New Zealand drivers are beginning to think big again, with the latest sales figures from Turners Auctions showing an increased enthusiasm for larger cars.

The auction company has seen the amount buyers were willing to pay for cars in the 3.0 litres plus category increase for the second quarter in a row to reach a two-year high of $13,434.

Turners spokesman Todd Hunter said the last report showed an increase of $4000 from the second quarter of last year to around $12,000 by the third quarter.

Fancy an incredibly rare Aston Martin with a halved reserve price or a bargain Ferrari or Lamborghini? Turners’ Auctions latest prestige vehicle auction this week has plenty of gorgeous cars on offer, as vendors look increasingly desperate to turn hard metal into liquid cash.

Thanks to the credit crunch, luxury car lovers will also have the option of picking up a 2006 Hummer with no reserve, or a free VW Polo when they purchase a BMW 545i.

An Auckland car dealership has yet to find any takers for its unique buy-one-get-one-free deal, but maintains the promotion is still bringing customers in through the door during troubling times.

Andrew Simms European in Newmarket has got plenty of publicity from its latest promotion, which sees buyers of a new Citroen C6 receive a brand new Citroen C4 for free, while those purchasing an new Alfa Romero Brera get a free Fiat Punto.

New car sales for March recovered from February’s disastrous slump, but are still well down on last year.

The new car industry has been one of the hardest to be hit by the current economic woes and is eager for some good news in the light of plunging sales and an uncertain future.

There is some bright light in the number of new car sales increasing by 28.6% in March over the previous month, but this is overshadowed by the fact sales are still down 23.3% on March last year.

February sales of new cars in New Zealand were a disaster for the motor industry.

They were 28% down on January but, more markedly, 38.5% down on February last year. 

Motor Industry Association chief executive Perry Kerr said the fact that almost all car companies had to increase prices recently because of the very weak dollar had contributed to the massive fall in sales.

Mr Kerr said more price increases were likely. He said that for some makes, the overall price adjustment needed to be 50% to make up for the fall of the New Zealand dollar.

Retail sales were down 1.2 percent, or $69 million, in May.

In figures released today by Statistics New Zealand, the seasonally adjusted fall, which followed a 1.2 percent rise in April, was shown to be led by the motor vehicle industry which was down 14.8 percent, or $102m.

The decrease is the largest since the 1.9 percent fall in February 2004.

Retail sales excluding vehicle related industries rose 0.7 percent, the retail trade survey found.

Furniture and floor coverings had the second largest fall, down 15.6 percent, or $21m.