I know, this sounds like absolute heresy. Allow me explain:

I loooooooove my MINI.

My girl and I decided to move to New Zealand (Christchurch, South Island) last June, and as we are moving forward with the preparations with the move, which will more-than likely occur in June, I had to re-visit the issue of the MCS.
All along, I assumed to bring it with me (roughly 2k for shipping) and enjoy the SC boost at sea level. Living in Denver, I was lookign forward to a new and improved motoring experience in the much denser air.

Well, even though I am allowed to import one personal car as a Left-Hand-Drive vehicle, I would have a very hard time ever selling it (not that I am truly thinking about that scenario) after the mandatory 5-year wait period, and parts would have to be literally shipped from the other side of the world, making service etc. very expensive, especially once working on NZ wages.

So .. what are the alternatives??? Selling my car here, and picking up anoterh RHD MCS over there? get this: My 25k 05 MCS would be almost 45k in NZ!!!! And that's all USD! Crazy! So, right now I'm trying to convince myself that there are a lot more important things in life (especially when moving to a different continent) than a car. No matter how much funt hat car might be. In other wordds, the best alternative at this point seems to be to sell the MINI here, and pick up a used WRX over there. With the proximity to Japan, a WRX seems to be the only comparable driver-oriented car within the same category.

Am I just completely crazy?

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Tough decisions. Still, if the value of your car increases by $20,000 by taking it to NZ . . . perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

sell it and get something else there..
It is not not worth all the troubles that you will be facing.
Just gotta learn how to get along with new things..

 

Riddler: My wife and I have looked into immigrating to NZ. I know they prefer you to have a skill or degree that a particular area of NZ is in need of. I am in aviation (maintenance, not flying unfortunately) and my wife is in school for human services management. If you don't mind me asking, what are you guys going over there to do? Do you have any suggestions for a prospective immigrant?
Feel free to PM me.

 

I brought my '69 Camaro with me when I moved to Germany. I went through the same angst. It boiled down to a simple question: how much did I love the car? It made me happy every damn day, just to walk to the car in the morning and to know that I'd be driving it. Maintenance was a royal pain, and parts were a nightmare - getting a hood and fender from the US was a nightmare. But still, I was as happy as I could be, just driving it every damn day. And yes, in the end I sold it (after drivign it in Germany for 6 years) and made some $ off of it (and bought my MCS). Glad I brought it, though.

 

that is a tough decison.

I think it would matter if you are planning to stay for a long time or just a few years? (maybe you said this?)

still, I tend to agree with SPRP85... I would sell it, and get something there. It is a gamble. Maybe you won't have any problems, but you might. Besides parts, will there be anyone who can work on it?

do you know what other kinds of unque, sporty cars might be available there that aren't here? might be fun to drive something different for a while. are there any New Zealand MINI owners around here?
[edit: sorry, i see you mentioned the WRX]

also, if you sell it and you really miss it, you could always buy a new one when you are back in the states at some point and then ship it over. granted it would be a new model, but that might be cool, too.

good luck in your decision and keep us informed.

 

a buddy just had this same dilemma with his '05 Subaru Outback XT. He is in Iraq and the family is moving to Finland for the duration. They decided to ship the car over....the wife can drive it and then they can sell the car when moving back to the US (she's a Finnish citizen which makes things alot easier). Subaru doesn't sell a turbo model in Finland, so it might be a bit difficult to sell, but they will get at least as much as they made (since comparable models sell for double the cost there).

As for your situation, I'd say sell the MCS and get a WRX over there. They are a common performance car and you'll probably be better off in the long run by doing so.

 

I just had friends come back from New Zealand and they said there were MINI's everywhere. Doesnt seem like they can be that expensive if they are so common. They said there was more there than here in England.

 

Thanks for all your replies. I'm happy to see that most people agree with me that it might be easier to just sell the MCS here, and adjust once in NZ.

Abuzavi -- the problem I'm facing in NZ is the LHD versus RHD. It could prove itself challenging to sell the MINI unconverted, and converting over to Left-Hand-Drive would be very costly, I'm sure.

Mini_dreams -- Funny enough, even at NZ wages and the cost of the MINIs over there, NZ is boasting a huuuge MINI scene. Race circuits and all. Gettign parts and having the car worked on would not be the problem, it's more the cost of the pasrts that have to travel for quite a while across teh globe that scares me (along with everything else mentioned).



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Ummm....I can not believe that nobody has pointed out that NZ is a GOLDMINE for classic Mini's

Dude! sell your MCS and get a REAL Mini. Then if you come back to the states bring that car back here!

 

Afnos --
Skilled Migrant Category is what we did (well, we aren't completely done yet) it through, much like you described.You acumulate points for age, degree(s) and work experience, and even if your skill does not fall into the Immediates Skills Needed/Shortage area, you still have a chance to get in.

I'm in advertising and my fiancee is a financial analyst, and we only accumulated enough points to have a chance to be pulled from the pool of applicants. After two months, we did get notified, and should have the process wrapped up another 6 months thereafter. Check out http://www.immigration.govt.nz/ and pm me if you need any more info and/or decide to move forward.

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Yeah, that was another idea that flew around in my head.

1 -- get a reliable, fun car like the WRX.

2 -- get an older LR Defender (Turbo Diesel)

3 -- get a 70 series Land Cruiser

4 -- get a classic mini.

Kind'a fun to embrace a new market, actually. So many choices ...

 

Another bit of insight to help your decision, a friend sent his fully customized Maxima to NZ with his move, he was notified it had arrived when he went down to get it the container was open and the car had been stripped of it's wheels, interior and aftermarket turbo charger! ad his carbon fiber hood was damaged beyond repair. Needless to say he was really upset.

My vote is to sell here, 2cents

 

Thanks. good info.

 

my vote.....buy an EVO VI or VII, a car we never got to enjoy here

 

[hijack]My husband is a mechanical engineer, and there are actually firms that recruit people here to immigrate to New Zealand. We would certainly go, just that he never finished the paperwork. I am also in finance. We have enough "points" to be able to go to New Zealand or Australia...[/hijack]

Take the car with you!!!! You will miss it just too much...

 

OOOH! I never thought about getting a Classic Mini. That would be TOO COOL over there....

 

Yeah, and alot of the ones I see on ebay are comming from NZ. Sounds like they are dirt cheap and easy to find!

 

Woh that poinst system sounds like a great way to get a skilled labor force and keep riff raff out. Hmmmmm

but I wish you the best and I think selling the Mini here and getting a car there will be your best bet.

 

Having grown up in NZ I feel pretty qualified to talk on this topic.

Most european cars will cost you an arm and leg over the Japanese alternatives. It's the nature of the shipping and exchange rate as well as the fact that they are still perceived as luxury brands across the board. Cars in general are an expensive item, it is the nature of the beast

My advice is to go with a Fiat or Citroen. While most americans have little experience with them they are excellent cars and the WRC version of the Citroen is a very fun car. They are more expensive to service but the initial purchase price is more reasonable.

Failing that go to a Japanese car and look as sporty as possible. Ford released the WRC Focus in NZ and it's a fun car, as is the EVO or the WRX.

And if that doesn't float your boat go classic. There are MG's, Minis and triumphs all over. If you want to spend big bucks go Austin Healey.

Give anything that is heavy on gas a miss, the price of Gas in NZ will scare the crap out of your. Going diesel is a good option too.

Good luck on the move, Christchuch is an ok town. Time to start learning about cricket and rugby. PM me for tips on that, lol.

 

+1. And then get some cheap, boring, reliable for DD duties...

 

Driving left when everyone else is going right is a tough place to be. I don't know how's the traffic in NZ but if it's bad,parking(and getting out of parking spaces) and getting onto the highways are a ***** to do when you can't see what's coming... It's not worth an accident,just to drive an American MINI...

 

Yeah, I know CC is less happening than Wellington and we are avoiding Auckland), but a chance to live on the South Island.

Seems like French cars woudl go at a European premium over there as well. No? That's why I was leaning towards the WRX. Plus, I'll need a hatchback, which pretty much eliminates the EVO (besides it's unrivaled ugly looks, of course), and some others.

A Classic as a second car sounds better by the minute !!!!

 

Got that right

NZ is in need of skilled labor, which can be somewhat hard to come by for them, if your pay check is what matters most to you.

 

i only read the title... but, you're going backwards.