Melissa bought herself a car....

[carole]

I can tell you this David NZ Drivers are known not to be very courteous,however i noticed when in the big smoke Auckland they were better than down here,hey the thought of driving anywhere in the states is just as frightening, however i remember my Dad drove in New York,scarey thought,honestly if you can drive in a big city in USA, you would find it a breeze here, just the road rules might be a tad different and of course the worst part is we drive on the RIGHT side of the road lol.

Yes I am hoping melissa will prove to be responsible with her car, she certainly seems to have the right ideas so far so good,no personlized plates yet David, i have a feeling that won't happen, they cost a bomb,she will have enough just keeping it warranted and registered,she is looking to get some more hours at work,i think she is going to need them, we don't want her over doing it though, as her studies are top priority.

Hopefully it will pass the warrant of fitness test today,and she will then be mobile,she will love having her independence.

Yeah i think we got a reasonable deal, we had looked at the auctions and privately and for the same money she paid, we only found lemons, and i mean lemons, this one is solid, mechanically sound,and yes does have a few cosmetic issues, but none that affect getting a warrant,nothing that really needs fixing,just makes it look nicer, and Melissa is not too worried about that,yeah we are pretty darn happy with the purchase, of course there are no guarantees,anyhow her Dad can do heaps to keep it on the road,so that is a big help, it will get some oil flush or something done at the garage today as well,so that will take care of all of Melissa's savings.

BTW i did the money conversion thing 1100 nz dollars is around 656 US dollars, not bad huh.

[kuhio98]

Great car. Wonderful, responsible daughter! I'm so proud of her.

When Bobcat and I drove around the North Island (back in 1987) the road signs puzzled us. I wish we had taken photos of some of them. I remember "rumble strip" and "panel beaters".

I did a little driving in Australia and did pretty well until I had to make a turn. My brain couldn't remember which side of the road to get on. Luckily, I caused no accidents.

Bobcat did all the driving in NZ. Most of the roads out of Aukland were pretty narrow and we had a very wide camper/caravan. I don't know how he did it.

[carole]

Lisa things have improved some since then i would imagine,lots of upgrading going on,soon the trip from my city to auckland will be almost motorway all the way, although in the country we still have the skinny roads, but compared to Britain, they are wide believe me.

I am not familiar with rumble strip ,but yes panelbeater, that is what my nieces husband does for a living,oh yes we have many more funny ones, for instance i would say to you i will shout you lunch.,and i might refer to you as being a hardcase,i guess you can make a guess as to what they mean.lol

I am curious what was it that puzzled you about the road signs, the names of the towns, or what?

[kuhio98]

I am curious what was it that puzzled you about the road signs, the names of the towns, or what?

I meant the signs along the road. We saw the rumble strip sign and couldn't figure out what it mean -- never heard that term before. We finally figured it out when we crossed over a section that had a grating of some sort in the asphalt. Since it made the caravan rumble when we went over it, we figured it out.

We had never heard the expression -- panel beaters -- before. We figured it out when we went by a garage/body shop.

[Karen]

Hey, what a great first car. It will teach her a lot, and good for her having paid for it herself? Now, will Dad teach her all the important things, like how to check the oil, change a tire, etc?

Will Mom maybe use this opportunity to learn to drive?

[carole]

Yes dad will teach her all she needs to know,and no mum won't be learning to drive,i think i am way to nervous a person, i would be a danger to myself and others IMO lol,but seriously that is how i feel, no confidence at all.