Car buyers get a break

Hyundai is offering an insurance which gives new customers three months' grace on payments should they lose their jobs.

The scheme also allows customers to return their vehicles, with no credit rating penalties, if they can't find fulltime work after the period expires. The carmaker has joined finance company Marac to form Hyundai Assurance. The scheme could continue next year depending on economic conditions.

Tom Ruddenklau, the sales manager for Hyundai Motors NZ, said: "At the end of six months, if the customer hasn't found a job they can return the vehicle to the dealership and walk away - no dramas, no embarrassment and no bad credit record."

Hyundai Assurance covers buyers who finance a new or used car through an authorised Hyundai dealer.

The policy covers payments for three months, providing the buyer has had the vehicle for three months before being made redundant. The scheme is backdated to cover last month's car buyers.