Car News, Stories & How-Tos for NZ and Australian Buyers

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Buying guidesAA vs VTNZ vs mobile mechanic vs DIY: pre-purchase inspections comparedAA, VTNZ, a mobile mechanic or DIY? What each NZ pre-purchase car inspection checks, what it misses, what it costs and when each one is worth paying for.7 min readPhoto: Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Buying guidesHow to read a Japanese auction sheetHow to read a Japanese auction sheet as an NZ import buyer: the grades and damage codes, the kilometres, fake sheets, and what a sheet cannot tell you.8 min readPhoto: Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Buying guidesOdometer tampering in New Zealand: how to check the real kilometresHow odometers get wound back in NZ, how to check the real kilometres from WoF records, service history and wear, and what to do if they do not add up.8 min readPhoto: Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Buying guidesHow to check a car's rego and WoF in New ZealandCheck any NZ plate's rego and WoF expiry free on NZTA's own tool, what those dates prove, what they miss, and the checks worth doing before you pay.7 min readPhoto: EurovisionNim, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Car newsPetrol tax is going, and it changes which used car is cheap to runCabinet has signed off the law changes that move all 3.5 million light vehicles off petrol tax and onto distance-based charging. Here is what is settled, what is not, and why it quietly changes the case for a fuel-efficient used car.7 min read
How-tosHow to spot a flood-damaged carA car that has been under water can look and drive perfectly on the day you see it, then produce electrical faults for years afterwards. These are the checks that find one, in the order worth doing them.8 min read
Car storiesHow Chinese brands took a quarter of the market in four yearsIn 2022 the joke was that nobody would buy one. In 2026 BYD is Australia's second-biggest brand, Chinese marques hold 25.8 per cent of the market, and the first big wave of them is landing in the used listings. Here is how it happened, and what it means second-hand.7 min read
How-tosHow to tell if a used ute has been worked to deathTwo dual-cabs with the same badge, the same year and the same odometer can be thousands of dollars apart in what they are actually worth. Here are the checks that separate them, in the order to do them, before you hand over anything.8 min read
Buying guidesUsed cars to be careful with in New ZealandThe models carrying the most expensive documented faults in NZ, what those faults cost, and the exact check that tells you whether this car is one of the bad ones.8 min readPhoto: Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Buying guidesBest first cars in New ZealandA first-car guide built from documented faults: which cheap cars are cheap to fix, and which one repair would end the car.7 min readPhoto: Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
ReliabilityThe most reliable used cars in New ZealandReliability judged by what is actually documented to fail, and what fixing it costs, rather than by brand reputation.8 min readPhoto: Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
ReliabilityBest used utes in New ZealandA buyer guide to used utes in NZ built from documented faults: which engine each ute is safe in, and which one carries a five-figure repair.9 min readPhoto: EurovisionNim, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
ReliabilityBest used cars under $10,000 in New ZealandThe used cars worth shortlisting at the under-$10,000 end of the NZ market, and the documented fault each one carries at that age.8 min readPhoto: Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
ReliabilityBest used family SUVs in New ZealandThe used family SUVs worth shortlisting in NZ, and the specific fault each one is known for, with what the repair typically costs.9 min readPhoto: Kevauto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Car newsThe clean car standard is staying, what that means for a used buyerThe Government has kept the emissions standard on imported vehicles and set separate, softer targets for used imports from 2028. Here is what that does to what lands on NZ forecourts, and to what you pay.6 min read
How-tosHow to check a cambelt before you buyA cambelt that lets go can destroy the engine on a lot of cars. It is also one of the few big-ticket items you can investigate yourself in ten minutes, before you have spent anything.7 min read
Car storiesWhy New Zealand drives Japan's used carsRoughly half the cars on New Zealand roads were bought new by somebody in Japan. That is not an accident of trade. It is the result of one country making it expensive to keep an old car, and another deciding not to.7 min read
Car storiesHow Australia stopped building cars, and what it left behindAustraliaOn 20 October 2017 the last Commodore came off the line at Elizabeth. What that did to the used market is still working itself out, and it changes how you should buy one of these cars today.7 min read
Car newsHalf of Australia's used sellers cut their price before the car soldAustraliaAustralians bought 1,300,018 used vehicles in the first half of 2026, and by June more than half of all one-to-five-year-old cars sold for less than the sticker on the windscreen. The leverage has moved to the buyer. Here is how to spend it.6 min read
Car newsAustralia's emissions rules are reshaping the used marketAustraliaThe NVES target tightened from 141g/km to 117g/km this year, and manufacturers are feeling it for the first time. Here is which used cars that helps, which it hurts, and what to do about it.6 min read

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