Compare Prices

 

It's a nightmare trying to extract all the information from the various operators to figure out how much your trip will cost all up. Seasoned travellers know that you've got to look past the headline daily rental rates and dig out the hidden costs to get the full picture.

You'll notice we're not the cheapest.  But before you jump in and book with the company that is the cheapest, make sure you check out other travellers' experiences of hiring from them on Rankers.  Cheap but not so cheerful.

To save you the hassle of scouring numerous websites looking for those sneaky charges, we've done some comparison shopping for you. We looked at how much a 21 day summer trip covering both North and South Islands with each of New Zealand's four biggest motorhome rental companies as well as Wilderness would cost. We compared the standard rate (daily rental rate plus extras) and the all-inclusive rate for the companies that offered those. The all-inclusive rate is a higher daily rate which usually includes many of the extras that are otherwise add-ons such as zero insurance excess, camping table and chairs, child seats and snow chains. It may also include a full gas bottle, one-way fee, and diesel recovery tax fee.

Now here's the rub - the extra charges can end up costing you another 27% on top your daily rental rate. So look how the companies rank from least to most expensive:

At a glance - Daily rental rate versus Total rental cost

Daily rental rate		Total rental cost*
Apollo	$232	Apollo	$6,063
Maui	$280	United	$6,682
United	$285	Wilderness	$6,893
Kea	$300	Kea	$7,171
Wilderness	$315	Maui	$7,088

• * Less expensive of standard or all-inclusive rate
• Rates are for a 21 day, one way hire (from Auckland or Christchurch or vice versa) during peak season (January and February) travelling 200km/day on average and exclude any special offers.
• Prices are as published on the various companies' websites and are updated every two months
• Rates are for a 2 berth vehicle with shower and toilet
• Price comparison table last updated 9th June, 2009

If you want to check the maths, here's the detail:

Dig deeper - Rates

	Apollo	United	Maui	Kea	Wilderness
Daily rental rate ($/day)	232	285	280	300	315
Long term hire discount	5%	0%	5%	3.32%	5%
Excess waiver ($/day to reduce to NIL)	38	32	38	35	29
Diesel tax fee	$0.047/km	nil	$0.047/km	nil	nil
Credit card commission (Visa/MC)	2.00%	nil	2.00%	nil	nil

Dig deeper - Total Rental Cost

	Apollo	United	Wilderness	Maui	Kea
Total daily rental (21 days)	4872	5985	6615	5880	6300
less long term hire discount	244	0	331	294	209
Subtotal	4628	5985	6284	5586	6091
Excess waiver ($/day to reduce to NIL)	798	672	609	840	735
Over/underbody cover	0	0	0	50	0
Gas bottle fill	20	0	0	35	0
Diesel tax fee (assume 200km/day)	197	0	0	197	0
Picnic table	20	15	0	22	30
Picnic chairs 2	30	10	0	24	40
Snow chains	0	NA	NA	0	0
One way fee	250	0	0	250	275
Subtotal	1315	697	609	1418	1080
Credit card commission (Visa/MC)	119	0	0	140	0
Standard rate - Total NZD	$6,063	$6,682	N/A	$7,144	$7,171
All inclusive rate - Total NZD	N/A	$6,930	$6,893	$7,088	$7,235

• * Wilderness' standard rate is all-inclusive ie no extra charges

Other nasties to watch out for:

Empty gas bottle

Some companies will go to the trouble of filling the gas bottle for you before pick up - and charge you for it. Others will just leave the bottle as it was when last used. If the previous user drained the bottle and you don't discover it until it's time to cook dinner, you may be eating sandwiches. Your Wilderness motorhome comes with a full gas bottle at pick up.

All-inclusive rates

Many of the big companies offer you an all-inclusive rate. This is a higher daily rate which usually includes many of the extras that are otherwise add-ons such as zero insurance excess, camping table and chairs, child seats and snow chains. It may also include a full gas bottle, one-way fee, and diesel recovery tax fee. This may sound like a good deal but beware, it may not be. We did the maths - for shorter hires (less than 15 days) the all-inclusive rate is usually slightly less expensive than the standard rate plus additional extras.

However, if you're planning a longer trip, you're usually better off taking the standard rate plus additional extras. Just so you know, we don't bother with all-inclusive rates because what the other companies call 'additional extras' come standard at Wilderness.

Diesel recovery tax

The New Zealand government charges owners of diesel vehicles a diesel tax called Road User Charges. Most motorhome rental companies incorporate this charge in their daily hire rate - others charge extra. The difficulty for the hirer is that you don't know what the bill is going to be until you finish your trip - and it's usually hundreds of dollars. Rest assured we cover the costs of Road User Charges and there will be no nasty surprises when you return your motorhome.

Ferry bookings

Most visitors travel between the North Island and South Island so rental companies offer the service of making the ferry booking for you. Be careful - the price they charge you varies widely. Most motorhome rental companies will charge you less than what it costs to book direct with the ferry company but, one will charge you a whopping 30% more than booking direct.