Finally, some wheels!

*big sigh of relief*

So, I have no idea why I've been utterly agonizing over what to do about renting (hiring) a car. You'd think the decision would be fairly straight forward... go with the cheapest rental, right? Well, not for me. When faced with a lot of factors, I sometimes overthink things to the point of inaction, which is basically what happened here. I've been looking into car rentals for over 2 months now and here we are 1.5 weeks before I leave and I finally made the reservation.

Some of the factors that I was thinking about were: Do I go with a big company like Avis, Hertz or Budget? They will have new cars but at higher prices. Or with a local NZ company like Apex or Ace? They will likely have older cars at cheaper prices but how reliable are the older cars? How do I make sure to set up the multi-island hire since I'll be traveling to both North and South Island? Do I need a GPS? How can I guarantee an automatic transmission? Which kind of car should I go with? Hatchback? Sedan? Am I making a big mistake by wanting to drive there in the first place since they drive on the left? Yeah, yeah, I know.. breath, relax and stop worrying. There likely isn't a "best decision".

Well, I ended up going with a local NZ company called Apex because they got some rave reviews from online forum. (Yes, I'm an avid review reader) Aside from that fact, here's why... It's a local company and the Kiwis that wrote the reviews were pretty proud of that fact. Cheaper car rental prices but it also means that I won't be getting a brand new car. I did at least stick with one that was a 2006 - 2007 model for a little extra. Apex actually wants you to keep your car the whole time and gives you a free Interislander ferry pass for your car. Plus, with one booking I was also able to buy myself a ferry ticket and rent a cell phone. I declined a GPS even though it was pretty cheap at $5 NZD ($3.5 US) a day. Might have been the wrong choice but Apex provides free maps, so I'm going to do it old school style. Getting lost won't be the end of the world either and it might mean some adventure. Lastly, Apex provides free 24 roadside assistance and unlimited kilometers.

With the car on the ferry I'll have a safe place to stash my suitcase while I wander around the boat for 3 hours taking pictures of everything. (Yes, I'll be taking my dramamine.) The only slight downside (for me) is that the free pass requires you to go with the 8:25am crossing and you have to be there 2 hours ahead of time with your car. *groan* However, I'll deal with it.