SCOTTIES CAR RENTAL REVIEWS

The rental office was not far from the airport, so I walked there. On Christmas Day, they were closed. When I arrived, I called the office but no one answered and the door was closed. After a while, a staff member on duty appeared, giving me a scare for a moment.

Terrible experience!!!! SCOTTIES is a very poor rental company and was the biggest disappointment of my trip to New Zealand. Their vehicles are generally old and in poor condition, which makes driving on New Zealand's many mountainous and steep roads very dangerous.

It seems relatively small, but the procedures are convenient and flexible.

Despite arriving past the pickup time, they waited for us, but everything was quite casual and the car was in poor condition with 140,000 km. They just gave us the contract, took a photo, and handed over the keys. The staff member, who was Indian, left brusquely. The car had only half a tank of fuel, and we returned it with an extra bar.

Staff member James was friendly, but the vehicle's condition wasn't great. It was a Nissan March with over 100,000 kilometers. The engine made abnormal noises when starting, and it struggled a lot on New Zealand's mountain roads.

Explained clearly.

Convenient car pick-up with dedicated shuttle service.

Very good

Like: upgrade to bigger size car, simple pick up without trying to sell lot of extra services
Dislike: old radio with no aux or bluetooth but that's complaining on a high level

The staff had a very bad attitude! The day before pickup, they called and insisted we purchase their full insurance, even threatening that they wouldn't reserve the car for us if we didn't buy it. This made us very angry, but because we had already purchased overseas car rental insurance in our home country, we managed to get the car with the help of the rental car broker. The car was old, and the front bumper on both sides was already dented. Since we picked up the car at midnight and no one was on duty, we emailed the rental company immediately, but we didn't get any response even after we returned home. When we returned the car, it was in perfect condition, and we took photos as evidence. However, after we arrived home, we received an email from SCOTTIES claiming that our car's windshield was damaged and they charged us over 500 NZD. We sent the rental car broker the photos taken at the time of return, but we were still required to pay for the damage! The broker only said they would help us file an insurance claim. This company is totally rogue! Tourists considering renting from them should think twice!

Upon arrival at the airport, I called the company for a pickup, which was charged at 25 NZD, while other companies provide it for free. This indicates that this is a small company. The vehicle had high mileage, and the insurance deductible was high, implying their insurance costs are low. I experienced a minor accident due to slippery roads and was charged a 5000 NZD repair prepayment. Note, this was not just a credit card authorization but an actual charge. This is unreasonable because you have to pay the credit card bill based on the charge. The final repair cost is still unknown. Although the excess was 3500 NZD, they charged 5000 NZD. This is outrageous. Overall, besides being cheap, this company offers no value. Rental platforms should review such companies to protect renters' rights.

I can't praise them. It's a small company and you have to haggle over everything.

The company is small and the cars are relatively old, but the staff is very helpful. QEEQ did not send our order, but the company placed the order for us again.

Average

Service attitude was decent, and the pick-up and return processes went relatively smoothly. The company is small and doesn't have a counter at the airport. You need to call in advance for someone to be at the office or arrange a shuttle. They tried to sell us insurance, but since we already had full coverage, we declined. The car was in poor condition, an old model with dirty seats. Even though we booked the cheapest option, such a car should not be provided to customers. The steering wheel was misaligned, the wipers were dirty, the idle noise was loud, and there were strange noises while driving. The headlights were very dim, and we had to use high beams at night. Due to the car's age, it consumed a lot of fuel. Upon returning, they claimed there was windshield damage and tried to charge us 500 SGD, but we showed them photos from the pickup, proving the damage was already there, and they dropped it. They probably say this to every customer.

It was awful. Couldn’t find the company upon arrival, and they didn’t inform me of their relocation, resulting in an additional taxi fee of 400 yuan. The driver mentioned they could sue this company. After returning the car, they overcharged me and haven’t refunded it for over a month. They said they would refund the deposit immediately upon return, but they haven't. They even asked me to pay extra. It's been two months, and I still haven’t received my refund. They tried to extort me with someone else's repair order. This is a fraudulent company that disappeared after getting my money, and this platform is also irresponsible. They keep passing the buck without any customer service management. Complaints on the platform go unanswered. Both the platform and the company are irresponsible. I'm considering reporting this to the authorities.

It's hard to describe this car rental experience. First of all, our pick-up and drop-off times were outside the company's regular business hours. For pick-up, a young guy delivered the car to the Christchurch Airport's Car Rental Transfer Centre. For drop-off, there was no one there, and I had to park the car and drop the keys in the office myself, then walk back to the terminal! Yes, I had to walk back to the terminal myself (the company’s office is not located within the terminal!). I called to request a bigger car, and the company provided a higher-class Odyssey that had over 100,000 kilometers on it. The condition of the car was decent.

I do not recommend fellow Chinese travelers to choose this car rental company. It's a very small company in New Zealand with very few staff. If your English isn't good enough to communicate with them, you may find yourself at the shop with no one to assist you, and none of our questions were resolved. The condition of the car was mediocre as well; it was an old Nissan Sunny. One day, we encountered strong winds in New Zealand, and the car was shaking on the road, which was quite dangerous.

They required a 5000 NZD deposit for the cheapest car, aggressively pushed for insurance, and finally gave us a very old and fuel-inefficient car.

It’s less than a 10-minute drive from the airport. Friendly service, pick-up right downstairs, car in great condition, and easy drop-off.