Buying a Car for Travel (in Australia)
Australia is a beautiful country, with an amazing variety of landscapes to experience and places to visit. The problem is that it is hard to see it all without some form of reliable transportation. That is the situation that I found myself in when I was on holiday some time ago. My time in Sydney was amazing, but after a while I found myself yearning to see some of the other places that locals spoke about–for me, I wanted to travel to through the Outback, see Uluru (Ayers Rock) and enjoy the desolate landscape. As I planned on visiting other areas throughout my extended stay in Sydney, I decided to buy a vehicle rather than “hire” one.
“Hiring” (renting) a car is not altogether an unattractive option. The rule of thumb is that if you are planning on traveling the country for a month or less you should hire a car as opposed to buying. This is because the pains of buying and reselling a vehicle will cut into your valuable vacation time, and most likely you will not walk away with any better of a deal for your troubles.
But say that you’re in my shoes. You have been patiently waiting, saving your money and you find that the moment is right for you to saddle up and buy yourself a buggy. While the process can be fun and exciting, there are a few things that you may want to keep in mind before you fall in love with your new vehicle.
One thing that most people tend to forget when going about shopping for their first car is the PPSR (Personal Property Security Register). If there is still money owing on the vehicle you find, you will inherit that debt. This is important to keep in mind when budgeting for the purchase of a vehicle. You can check the PPSR of any vehicle by running its VIN number here.
Budget still a problem? You may have to take out a loan. There are many options out there, one of the more popular being ANZ, however if your quote is still too high, you may want to look into some of the very competitive loan aggregators on the market, such as this one designed for people with bad credit.
Registering your vehicle is another necessary part of the process. Unfortunately, there is no quick way to explain registration other than, its easier to purchase a car that is registered in the state that you reside and transfer the registration within a fortnight of purchase. Each state has their own stipulations and can be found below:
Australian Capital Terriitory: http://www.rego.act.gov.au/
New South Wales: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/
Northern Territory: http://www.transport.nt.gov.
Queensland: http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/
South Australia: http://www.sa.gov.au/topics/
Tasmania: http://www.transport.tas.gov.
Victoria: http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.
Western Australia: http://www.transport.wa.gov.
You have it. You found an Audi at an amazing price. You’ve ran a check on the PPSR and find that its unencumbered. Its registered. Everything is perfect. Except that after passing Alice Springs on a trip to Darwin, it breaks down and you find yourself stuck in a roadhouse for a week waiting for an spare part to arrive from the coast. At times its necessary to be practical, and when it comes to travel in the Outback, going with a more common make and model is essential to avoid becoming landlocked. The roadhouses along the way will not be able to help you if you roll in with a exotic or “grey” import. Maybe its time to take a second look at those Toyotas.
All that said, having your own car available to travel through the country of Australia allows you the flexibility to truly enjoy the magnitude of it’s beauty. Not to mention, with patience and the right information, you can save yourself some money along the way.
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Category: Car Finance, Car Lease, Car Purchase
