Buying a car for 3 months

It is definitely possible to buy a car in Auckland.  Selling it back at the end would normally be simple enough, but the market is currently flooded with used cars that are not selling. So, you should get a great price on your car when getting here, but may have trouble selling it at the end, depending on how the market is faring at that time.

When moving to Auckland, I bought my car at the owner-to-owner car fair at the Ellerslie Fair Grounds that are held every Sunday.  Another expat friend of mine preferred to get hers at a reputable auction house, Turners. Their website is http://www.turners.co.nz/

Good luck!

One of the top reason for my consideration in moving to NZ is because I know cars are cheap in NZ.. Hmmmmm.... I should think about the "re-sale" when I am thinking about upgrading... I change almost every year here in Malaysia... I lose like 10 - 15% on it's value each year.. How's it like it Auckland?

And do not forget to check a vehicle history, checks and facts at CarJam! It's free for a lot of information and for small fee you can check a lot more...

We are actually in this position right now. We came here in January - just missed the Sunday owner-to-owner sale. The Turner auction only sales cheap cars on certain days of the week - I believe it is Wednesday, but check the site.

We ended up going to a dealer - there is a strip of dealerships on Great South Road - about 20 dealers! Probably cost more than buying directly from an owner, but they made the process easy.

We are selling our car on Trademe. It is currently listed for $400 less than we paid for it - so hopefully it sells soon.

Good Luck to anyone attempting this - do your research first. It isn't impossible, but I wish we would have known about the Sunday owner-to-owner and the specific day for cheap cars at turners.

Although you can get some great deals on Trade Me (same as Ebay) it might be time consuming waiting for bidding to end - and you could still end up with a dodgy car if you have not checked it out first.  Selling via trade me at the end of your holiday could also be too time consuming for you given you are working within time restrictions.

The men in my family think Turners Auctions are far too expensive for second hand cars, even on cheap night.  So the Sunday Markets might be your best option to buy. You could always sell at auction at the end.

Do you intend spending your whole time travelling around NZ?  I am currently waiting to hear back from Maui Campervans as they are often looking for relocation drivers.  You get a cheap flight down to wherever, then you have a number of days to drive the van back and you only pay for the gas.  A friend of mine flew down to Queenstown, spent a few days travelling about on the railways, then collected the van and had 10 days to get it back up to North Island. 

You could always spend your three months collecting vans from different parts of the country LOL  Just joking.