Getting a good car in Australia

[Bob]

O.K. . . . you've landed and you have to get yourselves a good set of wheels that's going to ferry you off to work each day, drop the kids off at school, do some running around on weekends and go on holiday once a year.

Well . . . there are bucket loads of cars, people movers, 4WDs, etc. that will do the job, but you don't want to spend big $$$$$$$$ getting a reasonable vehicle???

Take my advice, as someone who's been in the transport industry for many years in Australia and go to your State government auction site.

In South Australia, the website is

www.auctions.sa.gov.au

Click on "prices" to find out what the last 8 weeks of vehicle auction prices have been for a particular vehicle to see if you are bidding too high. Auctions in Adelaide are every Wednesday and have about 100 vehicles at a time to go through. You can start the vehicle up, jump in and sit in it, look under the bonnet . . . . anything but move it off the spot.

Inspection days are Saturday, Tuesdays and Wednesday mornings up till the auction starts at 11pm.

There you can peruse a long line of vehicles which are pre-loved by Her Majesty's public servants. They are well maintained and regularly serviced, so no treacle looking oil in the engine to be found.

The gov't auctions most of its fleet off within the factory warranty period because it's found that new buyers will be able to get any problem with the vehicle fixed free of charge.

If . . . and a big IF . . . you are unlucky to get any problems with an ex-Gov't vehicle, as you drive it around in the months / year before the warranty runs out, you just drive it a dealer with that vehicle brand and toss them the keys saying "I'll be back when you've fixed the problem" . . . . simple!

Somebody new to Australia has just told me they picked up a near new Holden Commodore with 20,800 kms on the clock . . . . just run in . . . and paid $16,000. It was spotless.

That is about half what they would pay brand new two years and 20,000 kms earlier!

Of course, you can always pay top dollar through a dealer . . . it's your money.

There are bound to be State gov't auctions throughout Australia. Living in Adelaide, I know of the S.A. gov't site but there will be others in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, etc.

[kangaroo]

Thank you for all the details Bob!

Sounds like very good advice. Will definitely have a look.

Liza

[NZHigh]

As long as it's a Holden or a Ford. Half your neighbourhood will love you and the other half will hate you.

[JohanK]

Hi Bob

Do you have the url for the Government auctions in West Australia (Perth)

That would help a lot as we will be in Perth in 2 Months

[Bob]

Unlike in South Australia, it seems the W.A. gov't contracts its auctions out to a private auctioneer. You'll have to scroll thro' the pages on Google.com.au to come up with a page that offers prices and details similar to the South Australian website.

The prices in W.A. shouldn't be much more than in South Australia. If they vary considerably, by thousands of dollars even, it will pay you to fly to Adelaide and bid for a vehicle you want and drive it back to W.A. for registration there.

There's nothing the W.A. gov't can do to prevent this, as there is "Free trade" between the various States of Australia guaranteed in the Australian constitution that all the States signed up to at Federation in 1901.

[Riekie]

Does anyone know why that cute UTE ad where the mates with their girly voices stands around the barbie and this big guy arrives speaking in a very manly voice is no longer showing on TV? That was just the greatest ad ever!!

[NZHigh]

Be-eautiful Mate!.

New vehicle models maybe. It was gone for a long while and suddenly came back over Christmas with a few subtle changes for a 'Special sellout' or something similar.

Good ad.

[Riekie]

Yes, that one!

[Bob]

Australian TV occasionally does very funny adverts, usually for beer. They are a caricature of the Outback Aussie bloke that, secretly, most Australian men try to aspire to (just look at the number of 4WDs and caravans hitting the roads nowadays for the Australian bush or desert)

In London a few years ago, I saw hilarous adverts for Australian beer.

One depicted a ute (bakkie) driving for miles across the dusty Australian Outback with two bedraggled Aussie women sitting in the back while the two blokes sat in the front . . . . (typical stereotype of the Aussie male chauvinist.)

Imagine the ute outside an Outback pub being loaded up full of cartons of beer ten feet high.

The publican comes out with the last carton and asks if there's anything for the ladies to drink

"Two bottles of sherry, mate!"

As the publician stretches up to place the two bottles of sherry on top of all the cartons, the axles break . . . . . . . . (big cloud of dust) . . . . . . . one bloke says "yep! I knew we overdid it with the ladies' drinks"

Another is for Yellow Pages.

The boss and his apprentice are in the old ute climbing a long hill out of town and it gets a flat tyre.

The apprentice sticks the thick Yellow Pages phone book behind the back wheels to stop the ute rolling backwards down the hill.

Meanwhile the boss is changing the flat tyre in the front.

He demands the Yellow pages to phone for help from a local garage as the jack is broken.

The apprentice pulls the Yellow pages away, letting the ute roll down hill.

The boss, facing uphill, is ringing the local garage on his mobile cannot see his ute rolling away.

The garage man takes the call and hears about the broken ute and asks "When can you drop it in?"

No sooner has he said that than the ute crashes into the side of the garage after rolling all the way downhill.

[NZHigh]

Mmmmm... Holden has recalled just over 100 000 (although I've read 129 000 elsewhere) cars nationally and internationally because of problems with airbag systems. This includes 18 000 in New Zealand. The side airbag could off when the car is stationary.