You’ve probably heard it over and over again “we got the car really cheap and did a road trip around the country for 6 months! Best trip ever!”.
It’s something I’ve always wanted to do myself – and given an impending trip to New Zealand, I figured it would be the perfect opportunity for this adventure.
There wasn’t really a proper plan or idea what to look for. I just had the following in mind:
- Get something reasonably cheap with enough left in the budget to repair it if needed.
- Drive around for 6 months while living in it (save on accommodation)
- Sell it for close to the initial purchase price.
Saving on accommodation, getting to see the country and then recouping the major costs? Who doesn’t want to do that!?
Needless to say, it didn’t go exactly as planned. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give to you:
The 12 Step Process on How Not to Buy a Car!
- Jump on the local classifieds website or eBay.
- Browse through the cheapest listings
- Find one that doesn’t have much activity and is due to expire
- put in a bid at the last minute to win the Auction
- have a look at the photos (yes, in that order!)
- drive out to cars address
- pay in cash
- depart with new car
- have it to die on the drive home
- spend more than twice what you paid for it on repairs over the next 3.5 months.
- sell it for half the initial purchase price
- walk away happy that you’re rid of that financial black hole.
And there you have it! My foolproof way to lose money on a car. And, yes, this is exactly what I did in New Zealand, so please learn from my mistakes and don’t do the same. I would consider purchasing a vehicle from another traveller or next time bring a mechanic along with me. I will never purchase a car on eBay or similar again.
Learn from me!
