Macca

The catch 22 Jake is this. To get a UK license I need to be a resident. To be a resident you need to be there 6 months. Being a citizen as I am is not enough. By becoming a resident and getting a license I can not longer participate in the VAT qualifying scheme for export...

So I need full cover insurance in UK & Europe on a 65k GBP vehicle for 60 days using a Commonwealth license, but the car must be registered under my name for VAT export purposes and I cant register (tax disc) without insurance. UK general insurers dont have a product. Specialist insurers may do but ive yet to find it.

ChrisB_NZ

When I purchased my car I had a broker buy it for me and do the VAT paperwork. I then paid them and when the car arrived in NZ I registered it under my name. Could you take that approach and have the broker insure it and have you as a named driver?

John McM

Our BMW530D cost us NZD2,600 for 15 days. Our short stay meant we couldn't take advantage of eurolease deals, but I've just checked and a Renault Megan RS 275 manual would cost NZD 2,800 for 21 days and NZD 48 per additional day. That is absolutely all inclusive no excess insurance. You pick the car up new and have absolutely no liability for anything, then return the car and fly out. Sure, you are not getting 'free' mileage out if using a car you own, but it is a known packaged deal that is easy to access and understand. Packaged with a broker sourced car to bring back to NZ it would achieve much of the initial plan without all of the stress. I doubt we will ever bring a car back from Europe but will almost certainly do a Eurolease with a longer term stay at a later date. If it allows runs at the Ring as well I will be in heaven and still have a wife at the end of the trip.

Macca

Hi Chris. The broker needs the car registered in his name to enable insurance. His company won't even cover a non uk license every driver so we would need a specialist insurer (Directline). Right now this is the only option available. What it means however is I can't depreciate the vehicle in re entry by 20% for GST which is 3k plus benefit. That said if I can't drive it and have it shipped from UK as soon as its delivered I don't get that benefit in any case. Secondly we aren't sure if the tax status will change if the car is registered after arriving in another entity name (not the purchaser android exporter - me).

There are no doubt ways around this but it was not the obstruction I was expecting and each solution has some compromise. Once you do a google you will see this area is a known problem for visitors not using a hire car...

Macca

John. We historically used The French euro lease schemes (Peugeot). It's a tax loophole for them but the renter must be non EU. Actually the RS 275 is probably higher up and more expensive than what we typically rent, but if I were doing it that would be my choice - a drivers car. It's a brilliant scheme. We usually pay around 2500 fir a month and get to spect the car from new like a new car buyer - then it's delivered to Heathrow etc for our arrival!

It's definitely the most convenient and cost effective way (I pay much more to insure and register the GT3 and Giulia for the month or two there) but it misses out the experience of driving the car you bought around European roads and tracks which adds to the ownership experience IMO

kiwi 911

The doubling is inflation (of assets) due to money being the cheapest it has ever been in modern economic times.

In real terms they haven't gone up.

Roll back 10-15 years ago, interest rates were double, and wages for most professionals around 20-40% less. Take these factors into consideration and that $500k house, which is now somewhere between $1.2 and $1.5M is taking bascially the same proportion of your income to service.

It is misleading to use house costs without taking funding costs into consideration (unless you are a cash buyer) - but we are pobably alluding to the impact on people entering the market, who will generally be borrowing large wads of cash.

Note - this commentary totally goes out the window if interest rates rise again in the short term, but i can't see this happening as everyone used to paying 4% will be 'hammered' if interest rates went up 1.5% as your repayments just went up a third

kiwi 911

It was only leverage that did this.

If they paid cash, and you had the same amount of cash in the bank, and topped up your savings with the rates, insurnace and maintenance money they had to pay that you didn't, I'm not sure you would not have been behind??

I am guessing you didn't leverage your savings? If you put the money in an index fund with 50% leverage and topped up with the costs noted above - you would have beaten the house market........

John McM

Eh? In real terms they have gone up heaps e.g. $1 in March 2009 is equivalent to $1.12 in June 2016 according to the RBNZ inflation calculator. An Auckland housing dollar over the same period is now ~ $2.33.

I agree that interest rates are a factor here, although not the whole story. Again according to the RBNZ, 2 year fixed rates were about 6% in early 2009, and are now about 4.4%. Factor the same repayment capacity in and a house would cost 36% more. Put the interest rate changes and inflation together and a house would cost 52% more in June 16 compared to March 09.

If interest rates go up appreciably there will be carnage in the discretionary asset market i.e. cars, boats and beach houses.

John McM

Couldn't leverage savings in housing at all as Macca knows a permanent connection e.g. House in NZ could have made us tax residents. Perversely my employment was the leverage. I set my salary in USD when the exchange rate was 0.70 and left when it was less than 0.50. Almost every month was a pay increase. I dabble occasionally in shares but never much. If I had I probably would have been wiped out by the Asia crisis and Tech bubble.

Maxem

Anybody want to buy a fun little frog car? Too much stuff, not enough room.
Will list it soon on TM.
Genuine 106 Rallye. Peugeot brought these in for the one make race series in the 90's and a few did not get converted to race cars. This is one of them.

Dust 00

Awesome. PM'd you

Macca

No surpsies what car won the biggest driving event of the Top Gear annual calendar (Speed Week with Chris Harris) at Austria Red Bull circuit....

991R

However the 2nd placed car is a bit of an upset as Harris says himself ousting the 675LT, BMW M4 GTS and a tonne of other serious machinery (Aston Vulcan etc).

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde (aka 4 door Ferrari)!

http://www.topgear.com/videos/chris-...d-week-special c

If youre a car guy you will love this...

Macca

.....bellissimo....!!!

shiraz

:cheers You bringing it across Cook Strait?

Macca

No idea David. Next Planned SI trip is March 2018 SITT.

However I'm keen to tour a bit more of NZ from 2017, and the Giulia QV is the perfect weapon for it, so I see no reason why an excursion to Kaikoura can't be arranged ;-)