Unhappy campers: US tourists Marcus Laurin and Jane Alex managed to see the rest of New Zealand after being waylaid by the breakdown of their campervan. The Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal has awarded them partial costs after they had to buy a second-hand engine to get the van back on the road. Photos / Marcus Laurin
A young couple on a working holiday in New Zealand got more than they bargained for when they bought a $17,000 van, only to have it break down within a few weeks.
Marcus Laurin and Jane Alex may have lost sleep and thousands of dollars, plus time on the road trying to fix the vehicle’s growing list of problems, but they gained friendships and a closer look at the country along the way.
“Yes, our plans were derailed but in the end, we overcame it in a weird way,” Laurin told NZME from the US, where the couple had just returned.
They have now partially succeeded in their claim to the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal, winning back what it cost them to replace the engine in the ailing Hiace, so they could complete their holiday.
The pair arrived in New Zealand last November from their home in Colorado, where they worked in the ski adventure and hospitality sectors.
They set about searching for a campervan for their planned road trip around New Zealand, and came across Discount Campers in Auckland.
They settled on a 29-year-old Toyota Hiace with 238,527km on the clock, advertised as ready‑to‑use, including a 12‑volt electrical system and self‑containment certification.
Laurin said although the $17,000 price tag was on the steep side, they felt it was reasonable value given how it was sold to them.
He said the van was touted as “the best one available” for its reliability and according to the campervan company, work had recently been done on it.
Discount Campers custom-fitted campervans on request and sold others on behalf of vendors.
Director Nesar Yousufi told NZME the company operated a service that helped many tourists buy and sell campervans, and assisted them with vehicle warrants and servicing.
The pair had trouble-free motoring for the first two weeks, but while in Whitianga, they started having problems with the vehicle’s electrical system.
They contacted Discount Campers and an inspection was discussed, but the electrical system subsequently came right to some degree, so the vehicle was not returned for inspection.
“We ended up kind of somewhat fixing that problem, but what we would have to do is, like, recharge the battery at places like Supercheap Autos.
“So that was just kind of like a quick fix. But we were like, ‘all right, this isn’t that big of a deal’,” Laurin said.
Days later in the Ōkere Falls area (near Rotorua), the vehicle’s clutch failed and it became undrivable.
The pair contacted Discount Campers again and were asked to consider returning the vehicle to Auckland for inspection and repair, but it was not feasible because of the cost to tow it back to Auckland, Laurin said.
They arranged a mobile mechanic, who fixed the problem for $757.
However, a few days later the vehicle broke down again, near Tauranga.
The couple reported sudden and rapid overheating and a “strong smell and visible smoke” from the engine bay.
The vehicle was towed to a nearby repair workshop.
Laurin and Alex contacted Discount Campers again, and were asked once more to have the vehicle towed back to Auckland for inspection.
After weighing up the cost compared with fixing it themselves, they decided on the latter.
After calling multiple repairers in the area, they found Tauranga business Herbs Vehicle Repairs, which had not yet closed for Christmas.
Laurin said they had no idea New Zealand closed for several weeks over the Christmas break, which added to their woes, but it worked out okay in the end.
He agreed there were worse places to be stranded.
“We were stuck in Hot Water Beach [on the Coromandel Peninsula] for two months. We couldn’t go anywhere. We couldn’t even get to the grocery store reliably.
“If we hadn’t found jobs before the van broke down, we would have been totally screwed,” Laurin said.
Herbs Vehicle Repairs identified the van’s radiator was severely deteriorated, with significant corrosion and active leaks.
Laurin said the business also recommended they lodge a claim with the tribunal.
“I had no clue about this thing that New Zealand does for people, this tribunal process,” Laurin said.
He said Herbs Vehicle Repairs wrote a letter of recommendation along the lines that the company did not think Laurin and Alex had been given a fair deal in their purchase.
Yousufi told NZME his company prided itself on helping tourists, but no matter how much they tried to help in some circumstances, tourists tended to “do their own thing”.
He reiterated he had tried to help several times, but it had not been convenient for the couple to have the vehicle towed back to Auckland.
Laurin said his girlfriend worked solidly for two to three months doing research to present the case to the tribunal.
In a tribunal decision released in March, adjudicator Crystal Euden said, the vehicle repair business also discovered the vehicle’s cooling system showed signs consistent with prolonged operation using water rather than coolant, resulting in internal corrosion.
The radiator was replaced just before Christmas at a cost of $1545.
The vehicle repair business also found the van had a “badly blown” head gasket, the cooling system was pressurising and the cylinder head was suspected to be warped.
It was further suspected the engine had seized at some stage due to excessive heat, resulting in a failure to start, Euden said.
The couple were told further investigation would require dismantling the engine and that the vehicle should only be driven very short distances, if at all.
Laurin said they enjoyed their time being part of the local community at Hot Water Beach.
“I met some local surfers, I met some really good friends where we were staying at Auntie Dawn’s Place.
“The owners, they let me replace the whole engine in their yard and I couldn’t have done it without them.
“They would cook us dinner and stuff. They made us feel welcome knowing that we were broken-down and stuck.”
In February this year, Laurin said a second-hand, 3-litre Toyota diesel engine bought online was installed by a mechanic friend and fellow whitewater kayaker, David Friday, who had arrived in New Zealand on holiday from the US.
“He’s the one that led the charge on being able to replace the engine,” Laurin said.
“I’m mechanically inclined, but I’m not a master.
“He knew every piece which needed pulling apart and putting back together.”
The tribunal noted Friday did not charge for his labour.
While collecting Friday at the airport (via a shuttle service), they met hitch-hiker Ignacio.
“He needed a ride to Tauranga, and we said, ‘come on, get in’.”
Ignacio continued his travels, but texted a few days later and offered to come back and help fix the van.
“It’s kind of crazy, because I was like, ‘oh, my God, thank God this guy is here’, because he was like the biggest wrench-turner you’ve ever seen.”
Also on hand was Jane Alex’s brother, Sean Alex, who also happened to be nearby and stepped in to help.
“If Dave hadn’t offered to fix the engine, I wouldn’t have been able to afford to fix it.
“We would have probably gotten the money and sold the van for parts,” Laurin said.
The couple claimed reimbursement for all repair costs, including the engine.
Discount Campers disagreed it was liable.
Yousafi alleged some of the claims in this instance might not have been genuine.
“Was the engine really damaged? I don’t know because I never had the opportunity to see it,” he told NZME.
He told the tribunal the vehicle was sold to the couple on behalf of a private owner, and that his business was not given a reasonable opportunity to inspect or repair the vehicle before third‑party repairs were undertaken.
The tribunal agreed for the most part, but found there were failures with the vehicle.
“I am satisfied that, viewed cumulatively, the clutch failure, radiator failure, and resultant engine damage constitute a failure of a substantial character,” the tribunal adjudicator said in her decision.
“Taken together, a reasonable consumer, fully informed of the nature and extent of those defects, would not have acquired the vehicle.”
Discount Campers was required to compensate the pair for the “reasonable costs incurred” in replacing the vehicle’s engine, in the total amount of $3495.
Yousufi told NZME it was “very unfortunate” they had been forced to go through the legal process, but “what’s done is done”.
Laurin confirmed Discount Campers had paid the money owed.
Once back on the road, the couple made it to the South Island.
“We put another 10,000 kilometres on that car. I mean, we went all over the damn map.”
The van was on-sold when Laurin and Alex ended their travels, for half what they paid for it, but comfortable in the knowledge it was “probably the best running van in New Zealand”.
“I think it’s bulletproof now. We put all the parts that could possibly break back together.”
Laurin said while it had been a stressful time, they loved New Zealand.
Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.