Take your chances at people's car yard

BUYING A BARGAIN: Chaz Waiariki has no complaints with the car he bought from the Rotorua Lakes Council Reserve on Te Ngae Rd, also known as Sewer Motors and Rangi's Car Yard/Lot. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

Chaz Waiariki thinks he got a good deal with the car he bought four years ago.

The Rotorua resident purchased the Nissan Cefiro from the Rotorua Lakes Council Reserve on Te Ngae Rd, colloquially known as Sewers Motors or Rangi's Car Yard/Lot.

Each day a collection of vehicles for sale are parked at the area by private sellers and have been for nearly 20 years. It's not only for cars, it's also been a sale yard for campervans, buses, motorbikes, boats and even a skip bin. There were varying theories where the name came but none could be confirmed.

"I was driving past and spotted the car there and went to have a look," Mr Waiariki.

"I hadn't seen it in a manual before and at the time it was going for $2500. The owner mentioned he was going back to China and I asked, 'How long have you got?' He said, 'Only a couple of days'.

Sold

"We got talking and I was able to bargain it down, I said I have $1800 cash on me right now and he said, 'Sold'."

Mr Waiariki said he frequently drove it as far north as Wellsford and down south to Waiouru and also used it as an everyday car.

"I haven't had any problems with it, just had to replace the tires and no issues with the warrant - it's served me well. If my family and I are looking for a car we always check out Rangi's first. It's what I've always known it as. During the Christmas holidays it can be packed."

Many of the Rotorua Daily Post readers on Facebook were also full of praise, saying it was an ideal place for a bargain and a quick sale.

However, there are others who weren't so lucky with their trades.

"We sold a car there, but had to get the front windscreen repaired first after someone threw a fire hydrant through it while parked there," one wrote.

"I bought one, lasted a month. Friggin motor blew up and the seller knew it was buggered. I was young," another said.

Some local car dealers are also not in favour of the informal sales yard.

"I don't think there's any other town has anything like Sewer Motors," Barry Grouby of Barry Grouby Motors said.

"We come under the Consumer Guarantee Act and have to make sure the cars we're selling are up to scratch and we stand behind what we sell.

"Somebody can sell anything at Rangi's and if something does go wrong, you can't take it back."

Co-owner of Car & More John Patterson agreed.

"We have to pay big rates and insurance as a business. The council is charging us these rates and they've been allowing this [Rangi's] for about 20 years. We're not for it. The council is doing us a disservice," Mr Patterson said.

"We are selling reputable vehicles under the Consumer Guarantees Act, and we stand by the product. When you're down there you buy the car and that's it. Personally I would say at the moment you would find 60 per cent of the cars are from private sellers and other people are there to make a dollar - they're unlicensed dealers."

Rotorua Lakes Council's compliance solutions manager, Neven Hill, said the lot's history went back many years when the council and NZ Transport Agency got together to try and find a solution to a growing problem of cars for private sale being parked along busy main roads around the city.

"A number of crashes and near misses around these spots at the time had given rise to concerns about community safety and the potential for a more serious accident," Mr Hill said.

"The practical solution identified was to make available the area of land alongside Te Ngae Rd, which continues to be used today for this purpose. The site provides the required high visibility for people wanting to sell their vehicles and, more importantly, it offers a relatively safe off-road area for people to drive in, park and inspect cars for sale."

Mr Hill said the area to be used only for cars being sold privately, and not commercial car dealers.

"While from time-to-time the council has had to deal with some commercial operators breaking the rules, the concept appears to have largely been successful, and appreciated by members of the public - both sellers and buyers."