Re: What do people drive!!!
 

Oh, and:

<righteous indignation> Oi! That's my WIFE you're talking about sonny, so less of the insults or I'll be round to have a word with your parents. </ri>

That's you told, and my arse covered :lol:

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

I have been here 18 months and am yet to meet one of the people you describe, but then again, i dont live in Auckland:eek:

ps, i drive a Mitsi RVR, 10 years old, and a Izusu ute, 21 years old, cost 5 k between them & have spent less than 500 bucks on them maintanance wise. The insurance is about $30 a month i think!!!

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

Jap imports do seem cheap when you compare on Trade Me & Ebay, just gotta be wary!!

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

Well done mazi for picking up on this..... I had read all the replies to the OP and I could not believe that no one had mentioned this! I think that it is a complete nonsense to think that people don't mind about what you drive and holidays you have etc..... and that is no reason to leave your friends and family for!!!! To get away from the Joneses! They are everywhere and every bit as rife in NZ. In some parts of the farming communities in NZ it is 10 times worse than it is at home. My husband is a farmers son from NZ and I know the farming life fairly well and clothes, cars, holidays, houses etc etc are just as important to them than anywhere else.....

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

only problem is that most people can't afford the lifestyle "neccessities" that we were used to in the UK and TBH even in Auckland (I work in Newmarket which seems to be an upmarket shopping spot) there is less affluence and less in the way of "keeping up with the Joneses" - people where I live are more interested in whether your garden is neat and grass kept cut than what sort of motor you are cleaning.....:)
Buit as I alluded to in my earlier post, there are *lots* of large, dirty, polluting 4x4s and big, dirty polluting V8s around - suppose its the cheap(er) fuel, the rural nature of much of the area, the places they are imported from and the variable quality of the roading here that causes that ----- or is it that Kiwis are petrol heads???? :D

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

When we first arrived here in 2003, I drove a 19 year old Honda Shuffle, sorry Shuttle. I had it for over 18 months and sold it for MORE than I paid for it :)

2 years on and I still see it being driven around Rotorua. The new owners have put new wheel trims on it and new seat covers !!! SO that will have doubled the value.

It ran on more oil than petrol and despite the sunroof being welded shut it took in water not unlike the Titanic. It was so damp, plants grew on the wheel arches !!! After it had rained I had to warn passengers to to lean to the left to avoid water leaking out of the sun roof on to them, the same way as the driver I had to learn to lean left and right as I went around corners to avoid that secret bucket load of water that would pour in to the roof lining and suddenly gush out as it escaped on to you as you drove off !!!

The heater was there only for show !! and becasue it was so damp inside, the inside of the windscreen would ice up in winter more than the outside !!!

In summer, because the windows didn't open properly (2 man job to wind them up, one to hold the glass on to the rachets and one to wind up the handle), the car was a mobile SAUNA, as all the winter dampness started to evaporate in the heat !!!

The starting motor was "dicky", so sometimes you had to jump up and down in the drivers seat, while turning the ignition key to get it to start. I took it to a garage and the mechanic said he could do 2 jobs, a $500 job and replace allsorts or a $50 where he fixed a swich on the dash board that started the car, I took the $50 dollar option.

It had 3 keys ALL DIFFERENT, for each of the doors and the boot. The hydraulics had gone on the boot, so while it would give an appearance of being held open it was just as capable of dropping shut with the speed and precision of a guillotine !!!

But what the hell, nobody cared, it got me the 7 minute drive to and from work for more than 18 months, how I MISS THAT CAR :(

Gill

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

seems we must live in the same NZ, i live in the farming community, and almost every car around here is a wreck, i dont get this thread at all.

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

I know more people here (just out of Akl) that drive cars 8-10 yrs old and older (I now own my first ever 10yr old car) than I ever did in UK, and to be honest no-one seems to care less. I guess if you live in an exclusive suburb somewhere it might be different

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

We live near Auckland, have not met anyone yet who gives a monkeys what we drive.

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

I just get amusement because I drive a Skoda :D
Or people tell me all about how good they are these days (I know, I bought one)

People are interested in cars because a lot of Kiwis ARE petrolheads - as am I.

But I haven't met anyone who gives a stuff what you drive status-wise.

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

Agreed, with the small exception that people do love to take the p1ss out of people that drive flash cars - porkers especially.

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

I just showed my next door neighbour my sons screwdriver artwork on the side of my car and he said.... just leave it, nobody cares, even if you sell it they wont care coz theyre kiwis. I want it repaired and he cant understand that.

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

I had a bit of that with my shipping damage - pretty much all cosmetic.

That attitude is why you see so many shoddy repairs on cars here.

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

Probably because they dont have insurance to pay for it .Being in the trade I have seen some prety good bodywork and paint spaying here ,its not all bodgit and scarper.

Re: What do people drive!!!
 

I haven't come across anyone judging me by the car I drive either which is a good thing seeing as I owned a Honda SMX up until a week or so ago. Now I have a 10yr old Daihatsu Feroza which was a complete bargain even if it is a bit scratched and has a piece of it's back bumper missing (the last owners said they were pretty sure they knew where it was and if they found it in the paddock they'd drop it off for us).
But there is a huge car culture here and what about all those huge, size of a house! twin cabbed utes that you see cruising around town. They literally gleam and they never in a million years have been used to carry anything in the back of them .... and how the hell do the owners afford them, they cost a small fortune!!!