[Mapledrakes]

Hi,

We will be arriving in Christchurch on 13th Jul and need to buy a (2nd hand - a few yrs old) car within a few days. Can anyone recommend the best starting point for us? Have checked out prices on Trade Me so hopefully won't be subject to the alleged "here come the migrants" prices. We don't know too much about cars so we're not confident enough to buy without any kind of warranty.

PS....Now we're on our way I realise just how invaluable this forum is. So thanks guys! We hope to be able give something back soon.

[Red Devil]

You shouldn't have a problem finding a decent second hand car dealer... plenty of them on the outskirts of Christchurch :yes

Best of luck with everything, keep us posted how you get on :nice1

[Bozeman]

The only advice I would offer is to point out that the prices on Trade Me are starting points. We just bought our first car here in Christchurch (from a dealer) and paid 15% less than the price advertised on Trade Me. And I am no great bargainer.

There are some good threads on this board on how to buy a used car. It really all comes down to being indifferent. There are a lot of options and if one car doesn't pan out, the next one will.

[lnz]

These might be of interest:
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16829
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12814

Good luck in Christchurch...

[peebles16]

Moorehouse Avenue - loads of dealers and bargain like you've never done before :D

Karenx

[Tia Maria]

Some other useful threads:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=17688

And if you are looking at small cars:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=17532

I didn't know anything about cars, but followed everyone's advice and got a good deal! :nice1

The impression I got from the dealers, is that not many people are buying at the moment due to various economic reasons, so you should be in a strong position.

Good luck!

Cheers

Tia

[the bebers]

It is definitely a good time to buy. We bought our first car in January and just bought our second car. For the second car the dealer was much more willing to drop the price and throw in extras.