I’m an American. I drive everywhere. I am not really into taking three busses to get someplace so I had to buy a car. I did not want to spend a lot of money on a car I would probably only have for a few years, so I decided to go the used car route. I’m sorry, “pre-owned.”
There is a website here called Trademe. It is a super selling website that everyone uses. If it is for sale or lease, it is on Trademe. Companies advertise real estate on Trademe. Car dealers sell cars on Trademe. People sell used furniture on Trademe. It really is the source of all buying and selling in New Zealand.
Being so ubiquitous, I turned to Trademe to search for a car. I thought I would buy a hybrid. I was finding incredibly inexpensive cars, think Prius and Nissan Leaf. I set up some appointments and Matt and I spent a Saturday afternoon going from used car dealer to used car dealer.
At the first stop, I was looking at a Prius. My first question is always, does it have Apple Car Play? I ask because it is convenient for me to have and because it is an indication of how up to date the electronics package is. The salesman takes me to see the Prius and when I ask about Apple Car Play he tells me it does not have it. But more importantly, he explains that their company does not replace the car’s stereo and navigation systems with New Zealand standard tech.
At first, I do not understand what he was telling me. Then he shows me the dashboard and radio. The text is written in Japanese. I am trying to understand what is going on. What is he telling me again? What do you mean it is in Japanese? It is a Japanese car he says. He is selling an actual Japanese import. And by that I mean, a used Japanese made car imported from Japan that was used in Japan and so is outfitted with Japanese systems. So I ask, if the dashboard is telling me something important like, your tire air pressure is low, I would not know that because it would be written in Japanese characters, right? He offers that I can handle this by aiming my phone camera at the car navigation screen and use Google Translate to get the words in English.
Can we all contemplate that for a minute?
I say, whoa, no. That is way, way too complicated for me. I am not going to struggle with a car that is speaking Japanese. As I walk away, he shouts that all of the used cars would be like this. Um, okay. What a nut job. On to the next dealer.
I am scheduled to see a Nissan X-Trail hybrid , and this is where I learn what the hell is going on. I did not know this but apparently, it is quite the thing for New Zealand (and I understand many other countries) to import thousands of Japanese used cars to sell on the resale market. There are several reasons for this. Japan produces cars and to support car manufacturers, they pass regulations that will make a car obsolete thus encouraging turnover. Imagine if the Congress passed a law that said all cars must now have a certain kind of exhaust system. Then everyone has to get a new car to meet the standard. It would be a boon to car companies. This is what Japan does. They force turnover.
As for the New Zealand import market, getting a new car in New Zealand comes with limitations. They have a limited number of dealers, a limited variety of cars, and they are expensive. They are the last in line for new car models and not all car companies are here. It is also a small country and the opportunity for used cars is not great.
Put it all together and there are not enough New Zealand specific cars to generate a big used car market. By importing cars from Japan, New Zealand gets a shot at cars that might not otherwise be sold in New Zealand. But by importing these cars, the New Zealander has to accept the Japanese character of the car unless the dealer fixes it or the car buyer pays for it to be fixed. This means who imports the car, how the car is handled, and whether they are trustworthy is an entirely different matter.
The dealer selling the Nissan had an approach that was completely different from the Prius seller. The Prius dealer kept saying, we don’t change out the radio because a lot of people don’t want to pay for it. If I wanted it to be changed out, they would do it, but it would be extra. Fair enough.
The Nissan seller, on the other hand, had taken the initiative to swap out the electronics and upgrade software to the extent possible to make their cars more like a New Zealand car. It is not 100% English, but it is enough to get by.
When the Japanese cars are imported, they are dirt cheap. This can be true for a few reasons. The obvious reason is that Japan needs to get rid of the car so they auction them off as rapidly as possible. The buyer may not get that much information about the car. Many of the cars have suspect pasts, perhaps it is a lemon, or it has been in an accident. In the case of the first dealer, he was not offering anything in the way of knowledge about the car’s past. The second dealer provided a detailed independent inspection report.
But alas, for various reasons, the salesman told me, the Nissan X-Trail I came to see could not be upgraded to New Zealand standards. If I wanted that car, I would have to accept the Japanese version of it. I passed.
It slowly dawned on me that all of the Japanese imports were going to be a problem. The salesman suggested a better option for me would be to look at European cars. They come from the Japanese used car market, but they are easily converted to English and are easily upgraded if necessary. He pointed me to a used Mercedes-Benz, a 2017 with only 13,000 miles. It looked brand new, like someone had bought it and left it in a garage. It was loaded with features, sunroof, heated seats, CarPlay, you name it. But a Mercedes? I never in my life would pay for an expensive car like a Mercedes. I hate spending money on fancy cars. I just don’t do it. But did I mention that when they come from Japan, they are dirt cheap?
I avoided it for a while and I looked at several other cars at different dealers but none of them worked. I am Goldilocks when it comes to major purchases. I decided to give the Mercedes a test drive. The salesman assured me that once I drove it, I would love it. He was right and the price of the car in U.S. dollars was so inexpensive that I would have been a fool not to buy it. So, I am now a proud owner of a Mercedes-Benz. I hope this does not mess up my brand.
A Yank Among the Kiwis 