Best Deals on New Cars....Where to Look?

[Johnnie Walker]

If I'm going to buy a new car here, it's easy. There are any number of discount brokers/importers/low cost online dealers. What about in New Zealand? How do you get the best price on a new car. What sort of discounts can you get? What sort of prices do you pay?

[GrumpyGoat]

I just bought a new toyota. I used the US invoice pricing and adjusted to NZ currency and felt I got a pretty good deal.

For pricing on Toyota use Toyota.co.nz

local dealers also have their own specials etc

Other brands have their own websites.

[Mamee & Co]

When we came in from Scotland we did exactly what we were not supposed to do...walked into Paul Kelly's car lot and bought the first car we looked at (after a test drive). It was a Honda Odyssey, not sold in UK as such, but we really didn't have a clue, although seeing Trade me prices and taking discounts into account we don't think that we did too badly!

[Johnnie Walker]

Thanks GrumpyGoat. Do you mind if I just call you Grumpy? (I’m not meaning in its literal sense.)

It’s interesting that you’re happy with the deal you got in New Zealand vs the US. In the UK there’s a general perception that cars are much, much cheaper to buy in America than they are here. If you don’t mind saying, and it’s just me being more inquisitive than I ought to be, what sort of percentage difference in price did you find between buying in New Zealand and America?

Thanks Mamee and Co. I’ve heard of Paul Kelly’s. We’ve driven along a long street in Christchurch, the name escapes me, which seemed to be filled with dozens of car dealerships and Paul Kelly’s was one of them if I remember rightly.

One way I’ve heard that car discounts work in the UK is that companies like Ford sell cars at lower prices to dealers with high turnovers. So if you’re a dealer, the more cars you turnover, the less you pay Ford wholesale. This means some dealers try to shift large volumes at very low prices over the internet, while selling cars from their showrooms at higher prices. Does this sort of thing happen in New Zealand?

[crosstick]

can't see much chance of real volume discounts in nz johnnie, not enough trade. must admit i've never bought a car new in my life. pick them up 3 - 12 months old in auctions at big discounts vs new. probably won't work though if you're looking for something high end. probably don't get fleet auctions in nz either.

[Duncan74]

Ex hire is probably the equivalent over here. From my (admittedly smallish) experience then company/pool cars are kept way way longer than in the UK. Hence there isn't that big release of 1/3 year old cars through the auctions.

The comment about dealer volume discounts is true. Hence the 'pre registered' cars you see advertised (in the UK). They are cars that the dealer has bought themselves to notch up a sale.

But really, I'd get here, buy a used car for 6 months and get to understand what you really want before considering new. It won't be the same car you have in the UK. The different roads,joourney types, right through to the size of other vehicles and parking spaces means that what was perfect in the UK wouldn't work here.