currency
Any special IdeaMerge discount we apply is applied to the entire, tax-inclusive rate.
(Thus we effectively discount the tax as well.) And we do not require you to pay in full earlier than normal
to receive this discount.
Our motorhome and campervan rental
rates (apart from any special IdeaMerge discount) and policies match those of our vendor and therefore the rates
are calculated in New Zealand Dollars (NZD).
This means we do not inflate our rates to cover ourselves against the threat of
our home currency, the US Dollar (USD), declining versus the NZD.
Moreover, we do not impose a credit card transaction
fee.
And we do not truncate the exchange rate
(which is another way companies can favor themselves).
Furthermore, we use the
minimal retail exchange rate — alias the
"credit card" exchange rate
(as published
on www.oanda.com) —
to change from the vendor's currency into our currency
(USD) for actual charging.
Finally we present all this math in the detailed confirmation
voucher that we e-mail to you soon after booking the rental. …
In these and other ways we carefully save our clients from suffering
hidden costs.
reservation
In accord with the automobile rental industry standard,
reservations may be made for a vendor's particular vehicle category
(what we might call a vendor's "group") only, not for a specific vehicle.
Which is to say,
although the various images, model numbers and vehicle specifications presented
throughout the IdeaMerge motorhome rental pages — especially on the
vehicle-specification pages — are carefully selected to accurately
and precisely indicate the vehicle that you will get, the vehicle model
(and layout) you get might not be identical to what is indicated by said
information.
In the very unlikely event that
a vehicle in the reserved category is not available upon the pick-up date, the
rental company reserves the right to substitute a comparable or larger vehicle
with the same equipment and the capacity to accommodate the number persons you have delineated (in terms of, say, adults and children) as being in your party. In this case there will be no additional charge for a larger
vehicle. However, the higher ancillary costs associated with a larger
vehicle — such as ferry charges,
tolls, and fueling costs — are to be borne by the customer.
Of course IdeaMerge will not charge your credit card unless the vendor you select does have availability in the
particular vehicle category you select.
After you place a complete online reservation request with IdeaMerge (i.e. including your credit card details), IdeaMerge will straightaway query the vendor.
If a vehicle in the selected vehicle category of that selected vendor is indeed have available, we will immediately book the rental with that vendor and charge your card —
binding you per the cancellation policy noted below. Either way, we will then inform you as soon as possible,
often within an hour but most certainly within 24 hours
(or perhaps 48 hours if you enter the reservation request on a Friday or Saturday,
since the booking facilities of some vendors are closed on weekends).
downpayment
IdeaMerge charges a 20 percent downpayment
upon booking a client's reservation request.
This downpayment is fully refundable until 25 days* prior to
the pick-up date.
(These days are determined according to the time in Auckland, New Zealand.)
balance
The balance is charged or due 25 days prior to the pick-up
date. (If a reservation is placed within that time window, the whole
amount will be charged or due straightaway.)
We require early prepayment because Apollo requires prepayment and
because Apollo imposes further cancellation fees starting at the 6-day threshold.
Necessarily and simply reflecting that schedule of fees,
IdeaMerge's cancellation policy is as follows ...
cancellation fees
However, for rentals priced according to STANDARD rates (i.e. NON-FLEX rates) — which apply in approximate relation to the
Rugby World Cup in New Zealand being held September–October 2011 — the minimum cancellation charge is NZD 500.
changes
Any change to a booking — especially of the rental duration, and
whether requested before, during
or after the pick-up — is subject to
authorization by the rental company. Do not expect to be able to make
such changes upon the pick-up occasion.
If a client requests an official change to a booking, the flex rates that will apply to the changed booking are the higher of the original
versus the current rates. The following
alterations are considered official booking changes: (a) change of booked date for
vehicle pick-up; (b) change of booked date for vehicle return, unless that change is an extension of just one or two days;
(c) change of booked vehicle category, (d) change of name in which the booking is made. (The addition of extra drivers is not
considered such a booking change.)
If such a change to the booked dates or vehicle is made within 14 days of the pick-up date, no refund will be
made if the length of the rental duration is shortened (i.e. the rental will remain charged at the number of
days originally booked) or if the client chooses a lesser vehicle.
There are no exceptions to this set of change-order rules.
If after a rental has commenced the client wants to
change drop-off location, the client should first
obtain authorization from the destination depot.
Subject to such change being approved, Apollo would
levy a charge of NZD 700.
If after the rental has commenced the client wants to extend
the duration of the rental, the client should obtain authorization
from the destination depot. The extra cost must be paid by credit card
over the telephone or at an Apollo branch immediately on confirmation
of the rental extension. The additional days will be at the Gross Rate
available at the time of extension. Failure to obtain such authorization
will result in the renter being charged double the daily gross rental rate.
Refunds are not offered for early return of the rental vehicle.
Minimum duration is 7 calendar days except for certain special peak periods and when the pick-up occurs in
the span 15 December through 10 January, when the minimum duration
is 14 calendar days, and except for one-ways as noted below.
One-way rentals entail a special fee of NZD 250 during November–March but otherwise entail no special fee.
The minimum duration for a one-way is 7 calendar days.
security deposit
Upon pick-up, the vendor requires directly from the client a security deposit.
The amount
and form of this deposit depend
on the client's choice of insurance option (which options the vendor calls
"standard," "reduction option 1," and "reduction option 2,"
respectively). In the first
instance, an amount equal to the applicable insurance deductible will upon the pick-up occasion
actually be charged to the client's Visa or MasterCard;
in the other two instances,
merely an imprint and authorization
(or else payment by cash or traveler's checks, in which case refund
would be by check from Apollo mailed to client)
will be obtained by the vendor
upon said occasion — only to be actually charged in full or in part
upon the return occasion, if necessary.
Apollo imposes a 2 percent credit card surcharge on the
Visa/MasterCard transactions they themselves process
— and a 4.5 percent surcharge on the American
Express transactions they themselves process —
i.e. insofar as they charge
the optional items and/or the security deposit or possible traffic fines
or penalities and such locally (that is, upon the
pick-up and/or return occasions).
Apollo does not refund their credit card surcharges.
The vendor is of course not responsible for any associated
surcharges levied by the credit card company nor for any fluctuations in
the applicable exchange rate (if any) between the time of the charge and
the time that the vendor credits the charge (in
full or in part) back to the card.
Of course the security deposit is refundable depending on whether the
vehicle is returned
on time, to the correct location, undamaged, with a clean interior and
with appropriately full fuel tanks (fuel being gasoline/petrol, diesel,
and LPG gas). The
vendor reserves the right to retain an NZD 125 "soiling" fee if the vehicle
is not returned with the interior in a clean condition. The toilet and
waste water tank (if present) should be emptied prior to the return of the
vehicle, or the vendor will retain a separate NZD 125 fee.
Important: In addition to the deductible, Apollo will charge
an administration fee of NZD 75 per insurance claim and per
speeding ticket, parking fine, traffic ticket, or toll-road fine.
age and license(s)
The minimum age limit for renters and other drivers of the Apollo's vehicles
is only 21 years; the maximum age is 75 years.
Upon pick-up the vendor requires of the client
a valid, non-provisional resident-country drivers license, held for at least one year.
Moreover, if said license is not primarily or secondarily (i.e. in parallel)
written in English, the vendor also
requires of the client an international drivers permit (IDP). Such IDPs are available
for a small charge (about USD20) from the automobile club offices in the
client's country of residence (but not outside their country), and
a person need not be a member of such club to obtain the IDP from the club.
See the IdeaMerge "Resources" page for more about IDPs.
Drivers must of course possess their valid domestic drivers license.
The Australia and New Zealand motorhome and camper van rental
vehicles presented on the IdeaMerge Website are designed such that relative
especially to the laws of Australia and New Zealand
virtually all non-provisional domestic drivers licenses suffice for operation of these
vehicles, even in nearly all cases where the inherent limits of such
license (i.e. relative to your domestic laws) would preclude the holder from
driving the vehicle in his/her own country. (Which is to say, standard foreign
drivers licenses are translated by the laws of Australia and New Zealand such
that these licenses basically function in Australia and New Zealand as
standard Australia or New Zealand drivers licenses.)
Nevertheless, you might be interested in researching the inherent limits of
your drivers license. To do so you can
check the back of your license and visit the Website of the
governmental agency that issued your license.
You can also see the following Wikipedia articles:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver's_license and, say,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Driving_Licence_codes.
Again, there is no charge for additional drivers.
animals
No animals other than humans and guide dogs are permitted to use the vehicles.
no smoking
Smoking is not allowed in the vehicles.
what's included
The following items are included by default at no extra charge:
With the exception of the Cheapa brand vehicles, the Apollo vehicles include linen, sleeping bags, bath and tea towels, pillows, pillow cases.
All Apollo's New Zealand rentals include
unlimited kilometers, airport transfers and
24/7 nationwide roadside assistance via a toll-free helpline.
The rates also include the 12.5% federal tax (GST).
And the
total rental cost computed by
the (highly specialized) IdeaMerge online reservation software includes
other charges that might apply
(i.e. charges for optional extras, etc).
Also included are
liability
(i.e. third party) insurance and collision and
comprehensive insurance, the latter inhering a deductible
(a.k.a. excess; applicable per claim not per rental, and applicable no
matter who is at fault) of NZD 7500
(NZD 2700 for the Cheapa brand Hitop and Cheapa 2 Berth ST, NZD 5000 for other Cheapa brand vehicles)
but clients can reduce this figure to either NZD 2500 (or NZD 1200 for the Cheapa brand Hitop and Cheapa 2 Berth ST) or all the way to zero
and the latter reduction including one windscreen and two tires (except for Cheapa brand vehicles), this by purchasing
one of two optional damage waivers (a.k.a. excess reductions),
for NZD 22/day (maximum total cost of NZD 1100) or NZD 38/day
(alias VIP cover; maximum total cost of NZD 1900), respectively, although
for the Cheapa brand Hitop and Cheapa 2 Berth ST these figures are only
NZD 16/day (maximum total cost of NZD 560) or NZD 20/day
(maximum total cost of NZD 1000).
These insurance options also have positive effects in terms of the security
deposit charged by Apollo upon the pick-up occasion:
the default security deposit is
NZD 7500 (NZD 2700 for the Cheapa brand Hitop and Cheapa 2 Berth ST, NZD 5000 for other Cheapa brand vehicles)
actually debited to the client's Visa or MasterCard;
insurance option 1 reduces this amount
to NZD 2500 (or NZD 1200 for the Cheapa brand Hitop and Cheapa 2 Berth ST) and moreover entails a mere imprint of the credit card
(or else payment by cash or traveler's checks, in which case refund
would be by check from Apollo mailed to client) rather
than an actual charge to a credit card; likewise insurance option 2 reduces
the amount to
NZD 250 and entails a mere imprint.
The term comprehensive above signifies
damage due to vandalism, fire, theft, break-in, and weather,
as well as damage to windows, tires, and underbody,
and towing and recovery costs. Importantly this term
also signifies the cost of the daily rental for the duration the vehicle
is off fleet for accident repairs (demurrage); which is to say, this cost
is considered a damage. The deductible/excess is applicable
no matter who is at fault; but if the client is shown to be not at fault
and Apollo is successful in recovering damages from the other party, the
client will be refunded appropriately (although such process can take several
months). The associated personal injury
insurance is effective only in regard to transactions (i.e. medical services
provided to the client or to members of client's party) that occur in
New Zealand.
Except with the Cheapa brand vehicles, there is no charge for additional drivers.
multiple rentals
If via IdeaMerge a client rents separate Apollo
vehicles in New Zealand and/or in Australia and/or in the USA and the pick-up dates are
within 92 days of each other, IdeaMerge will
apply to each rental a rate or rates based on the sum of the
durations (thus perhaps effecting long-term discounts).
Moreover, only one security deposit need apply to combined rentals if the
pick-up occurs in the same country and no damage or claim occurs to the rental(s) preceding the final combined rental.
Note: Given this policy and
the cost of transporting a vehicle between Australia and New Zealand,
such transport is prohibitively costly. Our online reservation software,
although highly specialized, does not
allow customers to place more than one reservation at once. Therefore
IdeaMerge will manually and at the client's request account
for multiple rentals as described above.
"diesel tax recovery" fee
The so-called Diesel Tax Recovery fee will be calculated and collected
upon return of the vehicle. This small, government-imposed fee is based on the
number of kilometers the vehicle is driven during the rental. The fee does
not apply to the HiTop vehicles. Relative to the other vehicles
its amount per 100 kilometers traveled is as follows: NZD 4.70 for the
2-berth T/S vehicles; NZD 4.70 for the 4-berth; NZD 4.85 for the 6-berth.
infringements
The vendor reserves the right to charge the client for any speeding or parking
fines, associated administration costs and/or accidents including third-party
property damage not reported by or upon the termination of the rental duration.
The administration fee will be NZD 75 per fine.
travel restrictions
The 2WD (two-wheel drive) vehicles can only be driven on sealed/bitumen/paved
roads. The only exception to this rule are any recognized campground access roads
less than 500 meters in length and the last remaining kilometers
of loose road surface on any major ski field access roads.
No Apollo vehicle shall be driven on Skippers Road (Queenstown),
Ninety Mile Beach (Northland), Ball Hut Road (Mount Cook),
Bluff Road that runs between Kuatunu and Mataurangi
and North of Colville Township (Coromandel Peninsula).
Apollo reserves the right at its sole discretion to restrict the
movements in certain areas due to adverse road or weather conditions.
breakdown cover and repairs
For starters, the fleet of vehicles is modern and frequently upgraded,
the average age of a vehicle normally being less than 1 year.
All the vehicles do include 24/7 roadside service nationwide
and membership in the New Zealand Automobile Association.
Call toll-free 0800 113 131.
Any problems associated with the vehicle, including equipment failure,
should be reported to Apollo
as soon as possible and within 24 hours, this to give Apollo the
opportunity to rectify the problem as soon as possible. Failure to report
as such will compromise any client claims for compensation.
Apollo does not accept liability for claims submitted after this duration.
In the event, please contact Apollo toll-free at tel. 0800 113 131.
Repairs costing up to NZD 50 may be effected without authorization from
Apollo and will be appropriately reimbursed if the client provides the repair receipt
to Apollo. For amounts estimated over NZD 50, the
client should obtain authorization from Apollo. Receipts relating to
any repair should be sumbitted to Apollo.
See our "Insurance, etc"
page for details concerning the included insurance.
a slight disclaimer
IdeaMerge takes special care in representing our vendors (i.e. the actual rental companies) so to maximally benefit our clients.
Thus we present such information using various careful emphases and an overall style which is decidedly complementary to
the legalistic style that necessarily constrains the terms and conditions presented by our vendors.
The information on the IdeaMerge Website is merely designed to assist our clients.
Yet in asking IdeaMerge to make a booking for you, you agree to the relevant cancellation policy presented to you by IdeaMerge.
In accord with the auto rental industry standard, you will be obliged upon the rental pick-up occasion to sign a contract
directly with the vendor and to thereby agree to their terms and conditions.
Thus the terms and conditions of the vendor supersede the information presented by IdeaMerge.
Likewise in accord with the auto rental industry standard, the vendor’s terms and conditions are subject to change without
notice prior to the rental pick-up occasion. Such modifications to a vendor's terms and conditions as these apply to a booking are rare,
and when they do occur they are usually very minor. The vendor nonetheless reserves the right to make such modifications without informing the client.
In practice, however, if a modification to the vendor's terms and conditions is likely to be consequential for a client,
the vendor typically informs IdeaMerge about it and we in turn endeavor to inform the client.
In contrast to terms and conditions, the rental rates and various mandatory and optional prices are, like the cancellation policy,
officially agreed to by you and IdeaMerge when you ask IdeaMerge to make a booking for you; in this sense they are not subject to change.
If applicable, certain fees and taxes imposed by governments and charged by the vendor upon the pick-up or return occasion (rather than upfront by IdeaMerge)
are of course subject to change. For similar reasons, insurance coverages are also subject to change — although such a change affecting a booking is truly rare.
apollo new zealand's terms and conditions
Apollo New Zealand terms and conditions.
Apollo New Zealand Cheapa Campa brand terms and conditions.
warning
The vendor always reserves the right to refuse, at its discretion, to rent to a particular client.
Although motor travel in New Zealand is not generally considered prohibitively dangerous, there are, of course, associated risks — including death. For quantitative measures of these risks, please see the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT) http://www.asirt.org.
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