buying a car

What is the process if you want to buy a car of somebody? heard about this rego thing but no idea. Is there no log book V5 and stuff?

Hi the process here is different.

1) There's no V5 out here, and there's no MOT certificate.

2) For a car to be legally used n the road it needs to have the equivalent of road tax in the UK. Out here its called Rego, and you buy either 6 or 12 months. Assuming that the car is allwys Rego'd when required, then you don't need to have any form of MOT inspection. However if the police think the car isnt roadworthy, or you let the Rego slip, then you have to have it inspected (go over the pits) before you can re-rego it.

3) The Rego here is more expensive, i drive older (1993 volvo 240) and the Rego costs around $500/yr. Expensive, but it also includes 3rd party insurance, so if you have a crash the other person is covered. Makes sense in my mind. In theory then you don't have to have additional insurance, but it doesnt cover damage to your car and other costs, so its a risk.

4) when you buy a car here, you fill in a form to transfer ownership to yourself, but you don't get a V5. Basically assuming the car is Rego'd, then you should get a copy of that from the seller. The only communication from the goverment is a single letter when the Rego is due to expire (there's no tax disc even, so you do need to track it yourself, to ensure it doesnt get lost and then the Rego can lapse).

5) You can also get a REVS check to check if there is finance etc owing on the vehicle, like you would in the UK.

6) Finally you will pay tax on the purchase price of the car. This is a cost of transfer of ownership, and also a % based upon the value of the car. For cheap cars its only a few hundred dollars, but as the value goes up so does the cost, and rockets if you buy a luxury car (over $50ish K).

7) Running the car is no different, fuel is cheaper than the UK, like everything else repairs etc tend to be more expensive, but plenty of dealer garages, as well as independents.

Finally cars seem expensive out here. They don't rust, so don't depreciate as they would in the UK. You can see 15+ year old cars going for $5K, and larger new cars, easily $20-$30K. I've never run new cars, but managed to find good cars around the $2K. My volvo has done 350000 miles but still looks good and drives fine, so look around and you can find good deals.

Hope this helps

Nick

Hi Nick,

Thats some invaluable information there.

My wife and I are at the start of looking into a move to perth and I'm going to be popping over for between 4 and 8 weeks before the end of the year. The price of hire cars seems a bit steep, so was going to ask a mate over there or possibly my mums husband to acquire me a cheap car for when I got there with some rego that I can then get them to sell after I go and get most of my money back.

Was thinking about $1000 - $1500.

Does this sounds feasible?

Cheers

Gareth

Hi Gareth.

Have a look on gumtree.com.au for cheap cars. It'll give you an idea what's out there. $1000 - $1500 is probably a bit low.

Hi,

I was having a look at gumtree last night - not much under $1000 but a decent few to pick from for under $1500 all with enough rego to still have some when I leave.

If it costs me say $1000 to hire a car for a few weeks when I'm over, then I think I'm better spending say $1500 on a car with a view to getting $1000 or there abouts back when I sell it on, maybe more.

Gareth