Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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 anoth-
er 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 any-
thing 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' - ha-ha…).
BUY-BACK DEALS
You can avoid the hassle of buying/selling a vehicle privately by entering into a buy-back
arrangement with a dealer. Predictably, dealers often find sneaky ways of knocking down
the return-sale price, which may be 50% less than what you paid, so hiring or buying and
selling a vehicle yourself (if you have the time) is usually a better bet.
Road Hazards
Kiwi traffic is usually pretty light, but it's easy to get stuck behind a slow-moving truck or
campervan − pack plenty of patience. There are also lots of slow wiggly roads, one-way
bridges and plenty of gravel (unsealed) roads, all of which require a more cautious driving
approach. And watch out for sheep!
To check road conditions call
0800 444 449 or see
www.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/current-
Road Rules
Kiwis drive on the left-hand side of the road; cars are right-hand drive. Give way to the
right at intersections.
