What car?! Nz

[anonymous-user]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 08 August 2022 at 19:09

[anonymous-user]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 08 August 2022 at 19:10

[A44RON]

Topbox said:

Moving over later this year.

The car market over there is....interesting.

If anyone has any advice on vehicle tax, insurance and that type of thing I’d be interested. Will a big engine cost me a fortune (disregarding fuel).

Depending on distance to work I’m
not sure if I’ll run one car for the mrs (and I’ll cycle or motorbike) or 2.....however:

I’m after a fastish load lugger (mountain bikes etc). I’d like a Subaru Legacy with the 2.0 tt or 3.0. I think the outback might be useful though for the extra clearance. Second car I’m thinking a Nissan Leaf ??

Anyone got any suggestions for a quickish estate/suv/ute. I prefer to spend less than 20k dollars but could spend 30/40 if something is convincing.

Thanks

Hey Topbox

It sure is... interesting. Vehicle tax is called 'rego/registration' here and is significantly cheaper than UK. I pay $90 a year on a BMW Z4 Coupe 3.0 straight-six. Car insurance isn't compulsory here (bizzarely), so that's cheaper too.

Petrol is a marginally cheaper price than the UK, but we get lower-quality graded fuels here - 91 RON Octane is normal unleaded (wouldn't touch it), super tends to be 95 RON, BP Ultimate is the highest graded at 98 RON. So a big engine will work out cheaper to run here the quality of the road surfaces are terrible though and be prepared to drive like a nanny with the ridiculous speed enforcement.

Legacy 3.0R is a good shout. Euro cars imported from the Japanese market are more reasonably priced here than they used to be years ago. So might also be worth looking at a 2004-2006 Audi S4 Avant for V8 goodness (around $20-25k), Volvo V70 T5 or Mercedes C55 AMG estate, if you want a Euro car. Maybe BMW 335i too for $30k?

There's also a Nissan Fuga 370GT (under $25k) estate/wagon thing here, which gets the Nissan 370Z motor.

Hope this helps. Whereabouts in NZ will you be moving?

[anonymous-user]

Nissan Fuga lookalike saloon only and not very rugged. Bet it sounds good though!

[GravelBen]

Topbox said:

So I’ll be paying for:

Rego
Insurance (optional)
Any kind of mot?

I think what you call mot is what we call a wof (warrant of fitness) here - fairly basic check that the car is safe and roadworthy. Required annually for cars after about 2000, 6 monthly for cars older than that. Costs around $55.

Rego costs aren't based on engine size or emissions etc like I think UK car tax is, just general category of vehicle - diesel 4wds are higher than cars, commercial vehicles higher again.

Not being compulsory helps reduce the amount of cynical profiteering by insurance companies, but you'd be silly not to have any insurance. Obviously price varies with risk profile of the vehicle, driver and location as well as different companies so well worth shopping around.

[Mansells Tash]

Woo hoo another Aucklander! I'd say get settled and find where you want to live and get used to living costs before buying a car.

I have a Landcruiser for the wife and kid and long trips and a CB500x for commuting (parking is free all year round in the city for motorbikes) and an Evo IX MR for the weekend.

Long journeys exploring will want to be done in as comfy a car as you can get, a fast car makes no difference when you're stuck behind 30 cars following a camper van, and there WILL ALWAYS be a camper van holding up traffic.

The country roads here are epic, and I do mean epic!

I'd be happy to meet for a beer when you land and give you my view of the world here (maybe a PH meet one weekend?)

I'm living on the North Shore, its a fantastic place for young families.

For 20k or less I'd look for a clean Subaru Forrester STI.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/subaru/...

Edited by Mansells Tash on Thursday 2nd August 11:36

[Piha]

Zephyr or Charger but you could consider a Ute.

[anonymous-user]

GravelBen said:

I think what you call mot is what we call a wof (warrant of fitness) here - fairly basic check that the car is safe and roadworthy. Required annually for cars after about 2000, 6 monthly for cars older than that. Costs around $55.

Rego costs aren't based on engine size or emissions etc like I think UK car tax is, just general category of vehicle - diesel 4wds are higher than cars, commercial vehicles higher again.

Not being compulsory helps reduce the amount of cynical profiteering by insurance companies, but you'd be silly not to have any insurance. Obviously price varies with risk profile of the vehicle, driver and location as well as different companies so well worth shopping around.

Top info. Thanks

[anonymous-user]

Mansells Tash said:

Woo hoo another Aucklander! I'd say get settled and find where you want to live and get used to living costs before buying a car.

I have a Landcruiser for the wife and kid and long trips and a CB500x for commuting (parking is free all year round in the city for motorbikes) and an Evo IX MR for the weekend.

Long journeys exploring will want to be done in as comfy a car as you can get, a fast car makes no difference when you're stuck behind 30 cars following a camper van, and there WILL ALWAYS be a camper van holding up traffic.

The country roads here are epic, and I do mean epic!

I'd be happy to meet for a beer when you land and give you my view of the world here (maybe a PH meet one weekend?)

I'm living on the North Shore, its a fantastic place for young families.

For 20k or less I'd look for a clean Subaru Forrester STI.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/subaru/...

Edited by Mansells Tash on Thursday 2nd August 11:36

Nice setup. Don’t think the Mrs will drive anything that big!

Mind if I ask where abouts on north shore? I’ve been looking at Hobsonville/West harbour.

[sopaz]

Topbox said:

Thanks a lot for the reply. I’m heading over to Auckland.

So I’ll be paying for:

Rego
Insurance (optional)
Any kind of mot?

I’m not set on a European car. In fact I think I’d prefer something from Japan. Never had more than 4 cylinders so I’d like a v6 or a v8.

The motorcycle market seems very small. Not very many bikes to choose from.

Thanks for the steer on the Nissan I’ll have a look now.

How bad are the roads? I thought the outback would be useful for:

- Towing a trailer with motorcycle on (I plan on racing)/camping gear.

- having a v6!

- putting mountain bikes/canoe on roof (I’ve got a vw t5 at the moment, it’s a pain to put stuff on the roof as it’s so high).

- 4x4 and ground clearance for taking me to mountain bike spots.

I’ll have another dig into trade me as I’d like to buy a car within the first few days in country.

Thanks again for the info.

Rego and insurance will definitely be cheaper than you're used to in the UK. Paying 600 NZD for insurance (make sure you get windscreen cover for the gravel roads!) Rego less than 100? It's based partly on vehicle safety so any modern car will be fairly cheap.

I picked up an import Alphard when we arrived and turned it into a camper/weekend van, (sort of like a T5, but full of toys and has 4WD ). The MTB fits inside easily enough, but tow bar racks are everywhere here.

Roads aren't too bad really, but it can take a while to get anywhere. Better to sit back and go with the flow... As mentioned, you'll be stuck behind a camper soon enough! Would recommend a 3.0 legacy/outback - I borrowed a friend's and they are awesome.

You mentioned bike racing - check this out https://amcc.org.nz/buckets/ probably the cheapest form of Motorsport you can do?

You're right that there aren't that many bikes to choose from, but they don't seem to be that expensive to buy when they come up? Rego (tax) is very expensive on a bike though as it's based on safety. 500 a year if not more I think?

I'm also on the north shore - Bayswater, near Devonport. It's a nice area, and I commute by ferry in 10 mins. Can't complain...

When we arrived in Auckland we stayed in various Airbnb places for a month or so. Was a good way of trying out various areas and commutes - would definitely recommend it.

Let me know if you fancy a MTB ride when your arrive. There are some awesome trails around Auckland.

Edited by sopaz on Thursday 9th August 08:56

[Mansells Tash]

Topbox said:

Nice setup. Don’t think the Mrs will drive anything that big!

Mind if I ask where abouts on north shore? I’ve been looking at Hobsonville/West harbour.

Browns Bay, pretty much the entire coastline in the East of the Shore is nice.

[vsonix]

Diesel is heavily penalised - if you want to run a derv vehicle you need to pay an extra level of road tax based on projected kilometrage - you have to pay up front and if you go over the expected amount you have to extend it before you go over the projected amount or face a penalty at renewal time.

Oh, and regular petrol, despite being very expensive, is only 91 octane, as a result cars seem to suck it down a lot quicker and it takes a bit of getting used to fuel economy being less than expected as a result.

Edited by vsonix on Friday 17th August 02:11

[Fulvisti]

vsonix said:

Oh, and regular petrol, despite being very expensive, is only 91 octane, as a result cars seem to suck it down a lot quicker and it takes a bit of getting used to fuel economy being less than expected as a result.

Edited by vsonix on Friday 17th August 02:11

We do have 95 and 98 octane too, and 100 if you know who to ask

[GravelBen]

vsonix said:

Diesel is heavily penalised - if you want to run a derv vehicle you need to pay an extra level of road tax based on projected kilometrage

Its not that diesels are penalised with extra tax, more that the road user tax is administered separately instead of being included in the pump price like it is with petrol (hence diesel being so much cheaper at the pump). AFAIK the system is set up that way so that diesel farm vehicles etc which aren't using the roads aren't paying for them in their fuel cost.

[vsonix]

GravelBen said:

vsonix said:

Diesel is heavily penalised - if you want to run a derv vehicle you need to pay an extra level of road tax based on projected kilometrage

Its not that diesels are penalised with extra tax, more that the road user tax is administered separately instead of being included in the pump price like it is with petrol (hence diesel being so much cheaper at the pump). AFAIK the system is set up that way so that diesel farm vehicles etc which aren't using the roads aren't paying for them in their fuel cost.

I'm just going on what my aunt said (she runs a big diesel beast for horsebox towing) - she implied it was a lot of hassle and the extra cost outweighed the potential fuel economy savings on a diesel car. Which, considering I saw pretty much no diesel passenger cars when I was out there, made sense at the time.

[GravelBen]

I guess some people perceive it as an extra charge that makes their diesel vehicle more expensive, often without realising that its mostly just balancing out the ~70c/litre less they are paying because more tax is added to petrol at the pump.

My 3.2 turbodiesel 4wd Nissan Terrano and my 2.0 twin turbo Legacy GTB cost about the same $ per km to feed - the Legacy gets better mpg, the Terrano has cheaper fuel but the RUC (road user charges) at 6.2c/km balances out the difference.

Its not a perfect system but its not really much hassle either - you can pay RUC as far in advance as you like, which takes about 5 minutes to do online. I usually get 5000km in advance, so its only a couple of times a year that I top up.

What does discourage diesel cars more than it perhaps should is that the the different RUC rates are based on vehicle weight categories (and number of axles etc, all about road wear/damage) and the lowest category is up to 3.5 tonne, lumping small diesel cars with the same cost as light trucks.

[alex.tvr]

Do you have a car in the UK that suits you? If I were to do things again, I’d bring a car down from the UK. You’d possibly save on not loosing money on the car you’d sell in the UK, and as exchange rate isn’t that friendly for bringing money down you could save by not having to sell and then transfer money. Just a thought. Shipping would cost a few grand GBP, and not sure if this still stands but you wouldn’t have to pay GST on your import as you would be a new immigrant as long as you kept car for a year or two.
I’ve found car insurance costs have risen sharply over the last few years, used to pay $400 for fully comp on a Porsche Cayenne - now pay just over $900 for a Mini Clubman!!
Fuel is now dearer too in Auckland thanks to a new regional fuel tax - +11c
HTH
Alex

[anonymous-user]

Mansells Tash said:

Topbox said:

Nice setup. Don’t think the Mrs will drive anything that big!

Mind if I ask where abouts on north shore? I’ve been looking at Hobsonville/West harbour.

Browns Bay, pretty much the entire coastline in the East of the Shore is nice.

Thanks again for the info. I have looked over that way. A short walk to the beech would be nice.

[anonymous-user]

alex.tvr said:

Do you have a car in the UK that suits you? If I were to do things again, I’d bring a car down from the UK. You’d possibly save on not loosing money on the car you’d sell in the UK, and as exchange rate isn’t that friendly for bringing money down you could save by not having to sell and then transfer money. Just a thought. Shipping would cost a few grand GBP, and not sure if this still stands but you wouldn’t have to pay GST on your import as you would be a new immigrant as long as you kept car for a year or two.
I’ve found car insurance costs have risen sharply over the last few years, used to pay $400 for fully comp on a Porsche Cayenne - now pay just over $900 for a Mini Clubman!!
Fuel is now dearer too in Auckland thanks to a new regional fuel tax - +11c
HTH
Alex

We currently run a civic which we like and a T5 van which we like.

I’ve considered shipping one/both over but to be honest I’m ready for a change. I think I’m going to try to get away with 1 car and a motorbike.

The civic is too small now for my son and the T5 is overkill (my track bike can go on a trailer ....and that’s if I buy a track bike) and my mountain bike can go on the car roof.

I also think if I run 1 car my man maths says the mpg is irrelevant and I want something fast.

[anonymous-user]

Contenders:

Vw Passat r36.

These seem cheap.
Parking sensors all round (for the Mrs)
Fast enough with 300bhp

Bit concerned fitting a tow bar will be tricky.
No good i need to take it off tarmac.

Audi s4.

As above but more expensive.

Legacies and outbacks appeal but not many have parking sensors. The Mrs will hate it. The newer ones do but I can’t bring myself to spent 30knz on an outback.

Seen a Ford Kuga with 200bhp .....ticks all boxes apart from fast and interesting.

Any other suggestions?