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Hi Jack

What is your opinion on the effect of the new import rules coming in on 1 January 2012?

Will prices go up across the board or more for older models affected by the restrictions? Do you think people will be willing to pay more for the same car, or just pay the same but accept an older car?

Cheers

The AA doesn’t consider the change to import rules will have a big impact on vehicle pricing as there are already ample vehicles in the age and price range in NZ that will continue to be available on the used car market, and prices of these are unlikely to rise. The last time import rules (in this case the emissions standard) were tightened was in 2010 (requiring used Japanese diesels to meet the Japan 2005 standard), and at that time the import industry predicted higher prices for used diesels but we have seen little evidence of this. It is true that for dealers who specialise in freshly-imported used Japanese cars, the prices of some models will rise because a 2005 model has a lower mileage than an equivalent 2002 model and is worth more. But importers may change their product mix to select other models that fall within the popular price bracket. We also expect importers to focus more on the used UK market, which is a good option at the moment with favourable exchange rates. In the event prices for some popular imports do rise, we expect some buyers may forgo replacing their car for a year until they can afford to, or until retail prices fall as supplies increase with each subsequent year.