What is an insurance excess?

The excess is the amount you'll only be liable for in case of damage (under Collision Damage Waiver) or theft (under Theft Protection) of the vehicle. Information about the excess will be clearly stated in the price inclusion when you reserve a car on QEEQ.

How can I add an additional driver?

You are advised to make a request upon your arrival at the rental counter. Additional charge per day will incur unless '1 Additional Driver Included' is stipulated on the rental. Please note that the same licence and age requirement applies to the additional driver. The additional driver is supposed to present the required licence document along with the main driver at pickup.

New Zealand traffic rules and self driving car rental tips

The Complete New Zealand Driving and Rental Guide

With a territory as large as the United Kingdom but with only a population of 4.5 million inhabitants, New Zealand has always been a popular travel destination thanks to its beautiful and diverse natural sceneries. Here is a driving and rental guide we prepare especially for you aiming at helping you have a smooth road trip.

Speed Limit and Traffic Signs

In New Zealand, driving is on the left with overtaking on the right. New Zealand has the same system of signs and road code as you would find in the United Kingdom. During winter, especially in the mountains or on South Island, driving can be tricky. Therefore snow chains are highly recommended when renting a car at this season.

Speed Limit

There are speed limits of 100 km/h on highways and 50 km/h in urban areas unless signs say otherwise.

Traffic Signs

There are three major types of signs in New Zealand: compulsory, warning and information signs. Here are some of the regulatory signs that you may often see in New Zealand.

Stop

Give Way

No U-turn

30 km/h Speed Limit

No Stopping

Warning signs are diamond-shaped with yellow or green background.

60 km/h Speed Limit Ahead

Merging Traffic from Right

Road Bump

Watch for Large Animals (Cattle)

Railway Crossbuck

Information signs are in rectangular shape with a white background.

Left Turn at Any Time With Care

Cyclists Cross Here With Care (to the Left)

Further information on signs for driving in New Zealand can be found in this booklet.

Seatbelt and Child Safety

Seatbelt Laws

The driver is responsible for ensuring all passengers under 15 years wear seat belts. Passengers aged 15 and over are responsible for putting seat belts on themselves.

Booster Seat Laws

All children under 7 must use an approved child restraint appropriate for their age and size.

You must correctly secure children aged between 7 and 8 in an approved child restraint if one is available in the vehicle. If not, in any child restraint or safety belt that is available.

For children aged between 8 and 14, a safety belt must be used. If not available, they must travel in the back seat.

Parking, Fuel and Toll

Parking

· Forbidden Parking

You cannot park your car in the following spots:

- Along the broken yellow lines along the side of the curb, since it means that parking is not permitted

- Near a corner, curve, hill, traffic island or intersection, if it will stop other people from seeing along the road

- On, or closer than 5 metres to a fire hydrant, unless somebody who can move the vehicle stays with it

- In front of or closer than 1 metre to a vehicle entrance

- On or closer than 6 metres to an intersection, unless there are parking spaces or a notice telling you that you can park there

· Parking Signs

Parking signs in New Zealand are marked with numbers indicating how long you can park the car and an arrow to indicate directions. Some are specified with the date of the week as well.

New Zealand Parking With Specified Time And Arrow

New Zealand Parking With Specified Time And Dates And Arrow

· Paid Parking

All machines accept New Zealand coins, and some of them have been introduced with credit cards and TXT-a-Park payment methods. Currently, you still need to go for Pay-and-Display parking. However, all machines will be upgraded by March 2018 to include Pay By Plate technology, which allows you to enter your vehicle’s registration plate number directly on the machine and pay for it by credit card, debit card, coins or TXT-a-Park. Note that there is a 50-cent fee for credit card or TXT-a-Park transaction.

New Zealand Paid Parking Metre (Image from Stuff.co.nz)

Fuel Prices

The average gasoline price in New Zealand in November 2017 is $2.22 per litre, while it is of $1.47 for diesel.

Toll

There are three toll roads in New Zealand: the Northern Gateway Toll Road north in Auckland, the Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road and the Takitimu Drive Toll Road in Tauranga.

New Zealand Toll Road (Image from nzta.govt.nz)

How much you should pay depends on your car type. You can pay the tolls by debit or credit cards, POLi, and cash.

Debit or credit card

You can use your Visa or Mastercard to buy or pay a Pay & Go toll.

POLi

If you have Internet banking with ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank, TSB Bank, Westpac or Bank Direct, then you can buy or pay a Pay & Go toll (external link) using Payment Online (POLi).

Note: POLi is not available for business internet banking customers.

Cash

If you prefer to pay with cash (or by debit/credit card) you can pay your tolls at selected service stations (a transaction fee of $1.20 per transaction will apply).

Be aware that as a car renter, not paying for the toll fee will result in the car hire company paying it for you and collecting the toll fee along with an add-on of management fee (note that it can sometimes be costly) from your credit card.

Traffic Violation

DUI Laws

If you are 20 or over, you must not drive if you have consumed more than the legal alcohol limit, which is 250 micrograms per litre of breath or 50 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood (0.05%). There is a zero tolerance for alcohol if you are under 20.

Traffic Fines

In New Zealand, exceeding the speed limit results in an infringement fine range from $30 to $630. The amount of the infringement fine will depend on the difference between the actual and legal speed limit.

As for parking, an infringement notice can be issued if a vehicle is parked illegally on public land, or in breach of what a parking sign says. In some circumstances, the vehicle can also be towed away if it is obstructing traffic.

Normally, there will be a website or hotline number on the front or back of the ticket as well as the reason for the violation fine and the relevant voucher number. Please be aware that you can log onto the website or call the hotline and follow the guidelines to pay the ticket.

Failure to pay tickets will result in the car hire company paying them on the renter’s behalf, and debit the renter credit card for the fine amount plus an administration fee. Please note that you can always contact QEEQ’ 24/7 customer service team for help if you have questions concerning this matter.

Driving Licence and Age Requirements

At the time of rental in New Zealand, all drivers must present a full and valid driving licence from the renters country of residence and the licence should be held for at least 1 or 2 years ( policies may vary depending on car hire companies). An International Driving Permit is highly recommended for international drivers. If your domestic driving licence is not printed in English (Arabic, Japanese, Cyrillic etc), an International Driving Permit (IDP/IDL) or an official translation in English is required when you drive in New Zealand.

Minimum age in New Zealand is 21 years (age may vary depending on car category) and the maximum is 80 years of age. If you're 21-25, you are likely to have to pay a young driver fee. If you're 65 or older, you may have to pay a senior driver fee.

Guest reviews

1 /

Anonymous

March 19, 2026

Destination: Queenstown

10Excellent

The first car had low tire pressure, so they immediately upgraded us to a Mitsubishi Outlander. The car was really new and the driving experience was great.

Destination: Christchurch

Super satisfied

Pick-up and drop-off were super easy, and the Subaru they gave us was great.

March 18, 2026

Destination: Auckland

8Very good

Return process was a bit slow.

March 17, 2026

Super convenient and hassle-free.

There weren’t many people picking up cars, but each customer took over ten minutes to process. Also, I didn’t get the Toyota RAV4 I’d originally booked, which was a bit disappointing.

March 14, 2026

Excellent.

Excellent service, really happy with everything.

March 13, 2026

The car was small but totally enough for us, and the price was great. Staff were all really friendly and helpful, so overall it was a very good experience.

S.Lealiifano

March 12, 2026

Destination: Wellington

10Very accommodating

Upon booking letting know of the bond that has to be paid

Everything went really smoothly and was super convenient. The front desk staff were great too—no hard selling at all and they fully respected our choices.

March 11, 2026

Picking up the car was really smooth, the handover was easy, and the car was very new.

March 10, 2026

The car was in great condition.

Had a really great experience renting from Avis at Christchurch Airport. The staff were professional, friendly, and super efficient with the paperwork, and there was no hard selling of extras. The car was clean, tidy, and in excellent condition. Both the pick-up and drop-off locations at the airport were easy to find, and the whole process was clear and smooth from start to finish. For anyone planning a road trip around the South Island, this is a very hassle-free option. I’ll definitely choose Avis again next time.

March 9, 2026

Tianyi Car Rental in New Zealand was excellent. The car matched the booking exactly and had only a bit over 20,000 km on it, so it felt pretty new. It came with a large built-in navigation screen, and my iPhone connected via Bluetooth in seconds, super convenient. The RAV4 isn’t huge, but the trunk is massive – we fit four large 26-inch suitcases plus plenty of other stuff with no problem, and it seats four adults comfortably. We also bought full insurance and roadside assistance at the counter, so the whole pickup process took barely five minutes. I’ll definitely choose Tianyi again next time!

March 8, 2026

Pretty nice car and really easy to drive.

March 6, 2026

Located right in the airport, super convenient.

March 4, 2026

Super easy to find, it’s right inside the airport.

Destination: Dunedin

Super happy with the whole experience, everything was great. I’ll definitely use QEEQ again.

March 2, 2026

Matched the car I booked and it had just been serviced, so everything felt fresh and reliable.

March 1, 2026

It was okay, nothing special but not bad either.

Really good overall.

February 28, 2026

First time driving a Haval J6 hybrid and I’m really impressed – great performance, easy to handle, and the car is in excellent condition.

Pick-up and return at the store were super smooth, staff were friendly and helpful, and the deposit was refunded quickly. Just a heads-up: adding extra drivers costs extra.

They spoke Chinese so communication was super smooth the whole way, and they were really friendly and patient.

February 27, 2026

When a lot of flights arrive at once, you have to wait in line. The queue is pretty chaotic with no staff directing people, so it all depends on everyone behaving themselves.

Really good overall – service was great and they didn’t play any games or argue over anything.

February 26, 2026

Really good, everything was handled properly and the service felt very attentive.

Picking up the car at the airport was super easy. The only downside was that over Chinese New Year there weren’t as many car options and prices weren’t as good as usual, but everything else was great. The staff asked if I wanted to add roadside assistance, I did the math and decided to get it—just over NZD 11 a day for peace of mind while driving.

Super satisfied!

February 25, 2026

The rental company was pretty efficient and the service was great, but the car I got wasn’t the model I booked and didn’t really suit my needs.

Really great.

February 24, 2026

Pretty good overall.

The staff were pretty slow, and sometimes they just weren’t at their desks so you couldn’t find anyone and had to wait. The first time picking up the car took over half an hour.

Paperwork was super simple and returning the car was totally hassle-free.

Pretty average overall, nothing particularly impressive or disappointing.

Service was great, super efficient, I’m really happy with the whole experience.

Really friendly and helpful staff

Super friendly and attentive service. When I returned the car they weren’t picky at all—barely even inspected it, just took the keys and I was done.

February 23, 2026

Really good overall, no complaints at all.

Final rental was handled by Europcar and the cross-island car swap was smooth and hassle-free, really impressed.

Everything from the process to communication went really smoothly.

Really good experience — the customer service and staff responded super quickly and actually solved my issues. I’d definitely rent here again next time.

February 21, 2026

Everything was great

Absolutely loved the whole experience.

February 20, 2026

Everything was great.

Really good experience overall – super efficient and the car was in great condition.

The staff was super friendly and explained everything really clearly.

New Zealand Car Rentals