The Power of “Go”

Auckland, NZ

We decided to buy vs. rent because the cost of second-hand cars was really cheap and we figured out that by renting we stood to probably spend more than outright buying and the cost of insurance was very low (finally, an upside to being over 30!!).  Most importantly, owning the car we gave us the power of go, which was critical if we were playing host in a foreign country.

Really?  Really!? 

Dude, there’s a reason this vanity plate was available.

The power of go was discovered by Greg several years ago.  As Greg never owned a car before his senior year in college, he spent his high school and university years dependent on someone else (friends, buses, and the ever-loyal Cal train) for transportation.  Upon getting a car Greg realized that he no longer needed to have a plan when he wanted to do something, which is what the “power of go” is:

When you want, you go.  When you don’t, you stay.

The power of go is not having to check bus schedules before you go to your friend’s party or being forced to convince your buds to swing by your place and give you a lift (props to Paul, who had that job).  If bored, the power of go lets you leave.  The power of go is never missing something fun because you can’t get there and it means not having to pretend to have a good time when you’re tired until someone else wants to leave or worse, getting stranded because you lost track of time and the last train home already left.  If you’ve had a vehicle for most of your life it’s hard to understand how valuable the power of go is.  If you haven’t though the value cannot be overstated.  It’s freedom, pure and simple.

Though over here it involves a whole new set of rules, and no, it’s not just as simple as”drive on the other side”

As we didn’t know what Mom would want to do in New Zealand we decided having the maximum amount of options available at any given point was best and the power of go was essential.  Also, we weren’t sure how long we would be in New Zealand so the power of go at least let us keep options open for as long as we would need them.

We avoided the backpacker marketing machine when we were shopping for our car.  Sure, we looked if something seemed likely but in the end we reasoned we would probably do better dealing with the local second-hand market that wasn’t specifically targeted at temporary residents from a foreign land with little idea of what to look out for.

We checked Trade-Me, the NZ version of craigslist and hit up some dealers but in the end bought a car off an advertisement at the local grocery store.   They actually still do that here; put up notices in the grocery store.  It’s the Internet 1.0 baby, still going strong here in New Zealand!

And for $1300 New Zealand Dollars (NZD), we got ourselves a little red Kiwi-mobile.  Registration was about $77.80 NZD / year and basic car insurance with nationwide roadside assist ran us less than $300.  So after conversion, for a little under $1342.00 US dollars we owned a car in New Zealand that we could drive anywhere we wanted and not have to worry about kilometers, days rented, getting stranded out in the middle of nowhere or any of that.

Ok we did splurge a little with an extra $20 NZD on a car radio.  It was also second hand.

We did, however, run into another hidden cost of a life traveling without sails: gas (or as they call it here “petrol,” whatever)

$90 New Zealand to fill a 10 gallon tank!?! That’s $7.20 US / gallon!!

You people all realize the wind is free right?

 

The power of go is essential for those working their way off the beaten path.  Our adventures as members of a Rarotongan moped biker gang will always be a highlight of the South Pacific. 

 

About the authors

Greg and Tiffany are traveling around the world on sailing yachts and keep a video blog of their (mis)adventures.  If sailing to Tahiti on a 44 ft sailboat, 3-day delays for wine tastings, getting pooped on by seagulls, opening coconuts with dull machetes, sailing past tornadoes and ukulele Christmas carols are for you, then check them out at www.CoastGuardCouple.com!