We Bought a Van!

Update: We’re homeowners! (kinda)

Once we had been approved for our Visas, we quickly decided that we wanted to purchase a van upon arrival, and travel as much as we possibly could. This would be cheaper than us renting a car, or staying in hostels the entire time. It also would give us more flexibility with our travels.

The easiest way for us to look at vans before we arrived in New Zealand was through Facebook. Eric and I both joined several Facebook Groups for backpackers in New Zealand, and there were a lot of posts for people selling their van, as well as people looking to purchase one. In addition, we made sure to keep a close eye on Facebook Marketplace. After browsing the van market in Auckland for months, we finally started reaching out to sellers a few days before we flew out.

We arrived in late April, which is Fall, and going into Winter. For us, this seemed to be the optimal time to buy a van… and not a great time to be selling a van (good for us!). There were definitely more vans on the market than people looking to buy, and we got incredibly lucky in our search and purchase.

After looking at four vans and meeting some really cool people, we decided on a 2004 Mitsubishi L300. The van was listed for $8,500 NZD, and we agreed on $7,500 NZD (~$4,500 USD). This was on the higher end of our price range, but we thought it was worth it. This van is a 2.5L diesel with a 5-speed manual transmission, with 361,000 kms (225,000 miles). We are hoping that there is plenty of life left in this van, enough to get us through all of our travels here, and then to pass along to the next traveler.

The registration is covered on this vehicle until September 2024, and the RUC is covered until 369,000 kms. RUC is a tax on diesel vehicles that New Zealand implements. In addition, since we will be living in the van, it has to have a self-contained certification, and this van is certified until June 2025. Passing ownership is much simpler than in the States, which is a huge relief.

Eric is super excited to teach me how to drive manual (I’m super excited to make him drive the entire time). We decided to go with this particular van over the other vans we looked at for a couple of reasons. First, this van has a second battery and solar panel to power the living area, including a small fridge. This was a big advantage we were looking to have in our van. Secondly, it has a nicer kitchen with a very convenient layout. It also has a double bed with plenty of storage and comes fully furnished with bedding and cookware. While we are happy with the interior, the exterior won’t be winning any beauty pageants…

We are excited to spend the next few months traveling all across this beautiful country and living in our new van. It will be a big adjustment, moving into a much smaller space than we are used to, but this is a challenge we are excited to take on.

Everyone here has fun names for their van, and we are trying to think of one for ours. Eric wants to name it ‘the van’ but I personally like ‘Cliffjord, the Big Red Van’ (get it, like cliffs and fjords). Let us know what y’all think, or if you have any other suggestions!