chmaiden

Australia is having 4 new residents from thursday - yay! we have a hire car for 10 days, so have 10 days in which to buy - looking at a kia sorrento or hyundai or ford or something 4wd - looking on yahoo cars, it seems that second hand cars are hardly any cheeper than new ones - not like the uk where you put the keys in for the first time and you lose 25%. So whats best - second hand/demonstrator/new??!?!?!?

DrWho

Personally I think if you go used it needs to be 3+ years to get savings that are worthwhile... The used dealers will tell you they give a 3 year warranty but when you look into it it's not really worth anything... I'd go new and use a car broker... Which is what I'm doing...

k76

I'd say new cars are definitely better value than secondhand here. Having said that you can get really good deals on 2-4 year old typical fleet cars, the basic Falcon, Commodore and Magna. On the same basis don't buy the base model of those cars new, the higher spec'd versions keep their value better.

BadgeIsBack

I've yet to see secondhand cars as expensive as new cars. I'd go for one say 3 years old.

Vim Fuego

According to here : http://www.openroad.com.au/motoring_...fownership.asp

-------------------------------
Large cars

Holden's Commodore Executive heads the Large Cars category, thanks mainly to its ability to hold its value. Depreciation is a big factor in the cost of ownership. All four Australian-built six-cylinder family sedans have very high depreciation rates in the first three years of ownership. After three years, they will be worth 40-50 per cent of their new price as trade-ins.
-------------------------------

We'll be looking for a new family car in a couple of years and I'll be going 3 years old and letting someone else pay for the luxury of that new car smell.

We'll looking at some medium-size thing ... probably Nissan/Toyota or maybe Subaru 'cos I've heard good things about their reliability.

According to here:http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle...r+depreciation

Depreciation can be in the order of 14% per year in the first 3 years and 8 to 9% after that ... depending on model, naturally.

Amazulu

1-2 year old cars can be nearly as expensive as new - especially if you negotiate hard for a new car.
Car dealers make very little on new cars but make loads on used cars.

datamile

Check if hyundai are running specials as they are in QLD at the moment. Free delivery ( 2K ) , ctp etc

Just ordered a new Tuscon City auto with tints for 25,700. Tried to looking for a second hand estate instead, but most where 20K with 70K kms on at a min.

If you were in QLD, I could get you a good deal.

WIWA

Don't rush into anything, the car salesmen here are like Arthur Daley on Steriods, and they spot pale poms, fresh of the boat, a mile away............

Don't compare prices with UK prices, compare EVERYTHING with how long it takes you to earn it. Don't forget wages are a lot lower here.

Look at a long term carhire, at this time of the year you can get a brand new aircon car for $18 a day.

If your coming here to Perth, avoid www.nobirds.com.au they get you big on insurance. Steer clear of airport, so called deals, we used and recommend http://www.northsiderentals.com.au/

Hope this helps

WIWA

Hutch

Shop around. I bought a 9 month old Toyota Kluger CV with 12,000km on the clock from a well respected main dealer for $11k less than the new list price.

Nu-Shooz

We realised the same, that the second hand cars are very expensive. So we went for new. I know you loose money, but i would rather loose money on new than an old car.

discobay

Care to share with us which broker you will be using?

ekiec

Why not go for auction, I did and I am happy. WWW.pickles.co.au is a good start. If you are going second hand ,don't forget to get a 'revs' check www.revs.nsw.gov.au or your state you are going to. Also look at http://www.drive.com.au/homepage.asp...FQYVhgodKWiRCA for more info and prices. Watch out for dealers as I got caught up with a dealer who sold me a car and two weeks later the dealership had closed and dis-appeared. Good hunting.E.

DrWho

A1... I've posted a poll about how much I'll get off...

TheSubMainMan

Whats a car broker? I can guess some guy you go to if you want to buy a car. But isn't that just another middle man? How can it be cheaper.

Do they do camper-van brokers?





</IMG></IMG>

datamile

You pay them a discount, they can get fleet discounts due to the number of cars they buy, and know how to negotiate.

I just emailed 10 dealers using drive.com.au to see who would start dealing. Normally get 10-15% off, and extras