
A line of campervans parked on the slope of Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand’s Tongariro National Park
Scroll down for the overall score of every reviewed New Zealand campervan rental company,
in alphabetical order, based on the average of their ratings out of 5.
Had a few issues but were sorted although had to go to Queenstown- only three places you can so be aware. The only thing was the gps was not great and WiFi waste of time could only use when vehicle running as didntvhokd chsrge either which defeats the point of having one! Easy to drive and everything you need. You don’t beef to check into powered site every two days unless you want to use all the electrical stuff if happy with free sites and free dump stations then no issue. We bought the DOC pass and worth every penny plus liked idea of giving back as footpaths loos etc are generally fab. All but off the track but worth it and you definitely need a good map or gps to find them. All in all a fabulous trip can’t wait to return.
We rented a Maui motorhome for about 6 weeks. Although the vehicle was newish, it was not looked after and had several mechanical malfunctions. The team at Maui was average at best to resolve our issues. Overall, the price was expensive for what we got. Would choose elsewhere next time.
We had rented a 6-person campervan for 4 weeks. It drove fine, but everything rattled inside when we drove and made so much noise that we had to shout to communicate. It was unbearable to sit at the table in the camper while driving because of the noise and the shaking of the camper. We had no experience with campervans so it was a surprise that sitting in the back of the camper was so uncomfortable! At the same time, several parts became loose and defective, see the list below. We contacted Maui, but they would only come and look at it if we got to a bigger city, which we didn’t. At the delivery in Auckland we demanded compensation, we couldn’t get that as we hadn’t driven to a bigger city and let them try to fix the faults. We paid a lot of money to rent the campervan, so of course we expected it to be in order. We would not recommend Maui! Errors in motorhomes:
– Table by the sofa group is completely loose at the bracket in the floor, cannot be screwed down, screws just turn around
– Upper cabinet doors fell off, cannot be put on, screws just turn around
-Loose handles on pots and pans and pot lids, some rattle off while driving and cannot be tightened properly
-Small taps’ tangible fall off so that the water cannot be opened/closed
– The fridge lock keeps coming loose and must be put in place before the fridge can be closed
-Water in the bottom of the cabinet under the microwave
-Water comes out on the outside of the camper when bathing
-The elastic holder for one bottom plate in the double bed has fallen out of the wall
-The toilet opener has stuck several times so that the hole for the cassette cannot be opened/closed
-Toasters have always had loose sides inside, so it is difficult to get the bread up and down in the residue
am following up on your email in response to my request for compensation.
You apologize for all the problems we encountered but that is not enough. The compensation amount of NZD 1000 is SCANDALOUS. It\\\’s a joke!
Your attitude shows that you have no respect for your customers.
I reserved and paid well in advance for a Britz Wanderer 4 berth vehicle for the amount of NZD 14,095.73, or NZD 542.14 per day. I should have received a premium vehicle due to the very high price.
I remind you of the problems:
1. I did not get the vehicle I reserved and paid for well in advance.
2. The replacement vehicle, a Maui Cascade, which I did not choose, had numerous problems from day one:
– Pull left
– Engine alert messages (exhaust alerts, ABS brake alerts, AD blue almost empty)
– Water drains blocked from the 1st day
– Door falling
– No AD blue
3. I had to return to Auckland at your request. I requested a vehicle exchange and you refused.
You told me that you had resolved all the problems (see point 2). You just fixed the door and THAT\\\’S IT!!!!
As a result, we spent 26 days in a camper van in which we could not
1. shower because the water was not draining so we had to go to campsites
2. fears due to engine alert messages,
3. wasted time (vehicle not ready, then having to return to Auckland, then numerous contacts with your assistance services
4. irritations
By your fault our vacation was ruined !
Two weeks ago, we rented a campervan for two with THL, and from the start, we faced multiple issues. The stove didn’t work, and despite being told something was wrong, they couldn’t provide a replacement campervan. This resulted in us losing an entire day of our trip. Later, we discovered the hot water and shower drain were also malfunctioning, and the vehicle had several other problems, including a faulty side door and a warning about the driver´s airbag pressure.
After two days of trying to get assistance, the company suggested we drive to a workshop an hour away, wasting another afternoon. When we returned the camper, they promised a refund for the inconvenience and campsite fees, but once we left, we received no refund and were blamed for the vehicle’s poor condition.
This was an incredibly disappointing experience, and I would not recommend renting from THL.
We rented a Campervan from MAUI for a 5 weeks NZ trip in November-December.
What should have become a trip of a lifetime was badly influenced by the very low quality of service and product of MAUI.
Their main fault was delivering the wrong campervan!
We had explicitly booked the MAUI Ultima for 2 persons. The choice was based on the usable seating area up front so you don’t have to convert the bed in the back every day. They delivered the Ultima PLUS. This sounds like an upgrade and that’s also what they made us believe…but it isn’t.
The plus means an extra bed in this seating area which in summary makes this entire arrangement unusable. When complaining, MAUI hides behind their small print which basically states they can supply you whatever interior lay-out they fancy. Really bad!
And that’s not all by a long way:
State of maintenance:
• When we picked up the camper it was clear this was an “experienced” model. It had quite a few dents and evidence of heavy usage and was not very clean inside. After 1 day it appeared to have a leak. Water was continuously dripping from under the sliding door. As we were still in the neighborhood of Christchurch we went back to THL and they repaired the leak. This has cost us all in all nearly a day.
• Later we also discovered a leak in the shower. We never found the source but the floor of the shower/toilet is always wet and everything you put there also.
• The boiler is producing lukewarm water at best.
• The furniture is of an abominable quality. Everything is making noises all the time. Nothing fits well and looks like very old and heavily used Ikea stuff. The locks on the cupboards are of a weak plastic which develops cracks. On one drawer this gave way and it went through the camper while driving. As we were in the neighborhood of Queenstown we went to the THL center there and they repaired this (they knew the problem very well). This costed us again quite a few hours.
• Most locks on the outside doors for gas etc. are sort of broken. E.g. the door for the gas bottle needs a lot of wiggling before the lock will turn.
• Inventory is bad. It’s a random collection of stuff. Broken and blunt knives, Cracked an leaking mugs, Bad pans etc.
• The front table is highly unstable.
• There are zero tools. Hence every problem like the falling apart furniture becomes a big problem.
Design/execution of camper:
• The upper cupboards have a sort of “rolling doors” which is a problem. Not only do they rattle constantly, they slide into the back of the already tiny cupboards pushing out the content.
• The bed is too small. I’m 1.80m tall and don’t fit in the bed.
• The sink in the kitchen is so small it’s basically unusable.
• There’s no inverter in the camper. Hence when not plugged in there’s no way of getting 220V, not even for small usage like charging a laptop etc. In my opinion quite ridiculous in 2024.
Service THL:
• Nobody seems really interested in “customer happiness”. E.g. when I asked in the Queenstown office if we could get allowance to drive the (in their documentation forbidden) Crown range road (it was good weather, we had an appointment with friends in the Cardrona Hotel and we knew much larger campers also drive this road) the answer was literally a rude No. No friendliness, no question why, just this is the rule and that’s it.
• When the plastic lock was repaired I found another cracked one a few days later. It was clear nobody had been interested in delivering a good product, just repair the problem and get rid of this customer asap.
• A few days ago we got an email about harsh driving. They actually were accusing us of harsh driving in a so called “courtesy message for our own safety”. Let me be clear that we drive safely. Funny to hear from other Maui camper drivers they received the same email.
• The table of the extra outside chairs and table is laughable. It’s the most flimsiest tired old thing you’ll ever see.