[holland]

Hi,

Any recommendations for second hand dealerships in Auckland, as we are hoping to buy a car to travel to Hawkes Bay...

Thanks in advance

J and G x

[Oregonkiwi]

We had a very good experience last year with GVI
http://www.genuinevehicleimports.co.nz/
(I first heard of them through a recommendation on this forum :). We did shop around a lot before buying there.)
Really nice people and a good range of cars (Japanese imports). Apparently they'll even meet you at the airport (check the New Immigrants section of their website).

[holland]

Thanks Oregonkiwi, much appreciated

J x

[gil]

Holland,
There are zillions of second-hand dealerships along the whole Great South Road, which pretty much leads up from the airport. Have you searched on here? I 'm sure there's been specific stuff about buying second-hand. Turners Auctions is another option, just google it....

Gil

[IanW99]

You also might want to check out one of the car fairs if you are looking for a second hand car e.g. Ellerslie Car Fair (http://www.carfair.co.nz/sellers.phtml)

Ian

[kellyfamily]

I bought mine while i was in Auckland at north shore toyota, Theres no shortage of dealers anywhere but i went here as i got a good deal with 2 years warranty, 2 yrs wof, 2 yrs roadside ,It was the best conditioned model i had seen while viewing lots . In the main you will have no probs visit a few and you will fight out a good deal, use the price on the window only as a rough guide.
john

[xanctus]

check www.trademe.co.nz and sometimes www.autotrader.co.nz

[urban78]

We had a very good experience last year with GVI
http://www.genuinevehicleimports.co.nz/
(I first heard of them through a recommendation on this forum :). We did shop around a lot before buying there.)
Really nice people and a good range of cars (Japanese imports). Apparently they'll even meet you at the airport (check the New Immigrants section of their website).

I agree with Oregonkiwi :)

We also bought our second hand through GVI, a Nissan Sunny 96 for $5000 with 85000 kms, which included all on road costs for 6 months (rego and warrant). They were also recomended to us from another forum and we could not have made a better deal ;)

They saw no problem in us having the car inspected onsite by AA. We dealt with Shane, who I believe was the sales manager, and he was very professional and efficient :yes

Jen

[sarahjones]

I agree with Oregonkiwi and urban78. We also purchased a vehicle from GVI and are extremely happy with the car and service they provided. We arrived in Auckland and went to see them the next day. Decided on a car (Toyota Alteza Gita) which had only just arrived from Japan. GVI loaned us a nice car at no charge for 4 days, we just had to top it up with petrol, while they processed the import paperwork, vehicle tests etc.

Shane was very helpful and the company appeared to us very professionally run and happy to fit in with our travel arrangements.

At the same time my hubby was bringing over his car from the UK, and after our experiences with GVI we used them to do all the necessary checks and paperwork on our import. We flew to Auckland to pick up the car, and GVI collected us from the airport, at their suggestion, to take us to the workshops.

From our experience I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them, 5 star.

[speckythecky]

Also try www.turners.co.nz for auctions.

John

[james the mechanic]

Hi Jade,
It might just be my experience; however I have visited several Turners auctions on numerous occasions and have found the general quality of vehicles to be extremely low. That said, I have not visited one in Auckland, which is bound to be better. If you get to Napier and still haven’t bought a car, I think I would personally avoid Turners on Corunna bay/Hyderabad Road Napier and head for the more popular one, whose name escapes me right now; however it’s located in the Onekawa industrial estate in Napier. However I don’t think you will have a problem finding a car in Auckland ,as it does seem to have heaps of used car dealers.
James

[holland]

Thanks everyone for all your tips/links and advice...I will forward it all on to my hubby....as this is his job!!!!

James, good to hear from you...where have you been???:uhoh

Jade xx

[John Z]

We had a very good experience last year with GVI
http://www.genuinevehicleimports.co.nz/
(I first heard of them through a recommendation on this forum :). We did shop around a lot before buying there.)
Really nice people and a good range of cars (Japanese imports). Apparently they'll even meet you at the airport (check the New Immigrants section of their website).

I didn't find my favourites here: no Saab, only 1 Volvo...

In general I found that Subaru's (the more fancy one's) cost about 50% from what we pay here (the Netherlands), the same for Mitsubishi (70%, they probably make more profit in NZ) and even some Chrysler models (50-70%) have better prices.

As the majority of dealers seem to be far away (Auckland or even Christchurch (not so far for some)) I was asking myself how smart a warranty would be? They offer 1,2 or even 3 years, but I can't imagine myself driving from Hamilton to, let's say Wellington to claim a warranty. Probably for me Auckland would be the limit.

Maybe someone could comment on that?

John Z

[Oregonkiwi]

I didn't find my favourites here: no Saab, only 1 Volvo...

If by "here" you mean the GVI website, that's because GVI specializes in Japanese imports, i.e. used Japanese cars imported from Japan (like Subaru Legacy, a very popular model in NZ).

[Albertz]

http://www.hawkesbayauctions.co.nz/index.html

34 Wakefield Street Onekawa :nice1

[holland]

Thanks everyone

J xx

[migratory birds]

Are there areas in NZ to avoid purchasing a car from because of salt exposure (from the sea or use of salt on the roads to melt ice in the wintertime) contributing to excessive rust?

In the US, we use ALOT of salt on the roads in the winter in some areas (regions we refer to as the "Salt Belt") when purchasing a used car many folks just buy cars from outside the Salt Belt b/c the salt really does a number on metal and significantly reduces structural longevity.

Anything similar to a Salt Belt in NZ?

[jonSE]

I can't advise on specifics of buying a car in Auckland or anywhere in NZ for that matter.

What I will say is this.

Buy in haste repent at leisure.

Please do not set out aiming to arrive and spend a day or so in Auckland to buy a car then head off to Hawkes Bay. Buying a car under the pressure of a deadline is a blank cheque in the hands of the dealer. By all means buy a car quickly (because you know it is a good deal) but don't do it because you need transport NOW.

That said my impression of Auckland dealers is they are a cut above UK car dealers. But that still doesn't put them very far up the trustworthy scale.

If you aren't arriving in the height of tourist season - Jan- March you can hire cars for 30 days for very good rates - I think we paid about $800 3 years ago. Will get you mobile and give you the relaxed time to buy with time on your side.

[mgf]

thanks for the info. I have been searching for places to buy an car and this one sounds like they are very user friendly and will help with all the paperwork involved.

[mgf]

thanks for the info. I have been searching for places to buy an car and this one sounds like they are very user friendly and will help with all the paperwork involved.