2 South Island, New Zealand
The car was very dirty upon arrival, clearly not washed. Staff blamed it on the wind and sand, saying it might have gotten dirty after washing. Having just gotten off a ten-hour flight, we were too tired to fuss over it and drove the car that evening.
On the third day of our road trip in Kaikoura, we noticed that both rear tires were worn out with no tread left. Even as a layperson, I knew they needed replacing. Communicating with the Chinese-owned rental company in Christchurch was fruitless; they kept denying any issues, claiming the car had passed NZTA inspections and was roadworthy. After failing to resolve it with them, I contacted the platform Zuzuche to intervene, but to no avail.
As I had full insurance through Zuzuche, they suggested I replace the tires at a service shop and file an insurance claim later. Not wanting to disrupt our trip, I followed their advice.
At the tire shop, the staff immediately said the tires needed replacing as they had no tread and one was even bulging. The shop manager warned us that driving further without replacing them could result in getting pulled over by the police. I explained the situation to the manager, who then called the rental company. They still denied any issues. Kudos to the friendly people in New Zealand; the manager took us straight to the police station. The officer inspected the vehicle and confirmed the tire problem, demanding the rental company replace the tires immediately or risk the car being impounded. The rental company quickly complied.
Thanks to the rental company's reminder, we learned that raising issues is important—not challenging the rental company, but 'challenging' the New Zealand government, which ultimately made the rental company fix the problem.