Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
»
Transfercar
(
09-630 7533;
www.transfercar.co.nz
)
One-way relocation specialists.
Motorcycle Rental
Born to be wild? NZ has great terrain for motorcycle touring, despite the fickle weather in some regions. Most of the
South Island's motorcycle-hire shops are in Christchurch, where you can hire anything from a little 50cc moped (aka
nifty-fifty) to a throbbing 750cc touring motorcycle and beyond. Recommended operators (who also run guided tours)
with rates from $80 to $345 per day:
»
New Zealand Motorcycle Rentals & Tours
(
09-486 2472;
www.nzbike.com
)
»
Te Waipounamu Motorcycle Tours
(
03-377 3211;
www.motorcycle-hire.co.nz
)
Insurance
Rather than risk paying out wads of cash if you have an accident, you can take out your own comprehensive insurance
policy, or (the usual option) pay an additional fee per day to the rental company to reduce your excess. This brings the
amount you must pay in the event of an accident down from around $1500 or $2000 to around $200 or $300. Smaller
operators offering cheap rates often have a compulsory insurance excess, taken as a credit-card bond, of around $900.
Most insurance agreements won't cover the cost of damage to glass (including the windscreen) or tyres, and insurance
coverage is often invalidated on beaches and certain rough (4WD) unsealed roads − read the fine print.
See
Click here
for info on NZ's
Accident Compensation Corporation
(ACC;
www.acc.co.nz
)
insurance scheme
(fault-free personal injury insurance).
Purchase
Buying a car then selling it at the end of your travels can be one of the cheapest and best ways to see NZ. Auckland is
the easiest place to buy a car, followed by Christchurch: scour the hostel noticeboards.
Turners Auctions
(
www.turners.co.nz
)
is NZ's biggest car-auction operator, with 11 locations.
LEGALITIES
»
Make sure your prospective vehicle has a Warrant of Fitness (WoF) and registration valid for a reasonable period: see
the
Land Transport New Zealand
(
www.landtransport.govt.nz
)
website for details.
»
Buyers should also take out third-party insurance, covering the cost of repairs to another vehicle in an accident that is
your fault: try the
Automobile Association
(AA; 0800 500 444;
www.aa.co.nz/travel
). NZ's no-fault Accident
Compensation Corporation scheme covers personal injury, but make sure you have travel insurance, too.
»
If you're considering buying a car and want someone to check it out for you, various car-inspection companies inspect
cars for around $150; find them at car auctions, or they will come to you. Try
Vehicle Inspection New Zealand
(VINZ;
0800 468 469, 09-573 3230;
www.vinz.co.nz
) or the AA.
»
Before you buy it's wise to confirm ownership of the vehicle, and find out if there's anything dodgy about the car (eg
stolen, or outstanding debts). The AA's
LemonCheck
(
0800 536 662, 09-420 3090;
www.lemoncheck.co.nz
)
offers
this service ('Pry before you buy'…).
