Melchels

I have been looking at 2nd hand cars and cannot believe the prices in Oz. Admittedly the cars look in better condition than over here but it seems common to be paying around $AU20K for a car up to 10 years old!

I have heard that the Australian market BMW's are made in South Africa and they do not have the same reputation as those built in Germany.

I want to get a car that is comfortable - for long journeys

reliable - parts arn't going to cost the earth

engine not too big - so it doesn't drink like a fish

cruise control - so I can keep my licence as clean as possible

Any thoughts?

Gjn200

20k for a 10 year old car?????????? 20k will buy a brand new Focus. Have a look here for new car prices.

JayDeee

Dont ask me why but cars last longer here, I am driving around in a 1987 4wd (8.5k), it is in better nick than every car I have owned except my last car which was brand new ford focus.

A brand new ford focus will knock you back 18K here, not bad if you ask me. that is less than a 4 yr old focus with the same engine size in the UK.


Depends what you are looking for but my 18yr old car is just as good as any 6 yr old car I have ever owned in the UK which might explain why cars hold their price more here.

Kala

The Druid

I agree with that, cars do seem expensive in Australia, I am moving to the North West soon and I mentioned to my new employer I was thinking about bringing my car, they were all for it as they claimed cars are very expensive in the NW as they have to be shipped up from Perth and cars are expensive in Perth anyway.

Maybe I should bite the bullett and ship my car.

Amazulu

All (worldwide) right hand drive:
BMW 3 series
Mercedes C Class
Volkswagen Golf
are made in South Africa.

Merlot

Maybe high import costs and taxes, I have no idea really

Not sure either, my hubby was over whelmed how cheap cars were back in the UK but once I added in the running costs, tax, petrol and insurance over in the UK he put the WRX back and kept the crappie rusty Fiesta, which for a few hundred quid goes like a rocket.

M

JayDeee

Unless you have a really decent car dont bother, I am in the Mid West Geraldton) and it was (a lot) cheaper for me to buy new here than ship my car. Also once I had arived the importance of a brand new car (like it was in the Uk) was no longer important, Going with the flow of your new "home" will soon have you wanting a 87 4WD, much more practical with all them unsealed roads up North

Kala

jad n rich

Cars dont last longer here, its just acceptable to drive stuff that would have been scrapped overseas. The market for second hand cars is huge, because most people need at least 2 cars due to longer distances, suburban isolation, less public transport, casual jobs which are often on call. So demand for second hand cars is high prices stay high too.

New cars are expensive if you compare to USA models which are usually light years ahead in inclusions, styling, Couple of cars I looked at on UK websites the OZ version seems to be slightly cheaper. Dont forget websites dont include aussie on road costs about $3000, plus airconditioning in many models is optional extra.

Quinkana

Should be delighted that the rate of depreciation is lower.

New car owners lose £9.6bn in first six months - Values plummet by up to £108 a day

Siren & Brian

Wonder if the new free trade agreement could mean that cars being shipped from usa may be cheaper?

Jimbo9

The tariff on imported cars was cut from 15% to 10% in January - these were the top 10 selling cars in that month

Holden Commodore 4,225
Ford Falcon 3,514
Mazda 3 2,781
Toyota Camry 2,733
Toyota Corolla 2,593
Holden Astra 2,459
Holden Ute 1,613
Toyota Echo 1,585
Nissan Pulsar 1,474
Honda Accord 1,473

pogsy

For what its worth I dont think all cars in oz are expensive, just certain makes, reason I feel this is we were thinking of shipping a 12 month old volvo XC70 AWD.
Car cost here £31,000 O/T/Road

Quote from a melbourne volvo dealer:
In Australia came just now the high flow diesel available.

The XC70 LE (specifications on our webpage) would be on the road in Victoria 77.400 AUD$ RRP. This includes 2.5 T engine, Sunroof, Bi-Xenon Headlights, Heated Front Seat, Wood Steering Wheel and more.

I hope that helps you a bit.

On the above quote say an exchange rate of 2.4 /GBP = £32,250

So there aint a lot in it, based on this I will not bother shipping my car, just sell it here first and take the cash with me.

CadburysFingers

Cars last much longer for a few reasons, firstly they aren't getting rained all over on a daily basis, secondly they aren't sat static in traffic for hours on end, making loads of stop start journeys, also the speed limit is lower here than in the UK, and there are a lot of speed cameras about, so people tend to obey the limits, and dont hammer their cars. If you can afford it buy a new car, new cars seem cheaper than UK new car prices.

Rosie n family

Generally older cars in oz are in better condition with less rust. I just bought a '93 2nd hand Toyota corolla with 130K for $1600 and it goes great.

For the best bargains for second-hand cars (oh and boats, caravans) in South Sydney try Caringbah Rotary club car market where if you're selling you turn up, pay a fee put a big notice on your windscreen, you can either wait for buyers or just leave a mobile no. If buying, its free and hassle-free and they have a good saussage-sizzle too!

We've bought twice and sold once, its by far the cheapest way we've found without everyone taking their cut.

Badge

True - but they certainly don't rust quicker. Cars that would have been visibly rusting in the UK after 10 years might take a generation to do the same here.

Badge