Coming to Oz..

[Shamu]

Hello all. Basically, im taking a gap year and i will be in Oz for roughly 6months. As asuch, i figured it would be cheaper and easier to by a car rather than bus/train everywhere.

Im looking to spend around 800-1000 sterling on a runaround, anyone have any ideas as to what this would get me? Ideally id like a 4x4 but i think i'd need a fair bit of cash for that

Basically it needs to fit 2 people comfortably, plus 2 rucksacks, be economical, and have abit of power.

Help much appreciated

Shamus.

[deviant]

www.carsales.com.au is the main car sales website but there is not always a lot of cars that cheap on there.

Search for free ads and the Aus autotrader.

There are also companies that aim their business towards cheap backpacker cars.

[PomBstard]

Wot he said.

Cars will generally be 15-20 years old, but I reckon you've got a few options at that price.

Go for the cheapest thing with rego and scrap it if it breaks.
Get the latest Toyota you can afford and live with it.
Sift through the hundreds of ads and get something a bit more interesting, but possibly unstable!

I just had a look, with max budget of $2500, and everything was either Toyota Corolla, Commodore VN series, Falcon ED or other Japanese trolleys. A couple of marginally more interesting ones though...

1985 Merc W123 280E with no rego, but valid pink slip for $1900
1980 BMW 528i auto with rego to Feb for $1250
1992 (I think) Volvo 850 2.5 for $2300
1992 Merc 180E with short rego for $2200
And there's probably a Peugeot 405 for that money too somewhere

Having said all of that, if you get a Falcodore of some variety, any backstreet muppet will be able to fix it whereas if your Europosebox has a fit, then it'll cost less to scrap it.

Make sure whatever you get has enough rego to tide you over - that's a phaff you could do without on a temporary car.

[deviant]

Wot he said..

Camry, Falon, Commodore or Mitsubishi Magna will be your friends and all are available in wagon form. You might even find one with working air con. The reliability thing and ease of repair is well worth some thought. A Falcon or Commodore should still have an epic single spinner burnout left in it to

These are always popular with backpackers to... http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/results.aspx?N...

My partners nan did a road trip on her own all the way around Aus in hers and it never missed a beat, she even rolled it but there wasnt even a dent on it. My partner inherited it and put a further fivehundredandtwelftymillion KMS before selling it on...oh and we found the mahoosive bowie knife she had bought to look after herself that has slipped under the seat
Some of them have had a lift kit fitted and can get a little bit off road.

These are a bit of fun to...http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/results.aspx?N=1216+1246+1247+1252+1282+4294963801+4294962346&keywords=&tsrc=allcarhome&Nne=15

This is the backpacker sales people I was thinking of http://www.travellers-autobarn.com.au/
The usually have bunky cars and have a garunteed buy back price.

[Colonial]

Commodore, Falcon, Magna, Camry.

The four elements of the backpackers life in Australia.

Should be able to pick up an ex taxi EF/EL, possible even AU Falcon for 2.5k which will still have some life left in it.

[ariddell]

What they said....

Stick with the Falcon/Commodore/Camry wagon options, I don't fancy your chances of getting parts for a Volvo 850/Merc etc in a hurry if you needed them in an outback town if you're planning on traveling around.

I wouldn't recommend travelers autobarn to anyone, we bought a car from them back in 2001 when backpacking and it was a complete liability, very overpriced and only given the most basic check through their workshop. The buy-back thing also wasn't worth the paper it was written on.

[Shamu]

Thanks for the replies guys, so much help! So basically looks like its going to be a commodore or some other estate, not bad i guess, id like a 190 Merc, love them to bits, but i can see it being a hassle to fix...

My next question is, how does it work for this rego thing? Is it like an MOT ? and how does it work with travelling round different states, do you need a new one in each state, or just buy and sell the car in the same state?

Ooh, also, insurance..from what i understand basic 3rd party is included with the rego? or is it a good idea to get proper insurance?

Thanks!

[sensible]

The 3rd party in your rego is only for injurys to the other person not the car so you will still need to insure your car budget for about $900 for full comp or about $500 for 3rd party fire and theft

If you were to buy a car in western australia the rego is just get the bill and send the money, No car checks at all. I think NSW and VIC you have to get the car checked for rego like the MOT and not sure about the other states

[ariddell]

In Vic you pay rego every year - equivilent of road tax in the UK- but doesn't involve any form of safety check/test, just a payment.

You only need to do a RWC - equivilent of an MOT in the UK - when a vehicle is being transfered between different owners.

[Google [bot]]

I'd forget any of the 'interesting' euro stuff. Nothing more important than reliability when you're hundreds of kms from the nearest life and it's minus 10 at night and plus 50 in the day. Toy and Ota.

[PJ3074]

Google [bot] said:

I'd forget any of the 'interesting' euro stuff. Nothing more important than reliability when you're hundreds of kms from the nearest life and it's minus 10 at night and plus 50 in the day. Toy and Ota.

LOL..I remember a good Aussie saying "Well if you want get to that place, then sure anything will get you there, but if you want to come back alive, make sure you go in a Landcruiser

[Keeba14]

Get yourself on oldish Falcon wagon and you won't go wrong. Heaps of space, cheap & reliable - but if they do go wrong, then pretty much anyone anywhere can get parts and fix them.

Just stay away from Wolf Creek

Regards

Jamie

[gwasoc]

Keeba14 said:

Get yourself on oldish Falcon wagon and you won't go wrong. Heaps of space, cheap & reliable - but if they do go wrong, then pretty much anyone anywhere can get parts and fix them.

Just stay away from Wolf Creek

Regards

Jamie

Get a pig ugly AU ex taxi falcon wagon. No miser on fuel (but coming from the UK you won't even notice) and you can live in it - house and transport for one low price. If it breaks down, leave it there and get another one.

[jjhanley]

Yeah a holden or a ford are the choice for you, I used to work for Travellers Autobarn for a while and these guys are dodgeee, buying any old heap, getting it to just about pass its RWC and flogging it on to unsuspecting backpackers at way over inflated prices. Another good option for what you are looking for is www.gumtree.com.au or check out the notice boards in the backpackers hostels and you will have no problem, I would also recommend trying to get a WA registered vehicle as the change of ownership and extending the rego can all be done online