So much has happened in the past couple days it may be hard to remember everything since my first post.

The first van I saw was a definite no-go, but it was good practice for what to expect during a viewing and the strategies/questions I’ll use going forward. The main issue was that it wouldn’t work with my mountain bike, but it also had a shotty respray and a bad 3rd gear syncro that really turned me off.

It started raining super hard and I stopped in at a pharmacy to buy an umbrella and a travel adapter for the power outlets here.

I spent most of the day walking around visiting different banks trying to figure out the easiest way to set up an account. Of the four I went to, only Kiwibank would allow me to open an account without an appointment, but they wouldn’t accept my proof of a NZ address which was a total hassle. Fortunately, the hostel I’m staying at deals with this all the time and was able to print me a document that would suffice as proof of address. After going to a print shop to photocopy my passport and visa, I was finally able to submit the necessary documents to open an account. They quoted me five business days before it was active, which was a bummer because my booking at the hostel was only for 5 nights and there was no way I’d be able to buy a van in time. Luckily the place I’m staying is flexible on booking and they set me up with another three nights.

I bopped into the local chain grocery store, Countdown, to stock up on food. It took me the longest time to assemble my cart, as I’m trying to spend as little as possible until I don’t have to pay credit card fees. For dinner I had sauted veggies with rice and beans, budget gourmet cooking.

Yesterday was rainy and windy for much of the day. I checked out a couple of campervan dealers within walking distance of the hostel. The first one didn’t have much of a selection and everything looked knocked together/sketchy. On my way back I stopped by a high end bike shop and chatted up the employees who were super friendly and helpful. The second dealer I went to had more of a selection, including a long wheelbase high roof Ford Econovan which had yet to be converted. It only had  167,000 kms on it, but the person they purchased it from blew the radiator cap, ran it without coolant, and blew up the engine. The salesman was able to show me the receipts for the engine rebuild (it had a rebuilt trans as well), but I was a little skeptical. They were offering to build it to my specifications and get it certified self contained for 12,700 NZD which is a bit more than I wanted to spend, especially for a questionable engine.

After making a pit stop at my hostel I set out for my next viewing at another hostel in downtown Auckland. As soon as I was at the meeting location I texted the sellers, but right at 6:00 when they agreed to be there I got a text saying they wouldn’t make it because another buyer had taken it for a pre purchase inspection and found some sections of rust that were irreparable. Too bad they couldn’t have let me know before I walked all the way across downtown Auckland. Instead of going straight home I decided to check out Aotea square which my roommate, a local, had recommended I visit. After seeing the square I chose to walk home by way of a different Countdown to get some pasta and sauce, but right at the same corner as the store was an Indian organization dishing out free food to people on the sidewalk. Stoked to come up on a free meal, I enjoyed a healthy serving of a paneer dish on rice with rava kesari for dessert. I was smitten on my walk home.

I had to get to bed early last night for a busy day today. My plans were to walk to the Auckland car fare on time for the start at 9am, uber back across town for a 10:30 viewing, uber back where I had come for an 11:30 viewing (annoyingly couldn’t arrange in a more efficient way), and make it back to the hostel to be picked up and taken to another dealer at 1:45.

My day went completely differently. I woke up at 8am and scoffed down a breakfast of oatmeal with raisins, peanut butter mixed in, and a cut up apple on top. The car fair was a half hour walk from the hostel and I wanted to arrive right at the beginning so I set of promptly at 8:30. At the show there were a few vans that met my criteria including a $9,000 2008 Nissan Vanette that had only 107,000 kms and a super clean body with a layout that would work with my bike. It had just had the cambelt and waterpump replaced (an important service needed every 100k), so I knew there was no risk of the cambelt snapping and the valves getting smashed into the top of the cylinder resulting in catastrophic engine failure. There was another van there that had piqued my interest (I actually saw an ad for it online the night before and knew it would be there). It was a Nissan Homy with a super long wheelbase and high roof with only 31,000 kms and a beautifully set up interior. It was 15,000 NZD the max of my budget, but it was a little more ragged than the Vanette despite the low mileage. The owners were a super cool couple from France who showed me around and even took me for a ride, but I realized I couldn’t justify the extra cost for something pretty with a little more space.

Back at the show I returned to the Vanette realizing how good a candidate it was for me. Three German guys were taking it for a test drive and I was afraid they would buy it. When it came back I looked it over again and decided I was ready to make a move. I tried my best bartering skills with the salesman who was a real stickler. I wasn’t able to talk down the price all that much, but I did get him to agree to making a few changes before the sale. I took it for a test drive and stopped at an atm on the way to pick up $300 for a deposit. I had them make a written agreement including the price, deposit, and requests I had stated and handed over my money.

The walk back to the hostel was contemplative. When making a big purchase in such a competitive environment, you want to snatch an opportunity when you see it but not make an impulsive decision and overpay or get something that you don’t want and then have to live with. Fortunately, I got a really clean van. It’s the smallest size that will be sufficient, but its in super good shape compared to most of what’s on the market. This means when it comes time to sell it in about 6 months (the off season), it will stand out from everything else on the market. By the time I was approaching the steps to the backpackers lodge I was confident I had made the right move.

I sent out a message to the people I had arrangements with informing them I had found my van, and took some chill time at the hostel. Just for fun I totaled up the total number of vans I had inquired about, and it ended up being 32. Those are just the ones that fit my criteria well enough to contact the sellers, but over the last few weeks I’ve browsed hundreds. Given I have a pretty good sample size for understanding the market, I know how my van stacks up. I got a great deal!

On my way back to the Countdown for some advil this afternoon I ran into a church group handing out cookies and chocolate. Not only did they have gluten free cookies for me the pastor was a fellow mountain biker and US transplant himself. We hit it off and he even invited me to come do a hike in January with the group down near Nelson where I plan to reside.

After returning to the hostel once again I started writing and think I have finally recapped the major happenings of the past couple days. Of course there are plenty of details that I left out, but life is happening faster than I can record it. Maybe I need a GoPro with a live stream so people can really stay up to date with my adventures!

I’ll be writing again when I feel like it.