taking vehicle
 

Hi there
Had anyone had any experience of taking your car to NZ. Or those who will be taking their car. All info welcome please. :)

Re: taking vehicle
 

You really need to do a search - this has been covered loads of times. Best advice is unless it's something special or very dear to you, sell it and don't bother with the hassle.

That said, I brought mine and I'm glad I did.

What car is it?

Re: taking vehicle
 

Hi,
thanks for your reply. Its a 05 Renault laguna with 45K miles on the clock. It has Isofix for the kids car seats, and is in excellent condition. When we search like for like, we are finding that for what we will get for our car we can only get a car 3 years older and with loads more miles on the clock, so thats why we are wondering of it will be better to bring our.

But i will also search for other threads
Thanks

Re: taking vehicle
 

Don't forget to factor in the cost of shipping and the cost of a hire car while you are waiting for yours to arrive...

Re: taking vehicle
 

Indeed- have been quotes £1500 to take and will go in the next week or so when all our furniture goes ( if we do send it ) So hopefully wont have to hire a car for too long.
So many decisions-

Re: taking vehicle
 

Don't forget it can take several weeks to arrive after you in NZ too...if shipping with the container then be prepared, 6-8 weeks transit is not unknown.

Re: taking vehicle
 

And there are a bunch of things you need to do to prove its roadworthy for NZ, have a look on vtnz website.

If it was me I wouldn't bother as I think its more hassle than its worth, and you'll find Kiwi's are not as "keeping up with the Joneses" in terms of cars as us Brits were at home.

And you need to factor in costs of hire care (probably at both ends!) while your car is on the way by boat and stuck with MAF on the dockside in NZ.

It is a bloody good excuse for car shopping when you get over!!

Re: taking vehicle
 

I take all your points on board. Luckily no car hire needed this end as we have been loaned a spare car from a friend.:)
Another concern is isofix in cars for the kids. Im a firm believer in safety and Renaults have isofix aswell as NCAP 5 star on safety-
There shoudl be no reason why is wont be road worthy over in NZ- it has never cause any issues here and sailed throught the 2 MOT's it had. Im just reluctant to have to dip into savings to buy a car. Goodness, maybe this is a task for the hubby.....

Re: taking vehicle
 

I had a renault way back when and it was lovely but parts, when it needed them, cost a wee fortune. It was horrible. Of course if you're mechanically minded it may not be so bad

Re: taking vehicle
 

There are plenty of cars with isofix, I can't imagine that its not a worldwide standard.

Read the nzta requirements for passenger cars site, it has to demonstrate front crash-test compliance, many do by chassis number but all the info inc which years/models by manufacturer are on the site. If it isn't listed then demonstrating compliance is more difficult. It may not be impossible but it is a different test to "roadworthy" that you need to take into account.

Re: taking vehicle
 

Thank u simonsi for the information. Very much appreciated. :)

Re: taking vehicle
 

My Skoda has ISOFIX - which presumably means VWs and Audis will as well because they share the same platform.

The problem I'm having at the moment is finding a ISOFIX seat - nearly all of the ones in the shops don't use it, and they expect you to drill a hole in your car for an anchor bolt.

They nearly all seem to be made in Aus, who for some reason ignore the international standard and have a bodgey system of their own.

Haven't had a really good look yet as we don't need the seat for a few more months, but I've only found one seat that I like that uses it.

Re: taking vehicle
 

Also rem NZ roads are shite, they have lots of loose stones and gravel, and after a year your nice car will be stone chipped and look like its been here for years lol

Re: taking vehicle
 

True I have many stone chips now. There are some excellent driving roads though.

Re: taking vehicle
 

not too dis similar to UK roads at the moment with massive potholes after the snow damage to the roads.
Thanks to everyone for their replies- has been really useful , :)