The stingy household needed cars. One thought that one car would do until reality hit; how much time could One spend driving per day and actually taking themselves absolutely nowhere? Apparently, One could spend four hours driving and end up back at home, minus or plus a body or two. Clearly this was an inefficient option when One has many many more interesting things to do.
Second step. Buy used of course! Apparently not. Buy new. New is nearly cheaper than the impending disaster of a used. Clearly, a second hand two year old Kia Picanto will cost the investment funds NZD6,400.00 plus the costs of inspection, insurance and massive steam clean to rid the vehicle of the oppressive cigarette smoke, whereas a brand new Kia Picanto will cost the funds NZD10,000.00 all inclusive (and by inclusive, this means plus the funky little first aid kit and dinky key ring). Go figure that cost differential. Never mind the calculations - darling husband is happy imbedded into his small blue sardine tin that qualifies as a car!
One doea not settle for a Kia Picanto to really drive. Unfortunately, One does not have the photos of the back roads enroute to school, however, it does involve actual 4WD use and considerable dust. So One has a 2.4L Nissan X-trail (base model of course). How much did this set the investment money back? Well, it hurts a little at NZD30,000 but compare that to our new Suzuki Swift SX4 in NZ that cost us NZD22,000 and the difference is clearly indicative of a significantly cheaper new car market here.
Now we get to the real question, what is depreciation like. Actually, it is rather favourable to the Nissan, Toyota and Honda owner and absolutely disastrous for the European luxury car market. For the Nissan, only a minor depreciation will be expected but the luxury cars can see a 40-50% devaluation over a two or three year period.
Why just settle for what we have bought. I do believe that I should have got a Hummer. In NZD in July, this would only have cost NZD40,000. So if you want to drive a base model Hummer - come over here and you can "for real" drive and own a Hummer and possibly even justify it if you need to drive around the edge of the city.
I am really inpressed with your sewing creations-have you made the floral circle skirt--maybe we could see the finished article
ReplyDeleteQuote from 'Hot, Flat and Crowded' by TL Friedman: "I'm glad that many people in the US and Europe have switched from incandescent lightbulbs to long-lasting compact fluorescent lightbulbs in their homes. That has saved a lot of kilowatts of energy. But the recent growth in Doha and Dalian [China] just ate all those energy savings for breakfast. I'm glad that many people are buying hybrid cars. But Doha and Dalian devoured all those gasoline savings before noon."
ReplyDeleteWow, my sister is famous!! Get the Hummer as ur 3rd car, for me to use when I come and see this famous Doha (maybe March).
You are spot on with that energy saving point. However, I am sure that the Kiwis (in NZ) saved all of the energy for the US people in the first place...I would also point out that the gasoline savings before noon is rather generous - methinks 9 am is a better estimate ... just wait until you see the car line-up at school...
ReplyDeleteLook forward to seeing you in March ..... will give the Hummer a miss though ... maybe you can drive Ross's wee sardine tin?
Val - yes, have the skirt finished, unfortunately my model won't wear it.... will get a post up with some completed photos soon - maybe even photos of the back roads to school....
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