Sorry mate but I think it's you who is thick and just 'not getting it'. And others here are tending to side with me rather than you.
Have a look at your trading history. Have a look at mine. I've bought and sold over 50 cars in my short 25 years on this planet, and all of them but one in NZ. Most of the cars I have sold on Trademe for $1res.
I know the car market and I know it very well. Don't try tell me things that you have zero experience with and that I have a lot of experience with. I know what patterns bidders generally do when bidding.
Trust me I KNOW what you are trying to say and I've outlined that from the very beginning, but you are just being incredibly ignorant about what WE are saying back to you, which in NZ is REALITY which you need to LIVE with in order to live in NZ.
canuckandkiwi,
Sep 17, 1:20pm
50 cars in 25 years. sketchy
phillip.weston,
Sep 17, 1:21pm
why is it sketchy!
canuckandkiwi,
Sep 17, 1:22pm
Just seems like a lot of cars to own, and then sell. 2 cars per year.
canuckandkiwi,
Sep 17, 1:23pm
And you may know the market well, what I'm saying is the market is crap here.
elvis58,
Sep 17, 1:25pm
Maybe it's down to the cost of advertising, especially on here. Best make use of places where advertising is in tune with the value of what you are looking for after all, whose going to spend a fortune advertising a car that's only worth a few dollars!
canuckandkiwi,
Sep 17, 1:28pm
Hi elvis, that's really good advice. Lots of cars being sold on the side of the road in Dunedin. I'll have a better look around.
Though with that said, it's not that pricey to sell a car on trade me, I sold my 97 Legacy on here years ago, and from memory it wasn't expensive to list it. More of a pain in the ass dealing with people who had no interest in completing the purchase.
phillip.weston,
Sep 17, 1:29pm
technically as a private individual you can't even sell ONE car per year with the sole purpose of turning a profit, but it takes 6 change of ownerships out of your name within a 12 month period to trip the flag before you get a letter asking you to explain yourself.
I registered as a motor vehicle trader and bought and re-sold vehicles legitimately, but that only accounted for about 30 or so vehicles. The others I genuinely owned as my own because I thoroughly enjoy cars and get bored quickly with the same car and want to try other cars. Having said that I tend to hang onto one or two cars long term and own another couple along side short term.
My point is I've been on the buying side just as much as I have on the selling side. I use trademe auctions primarily as a means to purchasing and selling. I know what other bidders will do, but I can tell you that higher bidding early on makes no difference to the final outcome. I've seen auctions sit at $500 within the closing minutes only to sell for $2500 at the end because there has been a fierce bidding war between two or more interested parties. Would it have made any difference if one of the parties had bid $1500-2000 earlier on! Nope. At the end of the day it sold to the person who had the most cash and wanted it more than the others. That determines the value of the vehicle.
phillip.weston,
Sep 17, 1:36pm
Yes and no. I think the market for cheap used cars today is certainly not the same as it was 5-10 years ago. We don't have as much of a 'throw away society' here, the average kiwi Joe Bloggs is happy to put $500-1000 a year into keeping their $5000 car on the road rather than buy something newer. Cars here don't really get worn out until they are 20-30 years or even older. Owners can become attached to their vehicles and not upgrade for decades. Older cars are even more popular here than in many other places around the world - once a car gets to about 25-30 years old (even less if it's a really special car) the value of the car has already well and truly flat-lined and is on its way back up as people are often after 'retro' and 'nostalgic' cars. That's why a 1980s car can be worth the same or even more than a 1990s or 2000s car.
phillip.weston,
Sep 17, 1:39pm
$500 cars can definitely be had here in NZ, but they are becoming much rarer to find especially in anything close to roadworthy condition or something which needs minimal money to get back on the road. A $200-300 car that actually moves under its own power and looks semi-presentable! No way. People would rather take their car to the scrap yard and get their $300 than they would put it on trademe and deal with idiots with a chance of getting $500 or more.
Surely in that 6 months of car shopping you could have allocated more funds towards a car purchase! $2000 can get you more than reasonable enough car in NZ - $1000 will get you a bomb. To me it's worth spending the extra money.
phillip.weston,
Sep 17, 1:44pm
also just to add my last 2 cents - most of NZ's internet traffic goes to Trademe. That means if there is an incredible bargain of a $500 car listed on trademe it will either be sold so fast that it was barely listed for an hour, or the bidding will far exceed $500. Simply because the listings are being eye-balled by every man and his dog looking for a bargain.
My advice - go to Turners. Sure they may have a $300-500 buyer's premium on top of the bidding price, but the price of the car is purely determined by the (lack of) people there on the day. I picked up an '04 Mondeo wagon from turners for $2250 (and only because I was ultra eager to put in a bid, I probably could have even got it for $2000). I then turned around and re-sold it on Trademe for nearly $4000. I did absolutely nothing to it other than give it a wash and take decent photos. I even used up the full tank of gas it came with.
There, don't tell me I haven't helped you!
ryanm2,
Sep 17, 1:56pm
purchased a 98 Subaru legacy TS-R B spec (ltd), 100k on the clock, almost mint for 2k. I think thats pretty good going.
elvis58,
Sep 17, 1:57pm
Here in Dunedin you get people knock on your door asking if your cars for sale if you don't use it for a while, i was asked about my Valiant twice within the first week i had it and have had people stop and ask me about my Vw in my garage many times.Check supermarket noticeboards and sides of the road in the "well used area's" like you say.Seem to be many bargain hunters here, i guess it's the same everywhere! I scored a high spec 250t off here about 3 weeks back, elec leather seats, twin sunroof model, engine had belts head gaskets etc April 10, tidy nick and 6 months reg and listed as classified for $150. It needed odd jobs but nothing much, just have to be in the right place at the right time.
saki,
Sep 17, 2:40pm
Canakiwi you have a choice like it or lump it you can always fly away.
canuckandkiwi,
Sep 17, 3:14pm
Valiant! Nice! There's always a keen interest in those. We had one in our family when I was younger, I I constantly remember characters coming to have a look even though it wasn't for sale.
Phil, sorry for the back and forth crap, I'm out of line. You have given some really good advice here. Thanks. I'll see what bargains I can pick up around the $1,500-2,000 from trade me and turners, and hopefully be able to flick it off for the same price in January or maybe even make a few bucks.
All the best.
canuckandkiwi,
Sep 17, 3:16pm
That is bloody good. I sold my 97 Legacy (auto, sedan, no extras, kind of a Nana's Subaru) for $4,500 and that was at the end of 1996. Looks like you got a pretty good deal. Mine had just under 200 on the clock
phillip.weston,
Sep 17, 3:36pm
so you should have known the value of a 10 year old car here in NZ even before you went away to Canada. How would you have liked it if you sold your 1997 Legacy at the end of 2006 (I assume you mean 2006 rather than 1996) for $1000! Do you think that would have been fair for you! Do you think that's a direct comparison to your 10 year old Pontiac in Canada!
ryanm2,
Sep 17, 3:52pm
you just have to know what exactly you want and be quick when you seen one. She had 3k buy now, 2k no reserve, i just reminded her if people start bidding you might be stuck with it as there are a lot of dorks around that will muck you around. she was off back to the states. Also, backpackers are good places to find cheap cars, those flying out of auckland or chch with a vehicle they have to sell ishugely in the buyers favour.
fordkiwi27,
Sep 18, 9:50am
phillip you moved to aussie!
phillip.weston,
Sep 18, 10:03am
Yep! Lost another to the dark side haha. Living in Brisbane at the moment, have only been here for about three weeks and two of those weeks were spent in Sydney with family. Had been wanting a change from crusty old Hamilton and I just didn't think Auckland/Wellington/anywhere in NZ was enough of a change. I plan to be here for only 6-12 months while I save up enough to continue travelling further abroad. I need to come back to NZ in feb for a wedding and I'll apply for my 2yr working visa then so I can hopefully base myself in the UK with a job and still be able to travel around the rest of Europe. My cars have been put into storage at Mums - already I miss them (especially the VR-4). I think in a few years if I decide to settle in Australia and if I can't find a similar tidy condition VR-4 here for reasonable coin I may bring mine over. If you've owned them for 12+ months overseas it's much easier to import and register (in Queensland at least anyway).
vtecintegra,
Sep 18, 10:58am
I will add that a 2000 Pontiac Sunfire is a hugely worse car than most Japanese models of the 90s.
If you want to see just how poorly regarded they are here look up 'Toyota Cavalier'
fordkiwi27,
Nov 2, 4:01am
sweet.yep its worth a crack over there. hope all goes well for you!
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