Used camper vans
for sale in New Zealand

• Warrant of Fitness (WOF)
  Always check that the used camper van that's for sale has a Warrant of Fitness (WOF). Every New Zealand camper van should have a current Warrant of Fitness in order to get a licence label (see next item).
  
  
• Motor Vehicle Licence
  This is the fee you pay to use your camper van on public roads. As soon as you've paid the licensing fee, you receive a label that shows the date your licence expires (see middle section of the picture above). This label must be displayed on the left-hand side of your windscreen. You can pay for your motor vehicle licence at one of the agents of the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA), for instance the AA (Automobile Association) or one of the New Zealand Post Shops. The licensing fee will be around NZ$ 200 for a year.
  
  
• Registration: Notification of Change of Ownership
  Every New Zealand vehicle must be registered in order to be used on the roads. Registration means that the vehicle is added to the Motor Vehicle Register and issued with registration plates. When you decide to buy one of the used camper vans for sale in New Zealand, the LTSA has to be notified of the change of ownership. After you've purchased your camper van, you have 7 days to do this. The easiest way is to go to a Post Shop, present your drivers licence, and fill out the appropriate form. The change of ownership will cost you appr. NZ$ 10. You'll receive a 'change of ownership card' to prove to the seller that you've advised the LTSA of the change of ownership. Take this card to the seller when you pick up your camper van. Within 10 days you'll receive the new Certificate of Registration at the address you specified. (Note: if you don't have a permanent address in New Zealand, ask if you can use the address of the dealer you bought the camper van from, or the address of the hotel where you're staying.)
  
  
• Road User Charges (RUC) license
  If you're interested in buying one of the used camper vans for sale in New Zealand that are diesel powered or have a manufacturer's Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of more than 3500kg, you have to pay Road User Charges (RUC). Before you buy a camper van, make sure that it has a current RUC licence that is paid up to the odometer/hubodometer reading (phone the RUC Call Centre on 0800 - 655 644 to find out whether the RUC licence is current). As the owner, you purchase a licence that is based on the vehicle type, vehicle weight and distance to be travelled.
  
  
• Debts
  If you don't purchase a used camper van through a licensed dealer, check that the camper van you want to buy hasn't been stolen and doesn't have any debts attached to it. Check also if anyone has money owing on the vehicle. There are several websites that can help you with this check, such as www.ppsr.govt.nz, www.lemoncheck.co.nz and www.autocheck.co.nz. If you buy your camper van through a licensed dealer you don't need to check these details - licenced motor vehicle dealers check them themselves.
  
  
• Insurance
  We strongly recommend that you get third-party insurance. To give you an idea of the insurance rates: we paid for our insurance (with the AA) NZ$ 442.12 for six months, and had an excess of NZ$ 700 (owning a foreign drivers license). When you're younger than 25, the excess will be NZ$ 1000. When you have a NZ issued license, the excess will drop to NZ$ 300 (or NZ$ 600 when you're younger than 25).
  
  
• Buyback garantee
  If you plan to sell your camper van again before you leave New Zealand, it might be worth to ask if the dealer can offer you a buyback garantee. A buyback garantee can save you a lot of time and worries in the days before you leave. Depending on the offer, you can still try to sell your camper van yourself, and only bring it back to the dealer when you cannot get rid of it. The first time we bought a camper van, we sold it ourselves (just by driving around with a sign indicating that the camper van was for sale); the second time we bought a van, we brought it back to the dealer, because he garanteed us a good buyback price when we bought it from him.