Henderson , Auckland
Phone: 09 836 8314
FAX: 09 836 8311
Email: sales@croydons.co.nz
|
WELCOME TO THE "DAILY JOURNAL" PAGE:Welcome to our Daily Journal page! Here, you'll find daily updates of events and arrivals at Croydon Wholesalers- cars from Japan, interesting vehicles, staff news, updates from Nick during his Japanese buying trips- and everything else we'd like to share with you, our customers and friends! We're proud to be a Kiwi owned and operated business here in West Auckland, providing top-quality Direct Imports at the best prices, while striving to offer you great customer service at all times. Our customers are the most important part of our business! We hope you enjoy sharing our events and news posted here.
MONDAY 3 MAY 2010:Following my stormchasing trip through Tornado Alley, I flew to Los Angeles, California- an old stomping-ground from my OE adventures in the mid-Nineties- and hired a brand-new Ford Mustang Convertible for a six-day road trip up to Berkeley, San Francisco, to catch up with a close family friend. Naturally, there is no way to travel like the byway, so I took the chance to drive an interesting route east then north through into the Mojave Desert in eastern California, up to Baker and into the ferocious Death Valley, staying in Tonopah, Nevada before crossing west again to Bishop via the well-kept secret of Highway 168. Then it was north via US6 back to Benton before a run west over my all-time favourite road in America- California Highway 120 from Benton Hot Springs to Lee Vining. The contrasts in weather could not have been more evident on this trip! The Mojave was still experiencing spring and perfect for top-down driving- I had a great day or two driving up the Cajon Pass from Los Angeles to Barstow, staying overnight and then running north-east in the morning sunshine to Baker before striking north. Yet by the time I crested the pass west of Shoshone on Highway 178 into the vastness of Death Valley, the temperature skyrocketed to 107 degrees Farenheit (40+ Celsius) and I was blasted with searing, paint-stripping 70mph winds tearing off the Panamint Range and sand-blasting the paint from the car- not to mention burning my skin, reddening my eyeballs and caking my system with dry salty residue. To say that Death Valley is unlike any place in the world would be an understatement- I have been here three times now in the past sixteen years and each visit has been wholly uncomfortable, inhospitable and downright fearsome. Yet it is achingly beautiful too- in a desolate, inhuman kind of way!
Thanks Hertz! Rental 2010 Ford Mustang Convertible, on abandoned four-lane Route 66 near Devere, Cajon Pass.
Mojave Desert twilight- pure light- near Newberry Springs, Route 66, California.
Being sandblasted by the heat and wind- Badwater, lowest point in the Americas, Death Valley- some 200 feet below sea level. From heat to cold- Tonopah, a ramshackle mining and missile junction town on the edge of the Nevada Great Basin, was freezing cold overnight- less than 100 miles from the heat of Death Valley- and with abandoned hotels, beat-up motels and a single, run-down casino in town (with 1-cent slots!) a great place to desert-rat for a few hours or days. The drive down to Coaldale and the highway to Dyer warmed up a little bit- the top on the car came back down again- but by the time I climbed the narrow pass on 168 over the Panamint Ranges, once again the raging winds threatened to blow me off the road- even standing up outside the car near the summit was hard work- before I dropped back down into the Bishop valley nestled against the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountains. My drive from Benton Hot Springs on CA120 climbed to nearly 8,000 feet, starting out in brilliant blue-skies sunshine, but the further I climbed, the closer the weather closed in. With little warning, a series of snowstorms cut short my idyllic drive and I was suddenly crawling through heavy mist, snow splatting softly against the windshield. Brief but chilling, I made it to Lee Vining without the customary spectacular views this area is famous for, and instead, after stopping for hot service station coffee, I drive north on US395 into increasing gloom.
Belvada Hotel, Tonopah, Nevada. Re-Opening 2008! Someone had better tell the builders, then...
Coaldale Junction, Nevada, US95/6. Not a recommended place to break down- ever.
America's most beautiful road? I think so- this is CA120 from Benton to Lee Vining, California. Cresting Conway Pass and the weather deterioated yet again- this time a fairly decent snowstorm, the temperature dropping to just minus-3 degrees Celsius, the Mustang now covered in snow and ice as I drove- still at a reasonable speed (although I was starting to get a little concerned- no other traffic, no sign of snowploughs..) north in the late afternoon, sun breaking through every once in a while to show a white-covered wonderland, then the next snowstorm fast approaching. Gradually the road improved and I was able to drive a little easier- by Minden the land was once again snow-free and I was amazed to be passed, by all things, a deep blue Nissan Skyline GT-R R32, right-hand-drive, clearly pretty seriously modified, and a ringer for Joe Kyle's sparkly blue GT-R back in New Zealand! But then it all turned to custard- another snowstorm swept over the valley, at first just light snow, but by Carson City, increasing in intensity until a full-on blizzard reduced traffic to a standstill. With the road vanished under snow, wind buffeting the car, visibility pretty much zero, now I really was starting to get worried about my ability to make it to safe quarters that night- or at the very least, whether I, like the other motorists, would need to be rescued by snowplough and worry about the car the next day. Yep, it was that bad! Needless to say, I didn't freeze to death, and bearing in mind I made my flight home, somehow the traffic kept crawling along in a file, enough to get us off the higher terrain and down to roads that were ate least driveable- I overnighted in the slightly down-beat city of Reno before heading the next morning west over the Donner Pass, in complete contrast, brilliant blue sunshine, the land from Truckee west blanketed white with pure, fresh snow- an absolute winter paradise- in May! Donner Pass was navigable, if down to one lane in sections as snowploughs worked to get the road fully open. On the long drag west from the summit, the rocky mountain terrain gradually gave way to foothills, to rolling hills, to the San Joaquin Valley flatlands- but even in Sacramento, the crisp, post-snow air gave a rare view of the Sierras over the haze of the Valley.
Snow blankets the landscape in the crisp morning light- Donner Lake, California. The last part of my journey, from Berkeley to Los Angeles, included a stop at Turner's Auto Salvage in Fresno, California- one of the largest classic car salvage yards in the West- an unassuming operation that once stocked thousands and thousands of cars from post-war to the Seventies. I had spent nearly a day here in 1996, wandering the vast inventory, yet here now, sadly, time had run the course at Turners and two mobile crushers were hard at work, a crew with forkhoists and grapples working their way through the eastern part of the yard. Working at a rate of around one car every four minutes, the Mopar section had already been decimated- where once hundreds of cool Fifties and Sixties Chrysler-Corporation products stood, ready for either restoration or giving up valuable parts, there was now row upo dusty row of oil stained, weed-infested bare earth. Now the crusher teams were hard at work in the Seventies and late Sixties section, and who knows what would be next. Painful to watch- an American rodder and classic car Mecca- slowly being processed out of existance.
Turners Auto Salvage, Fresno, California. Hundreds of tri-Chevies to choose from! Last stop before flying out was a catch-up in LA with a good mate and a night out at Dodger Stadium with that all-American pastime- Major-League Baseball- and an evening game between the LA Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Glad to say, as a former Angeleno myself, the Dodgers took the win easily, 5 runs to 2. And then, it was back home to New Zealand, and the reality and challenges of work once again! SUNDAY 25 APRIL 2010:Our final two days of stormchasing held immense promise but, as is so often the case with Mother Nature, the best set-up in the Plains came to little as one or two variables played into the hands of atmospheric stability- yes, we were able to chase, but the much-feared Outbreak predicted by many (including the Weather Channel) came to little, fortunately for the residents of Tornado Alley. The onset of Friday morning saw us making a tough decision, with two defined chase target areas, both seperated by an impossible distance to cover if the preferred first option didn't play out. Almost certainly there would be severe, long-tracked supercellular thunderstorms across the eastern Arkansas plains into Mississippi, Tennesee and Alabama- with the likelihood of tornados- but the vast distance to cover to even get close to a target area from Oklahoma City, plus very difficult chase terrain- wooded, hilly country with a poor road network, making visibility poor and possible escape routes hard to find. So the decond option was to play into north-eastern Kansas and into south-eastern Nebraska. We drove north on Friday up I-35 into Kansas, then US81 from Wichita into Nebraska all the way to the I-80 east-west corridor. The day was sunny and warm yet with a strong wind blowing, and by late afternoon as we sat in Omaha, Nebraska, it was clear the atmosphere was unwilling to break. Roger was close to giving up hope and attempting an all-night drive to catch the system moving into Mississippi when cells began firing up along a line between the immaculate picture-postcard American rural city of Lincoln, and Omaha. Chasing back west, we watched as cell after cell battled getting an updraft going until one dominant system started to sweep in from the south and get a sufficient updraft going to become a supercell. Running up and down the rural roads around Alvo, Nebraska, we delighted in watching as eventually two distinct supercells spread out over the farmland, both prolific lightning producers, thunder rolling and booming almost non-stop around us as the eerie base drifted over our sightlines to our west.
Looking almost straight overhead, as an updraft tower explodes into the troposphere near Omaha, Nebraska.
Eerie and unsettling bruised skies underneath the updraft inflow cloud of supercell to our west, Alvo, Nebraska. Our chasing for the evening centred around these two cells- the northernmost one developed an ominous wall cloud at one point and rotation was clearly evident- but being undercut by the low-level winds, a small funnel cloud was the best it could manage and instead we contended ourselves watching and stair-stepping the hail, rain and outflow winds produced by this ever-growing monster. Later into the nigth we set up to watch the second cell, by now a serious storm on Doppler radar, approach from the south-west, giving us an incredible lightning show before the updraft finally collpased and the storm overtook our position a rain-soaked mess.
Shot in pitch-dark lit only by lightning, we see an ominous rain core about to overtake us from the south-west. Time to move! Alvo, Nebraska. Overnighting in Lincoln, Nebraska, the Saturday was out last tour day and with little chance of severe weather, we made our way south towards Oklahoma City, listening and watching on-line as destructive supercell thunderstorms raced across Mississippi and Tennessee producing deadly tornados- the Yazoo City tornado killed 10- in our second target area we'd picked, but as Roger had warned, an early play- around mid-day- so we wouldn't have got there in time anyway- and more importantly, the storms and tornados had a ground speed of up to 70mph, meaning few had time to get out of harm's way once a tornado was spotted. Out there, the tables would be turned, and chasers would run a very real risk of being not only chased, but overcome, by deadly twisters. But a surprise was to come our way too- near McPherson, Kansas, a dryline created conditions for cells to form and eventually supercells to develop- with limited rotation but a nice updraft base and the possibility of severe hail. Although a tornado was unlikely, these cells were photogenic and we criss-crossed central Kansas from Hutchinson to Wichita and eventually down to Mulvane, encountering hail, huge rainfall and plenty of lightning and thunder as we did so. A decent way to fill in our last day of chasing!
Near Lindsborg, Kansas, a weak supercell tanks slowly across the flat farmland.
(No) Service- lonely and wind-swept rural truckstop about to be cored by approaching thunderstorm, near Ashton, Kansas. Our night ended in Oklahoma City where as a group we enjoyed a final dinner together at a local steakhouse. Next morning, after catching up with good friends resident in Norman, Oklahoma, I flew west from Will Rogers International Airport over the unending prairie to Denver, Colorado, then onwards over the spectacular SouthWest canyon country to Los Angeles. THURSDAY 22 APRIL 2010:From bust to boom- the past two days have seen the lows, and the absolute highs, of stormchasing!Wednesday gave us a marginal set-up day in West Texas, only four hours drive from our hotel in Lamar. The huge cold front sweeping in from California was only just starting to have an effect, giving us enough instability coupled with reasonable dewpoints to give rise to powerful thunderstorms along a dryline extending far into the south of Texas.We did our best to chase two of the most promising updrafts, a hundred or so miles separating the pair, but despite great promise, both collapsed into rain and small hail-soaked regular thunderstorms as the lack of lower level wind shear gave them no reason to rotate and become supercells.
We didn’t have to wait too long- Roger yelling for us to get back in the vans and race west again to intercept- this had become a monstrous supercell with radar showing clear rotation and updraft strength with the potential to spawn a tornado.  As we drove, we watched in awe through the windscreen as the already ground-scraping base produced an ominous wall cloud, then a brief funnel making groundfall- within minutes we had bumped off the Interstate to stand and watch under the jet black cloud seemingly only metres above our heads as fingers of scud cloud rotated rapidly below the ever-lowering wall cloud. And then there it was- a funnel projected out of the rotation and advanced down.
But even better- this was a multi-vortex funnel with a second funnel next to it- an extremely rare occurance- and all this within a mile or so from where we stood. Debris started whirling around the larger funnel and we had a genuine tornado right in front of us, dark grey against the skies, advancing towards our position. As we watched, hail the size of marbles started to pelt us- it really hurt!- and thunder cracked and rolled around the strange half-light of the approaching mayhem.  We needed to get out of the path of this thing- jumping back into the vans Roger screamed at us to get east out of the way- but as we did, looking overhead we watched as another funnel twisted out of the skies above our heads, following our path- now it was getting serious. We made it through with less than a hundred metres to spare, behind us, traffic on the Interstate screamed to a halt as the tornado crossed the road- that was a close call! Our next intercept opportunity was east and north off the Interstate- Texas has a terrible road network in this area- again, we had only minutes to spare. Here, we watched as the by-now mature supercell made numerous attempts to produce another tornado, before we decided to head back south and west to catch up with the next storm in the line- back to where we’d seen the first storm- that was also, too, intense and possibly tornadic.
Near Groom, Texas, we watched again in amazement as this inky-grey cell with a wall cloud scraping the ground, produced a ghostly white funnel cloud tornado, backlit by the eerie greenish-blue light of the heavy hail-laden core behind. This tornado lasted a few minutes before cycling back up again- our cue to once again race east and north to intercept the storm as it crossed our next road option some twenty miles away.
TUESDAY 20 APRIL 2010:Tonight I’m in Lamar, Colorado- the “cow town” of the High Plains, after a busy few days criss-crossing the Texas Panhandle and up into the Colorado High Plains, both stormchasing and sightseeing as the weather unfolds.After the activity a few days ago, the weather system shut down any chance of severe storms and we were forced to spend the following couple of days taking in the sights. A day-long drive down into New Mexico and we visited the world-famous Carlsbad Caverns- the world’s seventh-largest underground cave system- before heading back over the unrelenting Texas plains.
North of the settlement of Limon, we were rewarded by a rapidly growing updraft that turned into a LP (low precipitation- low rainfall) supercell showing incredible structure and a rare “left mover” too, the corkscrew motion of the updraft clearly visible as the cell drifted north-east across the lonely Plains. These LP storms produce hail and some rain but rarely significant downpours- nor tornadoes- and at any rate, atmospheric conditions meant there was no chance a tornado could form under this cell.
Staying the night in Limon, Colorado, today we were faced with a difficult series of choices, the atmosphere simply not conducive to severe weather yet enough instability and moisture to allow thunderstorms to develop. Roger sweated the details all morning and it was not until mid-day that we left the confines of the Flying J Truck Plaza off Interstate-70 to chase south towards the crossroads of Rush, Colorado, to intercept a storm that had shot up and showed signs of an intense updraft. But by the time we’d raced to get under the base, the lack of moisture and shear had caused the cell to collapse into a messy, drizzle-soaked storm with barely a lightning bolt- bust.  The pattern repeated itself over the course of the day, frustrating our efforts until at last, late in the afternoon, a huge thunderstorm brewed up to our south near Lamar, Colorado, pushing so far into the atmosphere that it shoved aircraft contrails aside! We intercepted the base on US287 south of Lamar near a giant windfarm, watching for half an hour as the black, angry storm swept over us from the west, thunder rolling across the plains, before finally losing structure and turning into a rain and hail-soaked mess.
SATURDAY 17 APRIL 2010 (NEW MEXICO TIME): Coming to you from Carlsbad, New Mexico, west of the Texas Panhandle- the first decent internet strength I've had for a few days! We're into the third day of our chasing- and under the blanket of a second day of rain, rain and more rain that has effectively shut our chasing down until at least Monday. However, we had a good first day out! The first day's chase saw some pretty good mileage under our belt, starting out from Oklahoma City in the morning with a long drive north into Kansas to the projected target area- plenty of opportunities to stop and stock with a mountain of junk food from the “only in America” convenience stores- my choices today including loose Terayaki-smoked jerky sticks, lemon iced tea, Hostess pre-packed cherry pie plus honey-mustard flavoured pretzel bites! Our expectations for chasing this day were low- the forecast and models were lack-lustre- but Roger was determined to make the most of the set-up, and we found ourselves eating lunch in the one-and-only Dodge City, Kansas, while Roger reviewed data and set our targets for the day. Constantly revising the plan paid off and we found ourselves in north-central Kansas by mid afternoon watching a newly-formed series of intense, but short-lived, thunderstorms- fed by thin moisture, poor shear and little ground speed, these cells grew rapidly, turned into large rain and hail-soaked events, looked pretty for around ten minutes each with plenty of thunder grumbling around within their inky-black structure, dumped copious amounts of rain then blew themselves out.
We criss-crossed central Kansas north of the I-70 border near Wakeeney and headed up towards Hill City, where we intercepted one of the largest cells, still in a growth phase and with inky-black skies underneath giving a clue to the volume of rain and hail within. East towards Sheridan another storm blew up along the dryline and we were faced with two possible targets- in the end, after making at least 3 U-turns, we settled on getting a better view of the cell immediately to our south, rolling across the Kansas prairie. Stopping to get out and grab photos, thunder rumbled ominously and more or less continuously from the skies above- no CG (cloud-to ground) lightning that we could see, but nonetheless posing a strike hazard to us as fat rain drops began to splat down into the parched red soil.
Roger was determined to at least get us some hail on our first day- he'd earlier made it his mission for us to break at least a windscreen today if possible- but as we raced into the rain-soaked core, halil slammed into us but not with any damaging size- within five minutes of driving we'd run through the worst, and resigned ourselves to stepping back south to Wakeeney, stopping every five or so minutes to grab photos of the weak but pretty thunderstorm, each time letting the rain catch up to us before we'd race away south ahead of it for another view. Reaching I-70 again we assessed the atmospheric conditions for the remainder of the day and decided the weather had done all it could- cold air outflow and low dewpoints meant storms would continue to cycle up and down all through the night but with little chance of survival. Instead, we moved west along the I-70 corridor to Oakely, stopping along the way for final views of the squally system to our north, before dropping down into the night and south to Garden City, Kansas, for the night.
There, while we slept a huge cold flow swept north from the Red River basin in Texas, bringing frosty cold temperatures and widespread rain- flash flooding in many areas- leaving the entire Plains covered in heavy cloud, rain and gusty winds, effectively shutting down our chasing options for the next few days. So, moving down on day Two, we overnighted in Amarillo, Texas, where our group sampled the incredible steaks and down-home fun of the Big Texan Steak House- a good time had by all- and today, another long and uneventful drive under leaden, sodden skies, to Carlsbad, New Mexico- an oil town on the border of West Texas- where two out of every three vehicles is a pickup truck!
We'll visit the world-famous Carlsbad Caverns underground cave system tomorrow (the seventh-largest system in the world) then see how our options play out for next week. There's incredible potential for a series of plays mid to late next week IF an enormous low-pressure trough can barrel in fast enough from the Pacific and funnel enough of the moisture we need, plus shear and instability, into the High Plains. But that's a VERY big if, and with each run of the models, there's a different interpretation on what might, or might not, happen! Stay tuned though- I'll ceratinly update when I can! MONDAY 12 APRIL 2010: One day to go! My stormchasing tour is nearly here- I fly out tomorrow night (Tuesday) for Oklahoma City in the United States to start a ten-day journey with Roger Hill, storm-chaser extraordinaire, covering severe weather across the Plains of America- Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico... whereever the weather takes us! I'll try to update this page nightly "from the road" depending on travel exhaustion, Internet wireless access etc- with photos if possible too! If you are watching this page to keep track of my travels, don't forget, if you have reasonable-speed Broadband, you can follow us LIVE from our Chaser-Cam mounted in our van- you might even catch me blocking the view standing in front of the windscreen! Best times to view (NZ time) are 9.00am to 1.00pm- "peak" chase time in the late afternoon /early evening in the States. Catch us on: http://www.severestudios.com/ click the "Live Chase Cams" link and look for "Roger Hill". That's us- follow along with us as we track supercell thunderstorms! This is a real-time full-motion video live stream- NOT a WebCam stop-motion. Friends of mine- check my Facebook page for updates too! This means that there will be few, if any, discussions onthis page of current stock back here at Croydons until my return. If you've a query about specific stock en route from Japan, give our Team a call here in West Auckland on 09-836-8314, or you can e-mail us on sales@croydons.co.nz . Don't forget- updates nightly! See you back on the 3rd of May! MONDAY 29 MARCH 2010:Another week has kicked off at Croydons and there's a LOT going on to keep us on our toes. Most notable is the hugh influx of fresh stock from from Japan via the AA Compliance entry system we use. We've had a couple of big shipments arrive within the space of a week, and the Compliance people have been working overtime to get the numbers we need through the system, with a transporter dropping off between four to five new vehicles daily- a trend that will continue into the middle of April it seems. The big effort then on the Dealership is to get these vehicles through our Grooming and Detailing bay where Paul, Glen and Atawhai are working full speed to prepare each one to an immaculate standardof presentation for your inspection! Quite a few new arrivals on Saturday and Monday included: -2003 Toyota Caldina 2.0ZT TRD-Edition Wagon in White -2005 Mercedes-Benz A170 Elegance 5-Door Hatchback in Burgundy -2001 Honda Stream 2.0iL 7-Seater in Champagne -2005 Nissan Cube SX 1.4 Hatchback in Black -2001 Nissan Primera W20L Wagon in Pearl White -2006 Nissan Tiida Latio 15S Sedan in White -2001 Nissan Stagea 250T RS-Four V Turbo Wagon in Silver and plenty of others too- today Glenn and I picked up a very nice 2001 Toyota Kluger 2.4V S-Pack in Silver and a 2003 VW Golf GTi Turbo Hatchback in Black. Another shipment that arived today at Compliance contains some really interesting goodies for you too- we should see these coming onto the Dealership in the next week or so- highlights include: -2005 Nissan Lafesta 20S 7-Seater Wagon in Sky Blue complete with ful-length Sunshine glass roof -2005 Nissan Tiida 18G 5-Door Hatchback in Light Blue, travelled just 27,000km and the top-spec with Leather- plus a 2005 15M Hatch in Gold -2005 Nissan Tiida Latio 18G Sedan, in Mist Green also top-spec with Leather, travelled only 20,600km -2007 Nissan Cube 14S 5-Door Hatchback in Wine Red, plus a 2007 15M Update model in Silver -2007 Subaru Legacy Outback 2.5i-S Wagon, Update model in Champagne travelled 57,400km -2006 Honda Accord 24TL Sedan in Silver with full tan Leather, absolute top-spec travelled 49,800km -2002 Subaru Forester XT-Turbo Wagon, new-shape Intercooled Turbo 5-speed Manual in Silver with Leather -2007 Ford Focus 2.0 5-Door Hatch, New model in Bright Red, high-spec and travelled only 15,600km -2003 Mazda Atenza 23S Sport Wagon in Silver, full factory bodykit and alloys And yes, plenty of others too- the full list is of course on the "Latest Buying" page which you will find on this Website- just click the page link on the banner to the left side of this, or from the top menu. I update this section every couple of days with the latest purchases in Japan and in fact have another ten or so to load up later this week before Easter. Speaking of Easter, don't forget, we will be CLOSED on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, open for business Saturday and Easter Monday, 9.00am to 6.00pm each day. And if you have followed in previous years the StormChasing and severe weather chasing exploits of your Webmaster yours truly, you may like to follow along this year as I return in 2010 for a very special chase trip in the United States in April- a small group from around the world hand-picked to chase with one of the world's leading stormchasers- Roger Hill- in a one-van devil-may-care "Hard-CORE" tour into the heart of the southern American Plains hunting supercell thunderstorms, giant hail, 100mph-plus straight line wind, sky-splitting lightning shows and maybe, just maybe, the absolute fury of a tornado up-close. Roger has been my chasing guide and mentor for many years and this one-off trip represents the culmination of years of talk, planning and decisions- NOT your ordinary chase tour! High-speed wireless Internet provided, I plan to update nightly "from the road" onto this page here for your interest- more details soon, chasetime kicks off April the 14th! TUESDAY 23 MARCH 2010:Graeme (me), Glenn and Char are back this week after a couple of weeks of "time away"and fully re-charged for the week ahead! It's certainly been busy in our absence and one of the most pressing projects is to update this Website as time permits over the next few days. We've had a lot of fresh arrivals come through from Compliance- so many in fact, that our grooming bay has now developed a backlog and we have quite a number of vehicles sitting on the Dealership still to be cleaned and detailed. Please excuse us for this- we love to show you our new stock- rest assured, sold vehicles WILL be groomed and detailed if you buy, before delivery! If you check our "Latest Buying" page you will have a pretty good idea of what we have coming up this week from Japan- the last of our previous shipment have now been completed at Entry Compliance and our next shipment of twenty-six are now going through the process. The first of these may well arrive here in Henderson towards the end of the week, with another shipment of thirty landing shortly. Nick has backed off the buying pace in Japan as our stock numbers here in New Zealand are stabilising back at their normal levels, but even so he has managed to secure some diverse and interesting vehicles this past week, amongst them a 2007 new-model BMW 325i 5-Door Touring Wagon in Silver, travelled onlu 41,000km and in excellent Grade-4.5 condition. The photos have just come in from Japan today so I'll make an effort to load this one up on the "Latest Buying" page before the weekend. Locally, we are also constantly sourcing interesting stock to complement our Croydon Direct Imports. You'll have seen a really nice 2003 Falcon XR6 BA Sedan in BluePrint on our homepage front- this is a beauty, travelled only 68,800km and in the nicest condition of any XR6 we've seen. In addition, I have three more VERY nice vehicles coming up shortly from our Finance Company vendor partners that I know you'll love- check these out! -2007 BMW X5 3.0D SAV E70 Wagon- yes, the latest model, yes, Kiwi new, yes, the awesome 3-litre intercooled turbo-diesel engine, in Alpine White with Parchment Leather, just 29,000km from new, this is simply amazing in every respect to drive, and will be priced at $89,995, making it one of the best buys in New Zealand- seriously! I have this scheduled for release next week and am awaiting the Service History to come from BMW New Zealand for it. -2006 Ford Transit 140 T350 LWB Hi-Roof Van- the latest shape Transit and the sought-after High-Roof model, with panel sides, single side-door, twin side-hinged rear doors and a genuine 6 foot of headroom inside. This has the Duratorq 2.4-litre Turbo-Diesel with 6-speed Manual, and has travelled just over 100,000km in White by one private company owner- this has NOT been a courier van but I'm sure will be very sought-after indeed by the courier and delivery buyers, since nice ones like this are hard to find. To be priced at $32,995, we'll have a release on this late next week for sale. -2007 Ford Falcon BFII XR8 Boss 260 Ute- the last of the BF V8 utes, travelled 27,000km in Black with hard lid, sport bar, DTM 18" alloys and a wicked rumble from the big-bore exhaust. Very few of these come up for sale and to be priced at only $33,995, this one will be hot property indeed! More to come soon- meantime, I'm waiting for the sun to come out again tomorrow to add more photos! SATURDAY 6 MARCH 2010: A last-minute update before I'm on leave for a week or so- I've added the following vehicles today: -2000 Mitsubishi Pajero Exceed 3.5 7-Seater -2001 Nissan Stagea 250T RS-Turbo Wagon in Cobalt Blue -2002 Nissan Stagea 250T RX-Turbo Wagon in Jet Black -2001 Toyota Kluger 2.4V-S wagon in Jet Black -2007 Honda CR-V Sport Plus 2.4 SUV in Titan Gold And you'll find many more freshly listed over the past couple of days too. Please call our team if you have any questions about our forthcoming stoc, they'll be happy to help! See you on the 18th... THURSDAY 4 MARCH 2010:What a difference a couple of weeks makes- we're back up to a full dealership stock level for the first time in many months, as our recent shipments finally get complied and delivered out to us for grooming and detailing. This weekend will see around 90 vehicles on-site to choose from, with another 20 or so still to come and a shipment of 26 arriving in New Zealand over the weekend. I have spent the past week almost non-stop between the camera and this website, photographing each new arrival and then loading it up for sale here for you. There are simply too many new arrivals to list, but a quick search of the "Vehicle Listings"page will give a pretty good idea of the latest additions. I've also brought the "Latest Buying" page up to date too, with only five of our most recent buys in Japan still to be listed. Glenn, Char, Ness and myself are heading off this weekend for some time away from the Dealership with our families- Ashton, Caitlin and Hunter- we'll be spending a fair bit of time I'm sure reviewing the past year at Croydons and in turn, planning for the year ahead- in the meantime the yard will be fully staffed of course by our Sales Team- Brian, Lorraine, Murray and Rex- with management by a good friend of ours well-known to many of you in Henderson from his previous motor vehicle industry experience. We're leaving you in VERY capable hands! During this time, there will be no updates to the Website here (unless I manage to locate a freebie wi-fi hotpoint) so Saturday afternoon will be the last site review for the next ten days. This means that "sold" vehicles won't be de-listed until I get back, so please, to avoid disappointments, call ahead (09-836-8314) or email Lorraine (lorraine@croydons.co.nz) or Brian (brian@croydons.co.nz) to check if the car you are keen on is still in stock. That's all for now! SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2010:Somewhat of an oxymoron, really, calling this page a "Daily Journal" when I haven't updated for a month! Yes, we have some pretty good reasons why- but all the same, I really do need to be updating you on a regular basis what's going on no matter HOW busy we get, so please, accept my apologies, I promise I'll try much harder this year! Maintaining a website of this size is actually a pretty time-consuming business- as the main public portal to our business and what we have to offer, I spend at least a couple of hours a day updating it, and some weeks, up to 6-7 hours a day, every day- each vehicle listing you see can take up to an hour to create (much more if you count the time taken to shoot the photographs required) plus the "Latest Buying" page is particularly fiddly to keep up-to-date as the information from Japan does notcome through as regularly as I'd like sometimes- Nick can get very busy attending auction after auction, sometimes not getting back to his base until late in the night, simply to grab some sleep before turning round early the next morning and heading out again- catching up with him to discuss buying, scan or fax auction sheets etc just drops down the list of priorities. This website is written entirely by us- I don't use a "third party ghostwriter"and often it is late at night at home (as it is now) that I have the time to attend to pages like this one. In turn, this site auto-feeds the likes of TradeMe, Autotrader.co.nz, auto.co.nz, aa.co.nz and finda.co.nz so I have to be carfeul how each listing is structured to best present across the range of subscribing websites that pick up or "scrape" as it is called, our data. The past month has been a busy one for a number of reasons. Firstly, you will have noticed that we have not been holding the volume of stock on-site that we normally do. The number of vehicles we own has not dropped, but a number of circumstances have conspired to make it a lot harder to get our cars ready for sale when we want them. Currently, if you check the "Latest Buying" page, you will find more vehicles showing "in transit" than you will find on the dealership for sale! A significant problem that has arisen from the hangover of the economic climate of 2008 and most of 2009 has been the reduction in staffing amongst the service providers and logistics chains that support the Japanese Imported Vehicle industry here. Numbers imported fell away during 2008 and many businesses in the service chain, dependent entirely on volume, either laid off staff, or simply failed to replace them as they left voluntarily. This was fine until late last year when the volumes started to pick up again- you may recall my comments here six-ten months ago about how difficult it had been to source used stock from Japan, and the opening up as the Japanese winter approached. As the industry as a whole started to buy more vehicles, the support businesses that remained, now running on skeleton staff structures, simply could not cope with renewed volume and we, along with the rest of the trade, were faced with bottlenecks, especially in the vehicle compliance and transport spheres. Compliance(the entry "exam" every vehicle undergoes before being granted the "right" to be issued with a form (called the MR2A) allowing first-time registration) is a significant part of the import process to New Zealand- it involves not only standards and type approval, Exhaust Emission and frontal impact compliance, cross-checking of Japanese de-registration paperwork, but a rigourous and very invasive strip-down of the vehicle itself- complete dismantling of the interior trim panels to inspect seatbelt anchorage points, engine and under-body panels etc for rust and structural deterioration, wheels, brakes, suspension and steering strip-downs and inspections, plus more- all very labour and time-intensive, then the final inspection and sign-off by the TSDA (the NZTA-authorised inspecting body- currently only the AA, VTNZ or VINZ, we use the AA). And these organisations have far fewer staff than they used to, with reluctance to hire more full-time until the vehicle market stabilises. The result is that vehicles can take a lot longer to comply once they arrive in New Zealand that they ever used to. Our current Compliance provider (the AA through VSS New Zealand) has been doing their best to work through our backlog but until last week, we had more cars sitting in their holding yards awaiting examination, than we had here in stock! That situation is now changing- Glenn and I have been managing the flow as best we can to bring you a variety of different vehicles at any given time, spending half our day it seems either out at compliance in Penrose, or shuttling stock around their facility, or bringing it back to the Dealership upon completion ourselves (rather than waiting for the shop to truck them out). This has meant, in a roundabout way of explaining the Website update slow-down, we've had a lot less time available to spend on the Dealership during January and February than we would have liked. As fast as we could get stock here we sold it, only adding to the pressure to get more vehicles inspected and on-site! Secondly, it has been a busy January for sales, with plenty going on to keep our sales team busy and our support team even busier! Don't worry- we have lots of GREAT stock arriving from Japan to replace what we have sold- check our "Latest Buying" page and you'll see what I mean! Thirdly- personally it has not been a stellar month for your Webmaster and family, with my seven-year old spending yet another week in Starship, resulting in sleepless nights and a momentous backlog of work to be caught up on- including those afore-mentioned updates! The hope is that things will settle down a little now, although it is likely I will have to spend more time away as a result of further treatment in the second half of this year. Just to complicate things a little, we are away for a week or two in early March and I suspect I will have little time for website updates during this period- internet access may prove to be tricky and I will have to hope I can load up enough stock on-line before I depart to keep you up-to-date with what we have in store for you! And that is all for now- I've said enough I think! Don't forget to check out our latest offerings in the regular "Vehicle Listings" (I update with new stock pretty much every day) and I also have another twenty or so fresh buys from Japan to list on the "Latest Buying" page once the photos arrive from Japan. MONDAY 18 JANUARY 2010:The start of another really busy week here at Croydons and I don't think Glenn's or my feet touched the ground- here it is, now 10.30pm at night, and I'm just sitting down to contemplate the day that has been and all the exciting things going on ahead of us this week. Finally, after weeks of waiting, our fresh stock from Japan has been arriving from Compliance- we were hoping to have many of these around the New Year, but a few weeks late.. never mind, it is here now! I have been working day and night to load it all up on the web pages here- each day sees another couple of arrivals at least, although I have to wait until a sunny afternoon to get photos to show here. Take some time to review our current stock listings to see what's new- amongst them this week, I've listed: -2002 Toyota Estima 2.4T 8-Seater with full Leather, sunroofs and on 17" Rays' alloys -1999 Toyota Altezza RS200-Z 6-Speeder 4-cylinder Sedan (that may, as of tonight, be sold- ask us tomorrow) -2005 Mitsubishi Galant Viento 2.0 Seda, with a big factory bodykit and alloys in Jet Black -2003 Toyota Corolla Fielder 1.5X-Limited Wagon in White on alloys -2003 Toyota Caldina 2.0ZT Wagon, amazing bodykit and 18" alloys, a real knock-out car in Silver -2000 Subaru Legacy Lancaster-6 Wagon, with the smooth 6-Cylinder 3-litre Boxer engine -2005 Nissan Tiida 15M 5-Door Hatchback in Wine Red, high-spec with Leather, just 11,000km! -2001 Nissan Skyline 250GT V35-series Sedan in Silver, low 43,600km -2001 Toyota Corolla Fielder 1.8Z AeroTourer Wagon in Bright Red with the big 190hp VVTL-i engine -2001 BMW 320iA 2.2 Sedan, this is a sensational car in Hell Red, just 42,000km and the newer 2.2-litre 6-Cylinder -2003 Nissan Stagea 250RX Wagon, new shape and on factory alloys in Silver More to come too- much, much more, as soon as I get more photos you'll see them here! Two interesting vehicles arived this week from our Finance Company vendor partners- these are both quite unique and well worth a mention here. The first is a 1999 Nissan Skyline R34-series 25GT-T Turbo 2-Door Coupe- considered by many to be the "last" of the "real Skylines" with the RB in-line 280hp intercooled-turbo 6-Cylinder, a 5-speed Manual and in Jet Black on 18" DTM rims. The second one arrived today and is a 2007 Toyota RAV-4 2.4 Limited 5-Door Wagon- NZ new and the current model- just 29,300km in Silver Pearl and a very highly-optioned wagon. We'll have authority to sell both some time next week- check back for the pricing! Nick is back buying this week in Japan so we'll have a lot more to show on our "Latest Buying" page soon. Meantime, I have around 30 vehicles bought over Christmas in Japan to load up and I will do so over the next few days or so as time permits. Your Webmaster- me- is away next week for a few days R&R with the family at the beach- thanks Lesley, Grant, Vanessa and Errol for the use of your wonderful beach house- so I will not be updating this website between Saturday night and Friday morning. This means a few sold vehicles might "hang around" for a few days on-line here until I get back to remove them- have patience with me! Meantime, don't forget, if you have any questions at all about any vehicles we have for sale or about to arrive, feel free to call us on 09-836-8314 (or you can e-mail us- sales@croydons.co.nz or graeme@croydons.co.nz for me). Have a GREAT week, everyone! FRIDAY 8 JANUARY 2010:A quick Friday night update before we close- what a busy day! SOLD- 2004 Ford Territory; SOLD- 2002 Mazda MX-5; SOLD- 2003 Nissan Skyline 300GT; SOLD- 2002 Subaru Impreza 1.5i-S Wagon.. and there are more to go, too. In return, we've added a couple more to the Dealership stock- already listed last night I have a really good example of the popular Toyota Altezza- this is a 1999 model RS200-Z with the 4-cylinder BEAMS and 6-speed Manual, full bodykit, 17" alloys, 105,000km in Gunmetal, for $14995. And fresh from Compliance today we have just picked up an immaculate 2006 model Honda Fit (Jazz) 1.3A 5-Door Hatchback, just 25,000km in White- we'll confirm pricing on this one in the morning. (and a Web listing too). Have a great weekend- see you here! THURSDAY 7 JANUARY 2010:Whoah- time for an update! Happy New Year, everybody- we hope you had an awesome break with the simply glorious weather we've been enjoying the past couple of weeks- you know, I can't remember when we last had such a fantastic run of Christmas-New year weather like this. The BBQ has been working overtime, the paddling pools for the kids constantly re-filled and we have been enjoying a dealership full of happy customers making the most of the holidays to go car shopping in the sunshine! We are now well and truly back full-time here at Croydons after a couple of day's break over the New Year. Our regular hours are 7 days a week, 9.00am to 6.00pm, sometimes a little later (by arrangement) and on Sundays maybe opening the gates a few minutes later too! So much has been happening here the past few weeks- the gates may have been closed but the activity has been non-stop. Probably most important- we have over sixty (60!) fresh arrivals from Japan awaiting Compliance (the entry inspection and extended WOF all first-time fresh imports to New Zealand undergo) and another thirteen due to arrive any day now. Our sales here have been strong and we are looking a little emptier than we would normally be at this time of the year- but be patient, replacement stock is now coming through daily from Compliance after a few hold-ups over Christmas. If you check out our "Latest Buying" page you'll see a wide range of what we have in store for you- many of these are close to arrival on the Dealership- while I have another thirty or so still to list once photos from Japan come through. If you see something in the "Latest Arrivals" page you like, don't hesitate to e-mail or phone us for more details- we're happy to call you or e-mail you upon arrival to give you "first viewing" with absolutely no obligation- we really do sell a lot of stock as soon as it comes in, especially vehicles a little out of the ordinary- so feel free to ask us, we'll keep you up to date! Our variety of stock either here or on the way has probably never been better- we have been pushing Nick in Japan to look "beyond the square" and have bought some really interesting vehicles- for example, check out the BMW 330Ci Coupe, or the Toyota Kluger, the BMW 530iA Sedan, the 2006 Nissan Stagea Wagon, the Subaru Forester XT Cross-Sport Turbo... something for everyone, and yes, I update the "Latest Buying" page virtually every day! Back here on the Dealership, sales have been strong to start out 2010 and we have been workig to get ready more new stock for you to view. Just to kick off the year the right way, we also have some great special Summer deals for you- big price reductions as we make way for new arrivals. Take a look at our regular listings and you'll find some awesome deals awaiting you- how about a 2004 Suzuki Swift, travelled 34,000km, for $8995? Or a 2004 Mazda MPV 7-Seater for just $11995? There's a 2005 Mitsubishi Colt 5-Door Hatch, just 13,000km, for $12995- or maybe a 2002 Suzuki Aerio (Liana) Sport wagon for only $8995? Plenty more too- and yes, these are genuine price reductions, no special terms or conditions, just awesome buying from the Croydon team! A few special vehicles have just arrived at Croydons over the holidays and are worth a special mention. No topping this one- summer would surely look even better through the windscreen of this one- an outstanding 2005 BMW 645Ci Cabriolet Convertible- travelled 61,000km in Mineral Silver with Cream Leather and Black Hood, a 4.4-litre 333hp V8 engine, every possible luxury, and one of only a hadful available for sale in New Zealand. Offered on behalf of our Finance Company vendor clients, this is a NZ-beating deal at just $69,995- serious buyers will recognise this is a seriously good deal!
Want a new Commodore? Want to save big $$$? Our Finance Company vendors asked us over Christmas to sell this beautiful Commodore on their behalf- this is a 2008-model Commodore VE-series SV6 Sedan, travelled only 10,000km, and a knock-out in Atomic Green, one of the hottest-ever Holden colours to hit the streets. Yep, 2008, 10,000km, and only $39,995 to drive away, complete with the balance of the new-car warranty. How's that for a deal?
And from my "and now for something completely different" files, comes this one- a 2003 Nissan Cube 1.4SX Wagon with the full Autech-Edition "Rider" kit- polished alloys, full bodykit, aftermarket grille, and leather-look seat cover set. Now THIS is different- yet practical, economical, and underneath it all a standard Nissan Cube that is a popular seller in the small hatchback-wagon marketplace. This has travelled 68,000km and you can be cruising this summer in it for just $13,995.
The past few weeks have seen a flurry of sales activity and a number of our more "exotic" vehicles have found new homes- yet I still receive e-mails and phone calls asking if they are for sale. Delivered recently have been the 2005 BMW 320i E90 Sedan, the 2002 Lexus SC430 Convertible, the 2002 Mazda Atenza 23S Sporthatch 5-speed, the 2008 Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo Utility, the 2000 Honda Stream, the 1999 Toyota Caldina 5-speed (I've had dozens and dozens of calls and e-mails about this one!), the 2001 Subaru Legacy B4-RSK 5-speed Sedan, the 2002 Mitsubishi Pajero 3-litre 7-Seater, the 2003 Holden Commodore, plus many, many more- Primeras, Wingroads, Corollas, Bluebirds, Swifts.... it's been busy! I do try to update this website every single day (well, maybe not THIS page recently) so if you don't see something you like, check back again soon! Once again, Happy New Year- have an great holiday, if you're back to work, I hope you have air-conditioning, if not, do what we do with the hose and the kids in the late afternoon- that $34.95 waterslide from the Warehouse has proved to be priceless fun for all! FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2009:We're all winding up here tonight on a summer's Friday here at Croydons- another hot day, isn't it great to be free of the miserable winter weather we had this year? We have a great selection in store for you this weekend- there has been a LOT of new stock arriving and I have been steadily working my way through it over the past week, taking photo sets, uploading details to this Website and adding the photos so you can see for yourself our range. There are a number of new additions you may not have seen these past couple of days: -2002 Lexus SC430 Convertible- yes folks, a genuine Lexus convertible, the new model with a 4.3-litre all-alloy V8 engine and a retractable hardtop roof that lifts and stows at the push of a button. This Deep Ruby Mica example has travelled 79,000km and can be yours, just in time for summer, at just $39,995. Details here: -2004 Subaru Impreza 1.5i-S Sport 5-Door wagon- this is the update-model "MY04" version with a 1.5-litre engine, all the factory goodies, travelled only 57,800km and simply stunning in Bright Red. It's here for $11995- this is a weekend bargain! -2001 Honda Odyssey 3.0VG Prestige 7-Seater Wagon- this is the new-model Odyssey, with 3-litre power and a TipTronic automatic, complete with high-grade interior trim package, mild factory bodykit plus alloy wheels, and in a real price breakthrough for a new-shape 3-litre, just $10995. Here it is: -2004 Nissan Caravan Jumbo 10-Seater Coach- yes, a genuine 10-seater Coach with fully belted high-grade seating, dual-zone air-conditioning, air-bags plus ABS braking, really smart in Silver-Blue over Dark Blue, and such a hard vehicle to find! This one is priced to sell at just $18995- and we have a Black over Silver one, almost identical, in stock too. Here's the Blue one: http://www.croydons.co.nz/the5thdimension/vehiclelistings.asp?page_size=1¤t_page=1&manufacturer=Nissan&model=Caravan 10-Seater Hi-Roof Coach -Last of the picks before the weekend is this super-smart little Mazda Demio Casual 5-Door Hatchback. It's a 2003 model new-shape, travelled just 21,000km from new, and looks amazing in Tangerine Pearl. Great details- it really is a superb little car- and out it goes for just $12995. We have another boat-load of 39 arriving next week, we hope in time for Christmas! Nick has been busy in Japan lately, and if you haven't checked out our "Latest Buying" page in a while, check back now- you might be surprised about what we have in store for you in January 2010! I have a number of updates still to finish on that page- around 12 more to load- give me some time over the weekend and I'll have them up for you. Have a great Friday night- make sure you've got your sober driver all sorted out during this Christmas office party season! WEDNESDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2009:Well- we did it- the renovations are complete, the new carpet is down, the re-wired and configured Internet is FINALLY working reliably, and the new flags have gone up today! After a month of rebuilding, painting, cabling and general tidying-up, we are pleased to say the "new" Croydon Wholesalers office layout is complete! During this time, we have been working out of various offices, had to put up with dodgy Internet wireless connections (or lack of!) and phones that never seemed to be plugged into the right connections- it's nice to be sitting down again at my own desk, in my new office, with everything working as it should. I held off updating this page during the renovations as it seemed time was precious, and the moments I had spare to write an update got whisked away from under me with some other project. Sorry it has taken so long to update this- SO much has happened too- that rather than catch up with all the arrivals and changes, I figure it best to give you a very brief overview here: -New stock- it has been a brilliant month for new arrivals from Japan and we have many more on the way too. Today I received another twenty-two out at our Compliance agents in Penrose, where our stock will be inspected and Complied under the NZTA regulations by the AA. We won't see most of them for at least a week or two- maybe longer- there is a backlog of vehicles to get through as four boatloads of cars all arrived at the same time in Auckland- and no doubt there will be no more shipments for some weeks to come now- so progress may be a little slow. But as we get them completed and arriving on our Dealership, I'll be taking full photo sets and having them loaded up here. -Buying in Japan has certainly increased apace in Japan as the winter months curtail activity on the Japanese Domestic Market. Nick has been busy and at last count we had some 73 vehicles in transit from Japan, with the 22 I mentioned above just arrived and the next big shipment some time in mid-December. I have worked to keep the "Latest Buying" page updated wherever possible, with more additions loaded up yesterday. -Some great domestic arrivals too- for new-car buyers, check out the 2009 (May) Ford Fiesta 1.6 Zetec Hatchback we have in stock- as-new, just 3,000km, priced at only $21995! -Some great deals on the dealership to be found, as we clear out some of our older stock to make way for the new arrivals- if you are shopping for a Nissan March (Micra) then you MUST see what we have to offer- some awesome deals to be found- what about a 2006 Update model, some 25,000km in China Blue, for just $11995? -Same people and service! The offices may have changed, the flags might be new, but it's the same local team from Croydon Wholesalers you've known for years now- ready to welcome you and assist with your next vehicle purchase! We're open every day from 9.00am to 6.00pm, seven days. More updates coming soon! SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER 2009:First up and most important- WE ARE OPEN ALL LABOUR WEEKEND! We're keeping regular hours throughout- 9.00am to 6.00pm- and as always, have a really exciting selection of vehicles to show you when you call by- or for that matter, you can browse our complete range on-line right here on our website. We pride ourselves on being Internet-savvy and put a great deal of time into making sure this Website is as up-to-date as possible- pretty much every single vehicle we have for sale is listed here on these pages, with every one accompanied by a full photo set in high-resolution of all angles inside and out, plus a comprehensive description leaving no detail to chance, It's our way of giving you an on-line shopping opportunity to get all the information you might ever need before making your buying decision- and if you're comparing what we have to offer with the competition, we're confident what we have is not only competitively priced, but with some of the best details and nicest cars available. So many Dealer websites look like they are managed as an afterthought, with sketchy (at best!) details, a couple of poorly-framed photos taken on what looks like a cheap cellphone camera, and often, much of the important information simply missing. You have to ask yourself- why won't they list the vehicle mileage (answer- because it is a high-mileage vehicle being used as a "bait" car- you know the ones, you're enticed by the price, only to get to the car yard in question to find it's travelled 160,000km or more, and wouldn't you rather choose from our lower km and *ahem* higher priced section, sir?) or even the features (answer, it has none) or worst of all, the price? (answer, no-one wants to know the price, it's a moving target depending on how much the salesman reckons he'll fit you up for when he sees you coming in). So here's your Croydon Wholesalers promise- everything we have for sale, you'll find on-line here. Every vehicle will have ALL the photos, all the details, the mileage, the features, and the real, true price, including the on-road costs, the AA Appraisal written report, serviced, groomed and detailed- no hidden extras. There are NO "sample" photos used, nor "internet importer" cars (stock not owned by the dealer that are simply listed as "indented stock", borrowed at short notice off another dealer or importer if you turned up and showed an interest in). In other words, we want to give you a straight-up honest Internet experience, in the same way we run our business and look after our clients. I managed to load up three new arrivals last night which are already getting a good deal of interest from the number of page views I see as Web administrator. They are: -2003 Honda Accord 2.4TL Sedan, travelled a low 17,000km in Steel Blue with Black part-Leather, simply immaculate, top-spec, for $21,995. -2002 Toyota Corolla Runx 5-Door Hatchback, another immaculate low-mileage Corolla, this one in Bright Red, travelled 31,000km, for just $13,995. -2004 Suzuki Swift 1.3L-Limited 5-Door Hatchback in White, cheerful little urban 5-Door with economy from the 1.3-litre engine, just $9995. Nick has been busy in Japan this past week and I have a large number of new additions to add to the "Latest Buying" page- be patient, as you'll see from the next paragraph, there will be a few delays I suspect this week to our Internet updates, but I promise you, when you check back and find the details, you'll be impressed! The renovations of the offices at Croydons continue apace- please excuse our chaos, painting is nearly done and the next big project is recarpeting throughout which takes place later next week. This gives rise to a more significant issue- from Wednesday morning to Friday morning WE WILL HAVE NO INTERNET CONNECTIVITY- No ability to send or recieve e-mail, and process on-line finance applications. We apologise in advance- the recarpeting means everything must be gutted from the offices including our mainframe computer and firewall, so everything must be shut down. This website of course will be maintained live throughout (it is hosted off-site by Enform, our Web gurus) but please, if you are sending an e-mail to us after Wednesday morning, we're sorry but there will be no reply until Friday morning at the earliest. We're trying to keep disruption to a minimum but for two days we really have to live out of a couple of shared desks! Again, we're sorry in advance, we're not ignoring you, we just won't see your email! Here's hoping it is a nice couple of days as I guesswe'll all be spending plenty of time on the decks! Have an awesome Labour weekend, everyone. I'm off to my good friend (and fabled BBQ fiend) Simon's tomorrow for a real-deal American-style rib barbeque- family and friends in the sunshine, great food and a few beers. I hope you find the time to do something equally rewarding and relaxing with your family or friends this long weekend. Don't forget though to pop in and see us here at Croydons! FRIDAY 16 OCTOBER 2009:Just for a change of scenery, I'm sitting in the airport lounge in Wellington waiting for a one o'clock flight back to Auckland, after visiting the Capital City to view a car we're buying. I left Auckland this morning in sunshine, wearing a light shirt and T-shirt- looking out the window to the hills to the west of the airport here, all I see is cloud, rain and cold! I stuck my nose out of the terminal door, having viewed and appraised the car I came to see, with a view to a walk down to the foreshore of the harbour- but quickly retreated in the face of a soaking! Back at Croydons, activity has been ramping up over the past couple of days with plenty of new stock coming in just in time for the weekend- I may not get much of a chance to load them up on the Website before tomorrow, since bad Auckland weather (yep, we get it too!) hampered attempts to photograph anything yesterday. But our grooming and detailing squad (Paul, Arawhai and Glenn) have been working away trying to prepare for display as many as they can get through- so I think we'll have a pretty good line-up for you to choose from by tomorrow. Some interesting domestic arrivals are either arriving or due shortly from our Finance Company vendors. Yesterday I was treated to the arrival of a simply outstanding 2005 model Mercedes-Benz E500 Avantgarde Sedan in Silver with Black Leather, travelled 81,000km, ex-Japan (no, it's not a Singapore car) and with every possible luxury extra- sunroof, eight air-bags, power adjustable, memory and heated seats, dual-zone climate air with dual air-cond in the back, rear screen privacy sunshade blind, 6-speed StepTronic auto, factory 17-inch alloys... the list goes on. Condition is superb as you would expect- this is one for the fussy buyer- and the price will be just $39,995 to drive away- for a 2005 model! En route to our Dealership now from the South Island we have a very, very special treat in store for you- and of course, being Croydons, it will be a treat price-wise as well! This is a 2005 BMW 645i Cabriolet- a genuine 6-series 4-seater Convertible- in Titanium Silver- from our Finance Company vendors. More on this one as it arrives late next week! Also due to arrive we have a 2004 Ford Territory TX 2WD 5-Seater 5-Door Wagon in Burgundy, travelled 72,000km- a very popular and highly competent SUV from Ford Australia with Falcon underpinnings- should need no introduction. There's also a 2005 Holden Monaro CV8 VX Coupe with the 5.7-litre V8 in Blue, and a 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer 2.4 Wagon, in Silver, 5-speed Manual, just 40,000km- all NZ-new. Nick has had some of his best days buying in Japan for a while, and some of the worst! Bad days- spent all day at auction in Osaka, up before first light to drive up to an hour and a half to get there, viewing and appraising over a hundred suitable vehicles, staying all day until dark, and buying.... nothing. Great days- no less then eight on Wednesday, all really interesting and desirable stock, which I will try to load up on the "Latest Buying" page over the weekend if I have time. That also depends on whether I have an office- the redecorations are in high gear, and my office is next on the list to be stripped down, repainted and re-carpeted. That means I have to move EVERYTHING out, including my mainframe computer, so there might be a day or two when I have to go "offline" for a while. It's my little girl Caitlin's birthday tomorrow- she turns 7- so it will be home early tomorrow for a birthday tea (she's asked for fish and chips!) and probably too much sugar...oh well, you only have a birthday once a year! TUESDAY 13 OCTOBER 2009:Quite the start to the week- with a very busy weekend now behind us and the majority of sales delivered, we have been concentrating on getting our latest batch of fresh arrivals ready for display- creating a backlog through the grooming and detailing bay, but we're sure you'll agree, the effort is worth it! There have been some really nice Croydon Direct Imports new to the Dealership this past week and I have to say we are really pleased to be able to offer you the selection we have, especially given how tough the buying has become in Japan these past six months. You'll no doubt recall (if you read this Blog on a regular or semi-regular basis) that I warned of market conditions changing- well, the playing field has now certainly been turned upside down and with super-tough buying in Japan for anything decent, coupled with a chronic shortage of later-model lower-mileage NZ-New stock in the country, you can guess for yourself the result- prices have been marching on the up. We have tried our best to hold our pricing points to early 2009 levels but as older stock has run out, I guess it's fair to say the replacements have moved up a gear or two in the $$$ stakes. Of course, rubbish stock is still cheap- it always will be- but I like to think that the majority of Kiwi buyers have learnt the differences, either through poor previous purchasing experiences or anecdotal evidence, and are prepared to sort out the wheat from the chaff- a bad car will always be a bad car, no matter how cheap or cheerful it might appear. We have always resisted the temptation to lower our standards and stock any old crud we can lay our hands on- after all, the auctions are full of everyone else's cast-offs- but to consistently source and offer top-quality, lower mileage vehicles- this is becoming an art-form in itself, as Nick, our buyer in Japan, pushes ever-harder to find the right cars we want at the prices we need, and in New Zealand, we work to locate the NZ-new stock the other half of the marketplace demands. So this week I'm very proud to offer you another superb selection of fresh arrivals to choose from. Direct from Japan, we have a 2001 Toyota Corolla Fielder 1.8S Wagon, in Dark Blue and travelled only 44,400km; a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia MX-E Sedan in White, travelled only 31,000km and simply as-new throughout; a 2004 Nissan Bluebird Sylphy 1.8Vi Sedan, Facelift model, in Dark Blue travelled 32,000km, a 2001 model travelled just 11,700km in Champagne; a 2001 Nissan Stagea 250RS Wagon in Silver travelled 112,000km but super- nice and tidy, and a 2003 Mazda Familia Sport-20 Sedan with the big 2-litre and TipTronic, in Silver and travelled only 49,000km. Plus we have another shipment being processed through NZ-entry Compliance- we'll se the first ones coming onto the Dealership I hope later this week- and there really are some brilliant choices amongst those, too! For sneak peeks you can check out the "Latest Buying"page on this website- easy to find using the page locater on your left- or, check out these details below: -2003 Honda Accord 2.4TL Sedan- top specs here with Leather, cruise control, power everything, even dual-zone climate air, just 17,300km in Steel Blue. -2002 Nissan Skyline 300GT HV35 Sedan in Silver, TipTronic, all the Skyline goodies, 71,600km. -2003 Subaru Legacy GT-Turbo Wagon- the new-model BP-version- Twin-Entry Turbo, TipTronic, on 17" alloys, a real powerhouse. -2002 Subaru Forester XT-Turbo Wagon, new-shape, also a twin-entry turbo, auto, beautiful in Wine Red and travelled a mere 36,900km. -2002 Toyota Vitz RS 1.5 3-Door Hatchback, the sporty version with 5-Speed Manual, in Pewter, 56,700km. -2004 Mazda Demio 1.3 Casual 5-Door Hatchback, neat little city car in White, automatic, 75,000km. -2004 Nissan Caravan Jumbo 9-Seater Coaches- now THESE are rare- yes, full Coach seating, 2.4-litre petrols, all the goodies including dual air-cond, ideal for your taxi, tour company, transit service or perhaps social clubs, sports groups, schools etc. These are pretty special-! -2008 Nissan Caravan Insulated Chiller Can- yes, 2008 model, a 3-litre Intercooled Diesel-Turbo 5-speeder, 48,000km, in White, fully lined and sealed ready to go. Plus of course, more, more more that I haven't listed here. From New Zealand we have had arrive one of the most popular station wagons on the market today- I'm talking about the Mazda 6 / Mazda Atenza Wagon- this awesome 2006 model is NZ new, a 2.3 GS-X model with all the goodies, on 18" TSW alloys and travelled 60,000km. I have more to come late this week- watch this space! Speaking of watching out, mind the paint this week at Croydons- Glenn has taken up the task of refreshing the entire Dealership ready for the summer and we quite literally in the middle of a complete interior redecoration, with new interior finishes, carpets, linoleums, facilities and colours- the offices will look great when he has finished! Off to sleep here now- it's past midnight- but I'll keep you up to speed with these new arrivals late in the week! SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2009:Here we are, already into the second week of the school holidays- hasn't the second half of 2009 started to roll by quickly! We have had a busy week here at Croydons with a lot of new stock arriving both from Japan and our domestic sources- almost everything is now loaded up on the Website here and I'll finish off the rest later today. From Japan this week we have had a decent selection of new arrivals freshly complied and ready to go. These have included a pair of really nice 2003 and 2002 Toyota Corolla Runx 5-Door hatchbacks- both 1.5-litre autos, both very low mileage, in Silver and Gold, for $14995 and $13995. There's also a Nissan Bassar 8-Seater 5-Door wagon- a 2003 model in Silver- and a Nissan Bluebird Sylphy travelled a mere 11,700km. Also now complied (we have been waiting for a Statement of Compliance to be issued by the very unhelpful Hyundai New Zealand) is a really good-looking 2002 Hyundai Tiburon FX Coupe, with the 2.7-litre V6 and a TipTronic auto, low km in Bright Red with the factory bodykit. Our next shipment of ten arrived late last week at Compliance from Japan, and although we won't see them for another week or so, we have a pair of Bluebird Sylphy Sedans, a 2004 Suzuki Swift, a 2002 Suzuki Aerio (Liana) 1.5 Wagon, another 2002 Toyota Corolla Runx 5-Door hatch in Red, a 2001 Toyota Corolla Fielder 1.8-litre Wagon, a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia MX-E sedan in White with low km, and a 2002 Mitsubishi Galant Viento 2-litre Sedan. Another shipment is just about to arrive in Auckland from Japan and we have around thirteen vehicles on that boat- more details on this page as I have them to hand. From our New Zealand sourced stock, we've had an exciting week of interesting and well-priced arrivals- some of which I have mentioned are coming on this page a few weeks back. These are- a 2007 Ford Ranger XLT Double-Cab Wellside Ute with the 3-litre Diesel-Turbo, 5-speed, just 34,900km in Black; a 2003 Mazda Atenza 23S Sport 5-Door Liftback 5-speed Manual in Pewter; a 2007 Toyota Yaris (Echo) 1.5 5-Door Hatchback in Black- auto, bodykit, alloys, low km; and a 2008 Ford Falcon XR6 BFII Sedan in Black with Black Leather- as-new travelled 14,000km. Plus we have a few more goodies onthe way too- watch this space! Nick has been down here in New Zealand this week, taking a break from the pressures of buying stock for us in Japan. I have loaded a large number of new stock purchased to the "Latest Buying" page this past couple of days, and I have several more still to list- possibly today if I get the chance. Let us know if you see something specific there that you'd like more details on- I usually have around 5 photos per vehicle I can send you! Have a great weekend! THURSDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2009:A month has rolled by without an update here- not so much a reflection of activity (although we have certainly been busy, no doubt about that!) but instead, those of you who know me (Graeme) your Webmaster will know my little girl Caitlin has had a particularly rough winter and spent the best part of a week at the end of August in Starship Children's Hospital, followed by an extended stay home. While I've been at work most days (with the exception of a few during the hospital stay) my night-time web-work window was well and truly closed, so extra projects like this page were sadly shelved until I had more time. I'm back now at full steam though- and ready to bring you all the news! Firstly though, a public big THANK-YOU to all the staff and tem at Starship Children's Hospital Ward 26A- wow, you can't imagine what a caring, positive team we are lucky to have in our medical profession until you really need them. Folks, do me a favour, if you ever have the opportunity to assist Starship in any way- whether through fundraising, support or time- this is such a worthy cause and you really will be making a difference in the lives of some very sick children. This was our fifth "stay" in Starship since October last year, and I never cease to be amazed by the generosity of Auckland businesses and people helping to make everyone's jobs and lives a little easier who are either working or staying there. OK, on with the fun stuff. What's new in stock? Plenty- although I have to say, plenty has come and gone, too- business has certainly shrugged off the winter blues and we are well down now in stock numbers compared to a few months ago as people take advantage of our pre-August pricing and selection. We have a shipment of six that have just arrived in Auckland and are currently working through compliance- this can be a slow process depending on where we sit in the queue- but by tomorrow I hope to have at least a couple of them here, maybe not groomed and detailed but at least able to be viewed and test driven. We pride ourselves on exceptional presentation and grooming standards, and Glenn and I are not normally keen to display stock that hasn't been through our QA process- but with the overall vehicle shortage looming, we don't mind having it out to be seen as long as you understand it WILL be detailed before you take delivery! This past week or two, we've had arrive in: -2001 Nissan Primera W25X Wagon in Silver- this is a the "bigger brother" in the Primera raneg, with a 2.5-litre engine, 6-stage TipTronic on factory alloys- for $10995.
-2006 Mitsubishi Triton Double-Cab 4x4 Wellside 3-litre 5-Speed Manual- now here's a truck, with 4-Wheel-Drive, alloys, ABS, air-cond, Kiwi-new and travelled only 77,700km in Timber Green, for $20995.
-2005 BMW 320i E90 shape 4-Door Sedan- yes, the NEW SHAPE model (a first for us!) with the 2-litre engine, 6-speed MANUAL, all the goodies including side-curtain air-bags, sunroof and 18-inch alloys, just 27,000km in White- for $34,995.
-2000 Mercedes-Benz CLK430 Elegance Coupe- wow, this is something special, NZ-new with a 275hp 4.3-litre V8 engine, TipTronic, top-specs with black leather, sunroof, air-bags etc on AMG alloys, just had the 100,000km service by the authorised M-B agents and priced at only $21,995- one of only a few for sale in New Zealand and very realistically priced.
-2008 (Yes, a year old!) Ford Falcon BF Mark-II XR6-Turbo Utility- awesome- a 245kW Intercooled Turbo six-pack with 6-speed Sequential Sport-Shift, on 18" alloys, just 22,700km in Jet Black, still under factory warranty, and priced at only $31,995!
Up in Japan, Nick as you know has been struggling to keep up with demand, as soaring prices in Japan knock us out of the bidding time and time again for stock. Attending six auctions a week, Nick has been doing his best nonetheless, and you might be surprised at what he has managed to find. Tonight I have added another twelve or so to our "Latest Buying " page including a 2005 Nissan Tiida 18M Sedan travelled only 4,900km, a 2004 Honda Accord 24T Sedan travelled 29,000km, a 2004 Nissan Caravan Jumbo 9-Seater Coach (one of two almost identical ones we have on the way) and a 2002 Toyota Allion A20 2-litre 4-Door Sedan travelled 51,000km in Champagne. Our next shipment of twelve or so arrives at the end of the month- more details soon! Back next week after four months convalescence following a motorcycle accident, we welcome back Brian Fitzpatrick, one of our senior Sales and Finance personnel. Brian's recovery has been a long one and we are very glad to see him finally taking the steps to come back to work. No doubt he'll have a few stories to tell when you see him- he might need a few weeks to get used to walking back "up the hill" again, but it's great to have him back with us. Next week or two I have some more interesting vehicles to come from our Finance Company vendor partners- awaiting clearance to sell I have a 2008 Ford Falcon BF Mark-II XR6 Sedan travelled only 18,000km in Black, a 2007 Toyota Yaris 1.5 5-Door hatchback Auto in Black travelled only 18,000km, and a 2005 Ford Falcon BA Mark II XR6-Turbo Utility in Blue Print with Cobra stripes on 19-inch SSW alloys. Watch this space for details and pricing! That will do for now- it's back to work, get ready for the weekend, and enjoy the Spring weather! FRIDAY 21 AUGUST 2009:Fully recovered now from the winter bugs, your Webmaster is back in full flight and with an exciting week of new stock to photograph, detail and list up here for you. We try to keep a wide and varied cross-section of vehicles in stock for you to choose from- after all, we have over 100 on site at any given time- but I think you'll agree that even by my high standards, this really has been a stand-out few days for fresh arrival choice. Here's what's new on the website this week: -2001 Suzuki Grand Escudo Wideody 7-Seater Wagon- this is a the new-shape version with a 2.7-litre V6 engine and dual-range 4-Wheel-Drive, highly-spec'd up with climate air, ABS, heated seat, alloys and a rear spoiler. It's in Dark Blue and one of three we have to choose from- this one just $13,995.
2002 Toyota Caldina 2.0ZT 5-Door Wagon- this is the new-generation Caldina and in my humble opinion one of the most stylish wagons to come out of Japan in recent years- real cutting-edge stuff. This Gunmetal example has the full ZT bodykit and 17-inch alloys, and is priced at $15,995.
-Speaking of wagons, here's one that is a little different- a 2003 Nissan Avenir 2.0 Blastar 5-Door wagon. This is a very high-spec special-edition with the 2-litre engine, automatic and 4-wheel-drive- inside, a full grey Leather interior, climate air-conditioning, plus alloys and a two-tone paint finish. Smart stuff here- good km and priced at $11,995.
Coming up next week, we have more variety for you- the two Falcon utes I discussed a few weeks back are now released for sale- a 2008 BF2 XR6 Turbo Ute, 22,000km in Black, and a 2005 BAII XR8 Boss260 V8 ute, 77,000km in Silver with leather- priced at $31,995 for the XR6 and $24,995 for the XR8. To be groomed I have a 2006 Holden Rodeo LT CrewCab 4x4 Diesel-Turbo utility- NZ new, 5-speed manual with 3-litre Intercooled Diesel-Turbo power, travelled 44,000km and really nice in Burgundy, for $31,995. Then I have arriving a 2004 Ford Escape 3.0 XL-T Wagon, NZ new, 3-litre V6 auto, travelled 87,000km and finished in Champagne Gold over Gunmetal. Waiting in the wings for release I have a 2004 Holden Commodore VZ SS 5.7-litre V8 Sedan in Black with Black Leather and a 6-speed Manual. Plus there's more being added to our "Latest Buying" page from Japan- Nick is realy struggling to buy the quantities we need- we simply won't compromise on our quality standards (as some others appear to be doing...) and prefer to have smaller numbers of good vehicles rather than large quantities of rubbish. Any fool can buy cars in Japan if you're not fussy what you get, where it's come from and what it's been doing... but it takes real skill and patience to buy good stock right now. Well, we're all geared up for the weekend, so take the time to check out our stock on this Website and see what you find. I hope you enjoy your visit and find the vehicle you want! MONDAY 10 AUGUST 2009:You'll have to forgive me as I wheeze and splutter my way through an update today- the winter bugs have caught up with our family and all four of us were hunkered down surviving on Lemsip this past weekend! Back at the Dealership though, things are humming along, with plenty of fresh stock arriving just in time for the weekend. This pretty much exhausts the supply we have from Japan from the next little while, with the super-tough buying in Japan continuing- Nick has been attending auctions there for us every day, more often than not coming home empty handed- the slight rise last week in the exchange rate still not enough to offset to massive price increases we have seen in the Japanese domestic market for used vehicles that we compete for. But it's not all gloom and doom- those Nick HAS been able to source have been really good ones, and I have been steadily updating the "Latest Buying" page as details and photos from him come in. This past week we had a fresh shipment of stock arrive direct from Japan and the Compliance workshop onto the Dealership- all are now loaded up within the regular "Vehicle Listings" page of this Website. Of particular note, we have a 2004 Nissan Skyline 300GT Sedan travelled a mere 22,000km, a 2006 Nissan Wingroad 18RX Wagon with the paddle-shift 6-speed TipTronic gearbox, a gorgeous Mazda Tribute 3-litre Wagon in Electric Blue, and a very rare 2006 Nissan Caravan 9-Seater Minibus with fully belted seating and travelled just 47,000km. I have some interesting stock arrived from the local markets too- we sourced an immaculate 2002 Holden Commodore VXII S Supercharged sedan, with Black Leather and stunning in Hyper Yellow, factory alloys and bodykit, just 105,000km and with a full Holden Dealer service history too. This is a good one- a REALLY good one- and I think a bargain at just $14,995. Just released by our Finance Company vendors are a pair of hot utes. Wow- Ford buyers, check out these- a 2008 Falcon BF Mark-II XR6 Turbo Ute in Black, 6-speed Sequential Sport-Shift, just 22,000km, on 18" alloys, PLUS arriving later in the week, a 2005 Falcon XR8 Boss 260 Ute with the 5.4-litre Boss 240kW V8 engine- both high-performance vehicles, both priced to SELL. They have also given us instructions to sell a nice 2002 Toyota Caldina 2.0ZT Wagon- the good-looking new-shape one- in Pewter metallic with factory bodykit and alloys. You know me- I have an opinion on most things automotive, even if it's not always right, or in line with the thinking of others- but I'm not one to be suckered in by media hype and I think by and large the automotive marketing machine is all style and no substance. However, I saw some video clips online over the weekend taken by outraged US car owners over the apparant rort and waste that is the Obama Administration's "Cash For Clunkers" bill- a desperate measure to stimulate the near-paralysed US automotive industry by providing "incentives" of up to $4500 to trade in a "clunker" and buy a new car instead. I bring this subject up beacuse there is a bit of media interest here in New Zealand right now about the benefits of such a programme, and I was involved in a discussion centering around the pros and cons of such an programme being introduced into NZ. In a nutshell, in the States, you trade in your "clunker" which has to meet certain criteria- must be no older than 1983 or newer than 2001, must attain less than 18mpg average fuel usage, you must have owned if for at least a year prior, have it currently licenced (like our registration and WOF) and currently insured. The Dealer gives you an incentive of $4500 which is then applied against the value of a brand-new car. The Dealer sources this incentive from the Goverment- and you MUST buy a new car, not used, and can't "save" your clunker credit for later use. It's designed for use right now. The Dealer, as part of the programme, then MUST destroy the "clunker" by using an approved "liquid glass" silica-like fluid, poured into the engine of the car, then run for a minute or two, which seizes solid the engine and renders the vehicle scrap metal. On the face of it, the scheme had merit- after all, the vehicle assembly industry was in crisis- but the pitfalls (and there are many) are only now becoming apparant. For a start, the money ain't free- more than a few US taxpayers have worked out they are paying for their own rebate via their taxes- after all, the Goverment has to get the money from somewhere, and taxation is the source. Second, if you buy a GM or a Chrysler product, you're subsidising a business you essentially have already paid for anyway, once again via the staggering amounts of federal aid money soaked up by these two to prop up their bankrupt businesses- standard joke now is GM stands for "Government Motors". So if you take the rebate, you're simply using your own tax money to buy a car at retail price. Third- you have to buy a new car, so chances are, you're going to finance yourself into a brand-new vehicle at a higher cost than you might have if you'd chosen a decent used car instead, and never spent to extra money. By definition then, the people who drive "clunkers" the most in the States (the urban poor) are least able to benefit from such a scheme since even with manufacturer dollar-for-dollar rebate schemes, financing a $USD25,000 car purchase is simply not possible- so you continue to drive your old car. Those who CAN afford the financing would probably have traded up in a year or two anyway. Fourth- the unneccesary waste going on here is unreal. Un-Real. If you're a bit of a car fan like me, and you want to have a bit of a cry, check out on YouTube or similar clips of workshops destroying perfectly good, in some cases low-mileage, later-model vehicles. Things like a 2000 Ford Expedition 5.4-litre V8 with leather (and as the driver on the clip says, cold a/c, everything works, low miles...), a Ford F250 V10 petrol, Dodge Rams with Cummins diesels, Ford Mustang 5.0's, Camaros, BMW's, even a Lexus- all gone to the auto graveyard well before their time. What was wrong with sending these vehicle to another country- or for that matter, distribute to the poor who have NO vehicle access or affordability? I know everything has a time to die, so to speak- and cars are no exception- but I'm ruthlessly opposed to needless waste when it comes to cars- they are not built out of thin air, you know. So what relationship is there to proposed schemes here in New Zealand? Well, the most glaring issue is that we don't make cars here. None. Despite the "New Zealand New" hype, we don't make cars here, we're simply a showroom extension of the (majority) overseas-owned distributorship chains that sell new product here. Buying a new car here in New Zealand does exactly zero- nothing- nada- for our economy. Far more so than the used-car import industry (where a huge chain of economic advantages has been built up over the years by successive Governments and legislation), new car buyers simply write the cheque out, the NZ dealer takes a cut for selling it to you, and all the rest simply vanishes down the pipe to Australia, or Japan, or Malaysia, or Germany, or Korea. So there are no economic benefits to such a scheme- so we sell more new cars- so what? Fuel economy by and large within the fleet hasn't changed much at all over the past 15 years, a result of more efficient engine design being overshadowed by increasing design requirements like ABS, air-bags, side impact saftey beams, side curtain airbags, skid control etc, all contributing weight and load, all reducing the fuel economy of your car. (Not that I'm against such developments, don't get me wrong- it's just that many people fail to see the real costs of such equipment). So if it's not fuel efficiency, and it's not economic stimulus, what then? Surely the taxpayer isn't going to fund the sales commissions of a group of car salespeople- since they're about the only real beneficiary of such a scheme? Wouldn't it be cheaper just to top up their earnings via WINZ? Govermnent HAS trialled a couple of schemes here for getting rid of older cars- this time, I mean OLD- we're talking 70's and 80's stuff here, giving people who get rid of a junker public transport vouchers, bus tickets and the like. Now call me cynical, but I can't imagine there are too many genuine old-car owners out there who'd get rid of their only means of transport, the family banger, for a couple of bus tickets? More than likely, the real up-takers of such a scheme are those with old cars contemplating disposal anyway, simply using the scheme as a means of getting something for what they considered was pretty much value-less, then, more often than not, buying another car- almost certainly used- at a date and place that suits them, not the dealer offering the rebate. Our discussion group came to the conclusion that for such a scheme to work, the amount of rebate required would need to be in the order of $4-5000 to allow affordability for the average Kiwi older car owner to replace it- and that used vehicles as well as new would have to be included, for much the same reasons the US scheme has been running into trouble. No point offering a rebate if the recipient can't afford to step up into a newer- or new- car. And the other point is possibly the most important- at the end of the day, YOU are paying for your own rebate. We all know the Government piggy-bank is looking pretty empty these days. Any new such scheme has to be funded somehow, and tax is the only way- you didn't think the Government printed money, did you? (Pipe down, those of you up there in the cheap seats, I hear you!) I'm just not in favour of such a scheme as proposed- and I'm a car dealer, so you'd think my first instinct is to grab any opportunity like this with both hands. But I like to think I'm a wee bit pragmatic too, and you'd have to work hard to convince me that the only real beneficiaries, and co-incidentally, the voices singing the praises the loudest of such a scheme, are the CEO's of the overseas-owned manufacturers of new cars. Think about it. Bye for now, more updates soon! SATURDAY 25 JULY 2009:After the weeks of iffy weather (and let's face it- down right awful on a few days) we are sitting outside enjoying the brilliant sunshine of a blue-sky winter day here in West Auckland- truly, not a cloud in the sky. Not that it's all that warm- in the shade, it's getting chilly again- but a great weekend to be out and about, maybe a good chance to call in to our Dealership if you have been putting it off due to the rain and wind. Here's a couple of interesting vehicles that I have loaded up this weekend for you. The first is one I know very, very well- it's actually my own personal car (for the past two and half years) and due to an opportunity to replace it with something completely different (a Dodge Ram 1500SLT pickup, no less!) it is now offered for sale. If you live in West Auckland you'll probably know the car- it is a 1997 Toyota Aristo V300 Vertex-Edition 3-litre Twin-Turbo sedan- identical in appearance to the Lexus GS300 that was sold new here, but under the bonnet lives the Supra-sourced intercooled twin-turbo engine pushing out well over 280hp. I sourced this myself locally a few years back and was particular about the specification I wanted (replacing another Aristo) in Black and the full (and very rare) NAVI-Edition package that includes full black leather, heated seats, power sunroof and an impressive touch-screen factory JBL audio system with built-in 6-stack CD, equalizer and subwoofer. It has now travelled 133,000km (the last 20,000 with me) and is presented in excellent condition at a very competitive price- just $15995. These are a hard car to get, and this would be one of the very few NAVI-equipped examples in the country, so if you know your cars, and you know why these are so special, this is one for you. It will be for sale for approximately six weeks only- if it hasn't gone by then, I will sell the Dodge instead- so now is your chance, I've got room for only one at home, one or the other is up for grabs. Here's the link: Something else I've just loaded up is this really good-looking 2000 new-model Toyota Estima Aeras-T 8-Seater Wagon. With no resemblance to the earlier Estima model it replaces, this is one sharp looking family wagon here, with a full bodykit, factory alloys, twin sunroofs, climate air, air-bags, super-comfortable seating.. the list goes on. The family will love this one, and at just $13995 it is very affordable too. Details are here: Now I have the bad news. Well, bad if you are thinking of holding off buying a car unitl later in the year. Think again! The media here in New Zealand, by and large, appear to have missed the boat with their understanding, or lack theorof, of the automotive industry in this country. They are telling you "deals have never been better, thousands are being slashed from car prices, dealers have their backs to the wall" etc etc etc. But the truth is something different indeed. With a few exceptions (I guess there are always dealers out there with the wrong product to sell, poorly priced and not in demand), the trade in New Zealand is desperately, desperately short of used cars to sell- and it is only going to get worse. And you know what that means- prices can go only one way. Let me explain why. Last year, in the grips of the global economic meltdown, the numbers of cars sold plummeted- new and used, but especially new. Buyers held off in a wait-and-see pattern, with the result that, for example here in New Zealand, 2008 saw a drastic reduction year-end of the total number of new cars sold and in stock. Yet the number of cars on the road remained reasonably static- our fleet aged considerably over the course of a year, as people simply held onto their old cars rather than trade them in and update. The Yen plummeted from 2007 highs of 97 to the dollar, down to a near-catastrophic 44 (rendering used car buying from Japan almost impossible) and finally stabilised at around 60 to the dollar. In Japan, a similar trend saw consumers desert the showrooms of new car sellers and the domestic sales numbers decrease month after month. Mid-way through 2009, and things have stabilised- consumer confidence is on the rise, car sales are on the up, the Yen appears stable. But rather than buy a new car here, many consumers are electing to instead upgrade to a good later-model used car- whether imported used or sold here new- and demand is running red-hot for good, lower mileage, clean and tidy vehicles. So here's the perfect storm coming. For a start- Japan. With the decline in new-car sales, two things happened. One- less used cars were traded in at Dealerships in Japan, so less used cars entered the auction system (where we buy our vehicles for New Zealand). In fact, numbers are right down- maybe a third less cars being "exhibited" as the Japanese say, even more at certain auctions, leaving a much smaller pool of cars for Kiwi buyers to choose from- especially given that our Exhaust Emission Rule prevents us from buying probably 60 percent of vehicles at Japanese auctions. Two- Japanese consumers mirrored our trend, with many shunning new-car buying and opting for used instead, updating into the sort of stock we normally buy for New Zealand, and pitching us in direct competition with Japanese dealers, who can, in most cases, pay a lot more than us for cars. Result- right now, we just can't get stock from Japan- at least, not in the numbers we need. By way of example, we normally buy 40 or so vehicles a month- you'll see these in our regular "Latest Buying" page updates. But you'll have noticed the numbers shown are looking pretty thin- why? In May, rather than 40, we bought 10. In June, instead of 40, Nick barely scraped in at 14. This week (Nick's first back at auction) we've got only 3 so far, and from four of the largest auctions he goes to, too. At this rate, we are going to run out of cars by September-October on the Dealership. And we're not alone, import numbers across the country are right down as Kiwi buyers in Japan face the same issues we do. What to do? Either pay more for the cars- a lot more- which means higher prices back here- or settle for rougher, higher-mileage vehicles instead- which I know more than a few dealers are deciding to do- but at what benefit to the consumer? None. OK, you say, so imported cars from Japan are going to be either harder to find, or more expensive. What about the cars already here? Bad news there too. The same problem has hit the New Zealand marketplace- lack of new sales has driven the lack of trade-ins filtering back into the marketplace, commanding higher prices for late-model, low-mileage vehicles, if you can get them- Dealer chains simply retaining their trade-in stock rather than offering to the wider market, and in many cases, lease companies re-leasing vehicles after their initial three-year terms, rather than sell them out as they used to. All the sales talk in the world cannot hide the lack of good stock to sell by dealers around the country. A quote from the motoring press last week- "The demand for used stock hasn't been this high since the late 1970's, early 1980's" (source- Autofile- July 24 2009)- "Finding quality stock has turned into a full-time job". So, you can't buy it from Japan, and you can't buy it here. Yet demand is on the rise- all those buyers who deferred purchasing last year, want a car this year- and boy oh boy, is your choice about to get limited. But you think THAT is bad. Wait until late 2010-early 2011, when the trickle-down effect of three-year old trades in Japan and New Zealand hits the peak based upon new sales in late 2007 though 2008. There simply won't be enough used cars to meet the market demand. After all, you can't get used cars, unless someone buys them new first. And world-wide, production has plummeted- plummeted- so in a couple of years, that lack of new-car sales means a lack of used cars on the market- which, bearing in mind the good old laws of supply and demand, means prices are on the UP. It's not rocket science, or a conspiracy to get prices and profits up- simply, if we have to pay an extra $2000 in Japan to buy the same car next month compared to March this year, it's going to cost YOU another $3000 (allowing for the extra GST and tax components) back here in New Zealand by the time we sell it. As a buyer, you will have little choice- as Dealers, none of us have a magic car tree we can shake to give us a price advantage in buying over anyone else- we all either have to buy in Japan, on the same market, or in New Zealand, on the same market. And all of us at the same prices- MORE. So- and I started this by saying "bad news"- well, not bad news YET, if you are buying over the next month or so. We've got enough stock to last us until September. But after that, if the priciung pattern continues, we simply have no choice but to pay more, and pass it on. And that goes for the entire industry. The point of all this, is, buying right now is good. But it is not going to last, and unless there are some radical changes to the market in Japan, or New Zealand, or the exchange rate, those price hikes I talked about will be reality before the end of the year. Enjoy your opportunity to purchase sooner, rather than later! SATURDAY 18 JULY 2009:There was an incredibly loud clap of thunder with brilliant cloud-to-cloud lightning blazing across the skies last night, and I thought "oh no, here goes another wet and wild Saturday" but after all that, today turned out to be not so bad after all (albiet with a few squally rain showers) and we had a very, very busy day on the Dealership as a result. Trying to keep up, I was out there with the camera this afternoon and managed to get photo sets of three more new arrivals to the yard- all really neat and very different- all just loaded up this afternoon. Here they are: -2005 Subaru Legacy 3.0R Sedan- the "new shape" BLE model- with a super-smooth 3-litre Boxer 6-Cylinder engine, 5-stage TipTronic, Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive, travelled only 69,800km and simply outstanding to drive. I should know- I drove this back from our Compliance agents in Penrose and was mightily impressed by it- and I know you will be too. It is priced at $19995 and you can see it here: -Next out of the digital camera is this superb Nissan Teana (known as a Maxima here in NZ) and a new-shape highest-spec 230JM with a Quad-Cam 2.3-litre V6 engine, luxurious Charcoal Suede Leather, power everything- and I mean everything- plus side-curtain air-bags, dual-zone climate air-conditioning and sitting on 18-inch chromed alloys. Looks stunning- and a real treat to drive too. Here it is: -Last one to be loaded up tonight was this 2001 Suzuki Grand Escudo Limited 5-Door Wide-Body "Helly Hansen Edition" wagon- new shape, 2.7-litre V6 with auto and dual-range 4-wheel-drive, once again a nice high-spec wagon with all the goodies inside and out, travelled just 67,000km and looking sharp in Pearl White. Great buying I think- you check it out for yourself here: I'll have more fresh arrivals for you next week too- the backlog at Compliance is slowly being cleared and we're expecting a number of vehicles to come in over the course of the week. Remind me next week to share with you the woes of our idiotic and myopic Waitakere City Council and the bulldozing through with scant regard to the businesses along Central Park Drive, of the new "cycle lane" shearing off our road frontage. I'm reminded of this as we have to remove our sign out the front to accomodate the construction crews who will no doubt now spend the wettest part of winter turning our lawn (that WE maintain, mow, spray, weed-eat and trim) into a muddy quagmire as contractors seem so hopelessly unable to avoid. Let's just say that "consultation" means nothing to Mayor Bob and his crew of woolly-jumpered muddle-heads, in the name of "Eco City Progress", also known as "damn the ratepaying businesses and local employers, let's spend YOUR money and no opposition from the overwhelming majority of business owners and ratepayers affected by our "project" will get in our way". I saw the plans, I attended the meetings and "consultations" and was shouted down by rude, overbearing and single-minded Councillors determined to have only one opinion- theirs- and realised that yes, democracy means nothing to this bunch, it's YOUR money and they're gonna spend it however they see fit in the name of "legacy creation". Note however- I (a) have nothing against cyclists (before a ten-speed gets launched through my window) and (b) there are some GOOD councillors out there working for you too- just none of the good ones were invloved in this shabby stitch-up. I'm not much of a one for grandstanding, but if this is the price you pay for "local council vision" then bring on the SuperCity I say, and deep-six the jobs of the namby-pamby dictators we currently pay to "represent" our rates (who are sqeaking the loudest over the SuperCity plans, I wonder why, could their jobs and snouts in the public purse trough be in jeopardy, do you think?) to get some level-headed thinking back into our lives. Or at least do a better job of keeping Waitakere City out of the mind-boggling and horrific debt it is in. That's my soap-box for the day. Goodnight! FRIDAY 17 JULY 2009:Here we are, a wet Friday night in West Auckland and a Daily Journal page in a much-needed state of update. By way of apology, as your Webmaster and those who know me personally through the Dealership, please excuse my lack of work to this Website over these past weeks- our little girl Caitlin (6) was hospitalised a few weeks back and we spent more than a few anxious days and nights at Starship, with her Daddy staying the night in a cot next to her, then shuffling sleepy-eyed off to work each day while my wife Ness did day shifts at the bedside. This, as you can imagine, was not the best recipe for getting lots of work done here- I have done my best to keep the "basic" functions of the Website maintained and updated, but pages like this have been simply set aside until things improve for us time-wise. Thankfully, we look to be currently in better shape and I'm working on the backlog of updates, paperwork and the like. I feel bad I didn't update you here more often the past few weeks, since we had LOTS going on and a fair bit is now "old news"- but not to worry, here's the updates of the week that has been: -New stock- where do I start? We've had over 40 fresh arrivals from Japan during late June and early July, with most now through the Compliance system and on the Dealership. There has been great variety out there, from sports cars to SUV's, family wagons, hatchbacks and sedans, even a commercial van or two and some hard-to-get 4x4's too. My pick of the fresh stock: -2006 Nissan Stagea 350RX-Four Wagon- now this is a VERY rare beast indeed, being one of the last of the Stageas and a Facelift model, with the super-rare 3.5-litre non-turbo V6 engine, a 5-stage TipTronic and Four-Wheel-Drive. I think this might be the only example like this currently for sale in New Zealand- excuse me if I'm wrong- but one for the Stagea buyer who recognises this for what it is! Details here: -2003 Nissan Teana 230JK-M Sedan- this is the Japanese parent of the Maxima- with a smooth, powerful yet economical 2.3-litre Quad-Cam V6 engine, and a total luxury package inside with suede leather, power seats, dual-zone climate air-conditioning and the sought-after back seat centre 3-point shoulder-lap seatbelts- there's even a power-adjustable leg-rest for the passenger! Priced at $14995, this is a good-value high-spec family car here: -2000 Toyota Kluger V S-Pack 5-Door SUV Wagon, a new model from Toyota that was sold here as the Highlander, with a 2.4-litre enigne, a TipTronic auto and front-wheel-drive. Packed with features, this is a neat wagon to drive, very roomy and I think great value at just $16995- even a full service history available too. Check it out here: Like them bright? What about this one- the ever-popular, can't-go-wrong Toyota Corolla 5-Door hatchback? This one is a new-model 2001 Corolla Runx X-G 5-Door, with a 1.5-litre Variable Valve Timing engine, automatic, high-grade interior trim and has travelled just 34,500km from new in Bright Red. Brilliant details here and very good buying indeed at only $13995 to drive away. View it here: For the family- this one is without any doubt the very, very best example we've ever seen, or are likely too, and we challenge you to find nicer with better details! It is a 2002 (Update model) Nissan Presage C3 8-Seater 5-Door Wagon, with the 3-litre V6 engine, the top-spec C3 spec trim inlcuding dual-zone climate air-conditioning, alloys and spoiler, and travelled just 13,900km from new- yes, 13,900km, and like NEW, NEW NEW throughout. Bargain buying here for what it is, just $14995 and you'll have the best Presage on the market. And one now from our Finance Company vendor partners- bling bling here we go, this is a 2005 Ford Explorer 4.6 V8 Limited 7-Seater 5-Door Wagon, NZ new, loaded up with goodies including full Leather, power everything, four air-bags, travelled only 78,200km and sitting on Vault 20-inch chromed-out alloys in Jet Black. Guaranteed you'll get noticed in this one! OK, that's enough teasing about all the new stuff we have to see here. Why don't you take a look for yourself at what we have to offer- we have well over 100 vehicles on-line right now, all are available to be viewed on-site this weekend, and some really sharp prices too. Have an awesome weekend- I'll try to post a bit more up here over the next few days for you, as time permits. MONDAY 22 JUNE 2009:Well here it is, the start of another week, with some 18 days past since I last added anything to this page. As usual it seems, life at Croydon Wholesalers keeps us all extremely busy, and with the number of hats your Webmaster wears these days, it's left to a late-night session on the laptop at home to keep you up to speed with our news. Onto the stock first- this week is going to be a busy one if you like new stock. Not only are we receiving truckload after truckload of freshly-certified vehicles from our Compliance agents ready for the dealership (nine today alone) but another shipment of nineteen arrived in the country last thing last week, and I really do think you are going to love what we have in store for you. If you haven't already done so, check out our "Latest Buying" page within this Website for details- some really interesting stock is here and I'll get them photographed and loaded up here within the regular "Stock" pages just as soon as they come on to the Dealership. We've been working on some awesome deals for you within our existing stock here, to make room for the new arrivals. Check out the prices on our range of 2006-2004 Nissan Tiida Latio Sedans- we have nine in stock priced from only $12995- extraordinarily good value for a new-generation 2004-2005 motor vehicle with good mileage- and plus, we have a great selection of Nissan Wingroad Wagons- mid-sized 2004-2001 model buying- lots of different specs to choose from, and priced from only $9995- all are the "facelift" models too! We have a 1998 Nissan Prairie Liberty 7-Seater for only $7995, a 1999 Toyota Vitz for just $7995, a 2002 Nissan Bassara for just $10995, a 2003 Nissan Sunny Sedan for $7995, and much, much more. Even if I don't update THIS page daily, you can be certain there is always something new within our regular "Stock Listings" to see- bargains too! From our Finance Company vendors we have had a couple of new arrivals- of particular note is a superb 2003 Audi A4 1.8 Turbo Quattro Sedan, 5-stage TipTronic, low low 53,000km and finished in Silver. It is joined by a 2006 Hyundai Tucson 2.7 GLS Wagon, NZ new and in Black with brown Leather- also nice with good km and priced right. In Japan, Nick is having a tough time of it buying- the prices there have really skyrocketed in the past month as the Japanese Domestic marketplace (used car dealers just like us) become ever more aggressive in their search for stock to satisfy the Japanese market trends of buying used, not just new, in the global marketplace slowdown. This puts pressure on pricing and of course, as we buy on a world market, our ability to source stock at the right price for you back here in New Zealand. Are price rises on the horizon? Maybe not for now, but the worrying trend looks set to continue for the short term, and if pushed out into the middle of our winter (the Japanese summer) we may need to re-evaluate the prices on fresh incoming stock- a fact of life as our market here is subjected to the whims of the world. In fact, the stockpile of unsold, sale-ready fresh imports in New Zealand has never been lower- well below 10,000 for the first time in decades- which sounds like a lot, until you consider some 4,000 of them are held by the country's biggest importer, leaving around 6,000 or so to go round an estimated 2,000 trading car dealers in the country, including auction houses- meaning our own stock of around eighty fresh imports is well above the national average! Should you then, be thinking of buying now rather than later? Perhaps- I certainly wouldn't defer your buying- but it is too early to call the trend yet I think, although if things carry on this way, the changes in pricing will hit quickly and without warning as dealers succumb to the need to pay higher prices in Japan to re-stock dealerships desperately short of vehicles to sell. At any rate, enjoy your visit to our Website, and take the time to view all that we have loaded up here to show you. Have a great week! THURSDAY 4 JUNE 2009:I know what you are thinking- this is more of a "Monthly Journal" currently- once again, I apologise for not keeping up to speed on this page a bit more often! I guess it is fairly obvious to all of you that the busier we get here at Croydons, the less time I have to devote to pages on the Website like this one- I find it a challenge to keep you updated with all the new stock as it is! Many, many hours go daily into the upkeep of this site (which in turn, auto-feeds the likes of TradeMe, Autotrader, NZHerald.co.nz, AA online and T&E.co.nz) both at work during the day, and like now, late at night from the peace of my home office- in other words, my laptop perched on the coffee table! So rest assured, I love keeping you up to speed with all our goings-on, but stock listings really are a priority and I have had an awful lot of those to write in the past few weeks! Yes, it's new stock time, with two large shipments having arrived almost back-to-back and now flowing onto the Dealership from compliance. It can take between five days and three weeks to process a shipment at our current Compliance agents (AA Compliance and Inspections) depending on where our stock is parked in the holding yards off the transporters. It can be a little frustrating when our cars are the first ones to be trucked from the wharf, only to arrive and Compliance and be parked at the very end of a very large holding yard, packed in and doomed to be the last to be moved out for inspection with a one entry-exit only gate! So sometimes you'll see a listing within the Latest Buying page noted as "At Compliance" for quite a number of weeks- believe me, we hate waiting too! I spent a good part of last week away in Christchurch on IMVDA business (including getting stranded by fog all of Wednesday) with discussions with a wide cross-section of people associated with the industry. Consensus opinion from those in the know is that this is the best time there ever will be to buy a replacement vehicle at the sort of prices we are seeing landed here- by comparison, although the Kiwi has risen against the Yen this past week, the Japanese used marketplace has developed a ferocious appetite and we have been struggling to even get near the prices being paid this month by Japanese dealers in used vehicles, outweighing twofold any gains through currency shifts. Yes, of course, things may change again, but right now we're simply unable to replace our stock we sell with fresh ones- at least, not in the volume we require. That's enough from me tonight- I look forward to seeing you all over the weekend, remember, comments or healthy criticism always welcome on my desk- email me graeme@croydons.co.nz Goodnight! SUNDAY 10 MAY 2009:There's nothing like the sounds of thunder rolling around inky black skies and dashes of hail against the windows to remind you that winter has well and truly made itseld felt here in West Auckland. As I write tonight, the temperature feels to have plummeted over the past few hours and I figure we did pretty well today to have mostly rain-free skies for a day out at MOTAT with the kids. Glenn and the team held up the Croydon flag back at the dealership in Henderson- a big "hi" if you came out today to visit us! I've held off posting this past week with a lot of varied activity going on and never enough time it seems to update this page. Never fear, it's been a busy week at Croydon Wholesalers and it's about to get a lot busier! Firstly, before my email in-box groans under the weight, I can confirm we have sold and delivered the HSV Clubsport R8 we had listed last week. Our happy buyer is probably home by now in the bottom half of the North Island- he was the one lucky enough to make an astute judgement call when this car was listed and be first to forward us a holding deposit. I received over one hundred e-mail enquiries about this car alone, from all over the country- yes, it was a good deal, one of many we offer every week on a wide variety of stock- sometimes though, with cars as unusual as this, you need to act fast- I try to give you some advance warning of our incoming stock to give you that very opportunity, and if you ever WOULD like to be kept "in the loop" about forthcoming stock, feel free to drop me an e-mail or phone us. We may not always have what you want, but you never know what we'll turn up- a good example of this is detailed below- and I try to handle specific requests as best I can, whether for a fresh import from Japan or a vehicle from New Zealand. A good example of that happened this weekend- I had a buyer who missed out on the last Ford Transit we sold, contact us again requesting we let him know the minute another turned up- if at all. Lo and behold, courtesy of our Finance Company vendor partners, another late-model Transit turned up in the system last week- I contacted our buyer, brought it from storage out to our dealership in Henderson for him to view, and he walked away a few hours later with the paperwork for his new van. Not even advertised- but a good deal for him, a quick sale for our vendors (who price these accordingly) and yet another example of why keeping up contact with us even if you DON'T see what you need, is worthwhile! So there you go, some good reasons not to let the bad weather put you off coming out this week to view what's new at Croydons. Early birds get the worms, they say, we have LOTS of bargain buying here for you and a quick check through our Website should confirm that for you! We look forward to seeing you this week! WEDNESDAY 29 APRIL 2009:Mid-week here at Croydons- it is late on Wednesday night here at the "home office" and I'm able to sit down it seems for the first time today- one thing I can NEVER complain about is not having anything to do! The first few days of the week seem to have set the tone for the remainder of April and I suspect into May. Busy! Aside from the sales themselves, behind the secenes we've been working hard to keep the dealership constantly re-stocked with new arrivals- everything from our last big shipment has now been NZ-entry complied, but there is a bit of a bottle-neck back at the Dealership getting all these vehicles through assessment, any touch-ups or minor repairs if required, grooming and detailing. As fast as our Tech team can get vehicles on display, our Sales team sell them, with everyone wanting everything yesterday- so we really are playing catch-up every day it seems! However, I think 90% or so of that shipment is now sitting on the main yard- the remaining few that you see still listed on the "Latest Buying"page as "at compliance or grooming" are probably in fact parked down in our groom bay area waiting their turn. You're welcome to view these vehicles of course- but please, we ask that you don't just wander down the back and look for yourself- good old OSH, reminds us that we are supposed to recognise the "hazards" of a workplace and not allow members of the public into a work-only area, just in case somebody gets hit with a damp cleaning rag. There's a sign up outside saying "No Entry" in big red letters although that never seems to stop anybody- but all joking aside, please talk to one of our sales team before taking a wander "down the back" yourself, as we have a lot of vehicle movements in a confined space, delivery and courier vans coming and going, plus water blasters going, vaccum cleaners, water everywhere... you get the idea. I can't emphasise enough- it is really hard to find enough good, clean lower-mileage stock out there now. All the hype in the media about "buyer's market" might apply to some of the new-car franchises, maybe exotic used, but for us, dealing in $7000-$27,000 stock both Direct Imports and New Zealand New, we can't keep up with demand. Prices of new cars are constantly on the rise and used-car prices have been creeping up too, we are doing our best to supply at market-leading rates, but please, do your homework before you come in, we work hard to keep our prices realistic (and in many cases, some of the best in New Zealand) and it can get a little tiresome when people trot out the old "I'll give you $4,000 less than your asking price, mate, 'cos I know you car dealers are all desperate" line and then get all perplexed, hot and bothered when we don't bite- we politely decline and urge you to check the reality of what you can, or more to the point, can't, out on the market. We really do try hard to be as competitive as we can, but there is a chronic shortage of replacement stock out there and dealers are VERY aware that they in many cases cannot replace what they are selling. Slow sales of new cars has cut off the supply of good later-model trades, the Japanese market has done much the same and we are all buying on crippling exchange rates- this time two years ago we were buying up to 70 cars a month in Japan- now we are lucky to get 30-35, and that is now with Nick full-time in Japan and attending auction pretty much every day. We'll see you this weekend maybe? Don't forget, time constraints mean I simply don't have everything we have for sale loaded up here yet, so for the up-to-the-minute stock arrivals, feel free to call in and ask. And ask us for what you don't see but you DO want- you never know what I have tucked around the corner! TUESDAY 14 APRIL 2009:Easter has come and gone at Croydons- the eggs have been eaten, the hot cross buns devoured, and everyone is back to work this week! Hope you all had a nice break over the long weekend- we had a couple of days off but it was pretty busy on Saturday and Monday- our Tech staff had a busy day today preparing all the sold cars ready for delivery! Oh well, back to work, I have more new stock to start loading up here for you- and the hope that the weather is nice tomorrow afternoon for more photos to be taken of our arrivals for you. Have a great week, if you have the kids with you for the holidays, here's a tip for some fun (I'm not given to free plugs but we had an awesome time and I don't see why they shouldn't get a mention). We took our gruesome twosome down to Kingseat in South Auckland (near Karaka) for the Amaizing Maze experience- a maze cut into a ripe crop of corn, really impressive and we had over an hour and half of fun working our way through it with the kids. It's part of the Spookers complex of activities (which also includes a horror-house Corn Maze) but the one we did in the daytime is strictly G-Rated for the family, with the corn reaching 9-10 feet in height in places, you could really get lost in there but plenty of marker points and some help! tips if you just can't figure it out. Only open I think for another couple of weeks as the corn is due to be harvested. Great fun! TUESDAY 7 APRIL 2009:Well, the craziest time of the year- tax time- has been and gone, it seems. The stocktakes have been done, the end of month reporting sent to the accountants, all the paperwork finaly sorted out into the boxes, and we can draw a big breath in and get back to normality. To say that the taxation regime here in New Zealand is complicated for small business such as ourselves would be an understatement- you get to watch any profit made over the course of the year vanish straight back into the enormous bill from your accountant just trying to make sense of everything! I can't help myself here- I have to raise an eyebrow at a recent much-hyped car sales "promotion" (avert your eyes now if you are a quirky Euro-centric car lover, you're not going to like this) in the Herald and mentioned in the TV News- a certain dealership in Auckland who now have "exclusive rights" to the Citroen and Alfa-Romeo brands in New Zealand, literally giving away a new car with every luxury car of a certain type sold. The cars in question were a new Citroen C6, with a new Citroen C4 chucked in as a freebie if you paid new sticker price for the C6- or a new Fiat Punto wedged in the boot of your new Alfa Brera. All sounds good, doesn't it, couched in a Euro-feely-touchy two-paged spread talking about "passion" and "flirtation" etc etc. Flirtation all right- flirtation with horrendous, ghastly resale residuals if you are silly enough to take a C6 of the dealer's hands, that is assuming you'll ever actually find someone to buy it off you used- ever. Here's the "real oil" behind this seemingly benevolent offer. The Citroen brand in NZ has been one of the most woefully underperforming brands in the country for quite some time. You'd be forgiven for thinking the opposite, given the amount of reveiws and gushing press space given over to the brand by the New Zealand new car media, but forgive them, throw enough new-car-drive junkets, trips to Australia and handsome press releases at a car media writer and they'll compare an exhaust pipe to the Eiffel Tower. Truth really is, no-one has been buying this stuff for a good long while now in any appreciable number, and in a little bit of guess-which-version-is-true media releases a few months back, the former agent in Auckland rang up the Citroen people (or is it person, for their number of sales annually all you'd need is an office assistant and a typewriter) and said, come and get your signs and demonstrater- we don't want this millstone round our neck any longer. If I recall correctly, a grand total of 1 or 2 C6's had been sold in all of 2009 to date-I'm not sure if ANY Alfas had been sold- the Citroen man retorted with a letter to all and sundry discussing how their "brand" had been poorly handled by the previous dealership- you know, tit for tat and all that. To be honest, in my humble estimations, the previous dealer had been heroic struggling along trying to flog off these duds for as long as they had. Buy a new Citroen in New Zealand, and you own it for life- an impossible car to get rid of used, it would seem, unless you trade it in at your ever-friendly Citroen dealer for... another Citroen. You're kind of locked in for life with these things. I don't recall in my thirteen years at Croydons that I have ever managed to successfully find a home for a trade-in Citroen- the last one we had (a 2002 model I might add) waited until we'd reluctantly traded it in on a normal Japanese car before destroying the transmission the very next day- a common fault, and our gearbox gurus were left shaking their heads telling us to send it to Pick-A-Part, they simply weren't up to trying to fix one. Oh boy. Yet the media, and the distributors, will lure you in like a bright shining thing with images of sunny days tripping through daffodil-laden fields in an French summer, all picnics, cheeses and fashion, filliing you with feelings of European-ness and an urge to capture it through your vehicle choice. Not so European summer, is it, stuck on the side of the Newmarket flyover on a rain-sodden Thursday night at 6.30pm in the middle of winter, while your French former plaything refuses to go, or run, or wind the windows up, or whatever electrical or mechanical malaise might strike it's black heart at that particular time. Yes, marketing is a powerful thing, isn't it! At any rate- I digress. The point is- the only remaining Citroen and Alfa dealer in Auckland (which alone should tell you something, are the alarm bells ringing yet?) has resorted to giving away a slightly less poxy throwaway five-minute fashion icon in desperation to shift one of the most hard-to-sell cars in New Zealand, at a whopping $114,990 plus $650 on road costs, a car I'd bet that you'd receive little more than half back if you tried to offload the thing within the year, once again assumng you could find a buyer. The media have used this as an example of the "desperation within the car industry" where in truth, it has nothing to do with that- our sales are doing just fine, thankyou! The truth is, the marketplace, slow as it may be, usually works out in time what is good to buy, and what is bad- and Citroen and Alfa have done their numbers in over past years with a range of overpriced, hopelessly unreliable and positively impossible to on-sell cars, and enough people have been stung to pretty much exhaust the pool of buyers silly enough to believe that they will start munching baguettes rather than white toast bread the minute they slip their DKNY sunglasses on and go for a short drive (short, because it will break down). This is all about dud cars being shifted at any price. Knowing my luck, the promotion will be a huge success and the entire New Zealand stockpile of C6 sedans (which means all six of them) will find new workshops (I mean, owners) leaving the Dealership in question to gloat about how their promotion was so succesful, stocks have been exhausted! All sold out! Merde! Queue at the door! (translated, all six, about as many as were sold the entire 2008 year, have been pushed out the door). I'm not sure what point I was trying to make exactly- except that in car buying, do yourself a favour, look behind the vileness of marketing hype and in-the-pocket motoring "writers" and choose your next car based upon the things that really matter- a good car, that you like to drive, that is known for reliability, and you can sell again in three year's time. If you MUST flirt with things like Citroens, or Renaults, or Saabs, or whatever, do so on the basis that this is in no way an investment, merely you have more money than common sense and you're prepared to show it. I'm signing off now, I'm probably going in to hiding from the angry mob of Frenchmen and Italians forming a press-gang to get me! FRIDAY 13 MARCH 2009:Hang on- haven't we had a Friday the 13th once already this year? Not to worry- today at Croydons has been pretty uneventful all things considered, with a couple of sales finalised and some more new stock appearing from the Compliance company we use- we'll have them on the Dealership for the weekend. You know, the media it seems has been relentless in the assault upon business in New Zealand over the past few months- every day, the headlines scream out economic woe, doom and gloom, the TV news is sombre with craggy-faced "experts" intoning our financial fate... honestly, you'd think the bets option is to just go round the corner and put ourselves out of our own misery in some sort of nationalistic suicide pact. But hang on- life goes on, and it IS going on. Here at Croydons, we're having a busy start to 2009, partly maybe because we addressed changes and restructuring within our business a year or more ago, partly because we believe there is no point joining the gleeful gloom-and-doom merchants, there is business out there to be done, and if you buy a car from us, we'll buy your groceries, eat at your cafe, take our kids to your playland, buy them your toys, maybe update our TV and lounge suite too. Actually, most Kiwis we speak to are pretty positive all things considered- yes of course, times are hard, we all know that- but folding up altogether and clutching each other in a huddle at home under a dim 40-watt light bulb isn't going to solve anything either. Get out there- enjoy life- watch the sun come up and go down- when it comes to cars, there really has never been a better time to buy, with upward pressure on buying in Japan from the exchange rate meaning cars won't be this cheap for a very long time to come. Have an awesome weekend, even if the forecast looks iffy, and if you have the time, don't forget to pop in to see us here on Central Park Drive for a look at what we have to offer. You'll be surprised by how good the buying is right now! FRIDAY 9 JANUARY 2009:Welcome to our New, Improved Website- you've made it! After three months of design, consultation, re-design and final alterations, our good friends at Enform Communications have launched for us our brand-new website complete with many new and exciting features, plus of course all the usual pages and topics you've come to expect from one of New Zealand's leading pre-owned motor vehicle dealership websites- as judged by Hitwise with awards many times for visitor numbers! You'll have to excuse the temporary nature and, in some cases, very out-of-date content that shows up on certain "news" pages. The way the site has been constructed means we effectively took all our content up to the end of November and transferred it over to this "new" site, but since then, any editing or writing I did disappeared when the "new" site went live last weekend. It's going to take me a week or two of hard work to re-write and compile the updated content, so until then, bear with me, I assure you it is well worth the wait! Take the time to give yourself as quick tour of the NEW website format. Some new features you might like... -Our daily show broadcast on AutoTV, 6.00am-9.00am on TV Channel C4, is streamed every day to our website- click on the TV set icon and you'll find our latest deals, arrivals and price specials. You'll simply need a WMV player to view. -Finance Applications- you can now apply for finance on-line right here at Croydons.co.nz with our Finance Application page- simply fill out all the required fields with as much information as you can, either submit the form by e-mail or print it out and fax it to us on 09-836-8311- all enquiries are treated in strict confidence of course, and a Financial Services consultant will call or email you back to discuss your application. Couldn't be easier, could it! -Video clips- this is a work in progress at this stage, but we have the ability now to stream live from our collection on YouTube (where I have an always-changing series of both racing clips from our Skyline and Supra days, plus video tours of some of our stock) and this will be updated next week. -Feature car- what tickled my fancy today? Take a peek at your Webmaster's choice of car of the day- maybe it is a vehicle you hadn't seen on these pages before? Check it out- I aim to rotate these on a daily basis. Back to work now, as I said, this is a real work in progress this weekend, but take the time to have a look through our new features and tell me what you think! Your Webmasters' email is graeme@croydons.co.zn Have a great weekend! SATURDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2008:Trick or treat! Here's a quick snap of the "gruesome twosome"- Ashton and Caitlin (for those of you who know us here at Croydons, and for those who don't, Ashton is nearly 5, Caitlin has just turned 6, from the Hall and Macdonald families respectively.....
SATURDAY 25 OCTOBER 2008:Hope your weekend has started out the right way- I know the rain here in Auckland has dampened a few holiday plans, but let's be honest, the forecast was pretty consistent all this week about the rubbish weather, and anyway, it ALWAYS rains on Labour Weekend! Something I needed to cover last night that I ran out of time for, was the imminent changes to the motor vehicle marketplace in New Zealand. Fundamentaly, our market is pretty much driven entirely by the variables in foreign exchange rates- the Japanese Yen for us- and any other regulation that the New Zealand Government tries to put in our way. Everything else is just a normal occurence within business, but the two things we can't control are the cost of money, and the depths to which Government tries to meddle in the industry- at all levels. You might recall (and if you read this column regularly, you probably will!) my concerns over the introduction of the Exhaust Emission Legislation put forward in 2006 by the Ministry for the Environment and driven by Judith Tizard, Labour Associate Minister for Transport, and David Parker, Labour Minister for Climate Change. You know that both in my capacity as a Dealer and as Chairman of the North Island branch of the Independent Motor Vehicle Dealer's Association, I campaigned heavily to try to get the politicians and faceless quangos in Goverment to see the error of their misguided ways- while attempst to limit harmful greenhouse gases and the like can be seen to be laudable (irrespective of whether you buy into the scare tactics of Climate Change and the attempts to ostracise and discredit anyone who dares disagree, and hey, I'm not saying I'm taking sides here) the methods being rushed through Parliament both here in New Zealand and the rest of the world may end up causing more harm than any intended good. The phrase "unintended consequences" comes to mind here, I recall meetings with many senior Government officials and Ministers themselves, who simply refused to take into account any independent thinking or advice on their proposals. The Exhaust Emission Rule, in particular the draconian Stage Two about to be implemented on the 31st of December this year, looked all rosy in theory to the Ministers. However, as they were reminded time and time again, Government was proposing changes based upon an industry at the height of volume- avaialability of cars in Japan, the sky-high exchange rate between the Yen and the Dollar, and the then-buoyancy of the New Zealand economy. Back in 2006, Ministers considered that the then-situation with the Russian buying appetitie out of Japan only starting to grow, plenty of makes and models on the market in Japan, an exchange rate of 92-95 Yen to the NZ Dollar (it actually peaked at around 97 right around the time we were debating the issue) and a New Zealand economy seemingly unstoppable in growth on the property market, as factors that would simply remain in place for the forseeable future, and therefore, attempts to restrict the supply of cars from Japan to later models would simply result in the market shifting up a gear or tow- business as normal. In reality, the IMVDA pointed out that the exchange rate of the time was unsustainable- and fears were that a plunge in rates would wipe out the ability of dealers to purchase later-model cars in Japan. Remember, this was Judith Tizard's favourite ill-advised retort to concerns, that the previous Frontal Impact regulations in 2002 produced no noticeable effect in the marketplace over time despite widespread dealer concerns. She forgets (or simply refused to listen) that prior to Frontal Impact, the Yen was trading against the Dollar in the low 50's to high 40's, and the New Zealand economy was at the start of a huge residential property value boom. By fortunate co-incidence, around the same time as the Frontal Impact laws were enacted, the exchange rate started a spiral upwards, and affordability for people increased as equity in housing (on paper) increased. Result- any price increases as a result of Frontal Impact was absorbed by the better exchange rates and availability of money. This time round, it was made very, very clear to Ministers that we were in the reverse situation- Yen vs. Dollar at an all-time high with little room but down, the peak of an economic cycle, and demand from Russian buyers outstripping supply and forcing Japanese market prices up, just as the Japanese domestic demand for new cars was tapering off, thus slowing the trickle-down effect of cascading used cars into the marketplace. We could clearly see it coming, and pleaded with Ministers to forsee these events and re-shape or delay legislation to avoid a near-total collapse of the Japanese used marketplace to New Zealand with resultant thousands and thousands of jobs lost here, and force the price of a decent used car out of the reach of ordinary Kiwis. The "unintended consequences" part came about as research by both Government ministrys (the COVEC report) and the IMVDA (NZ Institute of Economic Research) gave clear models of a drive up of vehicle prices, lack of availability in the marketplace, and the resultant retention of older cars in the fleet- in direct oppostition to the intended effects of the Rule. Thus, "unintended consequences" became a reality this year, as older cars normally dispersed out of the fleet held their value and in many cases, actually INCREASED in value, driving upn the average age of cars in the country and decimating the supply of commercial diesel trucks- forcing lower-captialised companies who had relied on decent used gear from Japan, were forced to retain their old trucks longer and leave us to "choke in the smoke" since a viable repplacement option for most was out of financial reach. So here we are, at the start of stage Two of the Rule, the hardest part- vehicles must have been built to the Japanese 2002-2000 standard, most new cars don't comply until 2001-2002, cutting off supply of the affordable vehicles Kiwis love to buy and own. But that's not the worst part. Exactly as we tried to tell Tizard and Parker, the exchange rate circus would not last- and here we are today, as I write, with the Yen down to 52 against the NZ Dollar, pretty much writing off any chance we have of buying later model stock in Japan- the only cars we can now buy thanks to the Rule. So what we CAN buy, we can't afford. What we can afford, we CAN'T buy. The exchange rate has overnight put some $3,000 on top of the price of a later-model car we would have bought six months ago, and as we all know, Kiwis are a resiliant bunch when it comes to accepting price rises! We warned you, Judith and David, we tried to tell you, you WOULD NOT LISTEN and even in a review of the Rule after pressure from the IMVDA last month in the face of industry-wide redundancies (compliance shops, trucking companies, parts and service etc) your answer was "NO". Now you, the public, are faced with pricing of motor vehicles that will be VERY different next year. We have almost ceased our buying in Japan at present, we simply can't buy vehicles at the new rates, we will have to wait out the market a little and assess things again in another few weeks. One thing is for certain, cars are going to get more expensive. A LOT more expensive. Stock we have landed here now, bought at the higher rates, won't be replaced at the same prices- what you can buy today, you almost certainly won't be able to buy in 2009. As if economic pressures are not bad enough! Remember this when it is time to vote. I'm not trying here to convince you to vote one way or another (or the nice men in Electoral Finance Act uniforms will come to take me away) but I AM reminding you that the power of Government has become absolute, and that it seems that ideology, no matter how good it sounds, has well and truly got in the way of ordinary Kiwis like you and me, trying to get on and make a living in our wonderful country. You work out the rest for yourself! MONDAY 21 JULY 2008:Monday night and it's time to reflect on the week that has been, and all the things to come here at Croydons. As usual of course, there is plenty going on- you know the Croydon team, we never sit still for long! One of our star cars, the 2006 Nissan Skyline 350GT-SP in Red, has now left Croydons in the proud hands of the new owner, our very very best customer of all time whose vehicle purchases stretch now well in the 20-30 mark over a period of years. We jokingly told him a year or two ago that his then-purchase of a Nissan 350Z Coupe meant he'd reached the top of the Nissan ladder- how could he ever find something to replace the Z? Well, the Skyline turned out to be the answer, and those of you who know a little about the Nissan product range will understand the 350Z is a tough act to follow- but what better to do so than a 232kW bright red 350GT-SP Skyline with full black leather and travelled only 3,000km? At any rate, our congratulations to you Robin, you really have selected an incredible motorcar and the Croydon team would like to thank you once again for your loyal and deeply appreciated custom. Last but not least for the night, while entering the latest stock arrivals in my Police Book (the legal inventory record a Registered Motor Vehicle Trader must keep to verify stock owned, who it was purchased from and who it was sold to) I came to the end of Book 25 and another milestone for the Croydon team. Keeping in mind our size, our humble origins and the fact we're still a closely-knit family-led team (with staff stretching back to 1992), each Police book contains 100 pages with 5 vehicle entries per page- so 500 cars per book. Times that by 25 books and we've now seen 12,500 cars in our time here at Croydon Wholesalers! Wow- am I glad I haven't had to wash 12,000 cars! THURSDAY 29 MAY 2008:I've just come back from a couple of days in Christchurch on business with my IMVDA commitments, enjoying great weather there too and a scenic flight down and back over the freshly snow-covered Souther Alps and Kaikoura Ranges. While I've been away the Croydon team have been busy and a number of vehicles have happy new owners now with more fresh stock coming through from compliance too. Don't forget to tune in to our regular TV shows on channel C4, mornings 5.00am to 9.00am, where we screen a combination of still slide ads and video 1-minute segments of some of our latest and interesting stock. And also, while on the subject of video, I have been creaking open my videotape archives at night and putting together clips of our motorsport exploits from days gone past in the anfamous Croydon Wholesalers Racing Nissan Skyline GT-R plus Toyota Supra. These are loaded up for public viewing on YouTube (of course!) under my user name kiwisupra or you can use the keywords "croydon" and "skyline" to find what you are looking for. I think you'll enjoy what you find! SATURDAY 12 APRIL 2008:Your webmaster, me (Graeme) had a very interesting trip to the Deep South this week, on the hunt for spare parts for my 1961 Plymouth Fury project car- I flew into Queenstown on a simply gorgeous autumn morning and drove all the way to Tuatapere right on the Foveaux Strait to meet a fellow Plymouth enthusiast who had some parts for sale. Beautiful if not a wee bit remote to this Aucklander, nonetheless the drive was worth the trip alone, encountering some of the spectacular scenery from Lane Wakatipu south in a mild 21 degree sunshine day. You know, we're so lucky to be living in such a gorgeous country as New Zealand and sometimes forget that we have world-beating scenery right on our doorstep that rivals some of the best I've seen around the globe. My flight back yesterday morning was also stunning, offering views of Mount Aspiring, Mount Cook and the Southern Lakes area from Wanaka across to Twizel. I've shared a few pics with you here:
SATURDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2008:It is with sadness that the Croydon team this week learnt of the sudden passing of Shane Turner, our fabrication guru, racecar specialist and good friend and mentor of the Croydon Racing team, during a race in his TQ Midget at Western Springs on Wednesday night. Shane has been an ever-friendly face to all of us involved in the Croydon Racing team, outside working hours a passionate supporter of motorsport in New Zealand and a hard-working and very talented engineer running the respected STR Fabrication operation out of Henderson. Shane had a hand in the construction of many well-known racecars from a variety of fields- not just speedway, but the import drag scene, drift and circuit, all built to Shane's desire for excellence and workmanship. Graeme, Nick, Glenn and Aaron from Croydon Wholesalers Racing offer their sincere condolences to the Turner family for their tragic loss, a loss felt across the wider West Auckland motorsport community. Shane, you will be very, very sadly missed by us all. You raced your last race, like your life, with honour. FRIDAY 6 JULY 2007:I think it would take a lot more space than I have available here to cover all the events of the week here at Croydons! Sitting here on Friday night, with rain driving down on the roof and freezing cold conditions outside, I can't quite believe that only a week ago we were basking in brilliant blue skies with not a breath of wind! New Zealand certainly has experienced some wild weather over the past few days. Wednesday's huge front with severe thunderstorms resulted in a small tornado over east Auckland, but before making landfall there, the advancing stormline raced overhead here at Croydons before belting us with gale force winds, rain and hail. Viewing the oncoming shelf cloud approaching at around 100km/ph, I became concerned about the possibility of tornadic funnels and set up osition on a low hill opposite the yard, shooting photos until the onset of a "wall of rain" forced me to beat a hasty retreat. Here's a couple of photos of the tornadic storm approaching us:
SATURDAY 23 DECEMBER 2006:Nick took the Subaru Impreza out in the last "Super Taikyu" 3-hour Endurance Race meet at Central Circuit for 2006 last weekend. In a true Kiwi race-attack, his co-drivers were Victor Chapman and Nick Chester, taking turns in Nick's freshly-updated Impreza STi-RA V7. The Subaru set a blistering pace on the track- probably one of the quickest cars in the field- and during the first 40-minutes stint with Victor at the wheel, he managed to bring the car up to fifth place in the race. Sadly though, his time ended when premature brake pad failure brought the car in early, losing 10 laps while replacement pads were found and fitted. Nick Chester was next to pedal, but the road-spec pads simply weren't up to the task and Nick brought the car in after another 40 minutes or so complaining of bad brake fade. Our Nick then took a turn, trying to brake gently wherever he could, just to keep the car in circulation. All came to an end when the pedal went to the floor coming off the front straight into a tight right hander. Nick flew off into thr gravel, tried to fling the car sideways and powerslide out of trouble, but the Subaru glanced off the tyre wall and ripped the left front tyre off the rim, leaving behind some nasty scrapes down the side as well. A sad end to a potential-filled race meeting! In other race news, the next outing for the Croydon Supra will be the forthcoming "DragMasters" Imports vs. V8's meet at Champion Dragway on Saturday the 6th of January. We've just pulled the Supra off the dyno at Torque Performance where a little more fine-tuning by Robin and his crew wrestled a rear-wheel power figure of 594kW- that's around 1000hp at the flywheel! This is an improvement of some 70kW since the last outing, so we're eagerly waiting to see if we can gain a little more time on the strip! SATURDAY 21 OCTOBER 2006:The Croydon Wholesalers team were honoured last night to win the coveted "Best Large North Island Dealership" Award at the 20th Anniversary IMVDA Awards Function held at Sky City. Over 300 of the leading figures in the industry were present, including a large delegation of Japanese exporters, shippers and industry regulators, New Zealand LTSA representatives, Government Ministers and representatives, industry commentators and media. Awards presented included "Outstanding Industry Personality", "Long Service Contribution" and "Best North" and "Best South Island" Dealership awards. The award to Croydon Wholesalers was based on a wide range of judging criteria- including site visits, "mystery shoppers", industry commentary, dealer profile and telephone calls. The independent judging panel noted that Croydon Wholesalers exhibited outstanding customer service and after-sales warranty committment, excellent stock presentation and selection, community support and recognition, long-serving staff and committment, and embracing the latest multi-media marketing and sales techniques including the Internet and television.
Graeme and Nick with the "Best Large North Island Dealership" award, IMVDA Awards Extravaganza 2006. We're honoured to have been recognised within the Industry for our efforts to build, own and grow a successful Dealership in an adverse economic climate, focusing on customer needs and satisfaction together with exceptional value for money, in a trade not always associated with honesty, integrity and sound business principles. We (Graeme and Nick) would like to thank our supporters and partners in our business model- in particular: -Autosure New Zealand, our Warranty provider -UDC Finance Limited, our Financial Solutions partner -AA New Zealand, our Vehicle Appraisal and Inspection team -Optimech New Zealand- Speedocheck Japan, our Odometer certification suppliers -Kiwi Car Carriers, our shippers from Japan to New Zealand -VTS Vehicle Transport Services, independent car transporters to the industry -Kensaku (Ken) Honda of Zero One Trading, our long-standing Agent for purchasing and exporting in Japan And many other companies and individuals we work with every day to keep our business at the forefront. In particular, we'd like to thank the staff and families here at Croydon Wholesalers- the people that make the business the success that it is. We wouldn't be here without you! And on a personal note, I'd like to pay special tribute to my wife Ness, who many of you know, for her unwavering support and patience with me during the long hours it takes to manage a business of this size. And to our customers- you, who have chosen Croydon Wholesalers for your vehicle needs and requirements since 1991- this wouldn't be possible without your support. Thankyou! Graeme Macdonald and Nick Jenkins, Directors Croydon Wholesalers RMVT. -We're owner-operated by Kiwis, just like you. Nick and Graeme are not only Directors but hands-on management too. You'll meet either of us when discussing your trade-in value, or maybe on the phone when you call, or to ask technical questions or details of upcoming stock from Japan. We're the people who own the business and either of us are here and approachable every working day of the week, and Saturday too. -We are one of the few remaining dealerships in the country who travel ourselves to Japan every month to personally inspect and purchase our vehicles direct from the dealer auctions. Nick has been buying in Japan every month since 1996- occasionally twice in a month- and he is widely recognised as one of the most knowledgeable and astute vehicle buyers in the country. -We don't buy from "agency" exporters with large holdings of vehicles for sale to Kiwi "buyers", with marked-up middleman prices and self-assessed condition reports. We go straight to the source- manufacturer-owned auctions specialising in dealership trade-ins in Japan, with independent grading and assessement, choosing and buying our own stock. There is a large industry now in Japan of "export" companies providing vast quantities of cars for sale to Kiwi buyers, many purchased from the very same auctions we attend, but with a mark-up price and the independent nature of the grading lost. Indeed, many buyers now simply purchase from the Internet sites, with no scope for quality control until it is too late and the car is already in New Zealand. We don't believe this is the best way to buy a car- we think to get the best vehicles, you need to view and buy them for yourself. -We own all our own stock! Ever wondered who REALLY owns those 200+ cars sitting on a freshly-laid dealership? Is it the dealer- or the dealer's bank, or the Japanese export company on consignment, or the export company's bank? At Croydons, we've been in business since 1990 and what you see, we own. -We're no fly-by-night flash in the pan. We have one of the longest-serving employee teams in the industry! Chances are, the person you bought a car from at Croydons back in 1999, is working here today- Glenn, Rex, Lorraine and Brian. Team loyalty and customer satisfaction are a key component to our business vision here at Croydons! Have a great weekend, everyone, thankyou for stopping by this page and reading this, feel free to call on by and tell us what YOU think. We're here every day from 9.00am to 6.00pm! |
© Croydons Wholesalers | Design by www.enform.co.nz Powered by The Car Yard
