Intro
I knew nothing about cars.
Then, I’ve gone through the hurdles, do my own researches, and bought my first car in Australia. It is a used automatic Honda Jazz 2005 with 180k mileage for USD $1,750 or AUD $2,500.
In this article, I will share what I’ve learnt from my own experience. I will be covering everything you need to know about buying and owning a car in Australia, which includes car brands, models, price, safety, government regulation, inspection, registration, insurance and some basic car knowledge. While most information is originated in Australia, such as the laws, I believe that every country should have a similar law structure regarding vehicles. So, just remember that there are such requirements, it might just name differently in your country. This guide should cover everything you need to know.
Which kind of license do you have or want?
Is your license automatic or manual? Some states in Australia allow automatic license to drive manual once they got full license (Open license; Not provisioned) such as Victoria and New South Wales. But in Queensland it is limited to automatic forever, if you got the automatic car license in the first place. So, make sure you are allowed to drive the type of vehicle you want.
If you have an oversea license, simply transfer it into Australia one. Most likely, you will get an open license, which means you can drive without restrictions.
But if you haven’t driven before and trying to get a license in Australia, there are a lot of differences between states, but that’s another article to cover.
Automatic or manual as first car?
It’s really up to you. You should give manual car a try while learning so you know if you like it or not. In short, manual driving requires more driver attention and effort, hence some drivers would say “more fun and more safe”. But on the other hand, automatic is more ideal for city driving, especially in bad traffic.
Therefore, you should consider your usual driving scenario and your personal preference. There’s no wrong pick really, say for European, the majority of them drive a stick as well, even in bad traffic. I personally went for automatic because I want to have more focus on the road. If you have your own reason to go for manual car, say because it is cheaper, so be it.
What’s your budget?
The first thing you need to determine is your budget, because for every $500 extra, you can get a totally different collection of cars. It might also work if you want to look at the market price first. For me, the price range was anything below AUD $4000, ideally below 200k mileage. I mainly use Facebook Marketplace to check the market prices for each brand, model, year, mileage and condition, etc. Gumtree is a hit or miss.
Generally, manual cars are cheaper than automatic and cheaper to do maintenance as well.
But, don’t go cheap for the sake of cheap, it has to be an excellent car, even if it means to pay a bit more. It could save you a lot of hassles, just keep that in mind.
Do you have a preference in brands or car body type?
The basic C class cars body types are: Sedan, Hatchback and Wagon. (Read more: QLD driver’s licence types, but remember refer to the state you are in.)
This picture tells the differences:
From top to bottom, and what I’ve understood:
- Sedan
- Most common type
- Easy on fuel as it carries no big loads, a people mover if you will.
- Wagon
- 7 seaters or huge trunk
- Varies on each brand and model, but mostly 6 cylinders, which means better horsepower to carry loads, but also consume more fuel.
- Hatchback
- Trunk size Between Sedan and Wagon, where you see people flip open the back of their cars
- Could be 5-doors (including the trunk “door”) or 3-doors (As shown in the picture)
The above is the basic difference, but there are some factors that are less obvious.
What to look out for in a car beyond the specifications
Road noise
The hatchback has more road noise simply because it has more doors. As sound travels through air vibrations, so a hatchback or any car with bad air seals can cause road noise. Think old cars with degrading plastic and more door counts. So yes, in contrary, Sedan is usually the quietest.
Road noise is very obvious on highway when you’re driving above 80 km/h, therefore you should test drive your future car on highway if that matters to you.
People space and legroom
Nope, the hatchback doesn’t have more space for you or the passengers, the sedan does, and a wagon does too. This is because most car manufacturers sacrifice human spaces to boost the trunk space for the hatchback, as a hatchback is known for being multipurpose while being compact. If it doesn’t sacrifice the “people space”, that’s pretty much a wagon.
So, if you are big and tall, chances are, you are better off with a Sedan or a big Hatchback like an SUV. And if you have a family, the Wagon is good too.
Fuel Consumption
Fuel efficiency is a big factor to consider, because it could add up to your total running cost of a vehicle in a less obvious way. In general, a physically smaller car consumes the least amount of fuel to run the same distance, no matter which body type it is.
However, you can always check online to see the fuel consumption per km on a particular model. You can expect that the bigger the car is or the more cylinder a car has will cost you more fuel to run.
Which car brand and model should I choose?
The most popular car brand in australia are the follwing:
Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Ford, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Holden, Suzuki – correct me if I’m wrong.
You should consider the brand and the model at the same time.
Other than personal perferrence, in general, choose a car model where a lot of people drive. This means a lot of car parts are avialable to you whenever your car needs to replace some parts. It’s a supply and demand thing, if there’s a lot of parts are available, it is cheaper. Therefore, the repairing and maintence cost for say Toyota Corolla, Toyota Yarius, Honda Jazz, Hyundai Getz, or Subaru Outback are cheaper to maintain comparing to less common models. It also means more mechanic knows how to work on it without risking it to someone not know what they’re doing yet they act like they do.
For example, I’ve had mechanic told me to take off my front bumper to change the highlight. Yet, when I go through the owner’s manual myself, it is not nessary to do that and there is a specific and easy way to change the lights. So, it is also important to know your car to a certain level.
If you have no idea which car to buy, you can just walk around a carpark, take a good look at the cars, and pick the one you like too.
How to inspect a used car
Before we begin, let’s get to know some Aussie terms for cars:
Roady – Or RWC. It is a legal requirement to have a roadworthy check on the car when transferring the ownership of a car. You can have this performer at a government recognised auto shop, some of them will also do a mobile RWC too (come to your place).
RTA (Road Transport Authority) – Colloquially, Aussies often just call it the “Rego” office. This is where you get your plates, driver licence and registration done.
Rego – The registration of a car. (Not pronounced as Re-Go, it is Re-Jo, as in registration but shorter)
Now let’s continue on.
The best way to inspect a used car is to bring your own auto mechanic to inspect it for you, or drive to a local auto shop to perform the pre-purchase inspection. You can easily find one at your local areas or find one like RACQ.
But, if you want to do it yourself (at risk), here’s what you can do:
- Always buy a used car with a current RWC and registration. Buying a car “as is”, it usually means the owner knows the car has some issues, and you are the perfect buyer if you know nothing about cars.
- Start the car at the moment you arrive, and test drive for about half an hour, if there’s a problem with the car it will show up.
- Press every button, turn on the air-con, try hard accelerating, hard braking, as everything should work fine.
- Check the exterior and interior, how’s the upkeep doing? If the previous owner doesn’t care about the way it looks, chances are it hasn’t been maintaining well mechanically as well. Lacking regular servicing could cause irreversible damage to the car. A car with high mileage but maintained well can easily outlast a poorly maintained car with low mileage.
- Check if there’s rust at the bottom of the car and the exterior of the car, if there is, the car is not roadworthy, until you fixed it.
- Check PPSR – “A $2 search will show you if the vehicle you want to buy is recorded as free from debt, stolen or written off” – written off means it was in an accident before, and it is not safe for driving on the road, unless you fixed it, if it is a repairable written off.
- Check if there’s a crack in the windscreen, if there is, the car is not roadworthy. Again, until you spend few hundreds to fix it.
- Check if oil levels and colour are good.
- It is better if there’s a logbook and a user manual.
- Seat belts are tight and flexible.
- Windows are all working.
- Tires have deep treads
- Turn the wheels all the way to one side, check the tires again, use your hand to go through each tire, make sure the tire is flat even. Do the same on the other side.
- Check if any signals are on the panel, like engine light and such.
- You can also buy a OCR device to check for faulty signal with the car.
Disclaimer: I’m not a professional mechanic, I gather all this information online and experience it myself.
There’s a well known car YouTube channel called ChrisFix, he has a PDF that contains all the things you need to check while buying a used car. You should check out his videos on YouTube too.
It is suggested to buy an excellent car, if it means a couple of hundred more, pay it. Don’t bother with any car that has “just a bit of a problem”, because it could be caused by an underlining bigger issue. But yea, if it’s just a broken headlight or a dent, it’s nothing. As long as it’s an easy and cheap fix.
How to transfer ownership of a used vehicle
If you made the decision to buy the car, you can do the transfer online. Again, different website for each state, for example for NSW, this is the official website, and this is for QLD, etc. It includes filling in the vehicle VIN number, usually located under the bonnet, and other miscellaneous information, it should only take a couple of minutes.
Apart from doing it online, it is advisable that you have a physical document signed by both parties saying the owner is transferring the car ownership to you, it should include contact information and the VIN number of the car, and a signature for both parties.
Drive Away
After you have purchased a used car, and it is safe to drive, you can drive it away directly, given that it has current RWC and Rejo.
If not, you can still drive it away, when it is considered safe to drive and if you have registered a temporary pass – Unregistered vehicle permit, this is for QLD, and it just meant for one way trip.
Getting your car licence plate
This is easy, you can bring your car, personal document, proof of purchase, current roadworthy and driver’s licence to the Rejo office to register your car. You will have to buy a insurance for the car rejo, which is included in the registration fee. You can also get a third party property insurance, which could save you a fortune when you (touch wood) hit someone elses car. You can expect about AUD $60 for the insurance per month, and AUD 900 for a year of rejo.
Car maintenance
Diy car maintence
It is a fun way to learn about cars. The basic regular maintence includes:
- Changing transmission oil
- Changing engine oil
- Change tires
- Change light bulbs
- Change spark plugs every 30k km or 100k if you are using a better ones
- Check brake fluids
- General car washing
- and more… I’m still learning!
Professional service from auto mechanic
You can expect to pay anywhere about AUD 150 ~ 200 for a regular car service, that includes the changing oils but the price doesn’t inlucde the parts.
Good luck mate!
Getting your first car is exciting! But remember to drive safe!
I know buying your first car is kind of overwhelming, I hope this guide can shed some light on the process.
If you have any question about cars, especially related to Queensland, feel free to leave a comment below, I will try to answer as best as I can.
Have a nice one.
