Webley

Hi Everyone,

Moving to Sydney in the next few months on 457 visa. I'm trying to budget for buying/running a car - we currently are a two car family in the UK (as I work and commute in two locations, my wife has a little run around) so trying to estimate a) cost of buying a reliable car and b) running costs (tax/MOT or anything else I need to think about other than fuel)?

Thanks!

Bermudashorts

It's not wildly different to the UK in terms of what you have to think about. Other than you have to buy two types of insurance here, your regular insurance and your CTP. I have found insurance much more expensive here as there is not so much competition.

carolinephillips

....and the price of second hand cars is very high.

seanpears99

Depends on the car, we have a 2008 territory ghia which we paid 18k for, 93ks, smart car, two car insurance is 900 a year.

BASHO

This'll give you an idea about car prices , there's also a value cars facility on this site which will give you an idea of wholesale prices as well.

Used Cars - New Cars - Search New & Used Cars For Sale - carsales.com.au

Webley

That's really helpful, thanks everyone.

I have a mid-range Volvo that's a great car. Looking into shipping it over as don't think I'd get a decent £ for it and would only have to fork out more for the same thing in $ by the looks of it.

spouse of scouse

Couple of things to be aware of - used cars in Oz only come with a warranty if you purchase from a car yard, there's no warranty if you buy privately except if the car is still under new car warranty, in which case the balance of the warranty is transferred to you.

Cash is king in the used car industry - car yards put a whopping markup on used cars so don't be afraid to bargain hard from a position of strength as a cash buyer.

KJCherokee

before thinking of shipping it over, have a search of this forum for the associated costs, then look to see what the equivalent car sells for here, assess what you can sell it for there and work out whether the shipping and import costs are worth it.