The Hippo Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 When coming across to Melbourne in June, we will be looking a buying a second hand car outright. From looking at our budget (approx. $7.5k) and investigating on the internet I know this is not a lot, and an older family size car with a lot of km's on it looks like our limit. Can anyone provide any advice/suggestions on the reliability and condition of such cars (some with >150km), and are there the odd bargain to be had? Is there room for a bit of bargaining with the sales man even at such a small budget? Thanks, The Hippo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest 47403 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Whatever you get I'd say get a proper inspection done by a mechanic or RAC for piece of mind before parting with your cash, would be a nightmare to get ripped off after just arriving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shusselmann Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Hi, You should consider getting a history report for a car you're interested in - you can use AutoCheck and CarFax for a small fee. We bought a used car from a dealer and my husband bargained with them a little, and insisted that a few things be fixed before he closed the deal. I have no idea whether this falls within your budget but have been told that Holden Captiva's are reliable family cars. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hippo Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Thanks for the responses so far. Think we would take your advice inboard with regards getting the car checked out by a qualified mechanic and getting a bit of history on the car. Wouldn't require the car for long journeys, just for the OH to get about whilst I'm at work and for weekends. Not looking for anything extravagant, just reliable and it seems that holdens seem to fit the bill for this. Thanks The Hippo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Suzanne111 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Hi Hippo, I'm in a similar position to you - debating whether to bring our own car or try and get something second hand when we're there. Our budget would be less than yours. The only thing I wanted to add was that we've been told that cars in Oz last for ages and used cars are generally pretty reliable because they don't have the problems with damp and ice that we do, ie their cars don't rust so much, nor do they get damaged by potholes and corroded by salt and grit etc. I think that's why they're pretty expensive, but on the plus side it probably means they're likely to last longer than used cars in Britain? Suzanne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Louey Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Hey Agree with all the above...get a check RACQ do them I believe. I have heard good and bad points about Holdens. We wanted a small car and found that there weren't that many to choose from. We wanted a run around so got a Daewoo Matiz $3000 it's a 2000 with about 118,000KM on the clock. It seemed a lot as I sold my car in the UK for that and it was a lot new and had less mileage. Shop around use red book (bit like Parkers guide) for prices and carsales.com.au for research too. Best of Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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