Melbourne - 2nd Hand Cars

[20thebear]

Hi guys,

I am moving over to Melbourne from the UK on 26th Jan.

My lass needs a set of wheels for work as she has to travel between different hospitals.

I see in other threads people recommending www.carsales.com.au as a place to look, but can anyone recommend any trusted places in Melbourne?

Anyone on here got anything for approx $3000?

Cheers for any help.

B

[HSVGTSCoupe]

carsales.com.au is basically the Oz eqiv of Autotrader. There is also "The trading Post" which is quite popular in Victoria.

At the moment (like the UK) it's a good time to buy, $3K will prob get you wot $4K would have 6 months ago. At the end of the day if it was me, I'd use the popular sites to research what kind of car I wanted, probably looking at stuff advertised for circa $4 to $4.5K and then put in a few appearances at some of the Melb auto auctions that are open to the public. At the end of the day what you see is what you get but at that kinda price you are always taking a chance anyway IMO.

Remember a couple of things though when you are used to UK markets...
1. smaller population so far less choice
2. used cars can be almost double the price of eqiv car in the UK down here - locally made Ford/Holdens being the exception but they are still pricey compared to say Vauxhall's in the UK.

HTH... I'll dig up some links for the popular auction places and post back then

[Jader1973]

One thing to bear in mind is that cars in Victoria do not have to go through an annual MOT type inspection (called a Roadworthy here).

However, you need a Roadworthy Certificate (RWC) to re-register a car when it is sold. The seller is supposed to arrange the RWC, but the vast majority don't - probably because they know the car needs a lot spent on it to get it passed.

I expect you'll find that the vast majority in that price range do not have RWCs, so you'll need to factor that in.

My advice would be have a look at carsales or carpoint and see what is in your price range.

Edited by Jader1973 on Sunday 11th January 05:58

[SleeperCell]

Prices on carsales.com.au usually tend to be at the higher end of the market, trading post is usually a bit cheaper although quality varies, there is also ebay.com.au which is, well, ebay, and I've noticed gumtree.com is growing in popularity for cheapies and quick sales these days as well.

[motomk]

www.carpoint.com.au is another one. "Trading post" and "Things that go" are newspapers that both come out every Thursday, sometimes late wednesday night if you find the right place. The papers are noramlly a bit more up to date than the website. There are a couple of magazines you can pick up from most newsagents that will help you pick a suitable used car.

[motomk]

The Falcons and Commodores, you generally get a lot of car for not a lot of money but don't expect japanese build quality and some can be run into the ground....however parts are plentiful and cheap. They can also tow a lot.
If you are after a Falcon get at least an EF or later. The AU (not popular) has the better head gasket on it already unlike the EF but I believe most of the EF's would have had a new one by now. The Falcon Futura has some of the safety stuff on it and a Fairmont is a semi luxury version also with some of the safety gear on it. Commodore probably VR (1993?) or later. The Commodore Acclaim had all the safety stuff on it. VS Acclaim (1995) is the one after and has dual airbags.
AE101 Corolla are supposed to be pretty good but they normally command a bit more of a premium. A Holden Nova is the same thing.
Most Lasers are rebadged Mazdas but I would be trying for a 1994 or later there too.
Yes, I sort of was in the same boat but changed tack completely a few months ago.