Pete 2003

Hi there,

I'm new to this forum and after some advice. I've arrived in Peth a week ago and am planning to travel up north to Broome and then on to Darwin. I've been looking at buying a car but I'm not sure what to go for.

I started out looking at cars with a good bit of boot space. Just so I'd be able to pack a good bit of stuff for me and my partner, then we started looking at estate cars or wagons as they call them here.

The salesmen have told me that if I'm heading up to Darwin I'll need a four wheel drive. So I've been looking at these as well. Starting off with a Honda CRV and going up to these monster V8's. I originally only planned on spending 10K in Aus Dollars but for a reasonable 4wd they are starting at around 18K. So I just want to know. Do I really need a 4wd? Will a two wheel drive just up on die on me if I drive on a few unsealed roads? What should I be looking out for? I know it's a lot of questions but any advice would be much appreciated.

All the best,

Pete

Bix

Hi Pete and welcome to the forum.

Those in OZ will be able to give the best advise about the Darwin trip but in the meantime here is some light reading for you that may help

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=4+wheel+drive

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=4+wheel+drive

Pete 2003

Thanks for the reply.

I was looking at a Honda CRV. 4cy 2 ltr. Had 99000k's on clock. Going for about 18K. Can anybody tell me if this is a good deal?

ATB

Pete

rob&lucy

Smart thinking salesman! However i've done this journey in an automatic very old ford falcon with no problems. This can be a good cheaper option the car cost me $300 all in.

markeh

Hiya Pete,

I knoiw a guy at work who did an around the world trp & they drove around Oz in a second hand holden wagon. I think they sold it for only a few $ less than they paid for it.

Remember the key is not to get stuck!

Bye
Mark

bussie

if its up for 18k then offer them 16k if they say no say ok here is my number if you dont get a better offer give me a ring

most cars and wagons are priced 2k over

i got wise very quickly after buying my first car and paying 2k over the real value

second car a hilux surf priced at 15k and i offerd him 13k
he said put 200 dollars to that and ill give you 12 months waranty as well

done deal

janeyray

Shame, we just had ours up for sale $8000. It's a Nissan terrano 1991 excellent condition 140,000k 2.7 TD Serviced and passed an RAC inspection in March 2003. Loads of boot space and luggage room. 6 months rego Automatic. hey let me know if you're interested!!!

Ceri

If you're looking for one around the $10 grand mark.. why don't you check out the auctions. Can't advise you on the auctions near you, but try the mid week ones., and not the weekend ones.( The public auctions,.. some are dealers only auctions) . Mid week ones , you'll just be bidding against dealers and not so many private people ( weekend auctions tend to be expensive.. mostly private buyers you'll be bidding against.. and they tend to go a lot higher in their bids of course than a dealer) .

It may take you a few weeks ( even months), and traipsing around auctions to get a good bargain. One of my best bargains I picked up a few years ago .. $8,000 total with auction fees ( bid was around $7,000 something ( worth around $15,000, or $16,000 ) .. it was a repossession, in excellent nick. I was really lucky with that buy.. there were not many people at the auction.. but you can save yourself quite a few grand. ( go where the dealers get half of their cars from)
Pick a day when it's p*ssing down.. if it's sunny there are more people at the auction.. p*ssing down .. it always is a bit emptier.

Also we have bought quite a few numerous four wheel work utes from the auctions ( two years old etc.. immaculate).. with savings of quite a few grand. Me personally, would never buy from a dealer, and the private adds/sellers are just as bad half the time with their stupid prices. ( I actually bought my boat at an auction too).. I never pay top dollar, I don't like being ripped off ( don't mind ripping others off though.. if they are that dull) .. must be the gypo in me...lol

If you know what your doing... the auctions are your best bet for bargains.. if you do so happen to buy a dud, just put it through a weekend auction where you should sell (offload it)at a profit to some dopey git... nothing lost

good luck

cheers

gedge

We've been looking at the CRV too. 18K seems about right for similar in Sydney. If it's an automatic or a sport model add on about 1k for each.
I haven't got to the buying stage yet, so haven't tried any bargaining, but I reckon bussie woz right about going 2k under.

Kiwipaul

For the journey from Perth to Darwin you don't NEED a 4x vehicle as it's all tarmac. But to get to some of the out of the way places you do. 95% of the places you can get to in a normal car but if you like beach driving or going X country obviously you do.

Remember it's not just the initail outlay thats more expensive, it's running costs twices as much as well as repairs, insurance, and petrol.

Also even if you buy a 4x you will only need to use that feature for about 1% of the time, so you decide is it worth it.

Caroline G

We drove from Perth to Exmouth in a rental camper van which wasn't 4 wheel drive. The Ocean road was a good tarmac road.

We drove off to see sights along the way and some of these off shot roads are a bit ropey i.e non tarmac & made up of what I can only decribe as little waves which make the car shudder & shake when you drive over them. We had a few pots & pans falling out of the cupboards!

As previously mentioned we drove JUST off the tarmac road to get a closer look to Red Bluff & got stuck in the sand. Luckily some good willed Aussie miners with a 4 wheel drive & chain dragged us out!

If you are worried about getting stuck anywhere you can buy one of those rescue kits with a satelite beacon thingy... Pack plenty of water, hats & a couple of shovels (this is some of what Ray Mears suggests) & stay with the car if anything happens - worst thing you can do is go wandering off...

Sunny spells

this might be useful

http://www.discountnewcars.com.au/

good luck