Anyone rented a car from Nova or Arf
 

I'm getting quotes from Arf, Nova and Apex (the last 2 have not replied after 3 days). So I emailed again. Can anybody comment on the 1st 2. thanks. Alana

We've rented through Nova on three visits to the South Island, and we've always had very good luck with them. They use several different rental companies, giving you the lowest price at the time of your reservation. Each time we've rented, we been given cars from National, and we've been pleased.

Nova's prices are all inclusive, with the exception of additional optional insurance, which is clearly outlined in their quotes.

On one occasion, we were given a different car than we'd booked, but they upgraded us to a different vehicle. We still wanted the original vehicle, so we swapped the car a few days later at a different location. They were very accommodating.

Forgot to mention that we never e-mailed Nova, we got an instant quote and reservation online at www.rentacar-newzealand.com

Thanks so much about Nova. I will try them again on their website. Apex and ARF are the same costs, but ARF lets you take the car on the ferry, so I have to check ferry prices. I want to take the Lynx to get to Picton faster.

Thanks for the heads up about these companies. After reading this thread I used the link Melnq8 listed for NOVA and was quoted the lowest rate of the several companies I've researched.

I got a rate from NOVA, emailed them some questions but no replies for 4-5 days..

We're renting with Budget. You can reserve from the states 800 number and get a discount as a AAA member. The prices are much lower than with Hertz, Avis, etc. We've hired one out of Auckland to be returned in Napier, then we fly down to Dunedin and pick up another car to drive the south island.

Dhui -

I don't know why, but Nova doesn't seem to respond to e-mail. They're more of a clearing house for several car rental companies. If you have specific questions, you might want to try sending an e-mail directly to the car rental company that appears on your Nova quote.

I found the details on the Nova quotation clear and with the exception of one upgrade, we always got exactly what we requested.

Having said that, we just returned from two weeks in Tasmania, where we rented a car through Avis. We'd checked Nova first, but Avis beat their price by quite a bit, so we went with Avis this time. We had very good luck with them too. They gave us a free upgrade and their price was all inclusive, except for the optional insurance, just like Nova.

Good luck.

I just checked prices on Nova (Thrifty) using the same dates for our Xmas/NY South Island trip (13 days hire) and it was NZ$200+ more expensive than Budget.

Incidentally, when I checked our Budget reservation last week, the price had increased. I rang Budget at Dunedin Airport (from Singapore...I'd made the original reservation directly with them) and spoke with Cheryl who guaranteed the original price.

We've never used Budget before but all interactions to-date have been very good. I sent Avis reservations in NZ an email a few days ago seeking a quote using their current rent 6/pay 5 promo; I asked them to quote 2 rentals so we could get 2 free days over the entire rental period but stil have not heard back. Companies in general really need to seriously look at their email response times!

Good luck!

yeah! I also spotted Avis got a rent6/pay5 promo, they have a promo code, in which when I put that in during my quotation, it prompted me error...why can't they just get everything automatic and managable online?

ghostboy, if you belong to an auto club (like AAA or CAA), you can get an additional discount with Budget; i think it came to 10%. (AAA members also get the discounts on most other car rental companies as well.) You just have to show your card to confirm the discount when you pick up the car.
Just as an aside, most VISA cards include collision damage coverage with 0 deductible (even on overseas rentals), so you may want to see if your card has this benefit. It saves a fortune comparing the cost of the rental with those overpriced riders they try to push on you.

Sharon makes a good point, but be sure to read the fine print. Our credit card offers the coverage she mentions in some countries but not others - NZ is not covered under our card, but Australia is. Go figure.

Thanks for the tip Sharon however unfortunately it does not appear Citibank here in Singapore (with whom I have a VISA) offers any damage excess waiver or discount; nor are we AAA members. We'll stick with our existing Budget reservation unless Avis comes through with a cheaper rate.

Cheers, Simon.

Simon, some of the American Express cards give the collision damage waiver too. I'm just not sure about out of US coverage. Now as for our Visa, check this out. There are 4 countries where they won't cover the collision. Now here's my disclaimer - If you want to guess which ones, don't read any further:-):
From the visa benefits website:
"This coverage is available on a 24-hour basis, in the United States and most foreign countries. No coverage is provided for motor vehicles rented in Israel, Jamaica, or the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland."

Lucked out on AMEX as well. It's a known fact that the US credit card companies are far more generous in their range of benefits as opposed to the rest of the world (Australia & Singapore in my experience). Cheers, Simon.

Why would you dredge you a 6-year old thread in New Zealand, to post about an experience in Italy...