hi i just wanted to share this... never go to the backpacker car market in auckland, you will get ripped off. they say they are independent but they will try and persuade you into buying a van or car which is not what you are really after. unfortunately i know a few people who have fallen for this inclduing myself and we have all lost lots of money. their prices are rediculous. try ellerslie or trade and exchange if you want to buy a car in auckland.
i would say the same for the kings cross car market that is aimed at tourists - no local would EVER pay the prices they are asking and the cars are usually so rusting they are dangerous (even by aussie standards) it is the bestway to loose a lot of money in your first week of travelling
Auckland: got the same experience of that garage. They want to sell their own "backpacker" cars (brings them down from level above), and jumps at potential buyers to show them their vans and actually advises against buying their clients cars!
Christschurch: better run, backpacker deals with bacpacker without interference from awfull people. The way it should be.
[ Edited at Nov 14, 2006 5:08 AM by kintakunta ]
Same problems for us at backpackers car market, here's what we already put on another forum:
WARNING ABOUT BACKPACKERS CAR MARKET – AUCKLAND
This is a warning for everyone who is considering buying a car at Backpackers Car Market in Auckland.
First, let me start by saying they actually do what they say, you can buy and sell a vehicle there, BUT:
- The price of the cars at BCM is often too high. Car prices in NZ tend to be al lot lower than in other countries, so don't be fooled. Be sure to check the price of the make and model you want to buy by for example checking Trademe.co.nz or Carz.co.nz (plenty of internet on nearby K'road) or better still, go to the Saturday market at Hasley Street or the Sunday Car Fair at Ellerslie Race course, this will give you a much better perspective, or you might even find your dreamcar there.
- Don't be fooled by the woman (the owner) there if she tells you to spend a bit more money on a car to get more back. We did exactly what she said (what did we know about the NZ car market) and ended up loosing quite some money. Search for a good car, but stick to your budget, you can only loose what you invest.
- Be suspicious if the owner of the car you want to buy "can't be reached" or "has left them his lowest price". Although they say they do not own the cars they sell, you can soon see there are dodgy things happening if you spend some time there and observe the things that are going on (and trust me, trying to sell your car for three days without result gives you plenty of time to watch how things work there)
- Do not waste your money on the mechanical check across the road. Of course, the two businesses are well connected, and to make things worse, they will charge you at least 140 dollars for a check that can easily be done for 50-100 dollars. Both the Saturday and Sunday car fairs also offer mechanical checks, or ask your buyers/sellers to drive to another, cheaper mechanic (we know there's a good one near the AA building on the Great Southern Road, but there will probably be a lot more).
- Do not settle the change of ownership there. This will cost you a mere 9,20 dollars at the nearest post office (around the corner on K'road), just pick up the forms, complete them and return. Simple and a lot cheaper.
- Don't be talked into buying their insurance until you get quotes from some other companies.
I hope that, by writing this, I can help to keep travellers from making the same mistakes we did.
We've met several people who've also had negative experiences with BCM, so if anyone else has had similar problems there, please put them in this thread, you may help other travellers
even though the last message on here is old, all of the information is correct. Dont go to the backpackers car market!
A complete rip off in every sense.
[ Dec 7, 2008, at 3:51 PM by travels15 ]
Too true! I bought both my vans through them and was glad of their service. However, they told me there was a waiting list to sell my van this time - several days hence and too late for me to wait, but I 'booked' a place and paid upfront. I sold my van the next day at the Saturday market. We also found that it was much cheaper to deal directly with the Post Office. Although I went back to cancel my booking with the BCM, they kept my payment for the full three days I'd booked, even though I'd used none of it. I would have accepted them maybe keeping the booking money for one day... They also did a good job of selling me a van belonging to an 'absent' owner while deriding the vans of their clients who were present... They need to be more friendly and amenable...
Hi,
it's been a few years (in 2005) since I was foolish enough to trust the people from BCM in Auckland; today I was actually searching google for news about them "just for fun". I think it's not too late, however, to agree to everything that has been said about them in this forum: KEEP OFF!!!
My story in short: Bought a 17 year old Subaru Leone from them, previous owner had "left the country", they were "selling it for him", "car in good condition" - still had to wait three days before it was "ready" (they took it to a mechanic in Mangere) - then when I finally got the car, I drove for about two hours, then it went up in steam. Thank goodness most kiwis are really, truly nice and helpful people; a nice lady picked me up in Otorohanga at 10 at night, took me home with her and let me stay for five days; I'll never ever forget her!!! She and her "boyfriend" helped me then in getting back some of the money I had paid - 2400 $ in full, got back 1800 only because they had "already paid the previous owner", etc. etc... really I think I only got them to pay me back because I told them about Lorraine and Kerry who were helping me, so they knew I had some "Kiwi friends" who might be or become suspicious about their way of doing business...
Next strange thing was the insurance policy; I had got one from BCM for 180 $ - for the old Subaru of course. When I bought a "new" car after getting rid of the first one, I tried to contact the insurance company "Asia Pacific" in order to report the change of car, but never got through - either the line was busy or there was an answering machine, but without possibility of leaving a message. In the end I called BCM again - they just asked for the type of car, registration etc., then said I could amend the policy myself, just cross the old details out and write down the new ones... In fact, I don't believe this insurance company ever existed; especially since none of the Kiwis I asked had ever heard about it.
Since all good things come in threes, seven months after, when I was back home already, I was notified by a Kiwi friend that I had got a parking ticket - several weeks after BCM had taken the old car back! Calling the Ministry of Justice and LTSA I found out that the car had still been registered in my name for several months after. Since I didn't learn about the fine in time, the whole amount, which had originally been about 10 or 20 $, including reminder charges added up to 70 $ by the time I paid it.
According to the Ministry of Justice, there were no more fines then; but I wouldn't be surprised at all if, travelling to NZ next time (don't know when that will be, but still...!), they detained me in customs for another fine I just don't know about because nobody informed me!!
All told, I can only agree to what has been said before in this thread: NEVER EVER buy your car from Backpacker's Car Market in Auckland!!!
Buying and Selling vehicle at the Backpackers Car Market in Auckland is the best decision you can make!!!!
Totally opposite happened to us,
we had an incredibly good feeling about Backpackers Car Market in Auckland. Staff was very helpful when we bought a van. The couple that we bought when from was very nice and trustful but we still wanted to do full inspection on the vehicle. The inspection results were not brilliant but we agreed with seller to pay for repairs. We had it fixed and never had problems with a vehicle. We also change the ownership at the market, got insurance and the cheapest ferry tickets that we could have found. Unfortunately, we had a small accident and needed insurance company's help. They were very helpful and did what they needed to do, to pay for the repairs of the vehicle that we hit to. Car was new and we thought that we could have had complications for the damage that we did to the vehicle. The cost of the repairs was $3,000. Insurance company paid for the repairs promptly without any discussion with us. So when you come to that point we were very satisfied.
Also, when you come to the point of selling our van......we sold it in just 1 day and had it parked at the Backpackers Car Market. We were selling it in a bad time, when travelers are not coming in a big volume to New Zealand. Anyway it was sold quickly.
We are very satisfied
I am recommending this place to all travelers that are planning trip to New Zealand!!!
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