There is a lot you need know about buying a second hand car when you arrive. The temptation may be to purchase a cheap car from the side of the road but more often than not it will end up costing you more than the value of the car.

PLEASE be very wary of buying a car from the side of the road as there have been some real horror stories. Safety must be your first priority and . Unless you know the person selling the car, as a general rule paying less than $2500 will usually end in problems. Your best bet is to use a garage we recommend as you will usually be able to get a limited warranty.

Some garages offer a buy back option - if the car has high mileage and not the best car on the block then these options are usually a good idea. You will lose about 50% of what you paid fir the car but at least you will have something!!

Distances in Australia are vast and many older cars have hundreds of thousands of kilometres on them. You need to be particularly weary of older Japanese cars pre 1994  as they are simply not designed for this sort of mileage. The general consensus is 225,000km is the limit for these cars. Australian built cars e.g., Ford and Holden, will usually run well passed this mark.

(Important) Top Tips

• DON'T buy a car with hail damage. In early 2005, a massive hail storm (hail stones the size of tennis balls!) wrote off thousands of cars across NSW. Now, if a car has bad hail damage insurance companies won't touch you as they think you might claim for new body work.
• When you buy the car, get 4 new tyres. Make this part of the deal for the car. If you can't get it as part of the deal then go and pay for them (will cost around $70 each). A certain tyre manufacturer has the slogan "If your tyres only save your life once a year... then it's a good year!" Clever but so true.
• When it rains here the roads are initially very slippery, partly due to the fact that it doesn't rain that often thus oil residue builds up on the road and partly due to the fact they use a different road surface in Australia to cope with the heat. Roads can be treacherous in the wet.
• Warped brake discs are a fact when you are buying older cars. This means that when you brake, there is an uneven braking distribution and if it is wet of if your tires are in bad shape, this may cause your wheels to lock up.

*** Note: We are not trying to put you off, just make you aware of various problems.

• Join the NRMA (roadside assistance). It will be the best thing you do! If you break down and then join you will get stung. If you join them right at the start they will do vehicle check for about $100 (money very well spent)
• Automatics are very popular. Your car will definitely be easier to sell if it is an automatic
• Station Wagons are cool!! They are very common because its easy to take the surf boards/dive equipment/picnic gear. I have one and I love it!