Can't decide whether to bring my car or not...

[RejjieM]

I drive a 2005 Ford Galaxy, which is basically a Ford Mondeo with a couple of extra seats - same chassis apparently. It's in really good nick and when I bought it I was told to drive it till it wouldn't drive anymore because they are so reliable.

I could probably get betwen £5k - £6k for it here in the UK which as far as I can see, searching through TradeMe, wouldn't get me anything like as good as I have for the price. I'm not bothered about driving a fancy car, I just want one that's not going to break down or fall apart, and into which I can fit a weekend's camping gear.

What do you think - should I take it with me or just sell it here? Are Ford parts expensive in NZ?

[Sun777]

Bringing your car has its own set of hassles, shipping, getting all the clearances, expensive maintenance & spare parts. My personal opinion would be to sell it if you can and buy a car which is worth the investment for your use over here. Spare parts for our Merc A160 are almost twice more expensive than in UK and not every mechanic knows how to deal with it over here.

Weigh out your options, see if you can actually get better money for your car in UK, we sold our car for peanuts at car auction in UK as I had very small window period to report at job over here.

[vixxann]

Ford is a popular make here so parts should be relatively inexpensive.
However its quite a complex procedure to bring in a car so I'd do lots of homework and weigh up all the options.
That prob doesn't help at all eh!

[JandM]

Ford is a popular make here so parts should be relatively inexpensive.

But do check that they have in NZ the same model of Ford as you have. It's quite often the case that there are differences for the European market and other markets. With some manufacturers, you can have a car with the same name, but which is different in details, or the same car but with a different name.

If you find yourself in NZ with a car nobody else has, you can have the situation someone we know did, of getting e.g. a minor ding in a car park, and having to wait MONTHS while a body panel comes by sea, or some little pump packing up and the car being out of action while the garage discovers there isn't one any nearer than Sweden.

[Mamee & Co]

If you have space in the container consider it, just check the model is available here. Our vw touran is a rarity, but at only two years old and a deisel it was worth bringing it, as it did not really cost us to ship as there was space in the container. Just costs a bit in compliance costs when you get here. Be sure you check though that it is an NZ compliant car before shipping. If you decide not to, look at Honda Odysseys when you get here. Not known in UK but plentiful here.

[sophiedb]

If you find yourself in NZ with a car nobody else has, you can have the situation someone we know did, of getting e.g. a minor ding in a car park, and having to wait MONTHS while a body panel comes by sea, or some little pump packing up and the car being out of action while the garage discovers there isn't one any nearer than Sweden.

This is the reason why we didn't bring a fantastic car that we loved. It simply didn't exist in NZ - at least not the 2004 model. 2007 onwards yes, in very small numbers, but the body, chassis, and even engine had changed by the time they were released. Parts would have been a nightmare, maybe even servicing too.

It rankles, but such is life. Now we have a bog standard Subaru Forester that does the job well enough, can be serviced pretty much anywhere, and parts (should we need them) are plentiful.

[JandM]

I remember how fond you were of your car. Did you sell it locally? - whenever I see one, I think of you three!

[batgirl1001]

We brought in a compliant car and it wasn't a hassle for us because we had an agent doing all the necessary paperwork and making sure it met with all the requirements to bring it in. The cost was very reasonable too as the NZ $ (2008-2009) was still very low in comparative foreign exchange and we got ours at a hot price and decided even with the GST, it was a massive $5K savings to the same age, model of car sold in NZ by dealers here. It would make no sense for us to bring in a car which is sold in NZ at a lower value as we would be thinking of the depreciation cost on top of the shipping, compliant cost and effectively the cost of selling the car later. It's either that or driving the car to the ground. The loss you make will compound. So it is worth it in the end to sell of the car if it has an effectively higher value in the UK than bringing it here. My experience is to bring in a car if the model is easily available here but sold so much higher than what it is worth overseas. Because no matter what, when you are done with it, selling it off privately or to a dealer would mean a great loss in the end.

[Sun777]

I'm not sure if you are aware RejjieM, to avoid custom charges you need to own the car for at least a year.

[sophiedb]

I remember how fond you were of your car. Did you sell it locally? - whenever I see one, I think of you three!

Funny story - it was actually a bloke from near Bangor who bought it!! He even came down on the train to pick it up, after winning sight-unseen on eBay. Weird... (not that I'm complaining, but it's still funny).