Real-estate agent Ricky Cave tells court Aston Martin driving ban causes 'extreme hardship'

Property mogul Ricky Cave, photographed with girlfriend Chrystal Chenery, said not travelling in his luxury car would be a bad look. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

Auckland real estate wonder-boy Ricky Cave who lost his licence for speeding and drink driving says that being banned from driving his luxury sports car for six weeks could cause him to "suffer extreme hardship".

The Ray White Real Estate agent, aged in his 30s, had his driver's licence suspended in April last year for a second time after racking up two speeding charges and a third charge for driving while intoxicated.

Cave however applied for a limited licence one month into his three-month suspension, claiming that being unable to drive his orange Aston Martin Virage with the personalised number plate "R Cave" was a "really bad look".

Judge June Jelas declined Cave's application in the Auckland District Court in June 2016 on the basis that given his luxurious lifestyle, being unable to drive for six weeks would not cause him to face extreme hardship.

"Mr Cave has sufficient income and assets to enable him to meet these short-term additional costs. He has a substantial income and substantial assets," she said.

The million-dollar property mogul had an average monthly income of $25,000 after tax in 2015 and owned five properties.

He has also shared photos of him and girlfriend, ex Bachelor NZ contestant Chrystal Chenery, swanning about on yachts and enjoying numerous glamorous holidays.

Judge Jelas said that given the buoyancy of the Auckland property market it could be expected his income in 2016 would be substantially similar.

She said Cave would be capable of explaining why he was unable to arrive in his luxury sports car to customers.

Cave also claimed that his insurance company refused to pay an alternative driver to chauffeur him around in his Aston Martin and that he could not afford to lease another vehicle and hire a driver.

He told the court he estimated the latter would cost $55 per hour and would be required from 6.30am to 9pm, six days per week.

"The driver hourly rate strikes me as very high," said Judge Jelas who told the court Cave's requirement for a driver from early morning until 9pm was "overstated and excessive".

Cave outlined his monthly expenses in two separate affidavits, written within days of each other, however the second one stated his costs were $47,132, more than double the original sum quoted.

This disparity led Judge Jelas to treat his expense figures "cautiously".

Maintaining his Aston Martin and a Range Rover his mother drove was his biggest expenditure, after looking after his five properties.

"I barely have enough savings and any extras gets put back into a property management business that has only been operating a few months," Cave's affidavit stated.

Cave started the new property management business after his drink-driving offence and therefore "elected" to enter the venture "at a time when his license was about to be suspended," Judge Jelas said.