'Extremely good vehicles’

Press, 7 October 1988, Page 32

'Extremely good vehicles’

Austin Cole, of Lichfield Motors in Durham Street, is the owner of one of the first garages in Christchurch to become involved with Japanese cars in a big way. “We have seen a lot of these vehicles over the last year and, on average, they are extremely good vehicles,” said Austin Cole.

“Most vehicles that come into the country are very good, but there is the

occasional unscrupulous dealer who will bring in cars which are below standard.

“Those people interested in buying cars should always have them checked out, either by a mechanic or by an unbiased organisation such as the Automobile Association,” he said. Mr Cole said that there are definite differences between Japanese imported cars and the usual

standard model we find on the roads — but the differences are very subtle. “There is usually no trouble with parts but we always use a sample part when trying to source different parts. The parts are definitely available but they may not be named as expected. "The major trouble is with the emission system and we have found that rather than spend hours fixing them, it is just as easy to remove the system. “We try to keep the car in one piece, but the bottom line has to be cost so

we make our decisions around how much it will cost to fix a particular fault against how much it will be to remove the piece altogether.” As well as being a good buy, Mr Cole said that the finish of the Japanese imports is exceptional. What New Zealanders consider as luxury extras, the Japanese have as standard parts of the car, therefore, imported vehicles into the country usually have all the extras. “Some of the vehicles coming in are just amazing,” he said.