buy a car Buying a Backpackers Car | New Zealand | Advice Tips Although in many countries it would appear a luxury option, in New Zealand buying a car to travel in is actually a cost effective option. With the mass import of Japanese cars you can pick up a reasonable runner for around NZ$1000. This in conjunction with cheap petrol and INSURANCE means you can get a car between a group of you and get off the beaten track! We would only recommend buying a car if you are going for longer than two months as if something goes wrong you could spend you whole holiday in a garage or lose lots of money. When you buy a car youve got to take into account that it may die or you may not sell it for much. Dont pay any more than your wiling to lose! I sold my trusty nissan bluebird for $600 when I left nz and I bought it for $1200 although I heard that it was being sold six months later in Queenstown for $1800. If youre arrriving early summer with the intention of spending the summer and then selling at the end, be aware lots of other folks want to do the same. Basically its a sellers market when you are buying and a buyers market when you are trying to sell along with all the other travellers trying to get rid of their cars! Where to Buy Your Car There are a variety of ways to buy a backpackers car in New Zealand notice boards (like this site) private ads in papers, roadside sales, car auctions, car fairs and obviously car dealers. Car fairs take place in most of the main cities so ask when and where to go at your local backpacker hostel. How and where you choose to buy your car could be based on your actual practical car knowledge car auctions are probably the cheapest but you have to know what your doing whereas dealers will help you much more and maybe give a warranty but it will obviously cost you much more. There is also now the option of a buy back company who will sell you the car and then guarantee to buy it back off you for a set price. The main places to buy a car, having the biggest choice for the Backpacker price range, are Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. However you may find a cheap deal out of town which might not have been round New Zealand twenty times already! On arrival in one of these cities do a quick scout of the local area and visit places such as supermarkets hostel noticeboards, local car shops and garages, outside hostels and hostel receptions. Then grab the local paper and check the classifieds - ask at your hostel to find which is the right paper and which day has the most cars in it. Other backpackers can also be a great source of info as they may have heard of friends selling etc. Insurance Companies Strangely in New Zealand it is not complusory to have car INSURANCE. However it is best to get at least Third Party Insurance so if you get yourself in an accident you wont be going home with an even bigger debt. Insurance is quite reasonably priced in New Zealand compared to the UK. Useful Phone Numbers Fintel 0800 801 801 AMI 0800 100 200 Tower 0800 808 808 AA 0800 500 221 These companies may not insure you if you are not staying in New Zealand for long. Consequently you may have to purchase a full years cover however some do offer refunds if you cancel before the years contract runs out. Also check out the BBH Hostel network who have introduced its own backpackers car INSURANCE policy which may be worth a look- head to backpack.co.nz/index.html and go to the link called suggestions for longer term vistors Christchurch Car Market also provide cost effective INSURANCE for as little at $159 with the option to add drivers and change vehicles at any time. Phone 03 377 55584 or visit christchurchcarmarket.co.nz for more info. Travellers Car Insurance offer low cost INSURANCE for backpackers who have bought a campervan, car or motorcycle and offer instant online quotes and sales for policies from 3-12 months. Finding out what you should be paying Turners auctions are the biggest car auction house in NZ and they have a great free tool which shows you what cars have sold for in the past 12 months. You can then see how much you should be paying - turners.co.nz/pricecheck/Pages/ValHome.aspx The Warrant of Fitness (WOF) The Warrant of Fitness in New Zealand is similar to the MOT in England in that it checks that your car is fit and safe to drive on the roads. WOF tests have to be conducted on old cars every six months. The date of the next WOF is displayed on a sticker on the windscreen on every car in NZ. Check that this sticker is still valid when you are considering buying the car! If you are only here for a few months then I would recommend getting a car whose WOF runs our after you leave - they can be very costly if something is wrong and you can always dump the car at the end of your trip rather than sell it! Registration Tax This is road tax and is displayed on the windscreen of the car. Reg can be renewed at post offices just take along your old slip which will be on the window of the car. Once you arrive in NZ one of the first things you will notice is that diesel is much cheaper than petrol. All diesel cars are subject to road user charges whereas petrol cars are not. This means that in addition to the Registration you must also purchase kilometres per 1000km. Check the cost of this at your local Post Shop. This means that although diesel is far cheaper than petrol to purchase, the extra road user charges means the real benefit of owning a diesel is a little less than it first appears. For details of road charges see ltsa.govt.nz/factsheets/38.html Rules of the Road You must carry a valid driving licence with you at all times whilst driving on NZ roads as the police can issue you with a fine if you dont. Car Inspections For piece of mind you can get your car checked out by the AA or a local mechanic. It costs but if youre going to spend a lot on a car/van its worth knowing youre not being ripped off. If you get an old banger checked be prepared for some crosses on the check sheet! An alternative is to just get a safety check down at a mechanics dont want those brakes disappearing on you! To book a vehicle inspection with the AA check out the AA website or ring 0800 500 333 Article Source: backpackerboard.co.nz/articles/buying-car-new-zealand.php
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 21:54:35 +0000
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