extrobe

Just looking into car options. The big European brands seem to be much pricier (no surprise there), but i'm seeing new cars from more eastern-based manufacturers seem to be much cheaper - but more so than I would have expected.

Example: Mitsubishi Outlander
Base price in Australia is A$28,000 - about £18,000 at current rates
Base price in UK is £25,000

Now, the base models won't be a true like-for-like, but given the unfavourable exchange rates at the moments, that's still a pretty big difference.

So I just wanted to check - are there further costs / taxes on top of the A$ price? It states that this is the 'driveaway' price, but want to make sure I've not overlooked something

carcajou

You are not missing something.

I drive 5,000 to 6,000 km every month, so buy cheap since I have to replace my cars every few years. I routinely buy new for under $12,000 AUD and don't have any problems with the cars.

garyp

What do you generally buy new for $12000 AUD if you don't mind me asking?

carcajou

When I need to buy, I go to one of the aggregation sites like carsales and see what's on offer. If there's a number of dealers offering the same model on sale - it shows they need to get it off their lot and are motivated sellers.

I live in Country WA so go into Perth when it's time to buy. Considering the kms I rack up - fuel economy is a huge consideration. Right now I drive a Holden Barina but before I had a Mitsubishi Mirage. I like the Holden a lot better but the Mitsubishi got a little better mileage.

They are small cars, but it's just me and my wife.

extrobe

thanks both. I'd planned on buying used, but am more likely now to buy new/nearly new (pre-registered as we'd call it in the UK).

Wouldn't normally buy so new, but a) the reassurance of the full warranty will help being in a new environment, b) Although I'm paying, my sponsor are loaning me the money on an interest free basis, and when I sell it again (as will be on 457 visa) they'll write-off any shortfall, so I'm protected against that big drop in value that comes with buying new

It also sounds like cars don't tend to last quite as long either (salty air + heat, I presume?)

xizzles

I think it's just wear and tear because Australia is a huge country after all. I did a double take at what carcajou said - 6000km a month! Holy Long Journeys Batman! I'm presently based in Singapore and it's a small country: It took me a year to clock what carcajou managed in a month!

moneypenny20

Weirdly incorrect. (Well I think it weird anyway) They last a lot longer than they do in the UK. Way less rust for a start and the salty air is far less damaging than driving through salted slushy icy roads. It's way more common to buy a used car with very high mileage here.

extrobe

Right, I see - so frequent changing of cars is more down to racking up high mileage that them falling apart?

Pulaski

Ultimately it's mostly about pure economics - price competition and what other manufacturers are selling cars for. In the UK the price of new cars is notoriously high. Same in the US, if you live south of the snow belt. Our Honda Accord has 325,000 miles on it, which took us 14 years, and my wife continues to rack up 25,000 miles a year. Once our daughter started school we could no longer commute together, so I have been putting another 15,000 miles on my truck (ute) for the past 4.5 years.

We have often considered replacing our Accord, but since the only times it has "broken down" is due to a failed battery, it has been tough to justify replacing it. We are about to buy a new Accord, which Mrs P will drive, then I will take over the old one, and park my truck which will save us about $80/mth in petrol.

extrobe

Incidentally, also up for any other recommendations for solid, roomy, good-value family cars we should consider.

(still getting my head around some of the local brands!)

Currently drive a Hyundai i40 Tourer - so something along those lines, or something like the Outlander. Don't need top-of-the range, but quite like tech-features (built in Sat Nav in particular will be useful!)

garyp

I can understand where you are coming from.I bought a second hand 5yr old Mitsubishi Lancer for about $9000 when I first arrived. Frustratingly I soon realised I needed more boot space especially when you started buying things for the house and the bloody seats wouldn't go flat they were fixed.Never had that in a car before or since where you couldn't move seats to make the boot bigger.I probably get a wagon or ute if I did it again.Suppose I could have bought a trailer.Because you have only just arrived you can't really rely on anyone to help you out on these simple things.Its all trial and error.

extrobe

This is actually one of the appeals of something like the Outlander / or perhaps a Nissan etc - whilst there will be some regional variation, I can go down the road and test drive the Outlander, whereas a Holden Commadore would be something of an unknown entity.

carcajou

xizzles, 5,000 to 6,000 km a month, yes. I live in a country town and travel to a series of other country towns for my job. Australia is a big place, and outside the metro areas, distances between Point A and Point B are far. Yet, I probably don't spend that much more time commuting, then someone who needs to get to the Sydney or Melbourne CBD. Some days I can be in the car for two hours and count the number of passing vehicles on one hand.

I haven't noticed, or heard anyone here, complaining about short shelf lives of the cars. I think they last as long as they do anywhere else. The worst thing I've had is a faulty ABS indicator light.

garyp - yes. My Mitsubishi was terrible about that, with the seats and the boot, because of that I had to just hire someone in Perth with a trailer to collect all the stuff we bought from the stores and bring it to where we live for a few hundred Dollars. Delivery is always something I have to factor into prices here.

garyp

Loved the car it went like a dream and was bullet proof but no good if you needed space.What are the best second hand wagon car to have apart from Falcon and Commordore, engines too big for my needs?

moneypenny20

Personally I think people only change their cars because they want a newer/different car. No one seems to care about mileage in fact some seem to think it's great that their car has 300k on the clock.

I see your point on this but I'm not sure it's actually that useful. If you buy a brand spanking new car the sat nav should be up to date. If you buy a secondhand car it may not be and it may not be 'updateable'. You'd be better off ensuring you have bluetooth/compatibility and a smart phone and use that as your sat nav.