1. Before I arrived in NZ, the owner did not respond to my email where I requested a copy of the terms of the "mandatory" insurance policy.

Here is my explanation why ARA Rentals deserves 2/10 and you should not ever rent a vehicle from them:

The insurance policy was expensive, and did not provide as much coverage as a third party insurer would have covered for less money. Had he provided it, I would have insured myself from another insurance company.

2. On my first night, I discovered the van had leaks in the rain. One of them was through the back doors, and water fell directly on the bed.

3. On the third night, I had mice in my van. This occurred anytime I was camped near a beech forest, which was almost every night. I had many sleepless nights where I constantly had to remove mice from the van.

4. The windows did not open properly. Windows are important when you live in a van and cook food inside.

5. The van constantly had "warning" lights turning on and off. The owner told me when I rented the van to ignore them. What he didn't tell me, is that when a warning light is on, the van will not perform well at simple tasks, like going up hills.

6. The owner told me to drop off the van at the wrong location. As a result of his mistake, he almost made me miss my flight home, as the other location was over 30 minutes drive from the location he instructed me.

7. I caused some minor damage to the van. The owner told me it would cost approximately $300 when I dropped it off. He charged me over $600. He did not provide any receipts proving the repairs were made, but he did provide phoney quotations of repair estimates. I challenged this with my credit card company, and the owner refused to provide any additional information to them.

In short - New Zealand is awesome. Camping in New Zealand is really awesome. ARA Rentals is terrible. Spend your money elsewhere, and enjoy your time in New Zealand.

Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in April 2017