Complete Guide to Shipping Your Car from Australia to New Zealand

While few of us are flying anyway these summer holidays, many cars will be on the road. So, we encourage you to add your vehicle to your to-do list to prevent breakdowns, fines and most of all - headaches.    

Book a full service

Not keen to be stranded in the middle of nowhere because of a faulty battery?  If you are checking the car yourself make sure you include tyres (including our spare), lights, fluids, brakes, belts, wipers and the steering.   However, we recommend a full service from a trustworthy mechanic so they can check your vehicle’s cooling system as well.

WOF and Registration

Sometimes we forget to check the dates before it’s too late. Make sure you warrant of fitness and registration see you through the summer months.  

If you’re using a boat, boat trailer, standard trailer, jet ski or motorbike in the holidays as well, make sure everything is up to date.

Safety items

Jumper leads, torch and first aid are also standard items you should have in your vehicle. And during this, the weirdest of years, we recommend some hand sanitiser for your glove box as well.

Join AA Roadside Assistance

Ever lost your car keys while on holiday?  Speaking from personal experience it isn’t a wonderful holiday memory.   Time to join or renew your AA Roadside membership, so if the unexpected happens, there’s help at the end of the phone. 

Plan your route

Once the car is happy and healthy, time to look after your passengers as well.  Pack lots of good quality snacks (not just jet aeroplanes!), water bottles and make the driver has a break every 1-2 hours (or share the responsibility).   If anyone is susceptible to motion sickness, stock up on Seabands or Sealegs.      

Furthermore, think about peak travelling times, because hot days and long traffic jams aren’t much fun, right?   No problem – refer to NZ Transport’s Journey Planner for travel estimates and because Australia is a LITTLE bigger, check individual states for updates, such as the New South Wales Government website for Holiday Journeys.