Discovering Atlantis!

Freedom is a quality not easily overrated. This will be yet another (though likely, perhaps hopefully the last) post about an automobile. The remarkable thing about this particular car is, of course, that it's OURS!!!

Adam and I arrived in Wellington with complete intentions of acquiring a vehicle straight away. Most NZ guide books advise that if you're planning on visiting the country for longer than a month that it is a good idea to get your own cheap wheels so you can get to the more remote areas of this beautiful country. While this statement has certainly proven true, Wellington's excellent network of planes, trains, buses, and ferries have left us only occasionally in need of individualized transportation - so we put the idea out of our minds for a while - though admittedly kept a keen eye out for particularly interesting car models or sales.

Then Callie's records were transferred from the States, and a week later she was called to assist with the Young Women's program at church. Almost immediately, this increased our weekly bus fare average from around $12 each to about $25 - with more late evenings during which there are far fewer buses to catch.

Thus, the search for our own car began in earnest. We started our hunt with the e-bay wanna' be site called TradeMe. Three or four failed auctions later, I'd had enough of setting my heart on a good vehicle option for us, waiting and watching for days, only to be out bid in the final moments of the sale. Conferring with friends and neighbors who have been through all this before, we decided to give a live auction a chance.

Right after work on Monday, Adam picked Callie up and we caught a bus out to the nearby suburb of Lower Hutt. Adam did an awesome job of getting directions, so it was with nary a hitch that we arrived, skeptical but hopeful, at the Turners Auction house. It's clear that this is a good exchange of funds, as the auction house was clean, modern, and very well organized. Monday evening featured a "budget" auction designed purely for cars estimated to sell for NZ$8000 or less. We were given a list of about 60 different vehicles and their details. Adam and I set our price cap and proceeded to investigate all remaining cars. Having completed a cosmetic "once over" of vehicles in our price range, we set out to test drive all possible suspects. This proved an essential element to the process, as we found one car that wouldn't start at all, another that had big alignment problems, and yet another that had a loudly screeching fan belt. When all was said and done, we were left with just two possibilities on which to bid. It came down to a four door Mazda Lantis and a teeny tiny two door Suzuki Cutlis. Adam and I committed to NOT bidding higher than our target price - and were thankfully able to stick to our guns.

Let's be honest - the actual auction atmosphere breeds stress and feeds on the weak of heart and jumpy of hand. I was really grateful that the first car we wanted to bid on wasn't until #9 - so we had a chance to get a feel for how the whole situation worked. The auctioneer was in fine form speaking so rapidly that none of us had a chance to really understand what he was saying. It's a darn good thing the price you're bidding at flashes up on a TV or we wouldn't have had a clue. The two cars right before our first bids were mercifully beater cars, so a few of the other "extreme bargain shoppers" were successful right before us, and thus less interested in our hidden treasure. Adam was an expert bidder, biding his time - but catching the last bid at the perfect moment. In a matter of what was literally seconds we became New Zealand car owners of our first choice vehicle!




We've named her Atlantis - because she was a treasure that was hard to find. If you picture the most basic sedan imaginable, and then turn that picture just slightly sporty, you'd have a pretty good idea of what she looks like. She comes complete with a working engine, 4 tires, and a TAPE deck. Yes - tapes. The best/most challenging part of dear Attie is that she's a manual. This usually wouldn't be a problem, Adam and I are both quite accustomed to driving a stick...except when was the last time any of YOU on the other hemisphere tried to shift with your LEFT hand? Thankfully, Adam handles stress like a pro. You would never have been able to guess that he hadn't been driving on the left his whole life.


A quick swipe of our debit card and a couple of signatures later and we were on our way. By the time we made our way out of the parking lot our stomachs were bidding for their own kind of auction, so we let our Entertainment Book guide us to a cute, appropriately named little 50's style "American" diner Cadillac. We went for burgers (fine, mine was actually deliciously grilled veggies on a bun). I think the burgers would beat Atlantis' tires in a competition for diameter.


On the other hand, if rubber tasted that good, I'd buy out stock in GoodYear.