Aukland .this is a long shot but worth a try...

sword

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Evening all .My son left today to live in New Zealand . He is landing in Aukland in a couple of days and is hoping to buy a car. His plan is to buy an old estate type car/van that he can carry a surf board in/on and if he has to he can sleep in it while travelling around looking for work and surf. Does anyone know of a specific site that he might find such a thing. Any of the sites I have looked at only have cars which are way out of his range as he only has about 3k to spend. I would be delighted to hear of any local wisdom I could pass onto him so he does not buy a complete junker. Thank you for reading
 
If it is the same as Oz, there will be adverts in hostels from people selling vehicles as they finish the type of trip your lad is just starting. It's still a bit of a lottery but so is buying anything second hand, budget for basic breakdown cover possibly. Hope has a great time.

Al
 
trade.co.nz is the kiwi equivalent of ebay but much more generally used by all sectors of the population for buying everything secondhand.
Start your search thee
Good Luck

sword said:
Evening all .My son left today to live in New Zealand . He is landing in Aukland in a couple of days and is hoping to buy a car. His plan is to buy an old estate type car/van that he can carry a surf board in/on and if he has to he can sleep in it while travelling around looking for work and surf. Does anyone know of a specific site that he might find such a thing. Any of the sites I have looked at only have cars which are way out of his range as he only has about 3k to spend. I would be delighted to hear of any local wisdom I could pass onto him so he does not buy a complete junker. Thank you for reading
Click to expand...
 
Thank you all for your replies. As always this site never disappoints.I will pass on the information to my son and can only hope he has some luck as the second hand car market is a bit of a minefield for beginners and I would hate to think of him wasting his limited resources on a deathtrap. I know, another paranoid parent but thats our job isn't it.To worry. Thanks again
 
sword said:
the second hand car market is a bit of a minefield for beginners and I would hate to think of him wasting his limited resources on a deathtrap.
Click to expand...

The local Automobile Association will do vehicle safety inspections for (relatively) small money. If you 'sponsor' it for your son on the car he's interested in it will get done & you'll have peace of mind.
About the safety of the car if not about what he gets up to over there :augie
 
Last year, my youngest daughter (21 then) did exactly what your son is about to do.

She bought a car in Auckland and spent five months travelling around.....camping plus Air BnB's.

Shame you didn't post before your son left. My daughter is back in the UK now, working in the travel industry, she would have been happy to give him some up to date advice.

Anyway, I have emailed her and asked for her advice re buying a car in Auckland. I will re post when she gets back to me.

Just to add...She had a great time. She met some great people...some of the people who she stayed with in Air BnB's actually let her stay for free when she returned back to Auckland. The Mitsubishi (245,000 KMs) that she bought performed quite well and she flogged it easily enough when she got back to Auckland. It DID have one breakdown....the alternator spat it's guts in Milford Sound (no AA down there....but she got sorted just fine)

You will worry...He won't......:D
 
Direct cut/paste of my daughter's reply....



Hi Dad,


The best thing for him to do is probably go to Auckland car fair which is a little bit out of the city but much bigger and better than Auckland City car fair which was tiny and crap. He needs to make sure it has a valid WOF (warrant of fitness) and if he sells it on he needs to get all the details of the person who buys it because there's a form to fill in to send to the New Zealand version of the DVLA but I can't remember what they're called. Backpacker Car World is crap and he should avoid them.


This is the car fair we sold ours at:
http://www.carfair.co.nz/buyers


The guys who bought ours were dodgy dickheads and really didn't want to give us their details so he'll probably have more luck trying to buy from a fellow traveller there, and there might be cars being sold with camping stuff by travellers leaving New Zealand having done the same thing he's wanting to do.


Hope this helps.......:thumb2
 
Once again Folks many thanks for this information. Jonnie I really appreciate you going to the trouble of getting the direct info from your daughter as that sounds like a really good idea so I will gladly pass it on and hope for the best.That will be my effort done until the actual purchase . I will as suggested advise him to get it checked out so will wait and see.Thanks again everyone
 

Hi Dad,[/FONT][/COLOR]


The best thing for him to do is probably go to Auckland car fair which is a little bit out of the city but much bigger and better than Auckland City car fair which was tiny and crap. He needs to make sure it has a valid WOF (warrant of fitness) and if he sells it on he needs to get all the details of the person who buys it because there's a form to fill in to send to the New Zealand version of the DVLA but I can't remember what they're called. Backpacker Car World is crap and he should avoid them.


This is the car fair we sold ours at:
http://www.carfair.co.nz/buyers


The guys who bought ours were dodgy dickheads and really didn't want to give us their details so he'll probably have more luck trying to buy from a fellow traveller there, and there might be cars being sold with camping stuff by travellers leaving New Zealand having done the same thing he's wanting to do.


Wouldn't you love to be 21 all over again. Lucky son.
 
Yes I wouldn't mind being 21 again but I think the young people of to day are going to have deal with a world that is changing daily and not always for the better.As for my son he is 23yo and when we had a chat a while ago about future "permanent" employment he gave me a look of horror as if I had asked him to contribute to the household.He pointed out that as he has just finished college and in the prime of his life he has no interest in being chained to a desk or anything else for that matter for a while yet as there is a big world out there and he is planning to see a good chunk of it before he gets trapped by a permanent job. I have got the same responses from some of his friends so it appears to be the norm with a lot of younger people with a bit of wanderlust in them and good for them.I blame Micheal O Leary of course as he made travel so accessible to everyone. Once again thank you all for your comments and wisdom and I look forward to passing them onto him when he gets there as he has stopped off in China for a couple of days and does not appear to have internet access at the moment.
 
Sword, The site is actually www.trademe.co.nz
I wouldn't worry: if your son is plugged-in to the Backpacker environment he will soon get his bearings in terms of the used vehicle network for his needs. He might also consider getting a 1/2-man tent and a sleeping bag on sale (e.g. Kathmandu or Macpac stores), just in case his options for accommodation on any given night, run out.

I wish him safe travels but just encourage him to take care of self and personal belongings: NZ has jails, too - and they are full. A lot of toe-rags pilfer vehicles at popular tourist sites (it amazes me that the Old Bill can't sort this out, because it ruins an awful lot of holidays for people from around the world who are visiting N.Z.).

Lastly, make sure he's always got sun block handy - the sun is fierce here and offers up a nasty burn even on cloudy days in summer.
 
sword said:
.I blame Micheal O Leary of course as he made travel so accessible to everyone.
Click to expand...

Sword,
Whilst I tip my hat most deservedly to Mr. O'Leary please do remember that we are all indebted to the ballsy courage of Sir Freddie Laker and Canadian Max Ward - these guys were the gutsy pioneers of breaking the cartel of national airlines who suppressed cheaper travel for so long. Laker's 'SkyTrain' concept from the mid-70s created the momentum for Richard Branson to establish his airline(s) and Max Ward worked within the restrictions of 'Charter Class Fares' to give everyday moms-and-dads the opportunity to visit the Americas and make a dream come true. If you told anybody today that in order to get a cheap airfare you'd have to book at least 30 days in advance, stay for a minimum of 21 days and no changes/refunds allowed..........

Deep acknowledgement also, to Boeing's Joe Sutter and the design of B747 (see: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...eer-who-led-boeing-s-747-jumbo-jet-dies-at-95 ).

And if anyone doubts the deeper nature of commercial airlines even today, just google the subject "air cargo cartel prosecutions" to see that this game still goes on unabated.....
 
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/444557-Aukland-this-is-a-long-shot-but-wo

Your are quite right Kitsilano. I had forgotten Freddie Laker and his shake up of the airline market. The rest of the people you mention I don't remember as I was never a frequent flyer.I do recall my first flight to London though costing a lot of money and that probably put me off flying.I made contact with my son and have passed on the information you have all given me and included the bit about the jails being full of lowlifes so watch out for the ones the Police haven't caught yet.I have done my bit now so will just wait and see what car he ends up with . I am hoping he gets something like a primera or similiar Japanese car as these go on forever if they have had any decent care. Thanks again folks.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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