If you wish to take the stress out of importing your own motorhome or caravan, as well as save yourself a great deal of time and effort, look no further than Kiwi Motorhome Importing Tauranga.
We highly recommend using Kiwi Motorhome Importing as your trusted agent for importing a motorhome or caravan into New Zealand.
Our recent experience of working with Rob and Fiona to import our new motorhome from the UK has been great.
Their attention to detail has been both welcome and necessary. They have anticipated and dealt with issues before they materialised and became problems. They have also very happily answered our many dumb questions on everything from NZ Customs requirements, mains plug socket and gas conversions and NZTA registration to motorhoming in New Zealand. To navigate these many hurdles you need someone like Rob and Fiona who have seen it all before and are used to doing things right.
Rob and Fiona welcomed us into their home when we called to collect our motorhome and took the time to explain everything we needed to know about using and operating our brand new van. Fiona makes awesome muffins as well by the way.
All in all we are very pleased with the excellent service and advice we have received from Kiwi Motorhome Importing and definitely made the right decision to use them very early in the process.
We recently purchased a motorhome through Kiwi Motorhome Importing and can highly recommend the service that Rob and Fiona provided. From the very first conversation with Rob and Fiona it was very obvious they knew their business.
They gave us excellent advice and made us fully aware of the processes involved with importing a motorhome. The spreadsheet they provided of the costs involved was very detailed and incredibly accurate – there were no hidden costs or surprises! They kept us informed throughout the process and responded to our questions promptly.
When the vehicle arrived in New Zealand they organised all of the compliance requirements and registration details. They went out of their way to make the collection process as easy as possible, Rob picked me up from the airport and took me back to their place to do the hand over.
Rob and Fiona took their time explaining all the ‘ins and outs’ of the motorhome and even lent me their tyre inflator kit for the return journey home. For us the importing process was a dream and we are thrilled with our new motorhome. The friendly and professional service they provided was outstanding.
We cannot speak highly enough about the attention to detail, care, service and professionalism of Rob and Fiona. Importing a motorhome to New Zealand is a minefield of taxes, certification, stink bugs, self-containment & electrical compliance, the list goes on – Rob and Fiona are experts on how to navigate all the issues, avoid unnecessary pitfalls and ultimately save you money and stress. Whenever we had any questions they were on hand to provide the answers, always willing to go above and beyond for their clients. I feel we have not only gained a new motorhome, but also new friends. The service doesn’t end once you’ve collected your new vehicle, they provide a comprehensive handover so she’s all ready to go and, being new to motorhome ownership, they were on hand to answer our multitude of “how does this work?” questions. If you are considering importing a vehicle give them a call….they will make it a reality and save you a heap of money compared to buying the equivalent in New Zealand!
We are not generally part of ‘On-line’ life’s Reviewing brigade – not being geeks to start with – instead being the sorts that usually do our own ‘homework’ and get on with our project being rather ‘independent’ types, but we we’re truly relieved to make the acquaintance of Rob and Fiona Wilkinson from KIWI
MOTORHOME IMPORTING relatively near, but not quite near enough, the beginning of our project to purchase an ex VAT motorhome in the UK, travel and then export the vehicle back to NZ for le.
Had we gone straight to Rob and Fiona with what we were looking for in a Motorhome,
we would have had none of the chasing around UK dealerships that we did, as we had not realised the demand on manufacturing slots that dealerships were experiencing in the UK in 2018; we would have had the benefit of Kiwi Motorhome Importing’s network of ‘reliable’ dealerships, a portion of dealers’ discount,
and probably Rob and Fiona would have found our vehicle in a better arrival location than northern UK and we may not have got the run-around from an outfit too big to care that we did. More fool us!
However, we were really fortunate to ‘fall into’ Rob and Fiona’s reliable and extremely
capable hands, when we struggled to get insurance for our vehicle just three weeks out from our departure. A desperate online search popped up Kiwi Motorhome Importing and Insurance together. Thank Heavens! From that point on all the huge variety of facets of what we were in for in terms of an importation of a Motorhome we’re lifted from the shoulders of a pair of fairly rank amateurs, albeit practical folk, and into the hands of some real professionals!
Unfortunately, we’d missed out on Rob and Fiona’s assistance in acquiring the vehicle of our choice and we did get lumbered with a dealership that we’d have preferred not to have dealt with, but moving on, Kiwi Motorhome’s legendary MOTORHOME IMPORTATION COST ANALYSIS was a revelation and you could be in NO DOUBT as to what is involved in an importation and just what you are up for, before you embark on the project. We are not experts, but we have tackled a few projects in our time (building houses and boats), and this analysis, referred to in other reviews, is such a comprehensive, up front calculation that proved
so reliable as to have just over a $100 variance (through subsequent electrical
plug requirements in NZ) in the overall costing over a 8 month period, taking into account currency fluctuations etc. Really impressive and we’d venture to say, unheard of in today’s NZ Motorhome market.
From their terrific UK Insurer, with whom Rob and Fiona were personally acquainted, to the Schedule of Required Documents and Originals, Rob and Fiona put together to be obtained from the Dealership, their instructions on VIN# photos etc., and paperwork making things straight forward with NZ Customs etc, UK drop off instructions, to their sorely tested Shipping Agent back here in NZ and the Motorhome’s final arrival and delivery to Tauranga, Rob and Fiona co-ordinated and counselled us, with always the most prompt email replies and words of Wisdom.
When the Motorhome was back in NZ, we were more than reassured by the quality work
of their compliancing team and more assistance above and beyond during a tight sales process caused by shipping delays, Rob and Fiona did their utmost co-ordinating compliancing and paperwork in record time, and then offering us
sales contract advice and our buyers, several useful items to get them on the road, home to the South Island.
If you want reliability, knowledge and accuracy of information, straight answers from genuine and exceedingly helpful operators, Kiwi Motorhome Importing and Rob and Fiona Wilkinson are lovely people at the top of their game and it’s our pleasure to recommend their services to prospective Motorhome importers and purchasers.
Kate and John
In 2018 we decided that as we are keen on motorhoming and also like to visit New Zealand, we would combine the two and have an adventure to remember in our own motorhome. We decided that another Burstner would “fit the bill” and so visited Camper UK of Lincoln who had the model in stock.
Negotiations went well and we asked who they recommended to help us send the motorhome to New Zealand. Without hesitation I was told “Kiwi Motorhome Importing”. Bearing in mind this is the main dealer for Burstner in the UK, I followed their advice.
We read KMI’s advice regarding export/import arrangements and contacted Rob & Fiona with a view to using the motorhome for 3 months before exporting to NZ -as we wanted to be sure that everything was working perfectly before it left the country. Rob immediately sent us a detailed spreadsheet showing all the likely costs that we were going to incur based on the purchase price -which of course was VAT (UK Tax) free.
All seemed reasonable and so we agreed to KMI putting the wheels in motion. They kept us informed throughout of what was happening and what documents were needed and when. They were also very understanding when the UK licensing department (the DVLA) made a complete hash of licensing our motorhome ready for export. That obstacle over, the Marmorated Stinkbug reared its ugly head and caused extreme problems for Rob in getting a suitable replacement ship when the ‘Pest Import’ rules changed. Thanks again Rob/Fiona.
So, we were reunited with our motorhome in early 2019 and were delighted that all the documentation, licensing and conversions had been arranged and carried out swiftly by Kiwi Motorhome Importing to a VERY HIGH standard. The original spreadsheet? Well, that was within a couple of hundred dollars of the final price -which had been affected by the Stinkbug. Not bad eh?
Thank you once again Rob & Fiona for everything.
Ian & Chris Kear
Cheltenham, U.K.
To whom it may concern,
In August 2018 we made the decision as a family to return to New Zealand after 18 years away. While living in the South Pacific and Europe had been great, the desire to return to NZ had become too strong. Our plan was simple – leave the UK on December 1st, hire a motorhome on Dec 3rd, travel the country, find somewhere we all liked to live and settle down. But if like us, you have also looked at the prices of hiring motorhomes in NZ over the peak period then this was never going to fly. So research of alternative options was undertaken and the first site we found was Kiwi Motorhome Importing – within 24 hours we were speaking with Rob and Fiona about our plans, wishes, wants and preferences – and boy did they make it easy for us!
Being fairly new to motorhoming (we had hired a few in the past) the knowledge and wisdom that came from Rob and Fiona was extraordinary. Having two teenage daughters in tow meant sleeping arrangements were a key challenge but Rob immediately mentioned the Sunlight A72 with its rear bunks and not only that, also pointed us towards a supplier in the UK who had them and that we could go and see. Literally within weeks we had viewed and agreed the purchase of our new travelling home and the shipping date had been confirmed to ensure the MH would be in New Zealand ready to roll well before our arrival.
And this is where you might think that the challenge to bring the MH to New Zealand only started!
However, with the guidance of Rob and Fiona, via emails and WhatsApp calls, they had all the paperwork we needed sent to us with clear instructions on what to do with them and fully outlined the process required. In terms of hassle for us – there was simply none! It was actually easier than buying a car locally as I didn’t even need to pick the MH up and drive it to the docks for shipping!
But wait, there’s more. Not content with simply the importing side, Rob and Fiona then assisted with the full set-up of said MH from the legal aspects (WOF, Electrical Certificate etc) through to ensuring that we had everything we needed in the van itself (from consumables for the toilet through to plates, cutlery and even a potato peeler!) – and even now, 2 months after we took delivery of our MH we are still in contact with Rob and Fiona and indeed regard them as good friends.
From the very first enquiry both Rob and Fiona have actively supported and helped us to realise our dream of getting mobile in New Zealand with very little stress or strain from our side. If you have similar desires to us and want to find and/or bring a MH of your own into New Zealand then I cannot recommend Rob and Fiona at Kiwi Motorhome Importing enough. They have simply been exceptional.
The Macdonald family
We were thoroughly impressed with the service provided by Rob and Fiona at Kiwi Motorhome Importing. They helped with contact for sourcing a van and knew the importing process inside out allowing everything to go smoothly. Even when we had issues on our end they were very patient and went above and beyond to make sure everything went well. We can’t recommend them highly enough.
We are so grateful to have found Rob and Fiona when we were thinking about sending our camper van from the UK to NZ, they sent us estimates of pretty much what it would cost, the legalities of the VAT exempt scheme, the shipping, the import and compliance procedures.
Once we decided on a date they organised all the rest, all we had to do was to drive the campervan to Southampton and they did the rest.
They were very trustworthy, informative and professional in their approach to the whole procedure after all it’s a lot of money you’ve got invested!
When we arrived at their house in Tauranga the van was waiting ready for us. They invited us to stay on their driveway for another day/night while we sorted out the van ready for our NZ roadtrip. They couldn’t do enough for us to make sure everything was perfect.
We can’t recommend then highly enough and expect to be using them again for our next NZ adventure.
Tim and Jo
We shipped our Burstner motorhome from the UK to New Zealand with Kiwi Motorhome Importing where Rob and Fiona handled the entire process. This took a great deal of stress away from us and meant we could enjoy our holiday whilst the motorhome made its way to New Zealand.
Once it had arrived Rob and Fiona looked after our motorhome like it was their own and went to great lengths to assist us setting up once we arrived. Rob and Fiona are two of the kindest, most genuine people we have met and if you are shipping to New Zealand, we can’t recommend them highly enough.
Dale, Beccy, Tate & Brock
Thank you Rob and Fiona. My wife and I (and 9 mth old daughter) wanted to utilise the last 3 months of her maternity leave by travelling around her home country (Britain) along with Spain and France…. It was also a great way for me to spend some quality time with my daughter.
My background is in import, distribution and retail sales of truck parts in New Zealand with a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance, as such I was never going to be an easy customer for Rob to satisfy (The arrogance to have an opinion on everything, and the ability to do it myself if I don’t think it was being done the way I thought best)
From the start both myself and my wife liked the way Rob and Fiona came across confident but also down to earth and prepared to discuss all possibilities to find the best solution for our situation.
Our plan was to do what we wanted, when we wanted and how we wanted… all the time satisfying a 9mth old girl who makes her own demands. A Motorhome was therefore a fait accompli… the only question was which?
We looked hard at many Motorhomes initially preferring the idea of a 3-5 year vehicle (new enough, but discounted in price that comes with new vehicles)… but upon review of the UK tax system and the benefits afforded by the UK ‘Personal Export Scheme’ and best place to position ourselves in the NZ retail market for a successful and profitable efficient resale. It was always our intention to return the vehicle to New Zealand and sell the vehicle to return the capital investment we had made in full.
Robs advice was invaluable as a number of times we went down wrong pathways that would have ultimately ended up cost us money, time and hassle.
Having accurate costings and understanding of exactly what was required to achieve and complete this project was greatly assisted by the complete details of Kiwi Motorhomes comprehensive expense sheet, along with the benefits of his industry knowledge and extensive contacts. That is not to say we did everything his way, but we listened with respect to everything he had to say.
Ultimately we found the most sensible solution was to purchase a new Motorhome early in the UK summer, use it for the Northern Hemisphere summer and then return it to New Zealand in time to market and sale it for the start of the NZ summer season.
The Motorhome enabled us to have a fixed base and a common place to call ‘home’ (Important for the stability of our 9 mth old whilst we travelled, ultimately this trip was for our benefit but we wanted to have the least impact on our child’s learning, growth and development as possible).
It also enabled us to travel where we wanted and when, saving us in travel, accommodation and food without hassle, and with the benefit of putting us in an environment to meet real people everywhere we went. Just seeing the major attractions was never a major objective to us… rather to experience and sample was so much more what we wanted to achieve.
Rob’s timings where accurate from start to finish, his costings were precise and even as a tough customer to please I can only compliment both he and Fiona for their efficiency.
Having now completed our project/adventure I am happy to say that not only have we minimised our expenditure but with the benefit of renting our house at home in the interim have gone a long way to covering all of the costs associated with our experience, in fact we were able to sell the motorhome in 3 weeks and realised a profit on the sale, a great outcome!
Proof that if you are smart, careful and capable a motorhome adventure does not have to be an expensive exercise.
Thank you Kiwi Motorhome Importing.
Mark, Tania & Indie Knight