Hire of Tui Motorhome (AKJ 157) from the Auckland Depot

5-Berth Ford Transit-based

4 July  to 22 August 2005 (49 days)

Barry and Margaret Williamson

The following comments will form the basis for a letter to the hire company, Tui, towards the end of the hire period. It details a series of minor but unnecessary and annoying faults with the vehicle and with the company. Any reply from the company will be added to this website at the end of our letter.

Introduction

We are a retired professional English couple, who for 10 years now, have used our own motorhome for long-term travel, exploring Europe and parts of North Africa and West Asia. We have also made 3 visits to New Zealand, totalling 12 months in the last 5 years, each as part of a round the world journey. We have hired motorhomes and cars in a dozen other countries, including Australia, the USA and, previously, New Zealand. 

Our web site (www.magbaztravels.com) is designed for long-term, long-distance motorhomers and other travellers and it contains at least 65 travel articles and over 1,000 travel-related images. The website has a wide international readership and it is becoming a gathering ground for the shared experience of other motorhomes.

We have published 20 articles in the MMM (Motorhome Motorcaravan Monthly), the UK's leading monthly motorhome magazine. We are also the magazine's consultants on long-term motorhoming, aspects of long-distance European travel and a number of countries in the Balkans. The magazine is about to publish our article on long-distance motorhoming in Australia.

The Motorhome

Overall, the 'Tui' motorhome was a good conversion, roomy and well equipped. It is unfortunate that the company provides such poor personal service and gives such little attention to maintenance and repair. For a small proportion of the overall costs involved in hiring such a vehicle, 'Tui' could have greatly improved our motorhoming experience.

What follows is a record of the series of minor but annoying and unnecessary problems that we experienced with the 'Tui' vehicle during our 49-day hire. They can be read in conjunction with our Travel Notes: New Zealand (travel notes) and our illustrated log of a journey through New Zealand (new zealand log). Relevant images are displayed at (new zealand images).

We stress again that the problems were unnecessary and in no way accidental. Overall, they were a sign of weak and sloppy management. 'Tourism' in general, in New Zealand and in Australia, is on the verge of becoming a 'Milk Cow' in marketing terms – given little maintenance and personal care, but able to be mechanically milked at regular intervals.

In writing these notes, we hope that we will help future motorhome travellers in New Zealand to choose their hire company with care. We advise all travellers to give plenty of time and attention to every detail of collecting the vehicle and signing the hire company's documents, even though you will not be encouraged either to tarry or to ask too many questions! Sadly, it is not wise to trust the company to take the same care as you must.