Hybrids won't save drivers money, Consumer Reports (April 2006)

@hkmb claims auction is the way to get a reasonable price on a car in Australia.

 

You have to gasp at the cost of cars in some other countries. We in the US have it quite good. For now.

 

+ a whole bunch of people in UK!

 

Indeed. Here are my comments on that: https://priuschat.com/goto/post?id=2471871#post-2471871

 

I never fail to be astonished by the prices of second-hand cars in Britain. They're so cheap. A ten-year-old car in Britain will often cost 1/5 to 1/4 of what it would cost in Australia.

 

Yes, but the shipping charge to Australia is enormous!

 

hill, being of English (tightwad) ancestry, i suspect it may be a conspiracy

Who wouldn't rather ride the train, or on the tube when you take such a huge disastrous depreciation hit on their own personal car? whew! forget it.
.

 

It's not brutal, actually - about 3-4,000 pounds.

I am considering doing it for my next car. I'm thinking that, in a couple of years, I'll get the new shape Merc E-class estate, as I do very much like it. If I were to get a two-year-old one now, the combined cost of buying one in the UK, shipping it to Australia, paying import duties, having it converted to metric (if it's not a digital dashboard), and other compliance would still work out about A$10-15,000 cheaper than buying one here. AND they sell the estate (wagon for our American chums) as a hybrid in the UK, but in Australia, the hybrid is only available as a saloon (sedan). And the premium for a hybrid (on the old shape) isn't much compared to the equivalent petrol model. So if I were going to Britain to visit my parents anyway, it would probably be worthwhile. You lose a bit on resale because it's an import, but not enough to cancel out the saving. I did it once before, when I lived in HK and sent an old HK Merc CL600 to Australia, where my brother-in-law sold it.

 

Train - I need to drive to the station, then find somewhere to park. Trains and buses are so infrequent and the routes are so out of my way. It was reasonably possible when I went to work. But now I'm retired, seems almost impossible. To go to my doctor for example, 7 mins drive, over an hour on 3 buses to get there, and almost an hour home - and 20 mins walk each direction (plus wait for the bus to arrive - or the next bus if the doctor holds my up. The shop is the same - 2 buses.

 

Ah, but....

They depreciate so much, and become so cheap, and train tickets are so expensive, that quite the opposite happens.

Last time we went to Britain, my wife wanted to go from my parents' house to visit one of her friends. She needed to get from near Preston to Exeter, which is a little under 300 miles.

She ended up flying (from Manchester), because it was much cheaper than the train.

For the price of a return train ticket from Preston to Exeter, she could have bought a perfectly acceptable, running, legal car (I'm just looking - a 2004 Skoda Fabia, a 2003 Renault Megane, a 2000 Toyota Yaris, a 2001 Rover 25, a 2000 Mercedes A-class....), paid for enough petrol for a 600-mile round trip, bought food and drinks on the journey, and then just dumped the car when she got back.

.... if she could drive .....

 

Yes, I remember a UK TV show called Fifth Gear where they'd test out a range of 2nd hand cars to rival the new car they've tested - ie 3 convertibles of various ages to compare with a new AUDI convertible. Looking at the prices they quoted - were a dream if here in Australia. I reckon you'd multiply most by 2 or 3 to get an Australian price.

Mind you - auctions are always cheaper, and if you're at the right auction at the right time - the car you want and nobody else wanting it, you can get a bargain. But you generally take a risk with no warranty of any sort, and most auction houses don't allow test-drives, just start the engine to listen. A bit like a private sale without a test-drive. New cars generally have a minimal statutory warranty if bought through dealerships.

 

Australian trains are hopeless.

My Shanghai office manager came here a couple of years ago, and wanted to go to Dubbo. He saw there was a direct train, and saw that it was a 400km (250 mile) journey. Being Chinese, he thought that meant around an hour and 20 minutes on the train.

It took more than eight hours.

 

Backpackers etc have been known to do that here - get a "supposedly" roadworthy car, drive it for a few months advertise it for a minimal amount or to the wreckers for $80, cash in the remaining Registration - much cheaper than fares, particularly if there are a few guys to share the petrol. If it dies, repeat operation.

 

Yes, they used to show it on Discovery Turbo Max, and the prices always made me think about what I could get in Britain. Mind you, I'd have to live in Britain.... Not sure that's a price worth paying.

I have found in the past that a used car dealer's warranty in Sydney is worth less than me looking at a car at a distance in an auction house, though. My mother-in-law had a disaster with one - it's in the link to my other post above.

I don't buy new - someone else can take that depreciation hit for me - and with a two- or three-year-old modern car (that's not American, Italian, Chinese or French) problems are fairly unlikely, so an auction isn't such a risk.

 

Yes. Those Falcon wagon ex-taxis with 800,000km on the clock do seem to be mainly used for that.

I've heard that registration for a s--tbox is much easier in Queensland than in other states, and that that's why Misogynist Campervans or whatever they're called are based there, and why they'd be in so much trouble if the Premier revokes their licence.

 

ah but ...
All of that presumes there will be new buyers who are willing to take the huge hit.

Actually I was in school at Cambridge and used a student pass so it wasn't too bad. Modernly? I'll have to take your word for it.
.

 

I heard that she did revoke their licence - then saw one the next week. They are quite rare these days compared with 10 years ago.

Basically, no "apparent" oil leaks - like you degreased it this morning, lights OK, 5000 km left on the tyres and brakes and generally safe and you can get a roadworthy here in Queensland. 'Tis a bit more complex than that, but many cars squeeze through which you'd scratch your head about.

After 5 years old, they can't continue as TAXIs. My brother was a taxi driver, and his Falcon Wagon with 750,000km, was so good, he kept it as his private car. LPGas engines last seemingly forever, I think he had an exchange Auto tranny while it was a TAXI, and he got almost forever out of his brakes, being a careful (and very good) driver.

 

I guess there are a few different "buying" patterns with car buyers.

1) There are those who buy new, replace every 3 or 5 years; (this includes government fleets, company cars etc)

2) THEN - there are ones who buy the ones in 1) above sell - and keep for 3 or 5 years;

3) THEN - there are those who buy the ones in 2) above sell - and keep for 3 or 5 years;

4) OTHERS then buy the ones in 3) and keep repairing them till they finally die. Often identifiable by grease under fingernails.

If it wasn't for 1), there would be no 2), 3) or 4).

I've lived in 4), 3), 2) and 1) folds in the past. Presently in 1). Till my retirement savings run out - then I might need to catch the bus or revert to 2) or 3).

 

I keep cars until they die (so category 4), but don't have any mechanical ability so I pay mechanics to fix stuff. I'll keep the car until it hits a repair that's not worth fixing (let's say anything that costs $2000 or more), and then I get rid of it and get a different one. Thus far, the longest I've had a car is 6 years, but I'm hoping my current one lasts longer than that.