Camper Purchase with Buyback Guarantee: The Insider Tip for New Zealand

Talk to us
Get in touch with us and ask. We'll happily give you our honest feedback on whether this makes sense for your trip. :-)

Otherwise:
In the end, it's obviously always up to you to decide.
However, we've found the following in the past 5 years:

No, the offer isn't suitable for you if...
... you fancy diving into New Zealand's car market yourself and see this as part of your trip. That means looking for and comparing offers, negotiating prices, getting checks done in workshops, and generally dealing with the risks and pitfalls of buying a car in New Zealand.

Yes, the offer is suitable for you if...
... you'd prefer to start driving right away with a reliable car upon arrival. That means you feel unsure about car searching, know relatively little about cars, and would rather play it safe. Then the offer will probably suit you well.

Our experience?
We've tried both paths several times. In our opinion, buying a car on your own is always a bit stressful and often goes wrong for many backpackers. Still, it can be a valuable experience.

Included in the bed conversion are:

• Comfortable mattress
• Bedding and covers
• Curtains for added privacy

About the seating

The smaller models are designed for 2 people. The Large Camper variants have seats for 3 people. If more seating and sleeping places are needed, additional costs may apply, as more complex conversions and larger vehicles are required.

It depends a bit on what type of accommodation you book. Here are some examples:

Hostels / Campsites:

approx. 20 € to 50 € per night
Cheap, but often in dormitories or tent sites.

Motels / Private accommodations:

approx. 70 € to 150 € per night
More expensive, but more comfortable and often with private bathrooms and kitchenettes.

Airbnb / Vacation rentals:

approx. 80 € to 200 € per night
Most expensive, but often very comfortable and good for longer stays.

You should therefore budget at least 1500 € per month if you want to travel New Zealand only with a normal car. Generally, having your own camper is worth it quickly.

And if you need an accommodation urgently, you can always try Wwoofing.

The regulations for the Self-Contained certification in New Zealand have changed some time ago. This has made it considerably harder for many workshops in the country. However, we currently have feedback from all partner workshops that they can work with the new regulations.

Your camper should therefore be issued the new certification. 👍

Should you not like the camper, you don’t have to buy it. In that case, you can cancel the inquiry at any time. We’ll refund your deposit and gladly give you some tips on buying a camper on your own.

Good to know:
We work with several partner workshops across New Zealand. If you don't like the camper, often other partner workshops can step in and offer a vehicle. You can then use your deposit there as well. Just talk to us about it. 44d

After purchasing, you only need to take care of two things:

The insurance and the Change of Ownership. Unfortunately, we cannot offer these directly, as a new car owner must always complete them themselves in New Zealand.

What we do offer, however, is a suitable "Addon". Someone from our team will then do an insurance comparison for the model and travel dates and send this to you with a step-by-step guide via email
To the Camper Addon

This is optional and more for people who have never done this before.

With the deposit protection, you'll get your deposit back if you decide not to purchase the car on-site. You are not obligated to buy the camper prepared for you at any time.

No.

If you don’t want to buy the car on site and you’ve booked the deposit protection, you’ll get your full deposit back. You don't need to provide any reasons or justify yourself (although your feedback would certainly help us). No special conditions apply.

Yep. You’ll automatically get a normal receipt for your deposit.

The receipt provides clarity and security for all parties involved. In your case, especially to prove at all times that you’ve made the deposit. (In general, it’s always good to have such a document.)

Additionally, there’s an official purchase contract on site, which is explained to you step by step. You only have to sign it after you’ve seen and test-driven the car.

(Note: Watch out for companies that ask you to sign such a contract before seeing the car!)

Generally, it’s always a good idea to make the deposit sooner rather than later.

We’re fully booked every year and must primarily allocate spots to people who make a deposit. Background: It always needs to remain fair for the workshops. And even if the deposit doesn’t obligate you 100%, it's still an important signal to workshops that an inquiry is serious.

(Good to know: Should you cancel your inquiry, we’ll refund the deposit. It's always just about securing a spot for you.)

New Zealand is one of the most popular travel destinations worldwide and it is packed, especially during peak season. In the absolute peak months, too many people flood into the country, and at the same time, there are way too few campervans and vehicles available.

Of course, all big rental companies know this and charge accordingly. Essentially, whoever wants to snag a camper or motorhome must pay a fortune.

For example, if you want to rent a motorhome for several months during peak season (September to January), it can easily cost up to 20,000 euros. Crazy! Because a comparable camper purchased with a buyback guarantee would only cost about half in the end.

It’s not impossible, as there are too few campers in the country and too many travelers looking for one during peak season.

If you’re keen to try selling on your own, it might be worth it. Some people manage to get back the entire purchase price or even more.

And if you can’t sell the camper, you still have the buyback guarantee up your sleeve.

No. A spot is initially held for you. You are not obliged to purchase at any time.

Pickup locations include Auckland and Christchurch. You will, of course, receive the exact address in advance via email.

In case of damage or a breakdown, always contact our partner workshop first. Then we'll look together on how to proceed.

The buyback option is currently available in both Auckland and Christchurch. But hey, of course, you can also just sell your car on your own elsewhere in the country. :-)

There are three options for this:

Option 1: In Cash (not possible with all partners)
With a debit card, only about $NZD 800 can be withdrawn per day at banks in New Zealand. Please plan for this and possibly bring a portion of the money from Germany.

Note: This option is not possible with all partner workshops.

Option 2: By Credit Card (not possible with all partners)
Credit cards such as Visa or MasterCard can be used. Please inquire about and possibly change set limits to ensure nothing goes wrong during payment.

Note: For safety, also ask if the credit card is unlocked for New Zealand.

Option 3: By Transfer (recommended)
Our partner workshops use wise.com to enable payment by transfer. We would also recommend you open an account here because it only takes 20 minutes and is generally very practical for New Zealand.

Unfortunately, a new car owner in New Zealand must always arrange their own insurance. We cannot offer it. However, the teams on-site are happy to point you in the right direction, especially if you ask them again when you're there.

Potentially good to know:
Essentially, you don't have to insure your camper in New Zealand as there is no obligation to do so. But you should, of course, do it.

If you’d like assistance with this:
We offer optional assistance with the insurance and registration of your camper. This means someone from our team will conduct an insurance comparison for your model + trip and provide you with the result along with a step-by-step guide and the appropriate contact points. You can find more about this here.

Normally, partner workshops manage to provide a suitable model. However, if nothing suitable is available on the public market, they might have to resort to a slightly smaller model to ensure you're not left without a camper upon arrival.

In that case, you naturally still have the option on-site to decide against the purchase or to choose another model if available.

We definitely recommend spending 1 - 2 days in a hotel before picking up the vehicle to relax and settle in.

The flight is really long, and even though taking over the vehicle, purchasing, insurance, and so on doesn't take forever, you need to be mentally prepared. Doing all this with massive jetlag is generally not a good idea.

Generally, the main difference between both models is the size. The Medium Camper Plus models are overall a bit longer, which usually means more storage space and sleeping area. Furthermore, the sleeping area in the Plus model can be converted into a seating area. While it's not designed for long-term sitting, it can be helpful on rainy days.

Additionally, you give the local workshop more financial flexibility when preparing your vehicle. This often significantly increases the quality in many cases.

You can initially book an approximate date to secure a spot and then change it later once you know your actual arrival date. Just send an email (to us or to the team at the partner workshop handling your request).

After your deposit is received, you'll receive another email with a payment receipt and contact details, and a bit later, a booking confirmation from the workshop itself.

The local teams will then start with the preparations.

In general, it's always a good idea to make the deposit sooner rather than later.

We are fully booked every year and must prioritize the spots we have for people who have already made their deposit. Background: This must always remain fair to the workshops. And even if the deposit doesn't obligate you to anything 100%, it still is an important signal to the workshops that a request is serious.

(Good to know: If you cancel your request, we reimburse the deposit. It’s just about securing one of the spots for you.)

The partner workshops always start with all preparations only after the deposit is received (and at the earliest 5 weeks before pickup). They must, of course, always work with the models that the public car market provides.

However, there is, of course, experience on which vehicles are often used for which model:

Budget Camper ($NZ 7,495.00)
Station Wagons and Sedans

Light Camper ($NZ 8,495.00)
Station Wagons, Subaru Legacy / Outback

Medium Camper - Basic ($NZ 9,945.00)
2 Toyota Ipsum, Mazda Premacy, Honda Odyssey, Toyota Wish

Medium Camper - Plus ($NZ 10,945.00)
�22 Toyota Estima / Previa, Mazda MPV, Nissan Presage

Large Camper - Basic ($NZ 14,445.00)
�22 Mitsubishi L300 SWB, Nissan Vanette, Mazda Bongo, Nissan Elgrande, Honda Elysion

Large Camper - Plus ($NZ 15,945.00)
�22 Mitsubishi L300 LWB, Nissan Caravan, Isuzu Commo, Toyota Hiace