written by Pearson447 on 02/02/2023
from all sides, this company is the worst ! Fly away ! First : the customer relationships : Someone called us the day of our drop off in order to be sure that we will give back the van before 4 pm and didn't mentionned at all the free lift to the airport. Once we arrived at 3.15 pm the free lift was over and we had to pay a 25dols lift with a taxi with all our lugages... The van was a WRECK ! very old, very dirty and the gas wasn't full... we just realized that like 10 kms away from our departure point. The wheel was going everytime on the left during our 3000 km trip (steering problem) The brakes squealed at all time (very freaky !) even with the low motor The curtains didn't all tie (nice to slip with daylight...) We will never again want to deal with this company ! And we weren't alone indeed the others people who were giving back their van too had many problems...
written by Davemj99 on 25/03/2020
Where do I start? Worst customer experience in ANY field, not just rentals, I have had. - Meant to pick up our campervan at 8am, wasn’t ready until 4pm (previous customer was still using until 12pm, then central locking needed fixing- which then didn’t work for the whole trip). - Terrible customer service, staff ignoring us when we came back to pick up the van, not shown around and if my partner hadn’t checked the cooker (wasn’t working and needed replacing) we would’ve left with no way to cook. - Van was dirty and extremely old (570k’s!). Sticker on the inside of the windscreen tells you you’re liable if you overheat the engine and to stop every two hours. This happened to us driving much less and taking care of the vehicle. - We advised Lucky from the very start we would be returning the van outside of office hours due to an early flight. When we arrived the gates were locked and the key drop was on the inside of a barbed wire fence. Ended up leaving the vehicle outside and were later told you are not allowed to drop vans off outside of hours!! - $2500 bond is held for THIRTY days on your card. Whilst this is in the T&C’s it is a ridiculously long time. When you ask about this you are immediately referred to your bank. - To top it all off we had to pay an extra $160 when we returned the van because it was diesel (never mentioned to us at any stage prior). What a great way to finish the trip! Would go nowhere near this company again and would not advise anyone to rent a vehicle from them.
written by AndyVR on 20/02/2020
This is the most unprofessional car rental company I have ever worked with. It all started when I wanted to pick up the car. The car was supposed to be ready at 11am and I got the keys at 2pm. Later, I had an issue with a flat battery on the road and called the road assistance. They told me that I was only responsible for the payment if there was no technical issue. The mechanic that came to see my car said that it was an old battery and things like that could happen but there was no evidence that it was my fault. To my surprise, the road assistance charged me NZD 140 (for kickstarting the battery btw). I talked to the road assistance and lucky rental but there was no agreement possible. Without further evidence they claimed that there was nothing wrong with the car, despite the fact that the mechanic said something else. I continuously asked to contact the mechanic himself but they refused. Instead, they wanted me to go to another garage and get the battery tested. Furthermore, I had to deal with false accusations. My words were twisted and turned. Eventually, they just hung up and told me to "get my ass to the car". Lucky rental car showed a tremendously inaccurate approach.
written by on 10/01/2020
Your safety is more important than a cheap rental! We rented an 8-seater car from Lucky Rentals Christchurch in Dec 2019 and informed them 6+ months in advance of our travel/arrival time. The car was not ready when we arrived, we got the keys almost 2 hours after the appointed time. The staff were most unapologetic, ducking behind the one-way glass in the office and avoiding me each time they saw me approach the counter to enquire about the status. When we got the car, it was filthy inside and out. The sliding doors wouldn’t open, the mechanic was called in and it took another 10 minutes to get them to work. Once on the road, we noticed the left-hand sliding door wouldn’t shut completely so there was a constant draft coming in. Each time, we had to yank the doors a few times before they would open. They made a grating sound when opening/closing. The seats had little cushioning, the driver’s seat was ripped and so uncomfortable. This is a big deal when you’re driving 6 +hrs to anywhere. The car had done over 250,000km and was completely un-roadworthy, hazardous even! Halfway through our trip, the power steering on the wheel died making it impossible to steer or drive the car on New Zealand’s winding roads. We would have had an accident or caused one had we continued. We called Lucky and their Customer Service was SHOCKING. I wish I could relate the bizarre conversation in its entirety but suffice it to say, they were glib, showed no understanding of the predicament we found ourselves in thanks to this beat up car, they made many excuses (public holiday etc etc) but no effort to source another replacement car, they just didn’t seem to care that they left seven people stranded. After much to and fro-ing, the best they would do is offer a refund for the unused portion after I threatened to stop the credit card payment. We wasted a full day having to deal with them and trying to find 2 cars to rent in Queenstown (in peak season)! We eventually hired two cars from Budget Rentals (what a difference!). Our ‘Lucky’ (sic) experience was with an 8-seater Toyota Estima (DSQ 396) was awful. I can’t speak for their other cars, but I can speak to the lack of care and good service at this place. If you after an UN-Lucky experience, give them a try, they won’t disappoint!
written by twarren93 on 08/01/2019
We rented a camper out of Christchurch for a 2 week road trip around the South Island of NZ and had the best holiday of our lives. When we arrived at the depot and checked in we were told they didn’t have many of the vehicle we had booked left, as such they were offering us a free upgrade to their top spec camper - a Lucky Rambler. We were stoked by this as it meant we were self contained (had shower and toilet) and we could freedom camp. Unfortunately the vehicle wasn’t ready yet and ETA was 45mins. We hadn’t had breakfast so asked where we could grab some food, appreciating we had to wait they offered us a car so we could drive to a cafe and get some breakfast - great service. The girl that checked us in - want to give a shout out to her as she was super friendly and helpful. We didn’t have any problems with the van for the whole of our 2 week trip. Bed was comfortable and shower/toilet worked. We didn’t shower inside as it is quite small. Instead we fed the shower to the back door of the van and showered outside! I was amazed at how hot the water got, be careful not to burn yourself. Yes the Lucky vans are a little older than some other companies but are well maintained and so you are getting a steal on the price. This is the second time we have rented from Lucky (once from Sydney) and I would recommend them to friends and family.
written by Gustafson371 on 27/05/2018
Came over to NZ in 2017 on a tight budget for a few weeks holiday. Wanting to hire a larger vehicle we went for a people carrier. Lucky was by far the best price, however, being ex-rental and reading some bad reviews we braced ourselves. The Lucky Coach was by far much better than we expected. High mileage of course but clean and tidy and never missed a beat the whole time we were in New Zealand. The staff although young were polite and professional and kept waiting to a minimum. For the price I, for one, would not hesitate to use Lucky again.
written by Av2104 on 20/02/2018
My Uncle rented a car through Lucky and it was not a fun experience and I was a little embarrassed having my visitor from overseas coming into Christchurch and experiencing their awful customer service. We waited for over two hours, were completely ignored at the service desk, watched a staff member throw a tantrum, and watched another two couples who said they had been told to come back twice that day as their campers weren't ready. We even offered to help them as we just wanted to pick up a little car, that was refused. The car was terrible (and I have hired older cars with no issues in the past). As my Uncle followed me home I noticed his headlight was out which meant we had to return the next day to get it fixed! I have emailed the full situation to Lucky and didn't even receive a response form them - not even an acknowledgement of their poor service.
written by 346Beach on 25/11/2017
Worst rental van ever! Vehicle was in very bad condition: only 3 gears, interior smelled bad and was extremely filthy (seats and curtains completely stained and graisy, bed sheets full of holes, kitchen and fridge so filthy we did not even dare to use it), back door did not open, glove box fell out when opened, ... Just a disgrace to rent such a vehicle for this price. Rental price for 2 weeks is almost half of selling price of vehicle in itself. In short, lucky rentals NEVER AGAIN !!!
written by CassidyEdwards on 22/06/2017
I don't normally write reviews but having been scared to death by other reviews I thought I should. We are currently backpacking for 1 year and decided to book lucky as it was by far the cheapest quote we found. We were in new Zealand for 7 weeks so a rental was our best option. A few weeks after booking the lucky rookie we had a look at some reviews and were absolutely horrified we were pretty close to cancelling our booking. I'm so glad we didn't. Yes it was old and a bit rough around the edges but it was great. No mechanical issues, great pick up and drop off service from and to the airport. Great, quick service in the office. Really can't complain.
written by Cora75 on 02/05/2017
Pictures by a third party in the net are lies they show a nice car, if they show the rubbish and smelly cars they use you would not rent it no matter how cheap it is. Uruguayan girl who charge me monies in lucky rentals state I'm not welcome in New Zealand she wanted to charge me a kids seat that they not supply. If they pick you up after hours it is an extra charge. They gave me an invoice without any information it was until I enter an office to speak to a manager that he issued me a receipt. Complete disgrace stay away from this company!
written by Joyful-traveler on 27/04/2017
Waited 50 minutes at the Auckland airport for our ride to pick us up a deplorable 2003, cheep car. Called 3 times and each time was told they'd be there in 15 minutes. Yes, the car drove but it was very smelly, the passenger window wouldn't unroll, the trunk seal was loose & broken. My husband & I both decided the car was lacking shocks. The car basically was not at all what we had envisioned. Lesson learned, rent from the airport not this discount place.
written by Aileen234 on 16/04/2017
Firstly our mini camper, along with 6 other groups was not available on the pick up day. They then told us to stay in the hostel down the road and refused to pay for accommodation for the night. Upon organising our own airbnb at our expense, we were not able to collect the camper until 5pm the next day, losing 2 days of our south island trip. The car was in terrible condition, felt dirty and smelled bad. Not sure if they even cleaned it from previous users. The amount of dinging and screeching noises was very concerning as we bumped along the road. Driving on the crown range road into queenstown the brakes began failing and it was obvious the brake pads needed replacing. Pretty scaring considering the hills and cliffsides you drive on and to be honest im surprised it passed a warrant of fitness. The staff are incredibly rude and obnoxious and not apologetic about the lack of service or quality of the rentals or the fact they caused us to lose 2 days of our trip. Really not worth using, definitely would use a different company and pay a bit more for better quality and a safe vehicle.
written by JadenCarter392 on 09/03/2017
They rented me a campervan that was booked well in advance, still we had to wait all morning. Early on in our trip I realised that there might be something wrong with the front suspension. I had this checked out by an AA Auto centre who confirmed that both the front and rear shocks as well as the front sway bar link rods has to be replaced. I see this as putting our lives at risk and then they have the audacity to insist on car insurance. This company is an embarrassment for New Zealand tourism.
written by Trevino129 on 11/01/2017
Obviously, Lucky Rental is a very budget option. However, the expectations are that it stills delivers on the very core service of the rental company i.e. you get the car that drives safely and lasts you a trip. Well... Where do I start? 1. We had to wait 4.5 hours for our pick up. NOBODY apologises. ever. The first day of the trip was ruined for the whole group. After pressing the issue, we got one day reimbursed BUT the rest of the group still lost the money and the day trip as they were waiting for us. 2. As soon as we started driving, the left wing mirror tilted and never gone back up. The driver could not see what was happening on the left side of the van. OOPS! 3. Our van charging cord was broken and taped back together. :O Not too bad, until the rainy night when we had a voltage spike that burnt all of our outlets, our charger and my killed my phone battery. BOOM! pls, see below the response I got from the company : ) complete ignore of my complaint. "This vehicle is fitted with a surge breaker which is a device that is designed to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes. This vehicle has a current EWOF so has been check to ensure this is in working order. " 4. Gears were funky, but thankfully lasted us a whole trip. Though, we could not gain more then 30-40km/hr up the hill (even the small hill) , the travel time doubled some days because of that. 5. At the end of the trip, I received an angry call from the service desk asking where we were and that we were late to return the car. She just happened to confuse the dates and phoned us up a day earlier. Have I mentioned that nobody ever apologises? If I knew, what I know right now - I would not rent from them. However, if you are willing to risk your long vacation and trip of the lifetime, below are few tips learnt the hard way. - If something goes wrong, get it fixed right in front of them. If you let it go email/phone, forget it. They will promise things to get you out , but no follow up will ever happen. If the van broke and you were stuck , and the service person tells you to get taxi and hotel, and they will reimburse you later... Do not believe it. It actually happened. The next morning they told that it is not part of the policy and they do not reimburse. - Read the contract. The stuff is trained to quote the contract word for word in all situations. So you better actually look through T&Cs. - Again, if something goes wrong and you interact with the stuff, I would recommend recording them. Asking for comms copies apparently was not enough. - Service people are not there to help you; - Save a bit more and get someone with the better rating :) NZ is fantastic place to visit, do not let it get ruined with Lucky Rentals . When it is suspiciously cheap, it is probably for the reason . I should have remembered that one myself.
written by Miya441 on 24/08/2016
Tl;dr : avoid at all cost Worst rental company ever. Scheme people of off their deposit money for no reason at all. They justify it by a very high quote made by their mechanics ($2400 out of $2500 for a destroyed light!). Total rip off, beware and stay away! I found other people complaining about their behaviour and we are preparing legal action. Some had purchased the most expensive insurance and the company found ways to still charge thousands of dollars of repairs, using loopholes they have put in their rental terms and conditions.
written by Dulceg216 on 16/05/2016
we had the largest campervan.only 11l on 100km :O. And the staff was very friendly and helpful. You could see that it was not very new, but everything worked alright and we did not had any problems with the car. we just was not that happy that we had to refill the gas, because they do not provide full gas bottles. But beside that it was a great bargain and we enjoyed our month here in New Zealand.
written by Argusie on 26/04/2016
If you are looking for Lucky van it means that you are on a budget. If you really look for budget camper I would recommend Lucky. Van are basic, but work fine. Note that Lucky have 2 types of Toyota Hiace, older and a little bit newer, try to ask enquire for the new ones. Our camper was 16 years old and was actually the oldest car we ever drove but it was ok and comfy enough. The second battery is for internal light and fridge only, you will not get 240V if you are not connected to the external power. Also note that you will have to pay extra diesel tax for every km you made, but on the other side diesel is half the price of petrol in NZ. We liked the staff and service both in Christchurch and Auckland. They are very friendly and helpful. Next time I'll come to NZ I will definitely rent a Lucky camper again.
written by ReeseCarroll116 on 22/04/2016
cheap rental van that gets the job done we took it all the way up to the cape and back and it went fine. wasw ok on peterol as well.
written by First2 on 05/04/2016
Booked our rental campervan but had to wait ages, got offered a car for a while but what use was that. When we got the van it was easier to point out undamaged bodywork as that took less time. Seats torn and not very clean. Chopping board we were given was a health hazard. Could go on and on. Cheap, yes, knew it would be an older vehicle, but not in such a bad condition.
written by krystal54235 on 27/03/2016
great for what we needed. comfortable enough. just a lot of squeaks.
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1St2Thebar's Response to Av2104's Review
Written on: 20/02/2018
Consumer friendly - thanks for sharing.