Buying an Affordable, Safe, Reliable Car in New Zealand

As a newly arrived immigrant in New Zealand, you will almost certainly be looking for a car.

We set ourselves the task of finding a safe, reliable, family car for NZ$10,000 or less.

Of course, you're welcome to spend much more than this. We thought though, that in case you are one of the very small number of migrants who decide within a few months that New Zealand is not for you, we would buy an older model for less money. This means you lose less money on depreciation when you sell the car.

Survival figures from real-life crashes in the USA show you are about a quarter as likely to die in our choice of car than in a Ford Focus, Land Rover Discover or Mazda 626.

Our Safe, Reliable Car Choice
In our opinion, the best choice of car for NZ$10,000 based on the importance of safety and reliability is the Toyota Camry (models from 1998 onwards).

Make sure you choose a model with dual airbags and ABS brakes. (Not all models have these.)

The Camry is a large car and the death rates for occupants of Toyota Camrys in crashes are amongst the very lowest in the United States.

In crash testing these vehicles were awarded 4 stars out of a possible 5 by testing agencies.

Consumer surveys show Camrys are outstandingly reliable.

There is a very large number of Toyota Camrys in New Zealand and large numbers of used examples are also imported directly from Japan. Camrys are available as five door station wagons (known as estate cars in the UK) and four door sedans.

Our Reasons for Choosing the Toyota Camry

Car Safety

Our first consideration is car safety. You are 20 times more likely to die in some cars than in others. This means there's a real incentive in searching out cars that - if you are unlucky enough to be involved in a crash - allow you to walk, or hobble away from the crash rather than joining the week's fatality statistics.

There are three main considerations in buying a safe car:

1. Its performance in crash tests.

2. Its performance in real-life crashes.

3. Its weight.

Crash Tests

Various government agencies test cars in frontal and side collisions.

The United States government also considers rollover ratings, which are particularly important in considering SUV safety. If you have to swerve - for example to avoid a child or animal that runs onto the road - you could be killed or seriously injured if your vehicle rolls over and this is particularly likely to happen with older SUVs.

Crash Test Results:
If you want to look at the original research we used in writing this report, it's here:

Real-life Crashes

The two reports listed below were published in 2005. If you're looking for a used car, it's likely they will have information you need: Death rates should be used with some caution. For example, if a car is bought mainly by young men with a thirst for speed, it will show a much higher death rate than a vehicle that is equally safe but which is driven mainly by people with a lower appetite for risk-taking.

Weight

Although you might be driving a small car with good crash-test results, if you collide with a heavier vehicle it's likely you will come off worse in the collision. SUVs score well on weight but no SUV within our price range scored well on rollover or crash tests.

What to look for in a safe Car

The safest vehicles are those with good crash test results, low rollover likelihood and relatively high weight.

Reliability

In general, consumer satisfaction surveys in countries all over the world show that Japanese built-cars are the most reliable. Toyota is the most reliable brand in the world.

Availability

Most New Zealand car-dealers import large numbers of used vehicles directly from Japan and Japanese built cars - including the Camry - are very common in New Zealand.