Buying Guide New-Zealand

Buying a car/van in New Zealand seems very complex but it doesn't have to be. Once you understand the basics, it’s pretty straight forward.

You'll need to try to establish your priorities and your budget. What are you looking for in your vehicle and how much are you willing to spend? How many people are traveling with you? Do you want a build your own or have a van already completed? How long can you spend in this amazing country? In this article, you'll find my general knowledge to save you both time and headaches... 

I’ll start by sharing my list of priorities and explaining a few concepts specific to NZ. Finally, I'll share a few tips/tricks that I wish I knew before starting my research.

My "Perfect vehicle" would have

• Enough space for 2 adults

• A high-roof

• A second battery and a fridge

• A lot of storage inside

• A kitchen inside for the colder/rainy days (and some insulation)

• A self-contained certification

• Low"ish" km’s on the clock ( be careful of odometer tampering)

• A bed big enough for me ( as I’m more than 6 feet tall)

• All the cooking/camping equipment

• To be under 10 000$

Bonus :

• LWB ( long wheelbase ) to have more space inside

• 4WD ( or AWD)

• 2000 or more ( for the annual WOF instead of every 6 months )

• Diesel

• A bed that flips into a table or a couch

After some thorough research, we found a few vans within our price range. We spent another 1 500$ to make it meet all our standards (and did the work myself). We were planning to spend a year or so in a campervan in New Zealand which made this purchase important. Please establish your list of priorities for your specific needs.

TERMS :

W.O.F = warrant of fitness. This one is one of the most important ones. This is a mechanical inspection that you need to pass to have the right to be on the road. It makes sure your car is safe and in good working condition(brakes/tires/lights etc...). On older vehicles (1999 and less ), you need to do it every 6 months. On newer vehicles ( 2000 and more ), you need to do it every year.

REGO = vehicle registration. This is a fixed fee that you need to pay on to use your vehicle on public roads. You can access the government site for the actual rates: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/licensing-rego/vehicle-fees/licensing-fees/

R.U.C = road user charges. This is for diesel vehicles ONLY. It’s around 70$ per 1000 km. You can buy more kilometers at any post office.

SC (self-contained) = This is a certification that confirms you can function without outside resources (toilet/greywater/clean water). You can access many more free camping spots as a SC is sometimes a requirement. You can quickly check this by spotting the big blue sticker on the back of the car/van ) and with the small sticker on the windshield

In my opinion, you should make sure the vehicle you are buying has a valid w.o.f for the next few months. It will most likely mean that your vehicle will be in good working condition. I always recommend doing a full professional inspection before you buy a vehicle. The Rego is not as important but still, check if it’s up to date. The same thing goes for the SC. Make sure the vehicle you are about to buy has all the certification. They are tightening the rules around the SC. Some of the smaller cars won’t be able to renew their SC ( Toyota Estima/Honda Odessey/Mazda MPV and other wagon’s). I would suggest buying a full-size van instead of mini-vans. 

If you are looking on the smaller side, take a look at some Mitsubishi L300/Mazda Bongo/ Nissan Vanette. The marketplace is full of them. For the medium size, look at the Toyota Hiace ( probably the most famous) /Nissan caravan/ Ford Econovan. If you are looking for a bigger campervan, buy a model with LWB and/or High-Roof will provide more space. Other models can be Ford Transits / Nissan Homy / Mercedes Sprinter.

Join as many Facebook groups as possible and try to analyze the market before you buy it. If you can, you should buy a campervan in wintertime because prices are cheaper and there are more (travelers call it “low-season”). The winter months are June-July-August. You should try to sell your vehicle at the beginning/middle of summer as most of the travelers are flying in and are looking to road trip around the islands. The summer months are December-January-February. If you do this, you are more likely to get the most money out of your vehicle.

Should you buy a Diesel or Petrol car?

Regular petrol in new Zealand is very expensive but you don’t have to pay RUC fees. After I looked into it, for regular campervans, it doesn’t really matter. Diesel might be a wee bit cheaper but nothing major. We ended up buying a diesel because of their reliability and it was what fitted us the best at the time. I would recommend a Diesel if you can ( but it's not a must).

Final tips :

Do a lot of research and buy the vehicle within your budget that you like the most. Look into rental companies such as Jucy / Britz / Apollo ( and many others) if you have only a few weeks to travel. Buying and selling a vehicle can be stressful and time-consuming but also much cheaper than renting. It took us about a week to buy our van and around 2 weeks to sell it. I also recommend looking into camper relocation as this will be the cheapest way of experiencing the “van-life”. If you are handy, you can convert a van into a campervan but it’s a lot of work. Plan a few weeks at least and you need a convenient place to work on your conversion.

If you are still hesitating to experience New-Zealand in a camper-van, I HIGHLY recommend it.

And lastly, be safe on the roads and plan more time than google map tells you. New Zealand roads are different ( and curvy as hell). Respect the signs and enjoy the scenery. Older vehicles are slower but that’s fine, it's all about the journey. Use the “slower vehicle lane” and enjoy the scenery along the way.