RobClubley

No it's not all bad - but you see lots of cars where they've obviously done a cheap job - bad colour matches and stuff.

Nisey

How does it work then, not having to have insurance???

Would you even want to have a nice car if some shit without cover is going to ram you, key your paintwork or spit at you cos you drive something nice (loose description of nice here based on the posts so far)

I guess basically if you can afford an above average rust bucket your just insuring yourself against the cost of major repairs or total loss. Otherwise drive a tin can on wheels so you won't care.

Hang11

Your insurance company will cover you if someone hits your car, and go after the other driver for the repair cost. They always go after the other driver, without fail. Only problem is, you have to pay your excess, and the insurance company get their money back first, so if they are on the dole and paying it off at $5 a week, you'll be in the ground before you get paid.

It's worth having insurance - it's a lot cheaper than the UK - a 4wd and v6 station wagon costs me $550 a year for both, with a $150 excess. If you go up the back of a new range rover, it could be a quite expensive otherwise.

Most people drive crap cars because they're skint or have better things to spend the money on.

Nisey

Thanks, that's reassuring.

I was thinking of beating the queues and going back to a motorbike, but OH looked up an R1 and it was like $22k usually its a cheaper option. That and I havn't been on a bike since I first got pregnant and the eldest is nearly 7. Are the roads ok for bikes??

We were hoping to live out of the centre, semi-rural I suppose, so according to the bible 'where to live in Auckland' we could be looking at a commute of 45 mins to an hour, is the traffic really that awful. I work in central London and it takes me an hour and 20 minutes to get in from Bristol. It seems daft that 20km's can take that long. There are ferries I suppose if I get a job in the CBD, but if its newmarket or Mt Eden then thats a bit more tricky.

I guess we'll get a better for fel for it when we get there Saturday for our reccie trip.

More to think about

happynz

Motorbike in Auckland? Do you have that much survival karma saved up? Yikes! That would be a bit stimulating.

If you are going to work in Newmarket and you want a semi-rural atmosphere maybe check out Pukekohe. It looks nice. You could ride the train in. Of course the train does occasionally have issues (breakdowns, slowdowns etc.) but I'd rather do that then battle traffic up the southern motorway and then pay a fortune for parking.

Wiz'n'Ton

Just a quick addition to this re car insurance. Another reason why people drive wrecks is the ridiculously low cost of ins. In the UK I remember paying £700 to insure a £500 Metro City X for 12 months 3rd party only. (OK, I was 17 but you get where I'm coming from).

Yesterday, got on the blower to sort ins for our 1987 Sigma Love Beast. 12 months 3rd party only - $46. For named driver plus any other drivers over 25. £200 excess.

That's not a typo, that's $46! Around 18 quid! Alliance & Leicester, you know I love you, but you can poke your £800/ yr fully comp for a Hyundai. I'm in NZ and I'm a shyte car convert!

Geelong Gent

new Landcruiser Prado (no I don't have bull bars and I don't drive aggressively either, I cruise. My passengers would not be impressed with constant jarring and you don't get 1600Km per tank driving like a boy racer).

You should still be able to get a decent japanese (Honda or Toyota) or try an older model BMW 5 series.

KiwiKate

I bought a nice looking, pretty much perfect condition (save the high km-age) Nissan Bluebird, for under $2k at a car market in Auckland - the one at the race-course. My friend had bought a very similar car in every respect at an auction for $4k. Those markets are definitely worth checking out!
Though it's now scratched to buggery and in a permanent state of dust induced despair from the metal roads I have to drive round each day

PaulGent

We drive a 5 year old Subaru Legacy and a 15 year old Toyota Sprinter. Both have been brilliant and needs no real work done on them apart from services.
I did import my S class Mercedes from the UK but I had to sell it in the end firstly becuase the servicing costs were horrendous ($800 each for tyres!!). The other major problem was that if you wanted any work done at home, when the builder, painter, gardener called and saw the car on the drive there was an automatic 30% added to the estimate! They made the assumption "big car - big wallet"
It's not just a kiwi problem. I had exactly the same thing in UK. On the other hand it was great to park the car on the drive if you are selling the house - people would see the car and think...."must be a well off area - this is where I want to live!"
Actually, that's a thought! Maybe I should have started a rent-a-Merc business for house sellers. I could have made a mint. I knew I should have kept the bl**dy thing!

mojos

We've got a Diahatsu Pyzar and an old beaten up ute. Bought the Pyzar from Turners auctions......very cheap, small, manual and.....very cheap. Hubbie reckons it's the ugliest car he's ever owned (probably why it was so cheap - noone else wanted it) but it's been one of the best. Not a 4WD but we've abused it . I'm just waiting for it to suddenly collapse like the Blues Brothers car .


Jo

PaulGent

Here it is...



It's now living in happy retirement in Henderson and I am many $ better off

PaulGent

Hi
I rode my motorbike from the North Shore into Grafton in the CBD in Auckland for 6 months. It was SCAREY! Most of the car drivers were totally unaware of you and on 2 occasions car drivers deliberately tried to knock me off!!
Filtering on a bike is semi-legal but suicidal in Auckland especially at anything above 30 km/h. In the CBD bikes are allowed in the bus lanes but they are not allowed in the bus lane on the Northern Motorway.
On a bike generally in NZ in my experience Truckers will notice you and move over for you.
They tend to be more friendly to bikers than the car drivers (and the Police!!)

As an example on a VERY windy night I was crossing North over the Harbour Bridge and one of the worst gales I ahve ever exeprience. I was riding at about 25 km/h on the Nippon Clip-ons and absolutely certain that I was going over the edge and into the water! 1/3 of the way across a truck pulled alongside me and slowed down to my speed to shelter me from the wind as I crossed the bridge. The driver could obviously see the problem I was having .... How kind was that!!! I never got the chance to thank him either!

cherry

Not impressed in the least ,just another $ sucking vehicle thats no way suitable for the road network here ,hence the 4x4 and ute ruling.Snob value only and at $800 for a bit of rubber can you really afford it or was it all for show or rather was
a car here is not a status symbol as you may think

mazi

That was very kind of him, truckies are usually half decent people on the road for some reason.

PaulGent

Does that mean that I am a snob then because I happened to drive an expensive car? I didn't really expect to impress you ... the original post was about what cars we drive.
I happen to be very interested in cars in general and do not buy cars for "snob" value but because they are an interest of mine. The Mercedes was laft behind in UK for sale when we emigrated to NZ. It failed to sell so I imported to NZ specifically to sell it not not to keep it as a status symbol.
I really don't share your view that "..4X4 and UTEs rule..." Surely these are just as much "$ sucking vehicles" as my Mercedes was. I know that I would have preferred to travel the length of NZ in my old Mercedes than in a 4X4 or a UTE. The majority of the distance travelled in NZ is on tarmac covered roads. A normal car is much better designed for this purpose than a 4X4. Normal saloon cars are also much safer for both passengers and pedestrians than the 4X4 and UTEs.

Or was it just the little green eyed monster that got to you??