hunterwe

Hi

Myself, partner and our then 3 year old daughter (from UK) will be arriving in Tauranga on 4th May, we will need somewhere to stay whilst we are securing a longer term rental property. Has anyone got any advice on short term (2 week) rentals? we obviously don't want to be spending a fortune if we can avoid it, but we need somewhere comfortable for our daughter with decent wifi.

Also we need to buy a car asap, but will need to rent one from Auckland to drive across to Tauranga, any reasonable car hire companies in Auckland that anyone can recommend. I know there is an airport in Tauranga, but we arrive in Auckland early morning so thought after the long flight from LA it would nice to drive to Tauranga.

Any advice would be fantastic - thanks guys x

escapedtonz

Hi,
I'm in Tauranga.
Have a look at holiday homes or what is called a Bach here. Look on sites like www.bookabach.co.nz or www.holidayhomes.co.nz or just use Google. These will be furnished and as big and small as you need or can afford. There's also the Airbnb site now but not sure if anyone's signed up on there yet? Baches can be expensive but it'll have everything you need including wifi and maybe even sky TV or Freeview plus all the appliances and furniture you'll need to tide you over. What is beneficial is you can book and pay online and know exactly what you are getting. Some friends of ours arrived here last October and booked a Bach in Mount Maunganui for 10 days/2 weeks until they got a permanent rental. Wasn't too difficult. Failing that there's always a motel...which are way better than you think. Ideal for temporary stays. We've stayed in a few all over NZ as they are ideal accommodation for family road trips.

There are many used car dealerships in and around Tauranga. You'll have loads of choice, just don't be too hasty. Look on www.trademe.co.nz as most vehicles are advertised here.
There are 2 types of car here:-
(1) What is called NZ New...this is an imported vehicle specifically designed for the NZ market and to NZ spec.
(2) What is called an import. This is a car imported from anywhere in the world that is not to NZ spec....majority of these are Japanese but there are a few American and European.

Not wise to drive to Tauranga after a long flight in to NZ. Youll be knackered and it being early morning wont help as your body will think its night time. It's a 2.5hrs drive at least assuming you don't hit any traffic on SH1. Not that nice of a drive until you get to Paeroa as youre just travelling through the Hauraki Plains. I'd advise you to check in to a motel and have a day in Auckland. Get some rest etc.
If you must drive then so be it. Theres loads of rental companies but you'll get stung for a one way rental around $300 ish unless you decide to drop it off back in Auckland after you've bought a car. It'll be cheaper to do that as all you'll be paying for is the fuel for both cars which wouldn't amount to anything like that amount but yes it's a pain in the arse.

You could of course dispense with the hire car and just get the coach from the airport to Tauranga. Means you don't have to drive and can sit back and relax. Takes a bit longer but it's pretty cheap and you won't then have the problem of taking the hire car back. There is no train service. Just use Google to work out which bus/coach company to use.

Cheers

inkedneonurse

Hi there

Try looking at booking.com I've always found reasonable places on there (motels holiday shopping arks etc)

simonsi

Thats a bit misleading TBH (esp for the OP).

NZ New means it was sold as a new vehicle in NZ. Imported means it is second hand but will have been checked for full compliance with NZ laws at the time of import to NZ.

The differences between the specification of two cars of the same year (one NZ new, one imported used from say Japan), may only be interior trim items for example.

Pom_Chch

Hi Hunterwe,

I would say that a bach/holiday home will be your best bet. That way you'll have some space, a proper kitchen to cook meals in and some outdoor space for your daughter to run around in (and mum and dad to relax ) A motel will probably set you back $100-130 per night for a small room but a holiday home will probably cost the same for a whole house.

Good luck with the move!

Catchafire

Highly recommend Airbnb!

escapedtonz

I admit not 100% accurate but also not that misleading simonsi.

The true meaning of NZ New is a vehicle that was first registered in NZ, not first sold.
Since no vehicles are manufactured in NZ, all vehicles are imports whether new or used.

For the OP - to clear up any confusion, I may have caused :-

If you go to a dealer and view a brand new unregistered car or even a new pre-registered car it is an NZ New vehicle and will be to NZ spec regardless that NZ spec may be just different interior trim to an identical car that lives and breathes in another country.

If you see a used car advert that says it's an NZ New car it means it was a new car first registered here in NZ, will be to NZ spec, hopefully have a service history book and an owners manual.

If you see a used car advert and it states import or imported then it will be an overseas import to the spec of its original country but has passed or will pass (if it's still en route) compliance etc for registering on NZ roads. There are heaps of these here, the majority being Japanese imports from the likes of Mitsubishi, Mazda, Suzuki, Toyota etc.
These will have spent the first few years of their life in Japan before they are traded by their owners and sold to exporters for use in NZ. I was told by a dealer that once a Japanese car gets to a certain age where it needs a fitness test, the cost of these in Japan is very high in to the thousands of dollars so instead of paying out that money, Japanese owners flip them off to an exporter to avoid the fees....no idea if that's true or not?
A used car import will seldom come with any service history or a handbook. If it does it'd be in a foreign langauage anyway and there's usually some evidence of foreign spec so for example there may be Japanese text on some buttons, or on the stereo etc and if it has navigation it won't work in NZ unless you can change the DVD map or the software it uses. Many also come with the electronics still fitted for the Japanese road toll system.
Had a few Japanese imports and all have been fine even though they've had Japanese text and speach!

So long as the OP is a little wiser then I'm happy.

Bo-Jangles

TBH I think that would confuse the heck out of anyone: in simple terms 'NZ new' just means it has had no previous owners in either country.

An 'import' usually is second hand - i.e. been owned / driven in the country of origin and will likely have a Japanese radio, manual / labels inside the doors and such like.

You can buy an import from a dealer, such as the Toyota Signature Range which are previously used cars which come all cleaned up and almost as new, with all the checks and will have a manual translated into English and the radio band expanded to receive NZ frequencies.

wakwak

Hi

We are also headed to Tauranga and have organised furnished accom via Airbnb, they are also on bookabach, a lovely couple who have a few houses close to rotorua - we have dogs so initial choice was pretty limited. When we land we will choose area/school and then look for something more permanent for when our stuff arrives

It's more expensive but they have been great and totally flexible!

all the best

PammyM

Hi, I'm so jealous your move is so soon, Tauranga is such a lovely place, we were there in April last year and we stayed at a place called "The Annex" that we found on Airbnb, I would highly recommend there.

Also can I ask which airline you are flying with to go via LA? I wouldn't mind taking that route when we move rather than via Dubai.

Good luck

Munchkjn

Never done this myself, but you could try one of the relocation companies who want someone to shift a car from aucks to Tauranga. Give it a whirl, it's often free!

https://www.transfercar.co.nz/search...by=list&page=1

escapedtonz

Wrong way around. Rental companies only want to take things to Auckland or one of the other main places where there's a major airport like Welly or Christchurch.

Tomsk

There's a lot of short term holiday type accommodation in the Tauranga area - it's a popular holiday destination especially around Mount Maunganui, & May is heading into the quiet season so you should be able to negotiate a deal with Bach/ holiday home owners. I'd recommend looking at bookabach & holiday houses nz for availability and prices, & then contact the owners asking if they'd be willing to offer a discount. For a booking in May do check what heating is available though! Don't assume that there's a good heating system in place because sadly there might not be! And the weather will be beginning to cool down by then. < snip > .Good luck with it, at that time of year I doubt you'd have too much difficulty finding somewhere.

Jane_wl

Hi there.
We arrived in Tauranga from the UK at the start of October with our 6 and 3 year old. Like you we arrived into Auckland airport early morning, with suitcases and kids car seats. We considered getting another flight down to Tauranga, but just could not face another plane! We hired a car from Avis in Auckland airport as soon as we landed and drove down to Tauranga around 8am. There was no traffic going in our direction.
We had the car for a few days and dropped it back to Avis at Tauranga airport, all very easy! We were lucky as my husbands new employers had a car for us to use after that.
We have recently bought a second car, as I needed a car for ferrying the girls to school and kindy. We looked around a lot but found Car Connexxion in Tauranga to be helpful.
We were also lucky as we stayed with my uncle for a few weeks while we sorted out a long term rental, which we secured after about 3 weeks of looking. We did this through searching Trade Me Property every day. We looked at around 10-15 houses and there was a lot of competition for each. You have to register your details with each different agent which is a complete pain, but once the agents have met you and know you, we found that they start giving you the heads up on upcoming properties which have not yet been marketed. This is how we secured our rental as the agent let us view it before anyone else.
Now been in Tauranga for 3 months and thoroughly enjoying it. Such hard work getting here but it was all worth it!!