New Zealand X1/9

markx19

markx19

Mark Weinberger
I was hoping to find more X1/9 owners in New Zealand. It's unclear how many were imported and i have notice they also have a lot of UK imports.
If your from NZ please take a look here and register your X1/9.

nzlogo.png

http://www.x19.nz
 
Well According to the Story Book Italia

11 in 1982
2 in 1983 and
48 in 1988

That makes a total of 61 cars as shipped from factory records.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada
 
Hi Tony

Thanks for this info, i Googled the book your talking about but could not find it. Could you give me more details please.

Your numbers sound right however i now know there is 162 according the govt register of motor vehicles. So the rest must be imported.

Mark
 
Well first off

The book is written in Italian.

Correct name of the book is.

Le Vetture Che Hanno Fatto La Storia

Fiat X1/9

by Giorgio Nada (Editore)

It also give production numbers for the years as well and paint and colour combinations of the interiors.

What else would you like to know?

TonyK.
 
X1/9's in NZ.......!

Hi Mark,
Your query about how many X's are still on the road here in NZ is VERY difficult to determine!
First point is - ALL X1/9's that were/are in NZ were imported FBU (fully built up).
Some Fiat models i.e. 1500's, 500 Bambina's, some light commercial models, were produced through the 1960's-70's-early 80's by a company called Campbell Motor Industries (who also produced some US Rambler models, and other low-volume "foreign" makes).
These were the days when the NZ motor industry was heavily protected by the NZ Govt of the day, allowing the major assemblers - Ford NZ, General Motors NZ, and other importers of predominately British manufacturers, to commandeer the automotive market.
Back in those "communistic" times, anyone (incl dealers) wanting something as "exotic" as a Fiat X1/9 had to order one, or however many they wanted, through a "friendly source" in UK, or Europe. Cars being imported by this means (termed FBU - fully built up) paid OUTLANDISH import duties.
Consequently, most Fiat X1/9's were ordered thru a "friendly" UK Fiat dealer, as these were available in RHD. Because of the shipping cost, and the high import duty, X1/9 were brutally expensive!! Hence, not many were imported new!
In more recent times, as the NZ Govt de-regulated the Motor Industry, some more used X1/9's have been privately imported, mainly by Kiwi's returning to NZ after living o/seas for some time. No import penalty applies in these instances.
But they are still pretty rare over here - many have succumbed to the dreaded rust problem, and also have been shunned by so-called "mechanics", to frightened to even lift the engine cover on an X1/9! :doh:

cheers, Ian - NZ
 
Tony

Thanks, I have this book but i don't recall seeing NZ stats in there. I will take a closer look again.

Ian

So what your saying is there was no local Fiat deliverers in NZ until the Bertone 88 model. Is your one a UK import and is do i have it listed on the site? is one of them yours?
 
markx19 said:
......Ian
So what your saying is there was no local Fiat deliverers in NZ until the Bertone 88 model. Is your one a UK import and is do i have it listed on the site? is one of them yours?.....
Click to expand...

Hi Mark,
I will answer your easy questions first :D as they are about MY X1/9.
Yep, my '78 X1/9 is an ex-UK import. It was imported from UK in December 1978, as a "used" car, with 35 miles on the odometer! Trying to understand the CRAZY NZ Govt vehicle importation regs. at that time will bore you to tears.
The NZ motor vehicle regs at that time heavily penalised importation of NEW cars, from any o/seas source! (They wanted all of us "donkeys" to buy a NZ-assembled car - a bit like Aust Govt saying to all you Ockers "you must buy a Holden or a Ford!!"
If a prospective Kiwi car buyer had plenty of cash, and wanted an o/seas-produced NEW car, he had to pay 50% customs import duty, together with the cost of shipping the car to NZ.
However, if he wanted to buy an o/seas USED car, the import duty was much less (around 12.5% from memory). So, by now you will have sussed out what went on - many "used" cars (like my X1/9 with 35 miles on the odo) beat the import duty system!
A number of crafty NZ car dealers then set up a "relationship" with a "willing" :devil: UK dealer to import European cars (being RHD to suit both the UK/NZ market also), and made fortunes out of selling "new" European cars, with VERY low mileages to wealthy Kiwi car buyers.
That's the very way my '78 1300 X1/9 came into NZ!
It was first registered in NZ on 3 January 1979 with 35 miles on the clock - hot off the ship after 6 weeks on water from UK! :laugh:
It's my guess that's how most X1/9's in NZ arrived into the country - they were certainly never assembled here, as were some Fiat 1500's and Bambina 500's.

No, I haven't logged my X onto your register, Mark, but will open up your file and do so, if you like!

cheers, Ian - NZ
 
Hi Ian

Thanks for your info, i was in NZ around the early 90's and i remember all the imports and problems you guys had.

I have been chatting to another Kiwi and he says he has a list from 2013 Motor Vehicle Register in NZ. It has 162 registered X1/9's in NZ on it. I'm asking for a copy of this list to get a better understanding of your cars.

If you could register and send me a picture of your car that would be great.

Mark
 
Ian,

Quote: A number of crafty NZ car dealers then set up a "relationship" with a "willing" UK dealer to import European cars (being RHD to suit both the UK/NZ market also), and made fortunes out of selling "new" European cars, with VERY low mileages to wealthy Kiwi car buyers.
That's the very way my '78 1300 X1/9 came into NZ!

So if you're that well to do, why wait for us Yanks to come visit you, bring the X out to California and we'll show you a good time.

Mike
 
Aussie X1/9 register.....!

markx19 said:
......If you could register and send me a picture of your car that would be great...
Click to expand...

Hi Mark,
I logged into your Aus website and found the NZ owner section, but couldn't find the "how to register" system (my old fart's syndrome playing up again! :confuse2: ).
So I have emailed you (info*...........) with some pics and info on my X1/9.
Hope this will be useful to you!

cheers, Ian - NZ
 
Not so fast there, young Mike......!

mbusman said:
.....So if you're that well to do, why wait for us Yanks to come visit you, bring the X out to California and we'll show you a good time...
Click to expand...

....them wealthy car owners were the FIRST owners, "uppity b......ds" that had enough $$$$$, with spunky wives (girlfriends?) that wanted to be seen cruising around town in a new European sports car!
Poor hard-working peons, like me, had to wait until these types of cars had been owned by a few more of these morons before we could afford one!
That's why me, at OWNER No. 4, had to wait till I was a single-again :grin: "old fart" that could cruise around town thinkin' I still looked like Brad Pitt!! (Hmmm, I wonder if I still do? :nuts: )

cheers, Ian - NZ
 
Looky here... You do look like BRAD PITT...

... if he were 70+ years old!



(Ian is on the left... and Brad is on the right... No, wait... I might have that wrong...)

Anyway... I betcha in a few years folks will be screaming after you yelling... "Brad... Hey Brad... What's like living with Angelina Jolie... Huh?"

(All others, remove your reading glasses and SQUINT real hard and you will see the resemblance. If that doesn't work... try a tall 64 oz. glass of WARM Foster's Beer and try again.)
 
No probs, Tony old pal.........!

Black-Tooth said:
... Anyway... I betcha in a few years folks will be screaming after you yelling... "Brad... Hey Brad... What's like living with Angelina Jolie... Huh?".....
Click to expand...

..I will just relax back in my armchair overlooking the HUGE swimming pool in our house in Vegas, and call out to my sweetie-pie, as she is pouring me another pina colada, - "bout time for me to make another movie, honey! I see we are down to 20 mill in our joint bank account at the mo....!"
Life can get a bit tuff when you are a 'celeb", Tony!! :pimp:

cheers, Ian - NZ
 
Too small for us, Tony.....!

That place (5228 sq. ft.) ain't big enough for Ange!
She likes to "spread out" when we are at home. She doesn't like ornery guys peerin' down on her when she's "doing her thing" in the pool!
Vegas is her "style", mate! :love:

cheers, Ian - NZ
 
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