Sven Hanne and his friend Pete Littlewood are driving one of the 12 vehicles in the "Bangers to Bluff" car rally, which stopped in Dunedin yesterday.
The cruise, organised by the Half Moon Bay Rotary Club, started in Auckland on April 10 and will finish in Bluff tomorrow.
In it, drivers buy cars for less than $2000 and auction them off at the end for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Mr Hanne and Mr Littlewood decided to enter when they were at the pub one night in their home in Stratford, Taranaki.
They found a dubious Citroen GX GTI 1978, which together with another car of similar condition cost $400.
Mr Hanne said they originally wanted a Lada, because in the rally drivers could get "bangers points" depending on where the car came from and Russian makes offered the most.
The only hitch they had was a "minor breakdown" in the Waikato town of Otorohanga, he said.In terms of auctioning it off, he was told along the way the car was a "collector’s item".
"I’m not quite that confident."
Rally co-organiser Peter Bailey said the idea started four years ago as a "bit of fun".
The route changed slightly from year to year to allow drivers to see different landscapes, he said.
"We went down past Fox Glacier and around through Wanaka this time. Some of the scenery is just amazing."
