Moving to Perth - Will need a car

[mapped]

I hope you guys don't mind helping out a newbie. My brother's a petrolhead and posts on these forums, so I thought I'd join to ask some advice.

I've got a job in Perth, so me and the Mrs will be moving over from London next month. I'm not your typical PH poster as after 15 years of living in London I don't have a driving licence I do have my test on Monday and I'm in good shape, and I've got time for 2 more shots at it if I balls it up. I'm coming to Perth on a 457, so I understand I'll be able to use my UK licence without having to sit another Aussie test.

Being a new driver I know bugger all about cars and even less about the Aussie used car market, but I know I'm going to need a car. Unfortunately we've had to spend a load of cash renovating our house so we can rent it out, so I'm on a bit of a budget. I'll be looking for something reliable for about $5k and it has to be an auto. I've seen quite a few Japanese cars and Aussie cars in that price range, it seems as though the Japanese cars generally have a lot less km's on them. Has anyone got any tips for what type of car to look for? Any known duds etc?

Also I'd welcome any other advice on negotiating the Aussie used car market, what to look out for etc.

My bro's a car salesman for a company beginning with V, so naturally he's trying to steer me to leasing a new car from Holden I'm fairly sure that'll be an expensive option, as these used cars seem to hold their value. Also I'm not entirely sure that will be possible with no credit history and a UK licence, but I might be wrong.

Also does anyone have any recommended car rental places? We're going to have a temporary let in or around Nedlands, but we're going to need a rental car straight away to get around to view homes rentals as well as cars.

Lots of questions there and I'll appreciate any advice, and I'm looking forward to getting out to Aus

[Wanchaiwarrior]

Welcome to Australia for when you arrive.
I cant offer much buying advise as I arrived in 2006 so things may have changed and WA is slightly than Queensland. I bought a Proton GTi with just my passport, UK license and my employment contract after being here for 2 months, using finance offered by Proton through GE money.

However, I would suggest you carry a copy of the page from immigration website that says you can drive on UK license for length of your visa, as I was stopped by police having been here 6 months or so for car/driver coming up as unlicensed when pinged and although officer was very polite, he was not clear of my license status and I was warned to get a local license. Didn't happen again when I had that page stashed in the glove box after that of course.

HTH, good luck, its not much fun buying with a budget of anything less than about AU$10k.

Cheers

Jamie

[Hasbeen]

Oh I don't know, we just sold a 90,000 Kilometer 5 year old Mazda 2, which had never had a spanner on it, [just servicing], & gave every indication of being able to do another 90,000 without a spanner, for $6700.

The service manager at the dealership that serviced it, offered us $6000 the moment he heard it was for sale, so he must have thought do too.

Oz cars don't melt away to a rust pile as UK cars do. Our climate is much more car friendly, particularly if it has lived away from the beach. Do be careful of Perth cars that lived by the beach.

Many of the smaller things are selling for very low money brand new, so a 5 year old one, often with low mileage can be quite a good cheap buy. Do pick a well established brand, not one of the new cheapies. Their durability is somewhat untested.

[Wanchaiwarrior]

Hasbeen said:

Oh I don't know, we just sold a 90,000 Kilometer 5 year old Mazda 2, which had never had a spanner on it, [just servicing], & gave every indication of being able to do another 90,000 without a spanner, for $6700.

The service manager at the dealership that serviced it, offered us $6000 the moment he heard it was for sale, so he must have thought do too.

Oz cars don't melt away to a rust pile as UK cars do. Our climate is much more car friendly, particularly if it has lived away from the beach. Do be careful of Perth cars that lived by the beach.

Many of the smaller things are selling for very low money brand new, so a 5 year old one, often with low mileage can be quite a good cheap buy. Do pick a well established brand, not one of the new cheapies. Their durability is somewhat untested.

Yours was a good deal then. So there's a 2008 92K Mazda 2 Neo on Carsales private seller for 8.5k, which was why I warned him.
My 2006 Astra SRi 5 door with 107k cost me AU$10.5k in early 2013.
I think cars over this side maybe a little more expensive for some reason.
But yeah, they're in much better condition

ETA, just checked carsales, bearing in mind when I bought mine there were hardly any in Brisbane for me to look at, they seem to have dropped in price a bit. Oh dear.

Edited by Wanchaiwarrior on Saturday 18th January 04:23

[Crosswise]

I work on cars for a living here, I would be careful when buying used as there is no annual vehicle inspection so cars can be very rough, I see a lot of cars which lack general maintenance. I'm happy to come and have a look at a car with you if you want. For that money I would suggest a VT-VZ Commodore, you might even get a VE, I'm not too sure on the prices or a BA or BF Falcon, there are so many of them around that parts are easy and cheap to get hold of, they cost a bit in fuel, but it's almost half the price of the UK so it's less of a problem. They are not advanced cars by European standards, but they are smooth, comfortable and spacious. I'm not a big fan of Japanese or Korean cars, but they are pretty much your alternative, anything else is needlessly expensive. I would strongly advise against buying a Mercedes here, it will cost you an obscene amount to run. Most German cars are considered prestige here, I just wouldn't consider them. Insurance is not required here but I would advise it, it is very cheap at around $20 a month. I've had no problem driving on my UK license, if you have to exchange it for a WA one the cost is about $100 for a year but there are going to be implications as I think you will have to display P plates for 2 years, which also has other associated restrictions.

[Pommygranite]

1. Car Rental - http://www.bayswatercarrental.com.au/ - the best one by far - low cost, low excess. Get taxi from Airport to Bayswater branch 15 mins away. Nearest branch to Nedlands is Subiaco. Don't get GPS just buy a Tom Tom one from JB Hifi.

2. Car - I just bought a 2004 Ford Fairmont $4800 with 147k Kms. 4.0l 6 cyl 240 odd bhp but feels like 170. Smooth, ice cold Aircon. Decent sound system. Cheap insurance. Perfect. Go on www.carsales.com.au and check.

3. Cars dont have MOTs here- just rego. As long as you keep renewing the rego you never need to have the car inspected. $550 pa rego.

4 you pay stamp duty when buying a car - http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing/1382.asp

5. There is no V5 - the only proof is rego renewal and stamp duty transfer receipt.

6. Don't expect FSH here.

[Jader1973]

Agree with the above, for the budget go for either a Commodore or a Falcon, or at a push maybe a Subaru of some sort.

Falcons are used as taxis, so make sure you don't get an ex-taxi.

[XB70]

Agree with all of the above.

My suggestion is an Avalon. Dirt cheap, reliable, lots of space (huge boot!), no one will go near it and should be fine to get one for less than $3000.

Mine cost $2500 and coming up to a year now since I owned it.

In AU terms, that is nothing.

[mapped]

Wow, loads of useful advice and suggestions here, cheers guys! Looks like there's plenty of options in our price range.

I'm hoping this isn't all academic, I was pretty confident about my test yesterday, but failed with 1 major (made someone slow down very slightly when I pulled out and did a left turn straight away after. I got impatient waiting for a gap in the traffic for ages, so did a bit of London driving ) and six minors I've got time for 2 more tests before we get on the plane and I've got one booked in for next Thursday.

I really hope I don't have to learn again in Aus, I'd rather not wait 6 months for a licence.

IF I pass we'll get a hire car for a bit and take our time finding our wheels.

[mapped]

WeirdNeville said:

I have my WA licence despite being on a 457. No mention whatosever of P-plates, it's just a straight licence transfer. Perhaps it's because I've been driving for years. HOWEVER if you don't have your 2 years experience, I'd probably stick to driving on the UK licence! The P-plate restrictions are well worth avoiding, as are demerits on a WA licence. Points ar a fact of life here. Zero tolerance on speeding. Lots of tolerance on st driving though!

I'm around daytimes, and bored, so if you want showing around once you've landed, give me a bell and we can meet up if it suits you. I live cntrally and near the major car sales road in Perth. The road is lined with car garages and it gets cheaper the further South you go!

Bring an unlocked phone and buy a Vodafone SIM for $2 and put $30 credit on it, you're good to go.

Bring lots of UK-Aus Plug adaptors. Even better, bring 4 way UK plug boards, then bang an aussie plug on the end and you've got all your electrics good to go.


Anything else you need to know just ask. Happy to do on the ground research.

Edited by WeirdNeville on Monday 20th January 06:43

Thanks for all the help here Neville. That's a really kind offer, I'll get in touch when we land and buy you a cold one or two.

Yeah I won't have the 2 years experience required for an Aussie licence, if I have a licence at all! So it will be UK licence for 2 years, or take the Aussie tests, which I'd rather not do unless I have to.

I've already got a pile of UK plug boards ready to go. We're not bringing too much bulky stuff with us as we're storing a lot in our loft, we will have all our electronics though. Me and the wife already have unlocked phones so we're going to get some sims as soon as we land. I'm keeping my UK Three sim alive for a month or so, as data use in Aus is included in my plan.

We've finally got our flights and temp accommodation confirmed, so it's all getting a bit more real. We've tonnes and tonnes of stuff to do here before we leave, so I'm looking forward to getting on that plane for a bit of a break, even though I start work 5 days after we land.

[Bibbs]

mapped said:

Thanks for all the help here Neville. That's a really kind offer, I'll get in touch when we land and buy you a cold one or two.

Wow. Made of money!

[mapped]

Bibbs said:

Wow. Made of money!

I've heard about the price of ale in Perth, and trust me that's not the reason we're going.

[Bibbs]

mapped said:

I've heard about the price of ale in Perth, and trust me that's not the reason we're going.

It's not that bad once you are earning local.

But if my UK mates knew I deliberately drank on one pub over December as it had an offer and was $8 a pint (for Bulmers - Guinness was $9), and that $8 was a bargain, they would take the piss no doubt.

[Pommygranite]

What will happen is you will land with a firm budget, get your rental car and trodge around a few car yards before realising that there is nothing nice at a a dealer for less than $15k. Needing to get out the rental car to save cash you'll then reappraise your budget and by something suitably dull from a dealer for 3 times what you planned to spend.

If you want to spend sub-$10k you need to go private.

[Bibbs]

There is a BA Falcon of some sort parked on the verge near me.

$6000 of your fine plastic Aussie dollars.

Boot always open with the for sale sign in it.

Okay, not going to set the world alight, but good enough as a stop gap I'd have thought.

[papahet]

mapped said:

Thanks for all the help here Neville. That's a really kind offer, I'll get in touch when we land and buy you a cold one or two.

Which means by proxy you owe most of us a beer as we all gave the same advice to Neville when he washed up here, it is an Aussie thing to pay it down the chain

You won't need to do an Aussie driving test or go through the P Plate thing as your licence is from the UK:

http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing/20669.asp

innernet said:

If you hold a driver's licence from a ‘recognised country’ and the licence has not expired by more than 12 months, when applying for a WA licence:

You are exempt from taking the computerised theory test on the road rules
You may be exempt from the requirement to undertake a practical driving assessment.
For eligibility, please see notes/key below.

Experienced driver recognised country

On 1 September 2012 Western Australia adopted a new ‘experienced driver’ recognised country category. If your driver licence was issued by an ‘experienced driver’ recognised country and you are 25 years of age or older, WA will recognise your overseas driving experience. (For eligibility, please see notes/key below)

Upon application for the grant of a WA driver’s licence you will be exempt from the theory and practical assessments (car and motorcycle only), provided your overseas driver licence has not expired by more than 12 months.

If you hold a driver licence from an ‘experienced driver recognised’ country and you are under 25 years of age you will be required to undertake and pass the theory and practical driving tests prior to the grant of a WA driver’s licence.
Driver from a non-recognised driver country

Non-Recognised countries are countries that are assessed as not meeting the minimum requirements of the National Australian Standard. Applicants from these countries must undertake and pass both the practical assessment and the theory tests.

[Pommygranite]

papahet said:

mapped said:

Thanks for all the help here Neville. That's a really kind offer, I'll get in touch when we land and buy you a cold one or two.

Which means by proxy you owe most of us a beer as we all gave the same advice to Neville when he washed up here, it is an Aussie thing to pay it down the chain

You won't need to do an Aussie driving test or go through the P Plate thing as your licence is from the UK:

http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing/20669.asp

innernet said:

If you hold a driver's licence from a ‘recognised country’ and the licence has not expired by more than 12 months, when applying for a WA licence:

You are exempt from taking the computerised theory test on the road rules
You may be exempt from the requirement to undertake a practical driving assessment.
For eligibility, please see notes/key below.

Experienced driver recognised country

On 1 September 2012 Western Australia adopted a new ‘experienced driver’ recognised country category. If your driver licence was issued by an ‘experienced driver’ recognised country and you are 25 years of age or older, WA will recognise your overseas driving experience. (For eligibility, please see notes/key below)

Upon application for the grant of a WA driver’s licence you will be exempt from the theory and practical assessments (car and motorcycle only), provided your overseas driver licence has not expired by more than 12 months.

If you hold a driver licence from an ‘experienced driver recognised’ country and you are under 25 years of age you will be required to undertake and pass the theory and practical driving tests prior to the grant of a WA driver’s licence.
Driver from a non-recognised driver country

Non-Recognised countries are countries that are assessed as not meeting the minimum requirements of the National Australian Standard. Applicants from these countries must undertake and pass both the practical assessment and the theory tests.

Actually, just give me the beer as I think Jon stills owes me a beer

[Crosswise]

WeirdNeville said:

I live cntrally and near the major car sales road in Perth. The road is lined with car garages and it gets cheaper the further South you go!

Edited by WeirdNeville on Monday 20th January 06:43

Do you live in Vic Park by any chance? So do I.

[MK4 Slowride]

Get a Subaru wagon so you can go dogging.

[Pommygranite]

MK4 Slowride said:

Get a Subaru wagon so you can go dogging.

I don't believe you can go dogging in Perth. In the interests of protecting my community I insist you tell me where and when so I can help stop such vile activities.