S3, E2: Hail Hiace!

If you want to go far, go Toyota!

or

“see you in 20 years” -any Toyota if you continue to spend money on the car

Testing the Auckland universe (and the financial system)

Remember the random, lovely people we met during our layover? Well, Anne was so kind to us to pick us up at our Airbnb and drive all the way to the car viewing. We then met with an enormous Aucklander. He was tall but friendly. After going for a quick test drive, we decided to swallow the red pill and see how deep the rabbit hole would go. We settled for a quick cash deposit of 500 NZD. The remainder of the funds would be transferred through the bank. We’ve got to say, it’s a very daunting, “you’ve got to-trust-the-universe idea” to internationally transfer 11k euros to a random giant Kiwi you’ve just met in a McDonald’s parking lot. In fact, we would not advise it unless your aim is to experience 4-5 sleepless nights. If you’re into that, then call your bank and triple-reassure them using a foreign phone number and email that it’s you that’s trying to wire this amount of money to an account on the other side of the world.

Anyway, 4-5 sleepless nights later we got it,

…Here we go again: Guide to buying a second-hand car in New Zealand:

1. Make a profile on Trade me or Marketplace and pretend you’re a legit Kiwi
2. Arrange a car viewing and pretend you know what you’re looking for
3. Do a test drive and pretend you know how the engine should be running
4. Pretend you can easily get the money into the owner’s account
5. Pretend you are not stressing out while the transfer is on its way
6. Pretend you’ve never had any doubt about any of this

After that, you just have to Google any AA center. They will help you with the rest of the paperwork right away:

• Fill in the transfer of owner paper
• Get your car registered (160 NZD for 12 months)
• If you’re not buying a Tesla: don’t forget to pay a fee for driving a Diesel car (it’s quite a lot, unfortunately) (15.000km= 800 NZD!)
• Optional (but we all know it’s not so optional): Get AA Insurance (third party and own vehicle damage =112 NZD/month)
• The real optional: AA roadside assistance

Oh, and it’s probably a wise idea to get it serviced before you start your travels. Your new wise card would certainly love it.

Now pretend you’re done.

A bolt move

Because sadly, we weren’t done. As it turned out our van required new tires. Also, both the rims and those tires weren’t the originals. Our Hiace had also been lowered (given the flooding, this was really not a good move).

The van needed to be restored to its initial condition for safety’s sake. That means using the original rims and new tires. The mechanic apparently also needed a genuine pair of U bolts. Even for Toyota, it’s challenging to get a grip on those! We were in a hurry because we only had two days left in Auckland.

What we did was look on the Facebook marketplace to quickly try to find a decent set of original tires and rims. A german guy could help us with that, for 250 NZD of course.

Then we stopped by the friendliest mechanic we could find. We got his details through our few NZ connections. Since we weren’t able to get our hands on a pair of U bolts, the mechanic was going to attempt to cut the U bolts that were currently on it. It was this move that saved us time and money. A bolt move. 250 NZD.

Now, pretend you have completed the car’s repairs at this point.

More fun for our wise card

• Timing belt (+ working hours and oil change= 933 NZD)
• Two brand new front tires (there happened to be a nail in a nasty place in the front tire we bought from the German guy so we bought them for no reason) (400 NZD)

Conversion or no conversion. Self-contained or not self-contained.

The idea was to convert the vehicle into a more cozy, cheerful space where anyone would feel at home and make it self-contained. Reality kindly kicked us in the face. Luckily, our Airbnb host was eager to help us out over the weekend. He had the tools and knowledge to make us think we were proper carpenters and plumbers. In one day.

Making it self-contained (certified)

Self-contained. This means throwing in a portable toilet and installing a sink. Do it right, and a plumber might certify it. Once certified, you’re guchhi to free camp throughout NZ. Sounds better than paying 50 NZD per night for a campsite, don’t you think? When attempting to obtain all of the requirements, it is best to seek assistance at the Burnsco and Bunnings stores. Just a heads up that this will not be cheap (600 NZD). We thought of it as an investment since we are able to free camp at a lot of places.

Oh, and we were lucky that a Kiwi plumber got our van certified the morning before our travels. He basically puts on a sticker. 90 NZD.

A very thorough guide to driving on NZ roads:

They drive on the left-hand side. Don’t forget. Left. Not right. Easy, right?

So long!