21 days prior to the start of the hire. That amount may be lodged to your credit card on or after that date. Prior to that date there is no cancellation fee, but if you cancel between 14 and 21 days from the date of the booking we charge two weeks hire. Cancellations after that date are non-refundable. You are advised to check your travel insurance policy to ensure that cancellations fees are covered in the event of you being unable to travel.
Downtown Car Rentals
31 Neilson St, Onehunga, Auckland.
Phone (Country code 64, area code 9) 625-6469
Email: rentals@New-Zealand-rental-cars.com
* SuperSleepers is a registered trade mark of Downtown Rentals.
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