Genesis

Cars are now going to be way more expensive. New and old. Because of new emission laws in the coming months only 50% of 2nd hand Jap imports will be allowed into NZ therefore the supply will drop and demand will increase= more $$$$ for us to pay.

Insurance, both house, contents and car are all due to rocket circa 50% plus ALL OVER NZ because of the 'quake. Why should we all pay? I thought ins. was about a gamble. They took the premiums and they lost. Do we get money back when they have a 'fat' year? I think not. Whilst I understand loading Chch because it is an increased risk that does not make it right to charge every household in NZ a huge additional premium to make up for their losses.

Jan n Neil

Are you this happy everyday



Neil

Robbie2010

I doubt very much that cars will become "way" more expensive ... They're struggling to sell at present prices!

Catchafire

Cars from Japan are going to be at a premium now, due in a large part to the earthquake and Tsunami, where a large stock (300,000 +) of cars were simply washed away.

http://www.3news.co.nz/Japan-earthqu...2/Default.aspx

And yes there is a new emission standard, making importing cars older than 2005 uneconomic. But I have no plans to buy another vehicle in the near future, so to be honest, could not care less.

In regards to insurance, well unfortunately the insurance industry is going to take a massive hit due to the earthquake. I have a mate in Christchurch, just off the red zone and will not be able to get insurance after his policy expires, unless the government is prepared to underwrite the risk.

I do not think it is unreasonable for insurance companies then to spread the cost of increased premiums around the rest of the country, rather than penalising the people of Chistrchurch more.

Gen, you should take a bit easy with these posts, it's getting a bit old.

Celticprince_86

It's not just cars and insurence but I'll cover the rest later.
The insurance companies run on the assumption(presumption?) that a natural disaster is unlikely to happen on such a scale as it did in Christchurch. Of course As Genesis points out, insurance is a form of Gambling-for insurer and insuree. When the companies lose out, they will naturally(if rather un-fairly) attempt to pass on the costs to other clients.
New Zealand is a country fraught with natural disasters,so obviously premiums for naturals disasters are going to be rather expensive as opposed to countries with no volcanoes or Earthquakes(like dear old England).

In general the cost of everything is going up,food,petrol,housing.At the same time unumployment is at an all time high. Sadly the current government seems to have no plans to alter this, worth the paper they're written on.

I could launch into a real downer on New Zealand, but for all it's faults, I love this country. It's just not for me,so I'm leaving to try and put my homeland to rights in any way I can.

Genesis

And you don't think those on their way should be privvy to these facts? They are not old, they are new.

Genesis

Just saying how it is. Isn't that our responsibility to those who WANT to know about what happen 'ere ( who are not yet here ).....the good and and the bad? Some people rely on posts like this to make up their minds.

Balanced posting it what it's called I think.

Genesis

A 50% reduction in what is allowed into NZ re 2nd hand Jap imports WILL cause 'way' more expense to the purchaser in the long term. Its all about supply and demand. Cut the supply and the demand rises as does the price. It is the same with most commodities. It's not what I say..its what the market says.

Jan n Neil

I do find it a bit hard to understand this: firstly there are already more second hand cars for sale in NZ than there is a demand for (a salesman told me this) - a quick drive down Moorhouse Ave ( pre eq) showed just how much is for sale from Japan. We bought a very nice 17yr MR2 when we arrived and got nearly $2000 (about 25%) off the price from a dealer, just by asking. Secondly, cars do not rot here as they do not salt the roads in winter, and I don't think the WOF is very stringent really. People will hang on if dealers try and force prices up, rather than buy, I would have thought. So, perhaps in 20 years, the price might go up???

Just my 2c worth

Jan

Genesis

Only telling you what I heard on the radio.

old dragon

Fair comment if you've been here a while and are all set up, I do think these posts are good fodder for discussion though and worth reading for people planning to come here.

We all knew we weren't going to get rich here and it was a conscious decision to down size - but we were completely broad sided by the high cost of living.

Usually our research when moving to a new country is spot on, but the time between our recce and the actual move was 5 years after husband took a contract in Asia. As a consequence, we re-researched the cost of big stuff - totally taking our eye off the ball and when we arrived, were slammed with the basic cost of living.

For anyone like us who will be settling for a lower income for a set number of years (in our case 3 1/2) then they need to come with money set aside to supplement their earnings. Not savings, it's the beginning of the end when you start living on savings, but 'write off' money for the bills that will otherwise drag them into debt.

As for insurance, I'm completely gutted - we're already under insured on our contents to the tune of $80,000, if the premiums go up again then we'll be under insured still further.

I don't want to pay extra to subsidize people in other parts of the country through insurance when we're struggling to insure ourselves. I'll be doing it anyway through tax, I did it through charitable donations - and the cost of living here is so much higher week to week anyway and houses are almost twice the price. If they make insurance less affordable, less people will have it and we'll all get hit harder next time there is a quake/volcano/alien invasion.

The banks don't have safety deposit boxes here for you to leave your valuables in, and AMI want an extra $50 per item for every piece of jewelry
worth over $1000. By the time you look at watches, engagement rings and granny's old pearls - it's easy to be paying the equivalent of a 1 carat diamond every year on top of your policy. Insurance here is already high enough I think. BTW, we've paid for over 20 years and never made a claim.

Genesis

The insurance cos are greedy, money grabbing institutions IMO. Like you OD I do not wish to pay for someone elses calamity via increased premiums. That is what risk assessment is all about. I am not being selfish IMO but why should we have to underwrite their losses? Its like all the house in my street get burgled..why should my ins. go up?? No one underwrote my losses when I lost my $$ to a finance co...why should they? As I said they never give us money back when they make a profit..or have I been missing all those payments over the last 26 years? The people in Chch should be covered by their insurance companies and the insurance companies should not recover those losses thru' us. That is what reinsurance is all about. We are simply paying for the ins. co losses. I did not realise we had that kind of stake. I look forward to a slice of their profits in better years eh???

Woodlea

The reason we spread costs throughout society is because we are civilised human beings and next time it could be you. The same reasons we have tax, to look after those less fortunate than ourselves.

Stormer999

If you are coming back here then my are you in for one hell of an eye opener. Things are really on a fast downward slide If you think you can rescue the situation then you had better bring your Superman suit.....because the Government can't....

Catchafire

5 years between your reccie and coming? Did you think everything would stand still? Were you amazed that things were more expensive?

Hey, people might have even been earning more as well, I pretty sure the minmum wage got a couple of bumps in that time.

Ok, I am not a rocket scientist, but you are saying you came to this country, knowing that you would in fact be in a negative income situation? WTF?

There has been a disaster in Christchurch, the CBD and several suburbs have been destroyed, never mind the human cost. Insurance premiums have to go up! Same deal for everyone in the country. It sucks, but thats it.

Ok, I have to admit I do not have cover for Alien Invasion, so despite the fact you are under insured, your policy seems to cover you for more eventualities.

Engagements rings? Sounds a bit blingy, my wife has only got one.

I am sorry it is expensive and difficult to insure your pearls, diamonds and rolex watches. Jeez it sounds like you guys are having a tough time.