Buying a car in NZ

I need a car to get around, as public transport isn't very good in NZ, especially for the places I will be going.

The first place I looked was the noticeboard in the backpacker hostel. There was an ad for a 1997 Subaru Legacy with 276,000 km for only NZD2,000. Probably by another backpacker who was leaving NZ and wanted to sell his car. "Runs great", or so it claimed. This might be good deal for someone with a budget, and was willing to take a risk on an old clunker. I decided I can afford a slightly better one.

Next, I went to a public auction. The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't understand what the auctioneer was saying. I thought my understanding of English was pretty good, but the auctioneer made no sense. See if you can understand what the auctioneer is saying below:

Auctioneer chant

Give up?

"-this one. Can-I-get-ten-can-I-get-ten-thousand-ten-thousand-*mumbling*-for-this-one." (No bids) "Give me nine thousand. *incoherent mumbling* Give-me-eight-that'd-be-great-that's-a-deal *mumbling* (some one bid 8000), "Eighty two can-we-get-an-eighty-two-can-we-get-an-eighty-four-and-eighty-six" (Three people bid 8200, 8400 and 8600 in quick succession) "Eighty six hundred dollars. Now-we-got-an-eighty-six-now-we-got-an-eighty-six-now-we-got-an-eighty-six *mumbling*. Eight six hundred dollars, that's-gotta-be *incoherent* eighty-seven" (some one bid 8700). "Eighty-seven, now-we-got-an-eighty-seven-now-we-got-an-eighty-seven-now-we-got-an-eighty-seven-and-going *incoherent* Eighty seven hundred this-is-bargain-territory, eighty-seven-hundred. Eighty seven hundred that's-way-too-cheap, now-we-got-an-eighty-seven-now-we-got-an-eighty-seven-taking-one, and eighty-seven-hundred, we'll negotiate, *hits hammer* eighty-seven."

Note: the auctioneer said "we'll negotiate" instead of "sold" at the end, because 8700 did not meet the reserve price for the auction. In that event the auction house will try to negotiate a mutually acceptable price between the seller and the highest bidder.

In addition to being unable to understand the auctioneer, the prices for the good deals were bid up by everybody, which tends to make them not so good deals. I left the auction without a car.

Next, I looked up on TradeMe, the NZ version of eBay. I saw a 1999 Subaru Forester with 113,000km selling for NZD4,000. This is very low mileage for such an old car. I went to the dealer and took a test drive. Car seemed fine. To be safe, I decided to have an independent mechanic inspection.

Report came back with engine oil leak, worn CV joints and water in the spare tire wheel well. Either this car was not well maintained, or the odometer has been tampered with. Odometer tampering was a problem with second hand car in NZ, although it's rarer now because the government has cracked down on it. I decided to look elsewhere.

Went to another dealer, found a car for NZD6000. Mechanic inspection showed some problems, but nothing major (passenger side electric window not working). Bargained down to 5500, and bought the car. So what car did I buy for NZD5500?

A 1999 Nissan Cefiro station wagon with 184,000km on it. Was this a good deal, or did I get a piece of junk? I'm still not sure. We will know for sure when this car breaks down. :-P

Auckland public transport

In my previous post, I said that Auckland's public transport is not good. An example is the payment card, or more precisely cards, used.

You see, there are 2 cards: The HOP card and the AT HOP card. The former can only be used on buses, while the latter can only be used on trains. The HOP card cannot be used on trains, while the AT HOP card cannot be used on buses. If you want to travel on buses and trains, you have to carry both cards (or pay cash). Compared to London's Oyster card, Singapore's Ezylink or even Malaysia's Touch-n-Go, it's a mess.

To be sure, the HOP card will be phased out eventually, and AT HOP will take over as the all-in-one integrated public transport card in Auckland. Eventually. But how did this mess come about in the first place?

AT HOP and HOP

The story begins a long, long time ago... in the year 2008. That year, Auckland Transport Council decided to implement an integrated smart card payment system. That's right; the city that Mercer's Report named the 3rd best city in the world did not have an integrated public transport smart card in 2008.

So there was a tender to determine the company that will get this large project. The finalists were Snapper, a New Zealand company, and a French company called Thales. Thales won the contract. However, for reasons I'm not entirely sure, Snapper was invited to participate in this project despite losing the bid, making them a partner (or competitor) to Thales.

Fast forward to 2012: Snapper's HOP card is not compatible with Thales AT HOP card. Then Auckland Council terminated Snapper's contract, claiming that the company is unable to deliver the system as promised. Snapper of course denied that, and lots of finger pointing happened. Regardless, millions of dollars were wasted, and lawsuits may be filed. And we still don't have an integrated payment card in 2013, despite NZD98 million spent so far.

The there's the Auckland City Rail Link proposal. This proposal is based on a report commisioned by the Auckland City Council. The report states that the number of people working in Auckland is projected to double by 2040, and a new NZD2.8 billion rail link will reduce traffic congestion. But Transport Minister decided that this project is too expensive, and decided not to proceed with it. Basically the government decided to ignore the recommendation from a report commisioned by one of its own agencies. Sounds like Malaysia?

Auckland's Harbour Bridge (picture from http://www.nzherald.co.nz)

Why nobody taking the train?

Auckland Botanic Gardens

Last Sunday, I visited Auckland Botanic Gardens. This attraction is located about 25km south of Auckland CBD/downtown. The garden is about 156 acres, and is very beautiful.

Entrance to Auckland Botanical Gardens

Lake

The weather was sunny, around 20C. It was a nice day to spend outside, and this was evident by the people enjoying their Sunday afternoon here. It was autumn, some leaves were falling, but there were still many green trees.

People having a picnic

More people

Autumn

The types of plants here include native New Zealand plants, as well as plants from all over the world, even tropical plants. Perhaps it is because of the mild winter in Auckland that so many species of plants can survive here.

Rose

Bee collecting pollen

Unfortunately, the train ran only every hour on Sunday (while on weekdays, it's every 30 minutes). From the train station, I had to walk 30 minutes to the garden. There's a bus from the train station but, like the train, it also ran only every hour on Sunday. It's a shame that Auckland public transport is not very good (but that's a topic for another day).

In addition to being hard to reach by public transport, the Botanic Gardens is also not easy to find. The sign is difficult to spot from the main road. If you're in Auckland and want to visit, a car and GPS is recommended.

Can you see the Botanical Gardens sign?

Feels like home...

Everywhere in Auckland, I see signs of Malaysia.

5 min walk from the YMCA where I'm staying.

At a food court in Auckland CBD (central business district)

Somewhere in Otahuhu (a suburb in south Auckland).

Purchased from a Chinese supermarket

Ad by Tourism Ministry of Malaysia.

Feels like I never left home at all. ;-)