General > General Technical Chat

Is it difficult to buy a car in Australia?

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jonovid:
what about the dealers aftermarket service?
40 years ago most cars were less complicated and manufactured locally in Australia so aftermarket service was less important.
you could fix it yourself if you had the knowledge and a lot of us did do our own grease and oil change at the time.
but today's complicated new cars are so very dependent on ongoing dealers aftermarket diagnostic service.
a liability if any of it fails.

victorb:
I'm from Australia too and was looking for a car recently. I also couldn't find what I wanted here, but not because it's impossible; the local options just didn't appeal to me. Shipping from the USA seemed tricky, especially because they have left-hand drive cars, which can be a hassle here. Instead, I shipped my car from the UK.

The cost wasn't as bad as I thought. I used a guide from https://www.a1autotransport.com/what-does-it-cost-to-ship-a-car-to-australia/ to understand the expenses and process. It said that shipping costs usually range from $2,100 to $4,025 USD, but older cars need a special license to import. The site helped me get a handle on the costs and requirements. In the end, I paid around $3,500 USD to ship my car.

Halcyon:

--- Quote from: brucehoult on April 09, 2024, 07:57:37 am ---
--- 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.

--- End quote ---

It's the new(er) ones that have the issue. Less so with very new ones with LED tail lights (maybe they finally solved the issue?). Subarus definitely aren't what they used to be.

The last Outback I drove had that infuriating EyeSight system. Even driving normally would trigger it (and I'm a defensive driver). I ended up disabling it each time I got in the car, as it was safer with that crap off. It was a "song and dance" I've had to do with a handful of cars, pressing various buttons before you even release the park brake, to disable things like auto stop/start which just re-enable themselves next time you start the vehicle.

The issues with EyeSight aside, it's something I've noticed with a lot of modern cars: Distractions. All kinds of bings and bongs, you spend half the time wondering what the hell a particular noise means rather than focussing fully on the road. A while ago I drove a Toyota C-HR and every few minutes it would "ding". For days I had no idea what the hell it was until I worked out that it was a notification every time you entered or left a school zone (where a 40km/hr speed limit applies). I ended up drilling down various menus and turning all that shit off. It didn't completely silence the car, but it reduced the number of distractions significantly. The only warnings I ever want to see or hear in a car are: If there is something wrong with the vehicle or if a crash is imminent.

brucehoult:

--- Quote from: Halcyon on April 09, 2024, 10:40:23 pm ---The last Outback I drove had that infuriating iSight system. Even driving normally would trigger it (and I'm a defensive driver). I ended up disabling it each time I got in the car, as it was safer with that crap off. It was a "song and dance" I've had to do with a handful of cars, pressing various buttons before you even release the park brake, to disable things like auto stop/start which just re-enable themselves next time you start the vehicle.

--- End quote ---

I don't know what's infuriating about it. Other than the lane departure warning -- which in my car has a dedicated overhead button to turn it off (which is permanent, not every time you start it) -- EyeSight does nothing unless you enable cruise control -- or are about to crash into something. If you use cruise control in an EyeSight-equipped car then it works exactly the same as any other car if there is no one else around, but if you catch up to someone then it decreases your speed to match theirs rather then running straight up their tail-pipe. At least if the closing speed is low enough. If you're doing 80 mph and they're doing 30 (or stopped) then detection may be too late and all it can do is soften the crash. It's a driver aid, not "You can go to sleep now".

I've never had a Subaru with auto engine stop/start. My current 2008 certainly doesn't, and the 2017 I had in the USA didn't either. I guess that's more recent. Done right, it should be unobtrusive. It wasn't in the rental Corolla I had last week :-(  But in the 2011 rental Prius I currently have engine stop/start is basically undetectable except by watching the system display on the dash. Of course in the Prius is helps that it moves off under electric power instantly and then cranks up the engine later if needed.

Circlotron:
All this driver assist stuff that newer cars seem to have, I wonder if you had an accident and they were turned off, could your insurance company use this as an excuse to try and wriggle out of covering you? Likely they could scan the main computer to check the state of a multitude of things at the time of the accident.

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