A banger Down Under

[frankkk]

Hello to the big brown country..

My son went to Australia in November, to learn how to be a sheep farmer. Good idea, the more so, as it was his own. After a couple of months with the sheep in the middle of nowhere, he is now planning what he wants to see and explore whilst Down Under. He has saved some money and is looking to get himself an old banger, that'll survive for half a year or so.

Now, buying a car is pretty much the same everywhere in the world, I guess, supply and demand determine the price and the usual pitfalls are to watch out for. His budget is about AUS$3000 and obviously he wants to keep some of it just in case, he needs a service or parts or whatever.

He will be making his way to Adelaide in a couple of days to start looking around, maybe getting a rental to speed things up a bit..a good car is usually gone pretty quick. Since we don't have a clue about the procedure after purchasing the vehicle in OZ, I would appreciate some advise on the matter: How does the registration or transfer of ownership work ? Insurance ? I saw some vehicles being registered and insured for say three months. Is it preferable to get hold of one of these, instead of something that has been off the road ? In that price bracket there should be no need for a check on outstanding finance, title or similar ?

Many thanks in advance !

 

[Lou]

Definitely get something that is currently licensed, otherwise he will need to take it ”over the pits” for an inspection and at this price it is not likely to pass. Also being licensed will greatly Increase his chances of getting clear title as the current owner should match the rego papers. Stamp Dity is payable based on the the purchase price which at this price point won’t be much and insurance could be cheap if he only gets Third Party (covers damage to other peoples car he may crash into). Duplicate sets of Transfer Papers are completed and he takes them to the Department of Transport to lodge the ownership transfer and he pays the Stamp Duty.

 

[MrMike]

He will need a REVS check that will sort out any outstanding $ if any owed on the car, for the money an old Toyota should go the distance- forget EU vehicles. Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon maybe but they are thirsty on the juice. Rego papers should come with the vehicle so if not walk away. Get a workshop to check any vehicle he is considering buying to identify any future issues.
Sounds like he's going to have a fantastic adventure!

 

[Stu_Barnes]

Not to hijack things @frankkk, but this thread alone justifies the effort in putting together this forum, connecting people across the globe and providing help. Love it.

 

[emax]

"The Sunnyside" bought a Mitsubishi Pajero for 5K AUD and were happy with it. After their trip they sold it for a little bit more.

I followed their search for a car on youtube and after looking at a few listings, their conclusion was that anything (4WD) under 5K was more or less junk.

German only, sorry:

 

[G-Man]

He will need a REVS check that will sort out any outstanding $ if any owed on the car, for the money an old Toyota should go the distance- forget EU vehicles. Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon maybe but they are thirsty on the juice. Rego papers should come with the vehicle so if not walk away. Get a workshop to check any vehicle he is considering buying to identify any future issues.
Sounds like he's going to have a fantastic adventure!

I second this advice. I've had the fortune to live and work out in Perth WA twice and the first time was as a penniless grad straight out of Uni. It's very tempting to go for something sexy or a big Aussie sedan with a mahoosive V6 or V8 engine and a slushy auto when you're used to 4-pot European cars but neither are very clever if you're on a tight budget. Japanese or Korean cars are your safest bet as they're relatively cheap, have good spares availability, cheap to insure and cheap to service.

Avoid European cars at all costs - cheap spares and good service are very hard to come by. Says the loon who went out and blew his first paycheck on a knackered Series III 88" fitted with twin carbs and the biggest bullbar you've ever seen 😆

 

[MRO]

My son did the same. You can usually find cars for sale from others who have finished their trip. Usually under time pressure (flights booked) in major cities and often with lots of surplus to requirements camping gear etc. strongly recommend a 4wd as many great places only accessible with one if he is going into the bush. Also strongly recommend a bit of preventative maintenance. These vehicles won’t have had much recently but only the survivors make it to the departure city. Toyota for me every time.

 

[ECrider]

My son did the same. You can usually find cars for sale from others who have finished their trip. Usually under time pressure (flights booked) in major cities and often with lots of surplus to requirements camping gear etc. strongly recommend a 4wd as many great places only accessible with one if he is going into the bush. Also strongly recommend a bit of preventative maintenance. These vehicles won’t have had much recently but only the survivors make it to the departure city. Toyota for me every time.

Hope my grandchildren (god willing) will be saying "....Ineos for me everytime'

 

[G-Man]

My son did the same. You can usually find cars for sale from others who have finished their trip. Usually under time pressure (flights booked) in major cities and often with lots of surplus to requirements camping gear etc. strongly recommend a 4wd as many great places only accessible with one if he is going into the bush. Also strongly recommend a bit of preventative maintenance. These vehicles won’t have had much recently but only the survivors make it to the departure city. Toyota for me every time.

Sadly I don't think you'd get a dependable 4x4 on a budget of AUS$3k, my mates out there are saying the second hand car market is nuts since Covid hit 😝

 

[Wayneos]

https://www.carsales.com.au/

Search for used cars here but like others have said, you won't get much for 3k unfortunately!

 

[frankkk]

Thanks am mill´everyone !

We weren't thinking of the obvious..the returners, good idea. However, its not gonna be a 4x4 I think, the son is not the most adventurous on his own and he does not want to spend the money on it. As commented, 5k would be the min budget, although you'd find a Fronterra for half of that but then you want to start rebuilding it before its usable, I guess...a Fronterra, Jeezus..

In the old days we would get a Beetle in a situation like so, always a safe bet and dead cheap to run and fix. No more Beetles these days and the successors are not of the same quality no more. I thought, that Japanese vehicles be preferable, which is different to the EU, probably for reasons of popularity and spares.

For myself, I would look for a Holden Commodore, just because a Vauxhall or Opel Commodore used to be a desirable sports car back in the 70´s... With a black vinyl roof lining. Well, that's just me and I am sure he'll find something suitable for himself, not gonna interfere there.

Registration and insurance work similar to here fro what I gather, that's good news and should be straightforward enough.

 

[globalgregors]

Thanks am mill´everyone !

We weren't thinking of the obvious..the returners, good idea. However, its not gonna be a 4x4 I think, the son is not the most adventurous on his own and he does not want to spend the money on it. As commented, 5k would be the min budget, although you'd find a Fronterra for half of that but then you want to start rebuilding it before its usable, I guess...a Fronterra, Jeezus..

In the old days we would get a Beetle in a situation like so, always a safe bet and dead cheap to run and fix. No more Beetles these days and the successors are not of the same quality no more. I thought, that Japanese vehicles be preferable, which is different to the EU, probably for reasons of popularity and spares.

For myself, I would look for a Holden Commodore, just because a Vauxhall or Opel Commodore used to be a desirable sports car back in the 70´s... With a black vinyl roof lining. Well, that's just me and I am sure he'll find something suitable for himself, not gonna interfere there.

Registration and insurance work similar to here fro what I gather, that's good news and should be straightforward enough.

Thinking of a Holden Commodore as a desirable Australian sports car is sort of akin to thinking of Fosters as a desirable Australian beer.

Cheapest place in the country for cars might be the noticeboards at Sydney backpackers as it’s the most popular point of entry/exit.
That said buying in WA or SA might have an upside in that vehicles basically last forever in those climates.

 

[frankkk]

Thinking of a Holden Commodore as a desirable Australian sports car is sort of akin to thinking of Fosters as a desirable Australian beer.

Cheapest place in the country for cars might be the noticeboards at Sydney backpackers as it’s the most popular point of entry/exit.
That said buying in WA or SA might have an upside in that vehicles basically last forever in those climates.

Here it is, the 70´s Commodore..different to the picture you got in mind..:-.)..prefer it in red though..

 

[globalgregors]

Here it is, the 70´s Commodore..different to the picture you got in mind..:-.)..prefer it in red though..

View attachment 7802288

Ah yeah, I was here:

 

[Tazzieman]

The 70s Commodores are still very popular.
With thieves.

 

[frankkk]

The 70s Commodores are still very popular.
With thieves.

Different over here, unless you’d call a capitalist a thief..-

 

[frankkk]

Ah yeah, I was here:

View attachment 7802290

Ah yeah, I was here:

View attachment 7802290

Yeah, thought so.. That rig was called a Senator over here, dunno whether a Commodore spec was available am not an Opel/Vauxhall/Holden man, .just childhood memories of the two door coupe..

 

[MrMike]

Ah yeah, I was here:

View attachment 7802290

Looks like a VB Commodore SL\E or SL\E wheels at least. 1979 onward to about 1983

 

[emax]

Simple but good engine. Better: Simple and thus good engine.

 

[DenisM]

Simple but good engine. Better: Simple and thus good engine.

At one stage around that time, GM (Holden) Commodore production included a version fitted with a 3L "straight 6" sourced from Nissan... it had a lot of admirers!