My Car Page
My Very First Car
My very first car on the left a 1985 Honda Civic. The other car was my parents car at the time.
Make: Honda
Model: Civic EX
Year: 1985
Colour: Light Blue
Body Style: Sedan
Engine Spec: 1.3 L 60 hp
Transmission: 5 Speed Manual
Country of Origin: New Zealand Assembled
Extras: Radio/Cassette, Tachometer
Purchased: March 1997
Sold : July 2000
My parents bought me my first car when I was 18 years old, this was actually handed down from my older sister who owned this car for a year earlier. What I Liked About This Car:
It was a very economical car to drive like I was able to fill the car up for only $30 back in 1999 when petrol was 80 cents a litre. The most I ever paid to fill this car was $40 when the price of petrol went up to $1.10 a litre. Could drive all the way to Christchurch from Invercargill on a tank of petrol. Even with the price of petrol at $2 a litre this car would cost around $80 to fill compare that with having to pay over $100 to fill a 2l car. I also liked the fact it was manual, apparently the auto version of this car was real crap like only a 3 speed manual. Another thing that was good was the steering like for a car that didn't have Power Steering the steering was pretty good.
What I Didn't Like About This Car:
The biggest thing I didn't like was the manual choke this was a common thing in the New Zealand assembled Honda Civic from this era, my Grandma had the later 1990 model and this also had a manual choke.
Overall:
I have to say this was a good choice for my first car and was certainly much nicer than driving my parents Toyota Hilux Ute that had a column change gearbox. This was originally my older sisters first car she opted to sell it to me and this made a great car for commuting 45km to school every day.
Model: Civic EX
Year: 1985
Colour: Light Blue
Body Style: Sedan
Engine Spec: 1.3 L 60 hp
Transmission: 5 Speed Manual
Country of Origin: New Zealand Assembled
Extras: Radio/Cassette, Tachometer
Purchased: March 1997
Sold : July 2000
My parents bought me my first car when I was 18 years old, this was actually handed down from my older sister who owned this car for a year earlier. What I Liked About This Car:
It was a very economical car to drive like I was able to fill the car up for only $30 back in 1999 when petrol was 80 cents a litre. The most I ever paid to fill this car was $40 when the price of petrol went up to $1.10 a litre. Could drive all the way to Christchurch from Invercargill on a tank of petrol. Even with the price of petrol at $2 a litre this car would cost around $80 to fill compare that with having to pay over $100 to fill a 2l car. I also liked the fact it was manual, apparently the auto version of this car was real crap like only a 3 speed manual. Another thing that was good was the steering like for a car that didn't have Power Steering the steering was pretty good.
What I Didn't Like About This Car:
The biggest thing I didn't like was the manual choke this was a common thing in the New Zealand assembled Honda Civic from this era, my Grandma had the later 1990 model and this also had a manual choke.
Overall:
I have to say this was a good choice for my first car and was certainly much nicer than driving my parents Toyota Hilux Ute that had a column change gearbox. This was originally my older sisters first car she opted to sell it to me and this made a great car for commuting 45km to school every day.
My Second Car
The second car I owned a 1989 Mazda 626 GLX.
Make: Mazda
Model: 626 GLX
Year: 1989
Colour: Blue
Body Style: Sedan
Engine Spec: 2.0 L
Transmission: Automatic with Overdrive
Country of Origin: New Zealand Assembled
Extras: Power steering, Air Conditioning, Central locking
Purchased: July 2000
Traded In : September 2002
What I Liked About This Car:
Well I have to say it was a very nice car for it's age, this car was 11 years old when I bought it and it looked almost new. This car was certainly a big step up from my last car like it felt like I was driving a much more modern car. It was nice now having a car that had an automatic choke unlike my last car, and central locking, the Air Conditioning and Power Steering were a big bonus too.
What I Didn't Like About This Car:
The fact it wasn't a Honda was one thing, also the fuel economy was a bit of shock for me going from my Civic to this car and at a time when petrol prices were at record levels. It was a shock to go from putting $30-$40 of petrol in my Civic to paying $60 to fill this car. Also this car required Premium Unleaded fuel but I still ran it on Unleaded 91 as Unleaded 96 was too expensive.
Overall:
This was a nice car and I wished I had of kept it longer instead of buying my next car. When I traded it in there was a bit of damage to the paint work and a couple spots of rust but nothing serious I still ask myself why I got rid of this as it was such a good car and I could of easily got another couple years out of it before trading up to something way better than what I bought next.
Model: 626 GLX
Year: 1989
Colour: Blue
Body Style: Sedan
Engine Spec: 2.0 L
Transmission: Automatic with Overdrive
Country of Origin: New Zealand Assembled
Extras: Power steering, Air Conditioning, Central locking
Purchased: July 2000
Traded In : September 2002
What I Liked About This Car:
Well I have to say it was a very nice car for it's age, this car was 11 years old when I bought it and it looked almost new. This car was certainly a big step up from my last car like it felt like I was driving a much more modern car. It was nice now having a car that had an automatic choke unlike my last car, and central locking, the Air Conditioning and Power Steering were a big bonus too.
What I Didn't Like About This Car:
The fact it wasn't a Honda was one thing, also the fuel economy was a bit of shock for me going from my Civic to this car and at a time when petrol prices were at record levels. It was a shock to go from putting $30-$40 of petrol in my Civic to paying $60 to fill this car. Also this car required Premium Unleaded fuel but I still ran it on Unleaded 91 as Unleaded 96 was too expensive.
Overall:
This was a nice car and I wished I had of kept it longer instead of buying my next car. When I traded it in there was a bit of damage to the paint work and a couple spots of rust but nothing serious I still ask myself why I got rid of this as it was such a good car and I could of easily got another couple years out of it before trading up to something way better than what I bought next.
My Third Car
The third car I owned a Honda Rafaga. Photo taken in late 2002 taken outside my flat at the time. (Ignore the date stamp this was wrong)
Make: Honda
Model: Rafaga
Year: 1994
Colour: Silver
Body Style: Sedan
Engine Spec: 2.0 L G20A-5 Straight-5 (5 Cylinder Engine)
Transmission: 4 Speed Automatic
Country of Origin: Japan (Used Import)
Extras: None as this was the bottom model. Power Steering, Air Conditioning, Electric Windows, Electric mirrors were all standard.
Purchased: September 2002
Traded In : October 2008
What I Liked About This Car:
Well it was a step up from the Mazda in the sense that it had some better features like Electric Windows. This car did have quite a bit of grunt like you certainly could take off very quickly and great for overtaking other vehicles also great on the open road. The remote locking was great until I lost the key and found it would cost $400 to get another remote locking key, I never bothered and just got another spare key cut.
What I Didn't Like About This Car:
Now where do I start, I think the body looked quite ugly actually especially the front and I still ask myself why I chose to buy such a car. While the inside was quite nice I think the upholstery on the seats wasn't that nice either in fact I put racing seat covers on it to impove it's look. The back seat had very little leg room and the boot was hard to put items into mainly due to the Air Conditioning unit at the back. The fuel ecomony was slightly worse than the Mazda the only real advantage was I could run it on Unleaded 91 ok. This car cost me around $50 to fill in 2002 when the price of petrol was hovering around $1 a litre and cost over $110 when the price of petrol was over $2 a litre.
Overall:
I still ask myself why I ever bought this car especially when I had a perfectly good car and especially now that I have a much nicer car. I was looking for a newer car when I bought this like something under 10 years old but I don't think this was the right choice at all. There is a bit I could of done to this car to make it nicer like adding better wheels a better exhaust and lowering it but by the time I could afford to do that I felt it was time to move up to something better. The only reason I kept this car longer than my last ones was because I bought a house.
Model: Rafaga
Year: 1994
Colour: Silver
Body Style: Sedan
Engine Spec: 2.0 L G20A-5 Straight-5 (5 Cylinder Engine)
Transmission: 4 Speed Automatic
Country of Origin: Japan (Used Import)
Extras: None as this was the bottom model. Power Steering, Air Conditioning, Electric Windows, Electric mirrors were all standard.
Purchased: September 2002
Traded In : October 2008
What I Liked About This Car:
Well it was a step up from the Mazda in the sense that it had some better features like Electric Windows. This car did have quite a bit of grunt like you certainly could take off very quickly and great for overtaking other vehicles also great on the open road. The remote locking was great until I lost the key and found it would cost $400 to get another remote locking key, I never bothered and just got another spare key cut.
What I Didn't Like About This Car:
Now where do I start, I think the body looked quite ugly actually especially the front and I still ask myself why I chose to buy such a car. While the inside was quite nice I think the upholstery on the seats wasn't that nice either in fact I put racing seat covers on it to impove it's look. The back seat had very little leg room and the boot was hard to put items into mainly due to the Air Conditioning unit at the back. The fuel ecomony was slightly worse than the Mazda the only real advantage was I could run it on Unleaded 91 ok. This car cost me around $50 to fill in 2002 when the price of petrol was hovering around $1 a litre and cost over $110 when the price of petrol was over $2 a litre.
Overall:
I still ask myself why I ever bought this car especially when I had a perfectly good car and especially now that I have a much nicer car. I was looking for a newer car when I bought this like something under 10 years old but I don't think this was the right choice at all. There is a bit I could of done to this car to make it nicer like adding better wheels a better exhaust and lowering it but by the time I could afford to do that I felt it was time to move up to something better. The only reason I kept this car longer than my last ones was because I bought a house.
Front view of the Honda Rafaga October 2002.
Back view in October 2002 weeks after someone stole the Rafaga badge off the car.
The interior of the Honda Rafaga with my racing seat covers and my headunit.
The Rafaga Engine a 5 Cylinder Engine
My Fourth Car
One of my current cars a 1999 Honda Torneo SiR. Taken parked up at the Ascot Heights Development in November 2008.
Make: Honda
Model: Torneo
Year: 1999
Colour: Pearl White
Body Style: Sedan
Engine Spec: 2.0 L DOHC VTEC
Transmission: 4 Speed Automatic with Triptronic
Country of Origin: Japan (Used Import)
Extras: Sunroof, Satalite Navigation (doesn't work in NZ), TV (also doesn't work in NZ), CD Stacker, ABS breaking, Traction control, Alloy wheels, Rear Spoiler, 1/2 Leather interior
Purchased: October 2008
Sold : February 2020
What I Liked About This Car:
I have had this car since 2008 and it is still going strong. In 2008 this car was a big step up from my previous car. It looked almost like a brand new car when I bought it the paint work was in mint condition as with the interior. The car had only 65,000km on the clock when I bought it. What I like the most would have to be the overall look of the car like this is a nice car. I found the Triptronic to be great for driving up and down hills, this has come in very handy on a few trips to Dunedin with all the hills. In 2013 I drove this car from Invercargill to Auckland and back again after deciding to do a massive road trip across the country.
What I Didn't Like About This Car:
I have had a few small problems with this since I bought it such as the boot leaking and when you driving I find if you try to take off too quickly the car jumps a bit certainly not as smooth as the Rafaga was.
Overall:
I have had this car for over 10 years now and right up to today I have found this to be great car to own and drive. This is one of the reasons I decided not to trade this car in when it came time to upgrade to my next car.
When I first bought this car I found the car was much more efficient to run on 95 octane fuel vs 91, however in the past 10 years the price difference between 95 and 91 octane fuel has increased so these days I run the car on 91 octane fuel. The fuel light usually comes on after 400km of around town driving but at this point there is still usually a quarter of a tank available. On the open road I would normally get around 500km before the fuel light comes on. This car appears to have quite a small tank, from when the fuel light comes on I only need to put in 45 litres to fill the car up.
Model: Torneo
Year: 1999
Colour: Pearl White
Body Style: Sedan
Engine Spec: 2.0 L DOHC VTEC
Transmission: 4 Speed Automatic with Triptronic
Country of Origin: Japan (Used Import)
Extras: Sunroof, Satalite Navigation (doesn't work in NZ), TV (also doesn't work in NZ), CD Stacker, ABS breaking, Traction control, Alloy wheels, Rear Spoiler, 1/2 Leather interior
Purchased: October 2008
Sold : February 2020
What I Liked About This Car:
I have had this car since 2008 and it is still going strong. In 2008 this car was a big step up from my previous car. It looked almost like a brand new car when I bought it the paint work was in mint condition as with the interior. The car had only 65,000km on the clock when I bought it. What I like the most would have to be the overall look of the car like this is a nice car. I found the Triptronic to be great for driving up and down hills, this has come in very handy on a few trips to Dunedin with all the hills. In 2013 I drove this car from Invercargill to Auckland and back again after deciding to do a massive road trip across the country.
What I Didn't Like About This Car:
I have had a few small problems with this since I bought it such as the boot leaking and when you driving I find if you try to take off too quickly the car jumps a bit certainly not as smooth as the Rafaga was.
Overall:
I have had this car for over 10 years now and right up to today I have found this to be great car to own and drive. This is one of the reasons I decided not to trade this car in when it came time to upgrade to my next car.
When I first bought this car I found the car was much more efficient to run on 95 octane fuel vs 91, however in the past 10 years the price difference between 95 and 91 octane fuel has increased so these days I run the car on 91 octane fuel. The fuel light usually comes on after 400km of around town driving but at this point there is still usually a quarter of a tank available. On the open road I would normally get around 500km before the fuel light comes on. This car appears to have quite a small tank, from when the fuel light comes on I only need to put in 45 litres to fill the car up.
Back view of my Honda Torneo in November 2008.
The interior of my Honda Torneo the day I bought the car.
A side shot of the interior taken in November 2008.
The centre console with the SATNAV/TV and factory stereo.
Where my car came from, the SATNAV shows somewhere in Japan.
The centre console now showing my new headunit.
The SiR model has a blue engine and is a DOHC VTEC.
My Current Car
My new car a 2009 Ford Falcon XT.
Make: Ford
Model: Falcon XT
Year: 2009
Colour: Dark Grey
Body Style: Sedan
Engine Spec: 4.0 L Ford Barra 195 Straight-6
Transmission: 5 Speed Automatic with Triptronic
Country of Origin: Australia (NZ New)
Extras: Rear spoiler, cruise control.
Purchased: February 2019
After owning my Honda Torneo for nearly 10 years I started thinking about updating this car in 2018. This time I decided I wanted my next vehicle to be something that came from this side of the world instead of just buying another Japanese import. Ford stopped production of the Falcon in 2016 and the last Holden was made in Australia in 2017 ending all production of Australian cars. In New Zealand we stopped assembling cars here in 1998. With so many things being made off shore these days I wanted to own a car from my own part of the world and this was the best I could do while still owning a reasonably new car.
So why not a Holden then?
Interestingly enough for the past 20 years I have cheered for Holden's in the Bathurst race each year but have never been a hardcore Ford or Holden fan. I grew up loving the Ford Falon as many farming families around us had a Ford Falcon but I was put off after Ford released the AU series of the Falcon in 1998, that model looked ugly. Early in 2018 I started looking at car yards on my evening walks and spotted a few Ford Falcons I liked amongst all the Japanese cars on the lot, it was then I decided my next car would be a Ford Falcon. Originally I considered buying the XR6 model and most of the Falcon's I looked at were XR6 in the BA and FG series. When I saw this car and a XR6 in the FG series side by side there were only a few minor differences I noticed, I took this one for a test drive and decided the XT series was good enough for me. What I Like About This Car:
For a starters I am loving the fact this is not a Japanese import, I am loving the fact the car has a user manaul written in English, no space saver spare tyre, no annoying beep when reversing, and no radio that won't go above 90.0FM without a band expander. This is a very nice car to drive and has such a great feel about it when driving, the seats are very comfortable and a much smoother ride than any other car I have owned.
What I Don't Like About This Car:
I am still getting used to owning a larger car such as this car is harder to reverse out of my long driveway and harder to park in a narrow car park when the car next to you hasn't left much room.
Overall:
When I decided to buy a Falcon my biggest concern was the cost of running a larger car, however I was amazed to find the cost of filling this car is not much more than my Honda Torneo. On the open road this car is very economical for a car of it's size, with me getting an average of 8.5 litres to 100km. Around town I get between 12 and 14 litres to 100km depending on the route I drive.
Model: Falcon XT
Year: 2009
Colour: Dark Grey
Body Style: Sedan
Engine Spec: 4.0 L Ford Barra 195 Straight-6
Transmission: 5 Speed Automatic with Triptronic
Country of Origin: Australia (NZ New)
Extras: Rear spoiler, cruise control.
Purchased: February 2019
After owning my Honda Torneo for nearly 10 years I started thinking about updating this car in 2018. This time I decided I wanted my next vehicle to be something that came from this side of the world instead of just buying another Japanese import. Ford stopped production of the Falcon in 2016 and the last Holden was made in Australia in 2017 ending all production of Australian cars. In New Zealand we stopped assembling cars here in 1998. With so many things being made off shore these days I wanted to own a car from my own part of the world and this was the best I could do while still owning a reasonably new car.
So why not a Holden then?
Interestingly enough for the past 20 years I have cheered for Holden's in the Bathurst race each year but have never been a hardcore Ford or Holden fan. I grew up loving the Ford Falon as many farming families around us had a Ford Falcon but I was put off after Ford released the AU series of the Falcon in 1998, that model looked ugly. Early in 2018 I started looking at car yards on my evening walks and spotted a few Ford Falcons I liked amongst all the Japanese cars on the lot, it was then I decided my next car would be a Ford Falcon. Originally I considered buying the XR6 model and most of the Falcon's I looked at were XR6 in the BA and FG series. When I saw this car and a XR6 in the FG series side by side there were only a few minor differences I noticed, I took this one for a test drive and decided the XT series was good enough for me. What I Like About This Car:
For a starters I am loving the fact this is not a Japanese import, I am loving the fact the car has a user manaul written in English, no space saver spare tyre, no annoying beep when reversing, and no radio that won't go above 90.0FM without a band expander. This is a very nice car to drive and has such a great feel about it when driving, the seats are very comfortable and a much smoother ride than any other car I have owned.
What I Don't Like About This Car:
I am still getting used to owning a larger car such as this car is harder to reverse out of my long driveway and harder to park in a narrow car park when the car next to you hasn't left much room.
Overall:
When I decided to buy a Falcon my biggest concern was the cost of running a larger car, however I was amazed to find the cost of filling this car is not much more than my Honda Torneo. On the open road this car is very economical for a car of it's size, with me getting an average of 8.5 litres to 100km. Around town I get between 12 and 14 litres to 100km depending on the route I drive.
Rear view of my Ford Falcon February 2019
Side view February 2019
Taken from my kitchen window February 2019
Interior view February 2019
The dashboard of my Ford Falcon.