Rock Ape

We have just got our PR and are leaving France for NZ next month to start work. Can someone tell me what I need to do to ensure that if one us falls sick after we arrive we can get medical treatment. Did most of you rely upon your travel insurance? In France one pays up front and gets reimbursed by the state at around 70%.

Also can anyone recommend a good place to buy a used car in the south Auckland area or should I be going through Trade Me?

These are the first of what are likely to be many questions........

brussels_sprout

NZ and England have a different system to France/Belgium etc, dare i say it, it is a socialist model. There is no "Mutualite" system. Everyone who is a citizen or a resident of NZ is entitled to free hospital care, and must pay a small fee to see the GP (Medicin generale). The state runs the hospitals and pays them directly to do that without any money from the patients.

To be concise, in NZ hospitals no money changes hands AT ALL !

The French Mutuality system is a sort of medical insurance system run by the state, involving lots of reimursements, queueing to make payments at doctors' surgeries, hospitals BEFORE YOU RECEIVE TREATMENT !
French Queue ? That is a sort of Oxymoron.

The NZ health system is, of course, not as good as France (which is No 1 in the world), but the Emergency services are excellent.
If you have PR, then if you need medical attention, 1. you must pay small amount to see GP, 2. Hospital is free

There is a similar system for prescriptions, you pay a subsidised amount, you do NOT claim anyhing back from mutuality, or medical insurance.

Rock Ape

Thanks - thats great. Does that mean that if you're not a kiwi, you have to carry around one's PR visa all the time to prove that you're entitled to health care?

brussels_sprout

No, you just must register once at the local doctor's surgery, you receive a Health Number , and whenever you go to the doctors/hospital, you quote this number, or show the card. Of course, all new imigrants are already fighting fit !

Like England, in NZ you can pay for "Private" health insurance which helps you jump the queue to see "specialists". It allows the rich to get treatment before the hoi polloi. This is where the NZ health service is VERY poor compared to France, you can wait months to see a specialist doctor, because he is seeing all the private patients and earning 5 times more money from them, so doctors have an interest in making queues long.

Car ? I would just wait until you arrive. When we arrived, i intended to go on tour of South Island for 2 weeks, so i arranged to buy the car beforehand, and just picked it up at the airport hotel car park.

After France, you will be amazed how pleasant and non smoking people are, and how drivers do not all have a death wish, and you will arrive in summer !

UKNZAUS

Ellerslie race course has a 'car sale' for 2nd hand motors every Sunday We both bought our used cars there (last June) and still going strong! The AA are there to give a car the once over (for a fee) and you can change the reg over there too and check if any finance is owing on the car before you buy. It's all regulated too.

cally49

Hi there what sort of vehicle were you looking for...Theres a company in NZ called turners auctions http://www.turners.co.nz/Branches/Au...1/Default.aspx
My son is in Napier and has a really nice Mitsubishi Outlander for sale on trademe its also on the classifieds on this site as probably are other vehicles in NZ.
I would buy it myself if i wasnt thinking of returning to the UK and he would deliver it to Auckland hes only selling it because he now has a company vehicle with his business and its far too nice to be used as a builders vehicle lol.....
Other than that as you said there is trademe and there is also auto trader http://www.autotrader.co.nz/
All the best
Cally

Rock Ape

Hi,
Thanks to all for the info. On the subject of cars, what's the deal with registration when you've just arrived and don't have a permanent address? Is this a problem?

I have to say that having been to Auckland earlier in the year, I' m REALLY going to miss the open and empty French roads. France is where I re-discovered my love of driving.

cally49

DO you have a friends address you could use? It would be easy enough to change over I am sure someone will be along that has experience of this to help you out its an interesting question.

I would deffinately take out one of those car insurance covers for mechanical warranty if you can as my sons wife just bought a car from trademe in June (it was someone that imports used cars) she got it for a great price or so they thought until it broke down and just cost them $3,500nz in repairs Ouch! But then i guess thats a risk taken with second hand cars aye.....
Cheers
Cally

Patrick2007

Depending on your income u will not be paying a small fee. Read previous posts it can be as much as $55 a visit plus. U will only pay a small fee if in a low paid job or on the Dole fact.

Patrick2007

Best to get registered with a Doctor after France u will need Valium to cope with the utter lunacy u will see on N.Z.roads. 15yrs behind a wheel No to mention the dreaded Asians. Poorest driving standards in the world and easiest driving test ever ask anyone. Good luck youre gonna need it.

brussels_sprout

Erm, Patrick, have you ever really been to France ?

There is the French 3 pm phenomenon where all the drunken french roll out of the restaurants and drive home with a bottle of wine inside them. NZ has a highish rate of accidents, but this is due to the terrain and road layouts, NOT the mad drivers of latin european countries.

NZ has the poorest driving standards in the world, eh ? Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, silly comment !

Patrick2007

No never been to France, but have witnessed the Friday "lets hit the piss" (thats booze Rockape another stupid Kiwiism) phenomenom. When Kiwis all shape and form very young and old hit the roads. To try and defend Kiwi driving is pitiful and u should be ashamed of yourself.

brussels_sprout

Hi Patrick
The Friday night thing must be an Auckland phenomenon. In Wellington, i have never seen such considerate driving in my life, and i have lived in many many countries !

Hence i find your claims to be hilarious and wild wild exagerrations !

I think you should try negotiating Paris or even worse the tyre skid decorated roads of Italy. Or , if you want an extreme comparison, India, where road accidents kill more people than any illness BY FAR. Around 100,000 die every YEAR in road accidents there AND IT IS GROWING by 4% p.a . That is almost 10% of road deaths in the world, but India has only 1% of the world population. It is predicted to reach 150,000 p.a by 2015
In NZ the number of road deaths is between 300 and 400, that is higher than England, but very very low number per 100 !

Brussels Sprout

Patrick2007

Some simple maths for u here then Auckland= around 1 million, Wellington 250,000 ish. Try Auckland and u may change your opinion. I noticed three 15yr old girls killed in Christchurch car crash. Also the government trying to up the driving age limit to 18 rather than 15? Do your homework please.

brussels_sprout

In a previous post you claimed that NZ had the "Poorest driving standards in the world and easiest driving test", the stats indicate that NZ has very safe roads as i have shown. Judging a comparison of the difficulty of driving tests is more subjective, but again the accident stats show that the test must not be as bad as you claim. In Belgium, the driving test was only introduced in the 1970s ! Hence EVERYONE over 52 has never passed a driving test !

The above stats are born out by my personal experience of driving in many countries and road DEATH stats cannot lie.

In England the accident stats are rising slightly, many think this is due to the tax revenue raising "Speed Cameras" !

In India, when a bus has an accident, the bus driver usually runs away (if he is not badly injured) to escape fines
2 MILLION Indians are SERIOUSLY injured in road accidents every year , on top of the 100,000 deaths and this is in a country with a small vehicle ownership rate AND NO ambulance service ! Common problems on Indian roads are camels, cars driving wromng way up the motorway and drivers using "police" blue flashing lights to get through the traffic. A very high percentage of driving licences are simply bought without passing any test, from corrupt officials.
Yes some of these Indians end up in NZ !