Lucky Rentals
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Un-Lucky Rentals!
This is a review for Lucky Rentals Christchurch. I am making the effort to post this detailed review in the hope that helps others make an informed decision. Don't believe the 9.8/10 review rating on VIP Cars. (They offer you US$25 to remove negative reviews so that's one possible reason you don't see them.) However, one's safety is more important than a cheap rental and a US$ incentive. We rented an 8-seater car from Lucky Rentals 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. We had to sit away from the door just in case it swung open. To open each time, we had to yank the doors from the outside a few times before they would open. They made a grating sound when opening/closing. The air-conditioning was inefficient. 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 250,000 kms 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 (despite the fact that we purchased additional insurance), they were great with excuses but not so with any effort to source another replacement car, they just didn’t seem to care that they left seven people stranded. The earliest they offered to help was 2-4 days hence which just doesn't work when you have onward travel & pre-bookings. They were unconcerned. After much to and fro-ing and only after I threatened to stop the credit card payment for the rental, the best they would do is offer a refund for the unused portion of our rental. We wasted a full day having to deal with them and then trying to find 2 cars to rent in Queenstown (in peak season)! We were so fortunate to be able to source two cars from Budget Rentals given the busy season and short notice. (what a difference with Budget's service and rental, five stars for them!). 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!