We sold our trusty Toyota Corolla just before we departed the UK. It wasn’t the sexiest, fastest or flashest car but I loved it nonetheless, as it was nippy and speedy when required, good to park in the city, decent fuel consumption, safe and easy to maintain = my trusty steed!
What car to buy in New Zealand?
Until the Corolla I had never owned a Japanese car, always European cars. But of course all the way over at this side of the world, Japan is so much closer it is the European cars which stick out as unusual. We hoped to buy another Corolla, but due to the above mentioned qualities they are popular, in demand and therefore rather pricey. We started to wish we shipped our wee car across!
It had been said cars in New Zealand are cheap, but we did not find this to be the case, although no shortage of second-hand cars on the market. With the global recession car dealers were supposedly struggling, deals could be done, but for a decent car you had to fork out a good few $. We trawled through Trade Me, New Zealand’s answer to Ebay, but decided it best to see cars in the flesh since we didn’t recognise all the models and headed out to Auckland’s Greenlane, which is where everyone there will tell you to head, to check out the car yards. Unsure of what we were really looking for, other than four wheels and an engine, these shopping trips were proving tricky.
An Importer was helpful and we test drove a Subaru Imprezza which was a total boy racer car, down to the huge, loud exhaust. It was tidy and with a promise of changing the exhaust we thought it was a decent deal but were unsure…., always a sign! Missing the back parcel shelf we went off for lunch to have a think, passing a Subaru dealer so went in to check out how much a replacement shelf would cost as well as check out other Subaru models to compare.
The art of a good salesman
This is where a good salesman comes in. A car lot before us full of lovely, gleeming cars all out of our price range, a friendly geezer (an Englishman with an Irish mother) chatted away to us, observing our style (that day consisting of outdoor gear) and pegged us as wanting the full NZ experience of going tramping(hillwalking), travelling around the islands, etc and showed us a car a good few $1,000 out of our budget. We were upfront about our budget but he persisted and asked us what we thought of the car – haven’t seen one before, never driven one, so although it looked nice, no idea. “Let’s take her for a drive, then”….
Long story short, despite being an anti-4×4, SUV, gas-guzzling car person, guess what? Yup, we have ourselves a Subaru Forester 4×4, 2.5lit engine car with MASSIVE boot, roof rack and tow bar!
Forester
Scheesh, how did that happen??!
Our chatty, perceptive sales man “managed” to take $2250 off the sticker price… leaving us feeling we got a good deal, although we have no idea if that really is the case although feel we have a good bit of car for our money. We paid a deposit and on the way home realised that the salesman was sooo smooth we didn’t check the tires, the engine, the bodywork…. all the things we normally would do! Pah.
Requirements for Road Worthy Cars in New Zealand?
First of all, of course, the car should be registered in your name. If buying from a dealer, they will organise this for you. A copy of my license was attached to this form. Check the NZ Transport Agency website for details.
Cars must display a current Warrant of Fitness (the equivalent of a MOT in the UK). A compulsory safety inspection is carried out by approved testing stations every six months, or every 12 months if the vehicle tested was registered less than six years ago. The WoF sticker, including expiration date, is attached to the inside of the vehicle’s front windscreen. Your car must be inspected again before the expiration date.
You also need to pay a motor vehicle licensing fee to use your car on public roads. The fee is compulsory, it helps pay for roading projects and road safety programmes. You can licence your vehicle for three, six or twelve months and you need a current Warrant of Fitness to get a licence label. The Licence lable can be purchased from the Land Transport NZ or your local NZ PostShop.
Amazingly, astoundingly and ridiculously it is not compulsory to insure your car in New Zealand. Frankly, you are foolhardy if you don’t! The internet is a good starting point in finding the right car insurance for you.
The Trusty Steed
So far, so good; “She’s” a beauty, goes like stink, gutsy, hugs corners and we fully expect to load her up with our 5 shipping boxes, two suitcases and two back packs when we make the move! The good news? Petrol is probably around 1/3 cheaper than in the UK… which is probably just as well!
