General > General Technical Chat

Is it difficult to buy a car in Australia?

<< < (9/11) > >>

hneve:
I see it is a old thread but it is relevant for my situation and maybe someone will respond me based on their experience.

So, I want to buy a new car but I can't find anything suitable in Australia. I am looking for more than 6 months. But I found a lot in USA. I thought of shipping but I know how hard it is. Can someone give me any tips? Maybe somebody ordered cars from the USA.

coppice:

--- Quote from: hneve on April 08, 2024, 10:55:35 am ---I see it is a old thread but it is relevant for my situation and maybe someone will respond me based on their experience.

So, I want to buy a new car but I can't find anything suitable in Australia. I am looking for more than 6 months. But I found a lot in USA. I thought of shipping but I know how hard it is. Can someone give me any tips? Maybe somebody ordered cars from the USA.

--- End quote ---
Are you OK with a left hand drive car in Australia?

Halcyon:

--- Quote from: razberik on September 28, 2018, 10:04:45 am ---I am not sure if I understand him. Is it really difficult to buy a new car in Australia? He calls cardealer "your enemy". What is the problem with walking away from that specific dealer to another dealer?
Methods he describes are applicable to buying pretty much anything. If I am not happy with some seller I go to another.

Also, he criticizes pretty much every car brand from around the world. The only makers he is OK is perhaps KIA, Hyundai and Mazda. Absolutely everything other is a crap.

--- End quote ---

Actually buying a car is not difficult. Anyone can walk into a car dealer, fill out some paperwork and you have a car. The point John makes is that car dealers will often try to screw you, if not on price, make other false representations about a vehicle, just to get you to buy it. Their job is to get a much of your money as possible and a lot of them use high-pressure tactics to do so. Buying a car is a large investment for most people, so you really need to go armed with all the information you need to make a sensible purchase (not one that is driven by emotion).

John's videos are typically quite good, and largely based on facts. However he does let his personal biases creep in every now and again. He's absolutely right, when it comes to Chinese cars (Chery, BYD, Great Wall, MG etc...), they are absolute junk and to be avoided. But the same can also be said for brands/models all over the world. Cars are a bit like computers, there is no one "right" car, it depends on individual circumstances and needs. For whatever reason, John has some kind of soft spot for Subaru and tends to gloss over their weak spots. I've driven several modern Subaru models recently and my opinion of them is that they have average build quality, they are quite tinny, relatively powerless and the "smart" technology is bloody annoying to drive with. Mechanically, they might be a solid purchase, but several models are known for their "electrical gremlins" (notice how many Forester's, Outback's and Impreza's have faulty tail lights, for example -- Once you see it, you can't un-see it!).

Anecdotally, I've noticed a huge uptake of Subaru's mostly by those who are in the older generations. All around Sydney and indeed other parts of Australia, if there is a queue of traffic in the right-hand lane, typically there is a Subaru driver at the front holding everyone up.

EDIT: I just realised this is an old thread that I commented on earlier. I still maintain my comments above.

brucehoult:

--- Quote from: hneve on April 08, 2024, 10:55:35 am ---I see it is a old thread but it is relevant for my situation and maybe someone will respond me based on their experience.

So, I want to buy a new car but I can't find anything suitable in Australia. I am looking for more than 6 months. But I found a lot in USA. I thought of shipping but I know how hard it is. Can someone give me any tips? Maybe somebody ordered cars from the USA.

--- End quote ---

I don't know the exact facts for Australia, but my understanding is that they still make it very difficult to privately import a car, in order to protect their now non-existent car manufacturing industry. Much the same reason that bananas in Australia (where they are grown) cost about three times more than in NZ (where they are imported).

A friend did just take his NZ car to Australia when he moved there. I believe that you must have already owned it for several years, and he told me that you can do this once in your life.

Here in NZ, things were hugely loosened up in the early or mid 90s and individuals started flying to Japan, buying 2 or 3 or 4 used cars three to five years old, bring them to NZ, and sell all but one at a good profit. Then used car dealers started to do it in bulk. In the last 30 years the majority of "new to NZ" cars sold are used imports from Japan. I remember one of the first models seen in large numbers used was the 1991 (?) Nissan Primera. My parents had one. Then used Legacy / Impreza/ Forester / WRX became HUGE. Subaru in NZ had something like 3% of the new car market, but suddenly they had maybe I don't know 20% or 30% of the "new to NZ" market. Also, as I recall, Subaru and Mazda very quickly announced they would be glad to service and support used imports (they after all make most of the money on any car from servicing over its lifetime), while some other brands were very much "If you didn't buy it from us in NZ then we won't service it  .. and for sure can't guarantee we have spare parts".

brucehoult:

--- Quote from: Halcyon on April 09, 2024, 01:24:23 am ---I've driven several modern Subaru models recently and my opinion of them is that they have average build quality, they are quite tinny, relatively powerless and the "smart" technology is bloody annoying to drive with. Mechanically, they might be a solid purchase, but several models are known for their "electrical gremlins" (notice how many Forester's, Outback's and Impreza's have faulty tail lights, for example -- Once you see it, you can't un-see it!).

--- End quote ---

Hmm ... I've never noticed faulty tail lights on Subarus ... certainly not on any of mine. I also haven't driven or looked at new ones. I bought a 1995 Legacy 250T (touring wagon, 2.5 na auto) in 2001 with 98k km and on sold it at 250k km in 2012 to someone who I know used it until 350k despite them taking it for a swim in the ocean at around 280k. The replacement (bought in 2012) was a 1997 Grandwagon (early Outback) in the same green Foresters of that generation came in, and with the same 2x5 manual gearbox, but 2.5 engine. I used that until I moved to the USA in 2019 and sold it to my cousin who used it trouble-free until someone rear-ended him at which point it was 25 years old.  In the USA in 2019 I bought a 2017 Outback Touring, which I only owned for 11 months as I returned to NZ when COVID started. Back in NZ, on the first day of Level 3 Lockdown being reduced to Level 2 (mid May 2020) I took a rental car to another city (previously illegal) and bought a 2008 Outback 2.5XT "Eyesight" with 87k km. That's a special model issued in recognition of Subaru's 50th anniversary, with only 2000 made: 265 HP turbo engine (tuned for low end torque, with the peak at 2400 RPM), various STI bits, and -- they claim it was the first car in the world -- stereo camera-based adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, pre-collision braking, etc. I've owned it since, and have no plans to ever sell it.

https://www.subaru.co.jp/news/archives/08_04_06/08_05_08_02.html

So ... at least the older Subarus are great. They are not the most exciting cars in any respect (well, the turbo ones are quick) but what I can say is unusual about them is they don't ANNOY me in any respect. They simply get the job done without fuss, with as good reliability as anything else, and have outstanding safety ratings.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page

There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod