In reply to Hat Dude:
Hello Hat Dude.
We rented (once our own van was comprehensively screwed) from what is now Juicy rentals. They were quite reasonably priced from what I remember. Some companies will pay your passage across the Cook Strait as a perk, although this does not always work out to be particularly expedient.
If the hire company will rent you chains for a small fee (think we payed £50) then I'd go for that as it's much more expensive to buy and you may not be allowed along some roads without them (although it sounds like you're going for NZ summer?).
I'd recommend against Wicked campers, about whom we heard some pretty nasty stories, but also because you don't get a choice of what themed camper you get. Basically, they're all spray painted and some we saw were really quite offensive; sexist, homophobic etc, not the sort of thing that you want to be driving around in. They also mark you out very obviously as a tourist, although any camper will.
Juicy, Escape and a few others are all up towards Parnell from the quayside in Auckland. You could just take a walk up there and talk to a few people.
I would definitely recommend against buying for your relatively short stay.
Cheers,
Tom
