Of course, the most common way that travelers explore New Zealand is by camper van. Arguably the coolest way to see the country, but considerably expensive if you don’t put in the research. In our research before New Zealand, we only came across a handful of rental companies and their prices were expensive. We used a site called Campervanfinder to do our initial searches and they were a great resource to compare prices.
In the end, we wanted to try relocation vehicles instead of camper van rentals, because of the lack of resources at the time.
But our time on the road gave us the opportunity to chat with other backpackers and narrow down the cheapest ways to buy, sell, or rent camper vans in New Zealand.
Camper Van Rental Companies
Astriks mean that companies are companies are all owned by one big company which may or may not effect prices.
Juicy (Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, or Wellington)
Kiwi Campers (Auckland or Christchurch)
Abuzzy (Auckland or Christchurch)
Hippie Campers (Auckland or Christchurch)
Wenderkreisen (Auckland, Christchurch, or Picton)
Roadrunner Rentals (Auckland or Christchurch)
**Budget Campers (Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Greymouth, Nelson, Queenstown, or Wellington)
**Tui Campers (Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Greymouth, Nelson, Queenstown, or Wellington)
**Freedom Campers (Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Greymouth, Nelson, Queenstown, or Wellington)
Discovery Motorhomes (Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, or Wellington)
*Britz (Auckland, Christchurch, or Queenstown)
*Maui (Auckland, Christchurch, or Queestown)
*Mighty (Auckland, Christchurch, or Queenstown)
Apollo (Auckland or Christchurch)
Escape (Auckland or Christchurch)
Wicked (Auckland, Christchurch, or Queenstown)
Star (Auckland or Christchurch)
Walkabout (Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington)
Happy Campers (Auckland or Christchurch)
Travellers Auto Barn (Auckland or Christchurch)
Spaceship (Auckland or Christchurch)
Lucky Rentals (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, or Queenstown)
G and J (Auckland, Christchurch, Quenstown, Dunedin, Oamaru, Timaru, Ashburton, Picton, or Invercargill)
Whether you’re trying to plan a camping trip before you arrive in New Zealand or perhaps after you’re working holiday visa, we suggest searching early. Especially in the height of the summer season, companies will sell out of their rentals. Using the long list of companies above you should be able to compare prices and find the best option to suit your needs.
Things To Consider When Renting
Are you looking for self-contained vehicles?
Freedom camping requires that you have a self-contained vehicle meaning you carry your own water and waste tank with you. The kiwi’s don’t appreciate the old trip to the forrest for a quick bathroom visit, understandably with so many campers yearly, they dread the idea of excess waste and a possible change in their environment. So in order to park your vehicle essentially anywhere, you need to rent a self-contained van, complete with the self-contained registration sticker.
Will It Be A Return Trip?
Some companies charge a hefty fee if you’re picking up from one location, for example Auckland, and you want to drop it off in another, maybe Queenstown. It feels a bit sleazy that they do this, but they have to consider the costs of getting the van back to its original hub. You can of course avoid the fee by making a return journey, but consider the costs of gas to get back to the original location and consider the potential cost of the ferry if you need to cross between the islands. Sometimes its cheaper to take the hit for a “one way journey.”
Where Do You Plan To Pick Up?
Some of the companies listed above only pickup from designated locations in New Zealand and they only allow a return to that destination as well. These companies can be cheaper, but you should consider the added expenses or inconvenience of only being able to pick up from a designated location.
TIP— Download the free app Campermate (no we’re not paid to say that it’s just really freaking helpful).
It’s definitely you’re best friend when taking a road trip through New Zealand. Camper Mate is an app that maps out available campsites, both freedom sites and general camp sites, as well as surrounding amenities i.e- places to eat, places to swim, and hike. We used both Wiki Camps and Camper Mate and found that Camper Mate was far more user friendly. Wiki Camps has a ton of filters you can set, specifications if you will, but the results were all over the place and we just found it rather difficult to navigate for two backpackers just looking for a place to camp.
Where To Look For Vans
We’re so jealous of all the amazing personalized camper vans we came across in our six months of travel. Backpackers from all walks were pimping out their mobile homes and taking them cross country. We had a chance to pick the brains of a few camper van owners to see what they would recommend when looking to buy in New Zealand.
Where To Find Cars or Camper Vans For Sale: You can find vehicles listed all over—flyers in the hostels, on bulletin boards in the super markets, and of course all over social media. There are a few different Facebook groups but the most common is Backpackers Cars Buy & Sell. They will list cars or vans for sale. You can also explore trademe.com which is the craigslist of New Zealand.
What site we recommend to compare rental prices: We used CampervanFinder because it was user friendly and comparative. The live team was responsive to our quotes and questions even though we were countries apart. We like the search function that allows you to pickup and drop off in different locations.
What Should a Van Cost: Like the price of any used vehicle, it depends on the make, model, and mileage. Consider how much you want to spend. Vans are anywhere from 600NZD to 8,000NZD. Take time to consider the value of your dollar and how much you want out of your vehicle.
Things To Know Before You Buy
*Check out the specs of the vehicle type online before buying. Check the year, make, and model to get an estimate of what condition the van should be in.
*Buy a van that uses a timing chain rather than a timing cambelt. Both are components of the engine that operate the mechanical timing of the pistons and valves. The engine won’t run without them and it’s common that this timing component will need to be replaced on an old vehicle. It’s just general wear and tear, but the difference in price when replacing the two is significant. The timing chain is far less expensive to replace than the cambelt.
*Enquire about the WOF (Warranty of Fitness) for the vehicle. The WOF is an issued registration and sticker from the government declaring the vehicle is up to safety standards and is valid for up to 12 months. The older vehicles (first registered before Jan 1st 2000) require a new registration every six months. Unlike an emissions test in the states, the WOF tests the engine, electrical, and general safety standards of the vehicle rather than the emissions of the vehicle. As with most safety standards in New Zealand, they take the registration pretty seriously. You run the risk of a high fine if you don’t have a valid WOF sticker. If the vehicle is not listed with a valid WOF it’s worth asking whether the registration recently expired or if it’s non existent. Some backpackers get by not registering their vehicles. Just make sure it’s been registered in the past year, even if it’s expired, just so you have a good idea of whether it’ll pass the WOF test or not.
How To Sell Your Van
How To Sell a Van: The best advice we received about this process comes from our dear friend Lauryn Moulds who we met while volunteering at the same hostel in Nelson. She traveled New Zealand for a year on a working holiday visa and she bought her van about a week into her trip. After ten months of amazing road trips and desperate excursions into nature, she was faced with selling her van. She mentioned two valuable insights: list early and list everywhere.
She recommends that you list your vehicle early, meaning well before your visa expires or you have set plans to leave the country. Give yourself time to compare offers and to consider options.
She also recommends opening up your listings based on what island your flying out of. For example if you fly out of Auckland, then consider offering to drive your vehicle to any location in the north island. Likewise if you’re flying out of Christchurch offer to drive to reasonable places in the south island. You can drive anywhere in a reasonable amount of time so it will open up your options and perhaps boost your offers. She says just take accurate and honest pictures so that neither party is surprised by the transaction when you arrive.
Lauryn used Facebook to list her van, a Toyota Estima (the most common van you’ll see in NZ) rather than trademe. Trade me charges per listing so if you can use social media for free than take advantage of that.
At the end of the day, it helps to remember that it's a network of backpackers working together to make travel in New Zealand possible. It’s a give and take process when buying and selling camper vans in New Zealand. Vans aren’t going to be perfect and with each turn over of hands, the vehicles draw closer to inevitable repairs. Everybody wants to buy a good van and sell it for a good price. So have an open dialogue maybe connect with one another about travels through New Zealand, but ask the hard questions and answer those questions honestly if asked.
