A west Auckland man has made the ultimate sacrifice for his family.

Daniel McNicholl saw an ad for a 'Mullet Amnesty Day' on TradeMe offering people the chance to exchange their mullet for a new Holden.

At first he thought it was a prank - but realised it was real when he and his family arrived at the Holden dealership on Saturday and were met by professional race car driver Greg Murphy and a hairstylist from Rodney Wayne.

"I thought it was probably a joke, but I decided to turn up in case it wasn't and I'm bloody glad I did," Mr McNicholl said.

Mr Murphy kicked off the event, taking a pair of blunt scissors to what he called Mr McNicholl's "sweet, sweet locks" and laughing as he held up the shorn clumps of hair.

"Geez, I've made a mess of that. You've got a rats-tail," Mr Murphy said.

Fortunately, the hairstylist was more skilled and finished off the job, giving Mr McNicholl a whole new look.

His partner Whitney Harris was also happy.

"I've been telling him to cut his mullet off for ages, I'm glad he didn't listen to me!" she said.

The pair have won a new Holden Astra worth over $30,000, which they're very excited about. Their last vehicle was stolen, and without insurance they have been unable to replace it.

Mr McNicholl also decided to keep his cut-off mullet for memories.

Newshub.