bridiej

We've already been thinking that we'd like to buy a car pretty much as soon as we arrive. We'll only be spending a couple of thousand, dont want anything big or flash!

I know it's a silly question (!) but how do people pay for cars? Is cash the "norm"?

Also, is haggling encouraged?

Then once we've got the car, how easy is it to sort insurance?

banjo

don't know if cash is the norm....but we paid cash for ours and were able to 'haggle' a fair bit off the price for doing so. Cash also means bank cheque so don't think you have to walk there with dollar bills bulging out your pockets. Don't know whereabouts you're going, but a couple of thousand would only buy you a pile of rust here in Vic.

bridiej

Thanks for the info. Didnt know that about cheques, would be easier as dont like the idea of carrying wads of cash!

I meant a couple of thousand £s, guess I'd better start using $s now though eh!!

Flying Banana

As mentioned above I was surprised to find out a bank cheque is treated as cash here. With the money in your account you can go into the branch and they will issue one immediately over the counter (fee of $5 with the Collectingwealth Bank er I mean Commonwealth Bank).

As for buying a cheap car you'll need to be careful, older used cars are much more expensive in relative terms than in the UK. Have a look on www.carsales.com.au to give you an idea of price and what's available. Also for prices 'Redbook' (http://www.redbook.com.au) is the equivalent of 'Glass's Guide' in the UK.

Laws regarding selling/buying cars vary from state to state. Some useful info here: Buying a used car - guide a good place to look is on the relevant State Trading Standards/Consumer Affairs departments (links on above site under 'Rights and Responsibilities')

As a rough guide most cars less than 10 years old and with less than 150000 km on the clock have to by law be supplied with a minimum statutory warranty. Any defects which the dealer is not going to fix MUST be detailed on the spec sheet hung in the window and not sure which states it applies in but was told to avoid anything under $4000 as here in Victoria there is no need for a roadworthiness certificate hence why a dealer will have a seeming bargain up for sale at $3999.

Also be aware you pay stamp duty when you buy or sell a car and rego will also include compulsory third party insurance (as a guide here in Victoria a 3.8 V6 Holden Commode has just cost $546 in rego, then will have main insurance due in November which was about another $500 when I got the car last year.

It is a good idea to get any second hand car inspected and the RACV (or state equivalent) do a good job at a reasonable cost. Remember cars here won't have had the same wear and tear as in the UK, no salt on roads or months of ice, snow and rain so rust usually isn't a problem. However they could have been driven over very high mileages, been driven on rough unsealed country roads etc so best to get someone who knows what they are doing to have look at it first.

Hope this helps

Caroline G

We're arriving in Melbourne early Feb and will need to buy a car almost immediately.

I've read a fair bit previously about buying new opposed to 2nd hand etc. etc.

What do you think is better value for money at the moment, new or 2nd hand?

Just to reiterate the point about the 'bank cheque' being as good as cash. A bank cheque is not the same as a cheque book cheque. A bank cheque is drawn by the bank from a cashier. I don't want to patronise anyone but I used to work for a bank & lots of customer didn't realise the difference.

Rooksie

B this is all happening too fast. can you please give me some time to get used to the idea. you just dont love me any more i an tell love em and leave em thats your motto

Some Status Quo for you mate:

Well there's Rooksie on my left and there's Anne4Terry on my right
But Hevs is the girl, well, that I'll be with tonight
And when she asks me which one I love the best
I'll tear open my shirt and show them DollyDaydream on my chest
'Cause I'm a wanderer, yeah a wanderer
I roam around and round and round and round and round

Flying Banana

Personally I'd never buy brand new, it's not quite as bad as the UK, where you buy a new car which halves in value as soon as you drive it off the forecourt, however if you look at new car prices and how much the same car is worth say at two and three years you can see you'll lose a fair bit.

A lot of cars over here come with a three year manufacturer warranty so if you are looking to buy something newish go to a main dealer, get something popular about two years old with a year of warranty left and you should have something to give you worry free motoring with the piece of mind that if it goes wrong you'll not be paying to get it fixed.

Go and try lots of different cars, even those you might not have considered. Sometimes smaller is not necessarily cheaper. As a rule Aussie cars ie Ford and Holden (and Mitsubishi) are cheapest and hold values pretty well.

For info, I bought a 13 month old, low mileage, ex GM Company Car, Commodore S 3.8Ltr Manual last November. New it would have cost $37900, with cash I got it for $29k. Redbook shows it as $23k trade in (without taking into account any options or mileage - it is currently 20k km under average) and on carsales.com.au the same car with similar mileage is going for $29k from a main dealer, $25-27k private sale.

I looked at a 2 1/2 year old Peugot 306 XSi as well, was a year older, new would have cost $32900, dealer was selling it for $27k (about 10k km over average mileage and a few minor faults to haggle over) redbook shows now it would fetch around $17k trade in or $19500 private (and those are the top values).

Do your homework and there are some good deals out there. Also main dealer servicing is a lot cheaper here. Before I left UK our local BMW dealer wanted £60/hr labour and our local Vauxhall garage was charging £37/hr labour. The first service on the Commode cost me $150 at our local Holden Dealer.

Bhoywonder

I would agree with the above. I have just bought a 2004 Nissan X-Trail with slightly above average km. Paid $25,888 and got it for $23,500 with change over ( trade in ). You can haggle quite a bit. I managed to get a full tank of petrol and a few grand off the price. ( Remember the price on the window does not include on the road costs. This could mean, rego, stamp duty 4% and vic road charges, I think $38.) Best tip and I know everyone says the same but put it into practice because it works. Be very keen on the purchase and make sure you have some get out clauses ( subject to satisfactory finance. subject to trade in being part of the deal for example) always leave yourself a way out. I used this and then said that I wanted to sell my car on my own. They changed immediately from "I can't go any lower or I wont be making any money" to "what will it take to keep the deal alive" My response was " another grand for my trade in" then it all begins again. They didn't seem to move until I wasn't interested. Then they will bend over backwards. We have included the remainder of the 3 yr road side assistance and the remainder of the manufacturers warranty. Shop around and do your homework. New cars are great to have but sometimes not the most financially sensible.
Hope this helps and you get what you are after. :scared:

Bhoywonder

When we first arrived, just over 2 months ago. We bought a cheap car in our second week. Like yourself we thought a cheap runaround would get us on our way until we settled.
We checked out some yards on the internet and then decided to visit Melbourne Car Supermarket. This is an area on Warragal Rd with about 20 car yards under one arena. As flying banana said we found out that anything under $4000 was not required to have a road worthiness certificate, so we opted to up the budget and paid $7000 for a Ford Falcon GLI 4.0 guzzler. I thought I had done a good job on the haggling as I had lowered the price by $300 after on the road costs had been added and also negotiated a 3 yr warrenty for a car with high km's. Everything seemed fine until the sun came out. So did the ants. This little dream car came with its own any infestation. We had paid for RACV check and mechanically the car was sound but nothing to say we would have some permanent friends for our journeys. :scared:
That was two months ago and when we went to trade it in for the Nissan X-Trail mentioned above the dealer was offering me $3K. A drop of $4K in two months. Struggled to get my head round this so hence the haggling for the X-Trail.
Be wary when buying a car that age, you will be surprised at how little you will get for your money. Second hand cars hold their value here so be prepared. We had been told that before coming but didn't fully appreciate until we were in the car yard. Research is great but reality is better.
If anyone is wondering who the dealer was for Ford. It was ??? PM me if you want to know. be aware

Car insurance is very easy to obtain here, just like the UK. Phone up and organise over the phone, that is you covered. Probably about half the price or less than the UK insurance.

Timber Floor Au

Albeit I think your 2 posts are great and I agree with you 100% I think you should not mention a COMPANYS name on here without their representation, doesnt seem fair to me.

banjo

AAMI (www.aami.com.au) are very good for competitive insurance. Our is $423 per year for the two of us......that's cheaper than the rego! It doesn't seem to vary too much on the type of car either as it is the same for our pajero as it is for the little proton persona.

Bhoywonder

Now amended. Sorry if I offended anyone, it was not my intention. Just trying to be helpful / positive and defo wouldn't want to be obstructive..............

bridiej

Thanks peeps, have rechecked my budget spreadsheet (!) and it works out about $10K each for the cars.... so should get something good

Rooksie: ya know i love ya!

Kiwipaul

The only reason you would buy a new car here is to SAY I'm rich and can afford a new car. It's a status symbol. But if you want to be canny buy a 2 or 3 year old car as a new car drops by 25% just by driving it out of the yard. Also you don't have rust problems here as they don't use salt on the roads so cars don't rust. In the UK I wouldn't look at a 5 year old car as it would be a rust bucket in a couple of years.

QLD is not a harsh environment for cars and they last for years if you treat them well. Mine is comming up for 8 years and costs me about $1000 a year in serviceing and repairs (I do about 12,000 kms per year). Due for clutch change 6 month service cost $125, battery changed last year after 6 years and still running on origional exhaust (how many UK exhausts last 8 years??)

Kiwipaul

The only reason you would buy a new car here is to SAY I'm rich and can afford a new car. It's a status symbol. But if you want to be canny buy a 2 or 3 year old car as a new car drops by 25% just by driving it out of the yard. Also you don't have rust problems here as they don't use salt on the roads so cars don't rust. In the UK I wouldn't look at a 5 year old car as it would be a rust bucket in a couple of years.

QLD is not a harsh environment for cars and they last for years if you treat them well. Mine is comming up for 8 years and costs me about $1000 a year in serviceing and repairs (I do about 12,000 kms per year). Due for clutch change 6 month service cost $125, battery changed last year after 6 years and still running on origional exhaust (how many UK exhausts last 8 years??)